Mark Webber has come out on top after a very wet qualifying session for tomorrow’s Malaysian GP. Rain ‘blessed’ the session right from the beginning and things were even more difficult because the weather was constantly changing.
Changing track conditions during qualifying will usually mean mixed up final grid positions and this was evident today as both Ferraris and the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton failed to make it into Q2. Jenson Button officially made it into Q2 but was unable to take part in it and had to settle for 17th. The reigning World Champion spun his McLaren and parked it on the gravel trap. Virgin’s Lucas Di Grassi, Hispania’s Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok as well as Lotus Racing’s Jarno Trulli also failed to make the cut.
However both Heikki Kovalainen from Lotus and Timo Glock from Virgin made it into Q2. Renault’s Robert Kubica was fastest followed by Sauber’s Pedro de la Rosa and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. Vitaly Petrov of Renault, de la Rosa, Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari of Toro Rosso, Kovalainen, Glock and Button were casualties of Q2.
Vettel set the fastest time ahead of Kubica and Sutil in Q2. Red Bull’s Mark Webber as well as both the Mercedes drivers made it into Q3 as well. Just moments after the initiation of Q3, the session was red flagged as the conditions were considered dangerous. Nevertheless as conditions improved the session resumed, although it was still raining.
With about 7 minutes remaining the top ten raced to set their lap times. Webber managed to clinch pole position and shares the front row with Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg. This is the team’s best qualifying result this season. Vettel will start from third ahead of Sutil and Williams’ Nico Hulkenberg. The rest of the top ten was made up by Kubica, Barrichello, Schumacher, Kobayashi and Vitantonio Liuzzi from Force India.
Expect a very dramatic race tomorrow as rain is expected. Quicker cars including both the Ferraris and McLarens are expected to fight their way through the field which should be a spectacle to watch. We did see a red flag today but lets hope we won’t see any tomorrow!
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WAKAKAKAKKAKAKA!! Ferrari and McLaren GG-ed!!
GO VETTEL GO!!! GO WEBBER GO!!! RED BULL GO!!! This time around, we’re gonna nail it!!!
I wish senna was racing.
His rain races were epic back in 93.
Not just in 93 but the Monaco races of ’84 and ’88 as well. He made everyone look silly.
They never learn….starting the race in Malaysia at 4pm….. just like last season… ended with a heavy rain and race was stopped…hopefully tomorrow promise good race…
by the way..just reached home from SIC….hehehe..not a spectator but working…
That what make Malaysian GP interesting, the unpredictable weather.
You mean good boring race? hell no, it is just perfect with lots of unexpected drama esp the weather! last year’s race was a surprise and unforgettable 1 for everyone! F1 definitely needs this kind of surprise to heat adrenalin up like we here with our weather! rather than just swift boring race with fastest engine and wise strategy..
rain is all and good but I hope it won’t cause the race to stop midway..coz that would really suck, esp if you buy the tix to watch the whole race.
The reason why they have the race at 4pm is to suit the international viewing time. So basically, it’s for ‘their’ convenience, not ‘ours’.
=)
true enough. at least we (the muscovites) can watch it at lunch. hehehe
But why can’t they run the Brazilian race in the morning, local time? Start at 10, at least better than having to stay up Monday morning
malaysia weather is like a box of chocolate, u never knew what u gonna get. its gonna be a great race tomorow.
“life is like a box of chocolate, u never knew what u gonna get”
-Forrest Gump- :-)
Ya the track is hot and wet at the same race day. That make Sepang unique :-)
I think it’s predictable nowadays. Warm and humid in the morning till afternoon, and thunderstorm towards the evening. What’s really annoying was my Astro transmission went blank right at the end of Q3 because of the heavy rain..Grrr.
if you could hear the comentators during Q1, the weather forcast received by the teams said that the rain will stop in a couple of minutes insteadt it didnt thts why the big teams delay their Q1 lap. lol ferrary.
hopefully all the clouds are gone with the rain today lol
maybe a 10 minute rain on tomorrow’s race, and that’s it :P
the Question is can RB6 last a full race distance.
that’s really a problem with Red Bull reliability issues.
In your face McLaren and Ferrarri, wakakaka… Usually you will stay up behind and let the track dried up a bit so that u able to go faster.
But that wasn’t the case in malaysia. Those that went and did earlier had better times since the rain decided to pour more later hahaha. Seriously, this is one of the most exciting qualifying i’ve ever seen.
and now they are blaming the weather radar computer LOL
F1 Malaysia always interesting to watch!
bad again & again
If everything going wild..maybe Lotus can grab a point and Merc on podium for tomorrow race.
that would truly be awesome..
Fellow readers, read this article: http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2010/4/10627.html
And after that look at the bottom right picture.
It was the reigning Button, from his McLaren MP4-25 then end up in a kapchai..
Seriously, is that the best Sepang Circuit could provide? What about a golf cart.. at least?
I don’t mind the kapchai at all. It’s uniquely Malaysia :D (though somebody else pointed out somewhere that China has it too).
thought so too. agreed!
Whoever own that kapchai should hold on to it and keep it in a display case! How many people can boast about owning a vehicle that’s been ridden by a F1 World Champion?
Its going to be an awesome race tomorrow especially if it stays dry in the first half of the race. We can see the two Ferrari’s and Hamilton trying to bulldoze their way to the top ten. We will also have Jenson fighting from the middle pack.
We are fortunate that Sepang has is wider than other tracks so overtaking is possible and should provide loads of excitement tomorrow.
wider track does not ensure that the drivers can have plenty overtaking opportunities.
in dry and hot condition the car in front will produce a nasty dirty (hot) air that will makes the driver of the car that follow behind will avoid following closer; because dirty air can effect the radiator thus this will make the engine of the car that follow behind become hotter; that’s what happened in bahrain.
so if it dry and hot in tomorrow in sepang; we will have another bore-rain race just like bahrain.
i think it affects not so much the engine, but the aerodynamics.the turbulence caused by the lead car would cause the trailing car to lose aerodynamic grip if it follows too close.
agree with you; I forget to mention about aerodynamic
just hope that tomorrow won’t be so dry and hot.
wet and cold wheather is suitable for the race; just like at albert park when hamilton can easily get into the slipstream when he trying to overtake kubica, alonso and massa.
Although the kapchai is not pretty, it is VERY effective to get around the circuit. The drivers appreciate whatever is quickest back to the track. The golf cart I think would be slower and take up more space on the narrow service roads around the track
Agreed. It is effective. But it’s still funny tho.
How does other track tackle it?
Saw once at China GP. They use kapcai @ moped also.
That’s why. Just cuz he’s the champion, need to give extra pampering meh? Then afterwards complain again wasting taxpayers’ money la this la that la blablabla
LOL. one who complains wasting his tax money should hire a financial consultant to dodge tax in any possible loop hole available, stop using public road & pave his own road. just kidding.
btw, a champ or not doesn’t matter.. as long as the F1 driver did not tegolek in the slippery service road while riding pillion.
I saw the 7-time world champ on the kapchai also yesterday!
c’mon guys its only d 3rd race of the season, even both F & M D.N.F. tomorrow, there b
more than enough to catch up later rite?
no refueling makes it boring… zzzZ
we just love to see pit crew makes mistakes… so sorry to Mr.Lollipop man out of job…
but lets hope it rain tomorrow, this will spicer it up a bit!
mr lollipop still there bro…..only fueling guy that wasnt there
u watch carefully when f1 car pitting
i don’t mind the rain making its presence… but not the torrential type. just rain enough for the race to continue. this should make the race very interesting.
just rain… stop… rain… stop. that should be fun. would like to see how teams take the tyre gamble.
will it be like last year? heavy downpour, stop the race and announce the font 3 as winner? lets see.
does anyone know if f1 is gonna be shown on ntv7 this evening? i just checvked the schedule at http://www.ntv7.com.my/Schedules.aspx and its not on there!! wtf!!
Its here: http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=0404&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Rancangan_TV&pg=rt_04.htm
I can’t wait, this could be an all time classic Grand Prix! Watching Alonso, Hamilton, Button and Massa fight through the field will be thrilling!
got live on ntv7. if not i will give you my left nut
yes;
It’s better to watch NTV7 because they use BBC sport live feed with martin brundle and james allen on the commentator; they also have access to some team principles to have their point of view about the race during the live telecast
Star sport is so boring; because you have to hear alex yoong whining and bragging about his day inside F1 car and brit wannabe paula malai ali pot pet pot pet.
too bad tho that media prima only show delay telecast on almost every race.
yep.. definately..