F1 News
Date:
23/March/2013
Reigning triple F1 Champion Sebastian Vettel timed it just
right to take pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix, as rain showers
raised the tension at Sepang.
Rain arrived during the second part of qualifying, without
which Vettel may have needed to use another set of tyres to guarantee his place
in Q3.
A wet but drying final part of qualifying then saw the Red
Bull driver pit for a new set of intermediates in the closing minutes, before
storming to pole by almost one second.
“Q2 was quite ‘on edge’ I would say, probably the rain helped
us a little bit. Otherwise I think we would have had to go out again [on new
tyres]. But it was just enough to get through to Q3,” confirmed Vettel.
“Then in Q3 with the circuit drying, it was very tricky
because you don’t know if there’s more rain coming or not, but we took the
decision [for a new set of intermediates].
“Bit surprised by the gap, but a decent lap and I’m very
happy obviously. We also managed to save some tyres, which could be crucial
tomorrow, so we’ll see what we can do.”
Vettel had also qualified on pole one week earlier in
Australia, but was left third in the race behind Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) and
Fernando Alonso (Ferrari).
Friday pace setter Raikkonen qualified seventh at Sepang -
the same place he won from in Melbourne - but was later docked a further three
places for blocking Nico Rosberg (Mercedes).
“It's obviously disappointing to lose three places on the
grid, but we'll have to see what happens in the race,” said Raikkonen.
While the Finn faces an uphill struggle, Alonso will start in
third place, just behind rejuvenated team-mate Felipe Massa.
“I like the car that we have this year much more compared to
the car we had last year,” said Massa, fourth in Australia. “I feel really
happy driving this car.”
Alonso expects rain to again taunt the F1 stars during the
grand prix.
“We expect some rain tomorrow - like all the afternoons
here,” said the Spaniard. “But if it arrives before the race, at the start of
the race, in the middle of the race, at the end of the race, we don’t know. We
need to be ready for anything.
“The positive thing is that the car performed really well in
both rain and dry conditions. So, we are not afraid of what is coming from the
sky. Whatever arrives, we will take it and hopefully we will be competitive.”
Lewis Hamilton will start fourth for Mercedes, alongside
Vettel’s team-mate Mark Webber. Nico Rosberg will join Webber on row three with
Jenson Button the lead McLaren driver in seventh, following Raikkonen’s
penalty.
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