Malaysia – Qualifying: Hamilton and McLaren lock out the front row

It has never been as hot in Sepang as it was yesterday, starting this qualifying session with 32°C in the air and between 46° and 52°C on the track. This temperature obviously affects the tires but also the engines and the aerodynamic performance of the cars.

Q1: Charles Pic is the first to head out, closely followed by Paul di Resta who overtakes the Frenchman at the exit of the pits. The Scotsman, on hard tires, sets the first “benchmark” time: 1:38.927 after a lap that is not free of errors. Maldonado and then Räikkönen succeed him at the top of the timesheet. It’s Hamilton’s turn, with 1:37.904, but Button improves before Rosberg comes and puts everyone in agreement, with 1:37.696. This is without considering Schumacher, who does better by a tenth.

Maldonado and Grosjean move into the top 10 with ten minutes remaining. Button slots in between the Mercedes and is just 0.037 seconds shy of the seven-time world champion. Hamilton continues to scare himself in the first fast sequence by going too wide. On the next lap, he takes fourth place while Schumacher slightly improves his time. At the back, both HRTs are well within the 107% limit. Five minutes left, and Ferrari is already on medium tires, the softest available for this Grand Prix, to try to improve their position in this Q1. Massa takes the eleventh provisional time and secures Q2. The first to be eliminated for now is Jean-Eric Vergne, who is struggling after a flat spot on the front right tire. He doesn’t improve, while on the contrary, Webber improves and takes the lead with a 1:37.172. Pic is three-tenths behind Glock; both HRTs pass the 107% and will be present on the grid tomorrow.

Eliminated in Q1: Vergne, Kovalainen, Petrov, Glock, Pic, De la Rosa, and Karthikeyan

Q2: It’s the calm before the storm as no engine roars while the track is open. It’s the Ferrari engine of Sergio Pérez’s Sauber that breaks the silence, followed by his teammate Kamui Kobayashi and Kimi Räikkönen’s Lotus. The Mexican is on medium tires and pushing hard: 1:39.043, which is very bad. We have to wait for Räikkönen’s time to get a first very interesting time, at 1:36.715, simply the fastest of the weekend. Maldonado goes off into the gravel and causes a yellow flag: no serious consequence for the Venezuelan who returns to the track, but the drivers had to slow down behind him.

Less than eight minutes to go and some drivers don’t have a time yet: this is the case for Hülkenberg, Grosjean, and the two Williams. At the front, Räikkönen is ahead of the two McLarens, the two Red Bulls, and the two Mercedes. Maldonado’s Williams seems quite damaged, which could handicap him in the race for Q3. Grosjean is on track, practically alone and, like everyone else, on medium tires. He clocks a 1:37.338, placing him fourth, despite a lap far from perfect. The two Williams still don’t have a time, just like Hülkenberg, but that should change quickly. The Ferraris will have to fight to reach Q3. Alonso records the sixth time, Massa is twelfth. Rosberg takes third place, Schumacher fourth, and it’s ultimately Pastor Maldonado who misses out on this Q2, finishing eleventh. Räikkönen set the fastest time on his first flying lap in this Q2 and was not dislodged by anyone thereafter.

Eliminated in Q2: Maldonado, Massa, Senna, Di Resta, Ricciardo, Hülkenberg, and Kobayashi

Q3: Räikkönen is the first to start in this last part of the qualifying session, on medium tires. He clocks in at 1:36.837. He is followed by Button who improves to 1:36.6 and Hamilton who records 1:36.219 to take the lead, despite a small mistake in the last corner. Webber takes fourth place, Grosjean fifth, and Vettel sixth. The two Mercedes are out of sync, taking advantage of the other teams returning to the pits to go out: 1:36.664 for Rosberg, fourth, and 1:36.391 for Schumacher, second, one tenth of a second behind Hamilton. Pérez sets the ninth fastest time, while Alonso has yet to complete a timed lap. He manages to do so and surpasses Pérez.

The second round of timed laps begins: Webber sets the third-fastest time, Räikkönen the fourth. Vettel arrives and ranks sixth on Hard tires, Button takes second position, Grosjean seventh. Hamilton doesn’t bother finishing his second flying lap as he just secured pole position, the 21st of his career! Schumacher achieves his best qualifying since his return with this third place.

Heikki Kovalainen and Kimi Räikkönen will start with 5-place grid penalties tomorrow.

Result of the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying: