Sepang (Malaysia): Lewis Hamilton seized pole position on Saturday in a breath-takingly close qualifying session for the Malaysian Grand Prix, as McLaren maintained their dominance of the new Formula One season.
Mclaren’s Hamilton clocked the fastest lap in 1m 36.219, followed by teammate Jenson Button (1:36.368).Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher was third (1:36.391) and behind him was Red Bull’s Mark Webber (1:36.461).
Comeback man Kimi Raikkonen (1:36.461) was fifth for Lotus, followed by Red Bull’s defending champion 1:36.634.
McLaren have now led in qualifying for the first two races after Hamilton also led a one-two last week in Australia, before finishing the grand prix third behind team-mate Button and current world champion Sebastian Vettel.
But in an indication of the tiny margins separating Formula One’s best teams this year, the top eight drivers were separated by only four-tenths of a second on a steamy afternoon at the Sepang circuit.
Red Bull’s Mark Webber was fourth fastest and Kimi Raikkonen was fifth, but the 2007 world champion was penalised five places for a gearbox change — promoting sixth-placed Vettel one spot on the starting grid.
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and Sauber’s Mexican pilot Sergio Perez will occupy the next slots, with Raikkonen dropping to 10th.
“It’s been a good weekend so far. It’s been a tough day with the changing weather conditions and the temperatures climbing,” said Hamilton. “We made some changes to the car but we still managed to do some good times.”
As forecast rains held off, Red Bull’s Webber nabbed the top time in the dying seconds of the first 20-minute qualifying segment, in which Ferrari’s Massa flirted with elimination before recovering to scrape through.
And in Q2, seven-time world champion Schumacher left it until his very last lap before climbing from 11th to fourth. Raikkonen was quickest but there was no top-10 shoot-out for the embattled Massa, who wound up 12th.
In a thrilling Q3, Raikkonen, Button and Hamilton outpaced each other in quick succession at the top of the standings and with two minutes remaining, Schumacher’s challenge fell agonisingly short of the front row.
Meanwhile, none of the two Sahara Force India drivers could make the top-10 as Paul di Resta qualified 14th on the grid and Nico Hulkenberg 16th for tomorrow’s Malaysian Grand Prix, here today.
Resta’s best lap time of 1:37.877 and Hulkenberg’s 1:37.890. (Agencies)