Sepang pole for Vettelposted in F123 | 03 | 2013
RED BULL'S SEBASTIAN Vettel will start tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix from pole position, after lapping the Sepang circuit allots a second faster than the rest of the field.
The three-time world champ lines up alongside the Ferrari of a resurgent Felipe Massa, who again outqualified his team-mate Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard starts third, alongside the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.
After a dry Q1, a rain shower swept across parts of the circuit midway through Q2, and the changing conditions wrecked the session for Scot Paul di Resta.
The 26-year-old was called into the pits by his Sahara Force India team before completing his first 'banker' flying lap in the dry. By the time the team put him back on-track, the rain had started and he could only manage 15th.
McLaren managed to get both cars into Q3, as Jenson Button and Sergio Perez took eighth and 10th. They were split by Adrian Sutil's Force India, which had been fastest in Q1.
Kimi Raikkonen, winner last weekend in Melbourne, qualified his Lotus seventh, but was then handed a three-place grid penalty after stewards agreed he'd held up the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg. The Finn now starts 10th, with the German sixth.
QUOTES:
Sebastian Vettel —1st: "It was very difficult as the circuit was half dry and half wet today, so it was difficult to find the right compromise between pushing hard and also saving the tyres.
"It was the right strategy to come in and change the tyres and the pace was there. It was a good session in Q3 and it was clear what we had to do, so I'm pleased with the result.
"It's a long race tomorrow and whoever wins will have done the best job. We managed to save some tyres today which will help if the race is dry, but we will see."
Felipe Massa — 2nd: "It was a great qualifying in which we managed to make the most of all the opportunities that came our way. In Q3, we decided to stop towards the end of the session to fit a new set of intermediates and this allowed me to do a lap good enough to take second place on the grid.
"I'm very happy with this team result, which is down to the great job done over the winter months. The car has shown itself to be competitive in all conditions, both in the wet and dry, but we must continue to improve.
"Today, we were up against very strong opposition and maybe the rain helped us a bit, because in normal conditions it would have been harder to aim for this result.
"Now we can expect a long and difficult race in which anything can happen and in which strategy and tyre management will be the key, while the uncertainty over the weather won’t help anyone."
Fernando Alonso — 3rd: "I'm very happy with this position as it's been too long since I qualified in the top three!
Something I have usually managed to achieve in the race has been missing for quite a while: maybe the rain helped us a bit as we were not the quickest in the dry, but starting in the top three gives us a realistic chance of a podium finish and we can even dream about winning.
"In Q3, when we had seen the track was drying quickly, we had a moment's hesitation, because in the dry, the intermediates only last one or two laps before beginning to degrade.
"But in the end, it seemed the most sensible choice and it worked out well. Of the past three years, this seems to be the moment when everything appears to be working for the best: performance, strategy, pitstops.
"Now we must see how tomorrow will turn out, because it's always a lottery if it rains. Even if, in the current F1, the start is not the most important thing, we will still try to make a good one in order to maintain position or even to try and get past Vettel at the first corner.
"Then we will see: our race pace in Australia and the long run here on Friday means we can be reasonably optimistic."
Lewis Hamilton — 4th: I'm pretty happy with fourth place, considering the conditions today. The car was not too bad in the dry, but the balance could have been a lot better, then it was pretty tricky conditions in the wet during Q3.
"We did our lap with older tyres than the guys in front, which was a bit unfortunate, but our pace was good overall so I can't complain.
"It's the second race on the second row for me and there are lots of positives to take out of the weekend so far. Our long run pace looked pretty good compared to the other teams so I'm hoping for dry conditions tomorrow.
Mark Webber — 5th: "It's disappointing to finish fifth. We didn't get the timing quite right in the last part of Q3, I thought I had more laps.
"We were quick enough, but we went too slow on the lap when we should have been going quick and it meant we didn't get a last timed lap in.
"The time doesn't represent how comfortable I felt in the car today and it's frustrating when you put so much work in and know you could have done better. I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow – it should be interesting with the weather."
Nico Rosberg — 6th: In the dry conditions I had a great balance today and everything went perfectly which was nice to see.
"Once it began to rain, unfortunately we weren't able to get the most out of the car and at the end of Q3, my tyres were worn as some parts of the track were drying and I wasn't able to improve my lap time.
"We have a good car for the race and a strong starting position from the third row of the grid so I'm looking forward to tomorrow. We should have some good opportunities and will need to make sure that we make the most of them.
Kimi Raikkonen — 7th: "We weren't quick enough on the intermediates, so I don't think we could have found much more time in the wet today.
"For sure I wanted more, but it is what it is and I hope we'll do better on Sunday. It's obviously disappointing to lose three places on the grid, but we'll have to see what happens in the race.
"I have no idea what the weather will do, but it will be the same for everyone."
Jenson Button — 8th: "I don't think we can really expect to qualify any better than P8 right now, but, having said that, to be just two-tenths off the guy who won last weekend in Australia in Q3 can't be too bad.
"Q3 was wet today, of course, but during Q1 and the first half of Q2 it appeared that perhaps we're now a little more competitive in the dry than we were this time last weekend. We're still not quick, but the guys are doing a fantastic job to get everything they can out of our car.
"As for tomorrow's race, well, when you've got a quick car, you never want it to rain. When you've got a less quick car, you do want it to rain. Today, though, we didn't have great pace on the Intermediates in Q3, when it was raining, so all I'll say is that as always we'll battle hard and see what the race brings."
Sergio Perez — 10th: "Considering how our car was behaving at Albert Park just a week ago, I guess you could say that was an encouraging qualifying session.
"Jenson and I both got into Q3, which was a relief, but obviously we know we've still got a long way to go in terms of car development. Having said that, I can see how hard the team is working to improve our car, and it's a really good feeling to be a part of that.
"It often rains in the late afternoon here in Sepang, so I guess tomorrow's race may well be affected by wet conditions, given that it's scheduled to start at 4pm.
"But I really enjoy racing on this circuit, and, whatever the weather, I'll give my best tomorrow."
Paul di Resta —15th: "Quite a frustrating day because we got caught out by the weather. We've looked strong this weekend so felt quite confident heading into qualifying, but the rain arrived earlier than the team expected.
"Now we need to see what the weather does tomorrow, but I will certainly come back fighting. I've got lots of new tyres, which is more than enough to complete the race and the car has been working well here so far."
F1 Malaysian Grand Prix — Qualifying:
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m49.674s
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m50.587s +0.913s;
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m50.727s +1.053s;
4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m51.699s +2.025s;
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m52.244s +2.570s;
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m52.519s +2.845s;
7. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m52.970s +3.296s;
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m53.175s +3.501s;
9. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m53.439s +3.765s;
10. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m54.136s +4.462s;
Q2 cut-off time: 1m37.342s
11. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m37.636s +1.446s;
12. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.125s +1.935s;
13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.822s +2.632s;
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.221s +3.031s;
15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m44.509s +8.319s;
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault no time
Q1 cut-off time: 1m37.931s
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.157s +1.348s;
18. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m38.207s +1.398s;
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m38.434s +1.625s;
20. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m39.314s +2.505s;
21. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m39.672s +2.863s;
22. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m39.932s +3.123s.
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Jim McGill