| Row 1 | 1. Sebastian Vettel 1’34.87 Red Bull-Renault |
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| 2. Lewis Hamilton 1’34.974 McLaren |
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| Row 2 | 3. Mark Webber 1’35.179 Red Bull-Renault |
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| 4. Jenson Button 1’35.2 McLaren |
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| Row 3 | 5. Fernando Alonso 1’35.802 Ferrari |
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| 6. Nick Heidfeld 1’36.124 Renault |
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| Row 4 | 7. Felipe Massa 1’36.251 Ferrari |
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| 8. Vitaly Petrov 1’36.324 Renault |
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| Row 5 | 9. Nico Rosberg 1’36.809 Mercedes |
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| 10. Kamui Kobayashi 1’36.82 Sauber |
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| Row 6 | 11. Michael Schumacher 1’37.035 Mercedes |
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| 12. Sebastien Buemi 1’37.16 Toro Rosso |
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| Row 7 | 13. Jaime Alguersuari 1’37.347 Toro Rosso-Ferrari |
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| 14. Paul di Resta 1’37.37 Force India |
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| Row 8 | 15. Rubens Barrichello 1’37.496 Williams-Cosworth |
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| 16. Sergio Perez 1’37.528 Sauber |
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| Row 9 | 17. Adrian Sutil 1’37.593 Force India-Mercedes |
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| 18. Pastor Maldonado 1’38.276 Williams |
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| Row 10 | 19. Heikki Kovalainen 1’38.645 Lotus-Renault |
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| 20. Jarno Trulli 1’38.791 Lotus |
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| Row 11 | 21. Timo Glock 1’40.648 Virgin-Cosworth |
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| 22. Jerome d’Ambrosio 1’41.001 Virgin |
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| Row 12 | 23. Vitantonio Liuzzi 1’41.549 HRT-Cosworth |
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| 24. Narain Karthikeyan 1’42.574 HRT |
2011 Malaysian Grand Prix
Browse all 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix articles
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
driftin
9th April 2011, 10:16
Vettel’s such a jammy… aargh. Anyway, superb laps from him and Hamilton. I whooped with joy when I saw those lap times and then sighed with disappointment when that German sprog pipped him by just a tenth. Tomorrow’s going to be a superb race considering how close the top 4 are, especially if it rains.
However, it’s a long run up to the first corner and McLaren’s engine, DRS and KERS is faster. Lewis in front (and for the win at the end) with Button second by the end of the first lap, I think.
This bodes well for the McLaren team in general though. They are fast catching up with RBR…
Lemon (@lemon)
9th April 2011, 10:19
Yeh, it’s getting a bit boring tbh reminding me of Schumacher. But never the less an exciting quali…Fanatastic laps by hamilton in Q3, I thought Red Bull were going to run away with it!
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
9th April 2011, 11:32
Re MSC: Actually that was fantastic… I always loved those last nano second poles!
BasCB (@bascb)
9th April 2011, 10:26
Yeah, his cry out was fine and perfectly fit. But those lame lines after that are … , rather not say it not to offend.
Great job by McLaren to really take the fight to Red Bull. Last week it seemed a bit of a glitch, but now its setting a trend.
Renault proved they really are at it.
And HRT, congratulations for getting into the race! The highlight of the weekend?
They certainly were closer to Q1 top times compared to last year. Were they actually faster in their laps?
Deurmat (@deurmat)
9th April 2011, 14:21
agree BasCB, it’s really starting to annoy me :p
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
9th April 2011, 18:03
Typical Vettel. Stay quiet until you need to be at the top the most.
Calum
9th April 2011, 10:17
I heard P2 was more beneficial here ;)
RIISE (@riise)
9th April 2011, 10:19
Hamilton the best driver of the day. God what a close race we are going to see tomorrow.
Lemon (@lemon)
9th April 2011, 10:21
Its gonna be good!! and am I right in saying that if lewis is on the right side of the grid (as the diagram suggests), then he’s on the clean side and there may be some action into turn 1?
Icthyes (@icthyes)
9th April 2011, 10:31
Sides are less important nowadays. There are some tracks where there was little difference anyway, but because the Pirellis don’t rubber in as much as the Bridgestones, the racing line doesn’t have as much of an advantage as before.
RIISE (@riise)
9th April 2011, 10:32
Plus the track will cleared of all the discarded rubber so in essence both sides are pretty equal.
Here’s hoping for a Vettel mistake, I’m getting bored of that boy.
RIISE (@riise)
9th April 2011, 10:34
*will be
Lemon (@lemon)
9th April 2011, 10:51
+1
bosyber (@bosyber)
9th April 2011, 11:33
That, and Maldonado kept clearing the inside line for himself and the others on the even grid slots – so that was his plan in taking that line all weekend!
Oliver
9th April 2011, 10:42
Even if you don’t get layers of rubber on track, things like dust that don’t get swept off the none racing line also can affect starts.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
9th April 2011, 11:35
But outside the racing line should be filled with Pirelli marbles from what we’ve read so far.
Have they changed their coumpounds?
Icthyes (@icthyes)
9th April 2011, 13:42
The track will be cleared of that stuff.
BasCB (@bascb)
9th April 2011, 16:11
Actually Autosport reports, that the pole position has been moved from the left side to the right side of the track on request from the drivers.
With the given reason being the buildup of marbles on the left side!
US_Peter (@us_peter)
9th April 2011, 18:56
Interesting. Thanks for that tidbit.
Robyn
9th April 2011, 15:35
This article gives an explanation of why pole position has been switched to the right-hand side.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
9th April 2011, 10:19
I don’t know about you guys, but when there’s a really intense battle for pole going on, where a batted eyelid can mean the difference between first and fourth – the kind of battle we haven’t seen in years – I don’t want to see any of it. I’m totally disinterested in it. Because what I really want is to ride shotgun with a guy who has already admitted he cannot challenge for pole, driving around half a second off the pace and instead just have the commentators tell me that four other guys are all fighting for pole, and maybe catcha glimpse of them as they cross the line.
Thank you for that, Mr. TV Director.
RIISE (@riise)
9th April 2011, 10:22
I was disappointed that they were clearly not bothered by positions 6th to 10th, ridiculous. Especially when Heidfeld deserved some credit there.
Lachie (@lachie)
9th April 2011, 10:22
Ahh see I don’t think you get it.
See Alonso is driving a Ferrari.
Conversly the Ferrari is being driven by Fernando Alonso.
:(
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
9th April 2011, 10:29
So if Alonso, for whatever reason, had been eliminated before Q3 and the four-way battle for pole raged as it did, would we be forced to watch him give and interview to the Spanish media from a distance for ten minutes while the pole contenders were going blow-for-blow?
And if so, why?
BasCB (@bascb)
9th April 2011, 10:38
I guess we would have seen him pacing through the Ferrari garage like last year in Monaco!
That shot of him sitting there was actually pretty good, nicely showed how he feels about it. But they should have shown him after the top 4 had their runs.
Lachie (@lachie)
9th April 2011, 12:11
Sorry, the sarcasm didn’t come through properly.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
9th April 2011, 18:58
You have to use the tag…
US_Peter (@us_peter)
9th April 2011, 19:01
Whoops, my sarcasm tags didn’t show. Let’s see if this works:
<sarcasm><sarcasm/>
US_Peter (@us_peter)
9th April 2011, 19:02
Something like that. Obviously the slash was in the wrong spot, but you get the idea.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
9th April 2011, 19:10
<sarcasm>I love html!</sarcasm>
Laranja Mecanica
9th April 2011, 12:48
For your personal enjoyment of course. Go tell your nanny to fix it.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
9th April 2011, 10:29
Haha, you are cruel PM but you make me smile sometimes.
Also, compared to last time out, Alonso’s 6 tenths have gone down to 4 ;)
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
9th April 2011, 10:36
Harsh, maybe – but true. It’s a bit like saying “It’s the final lap, and Hamilton and Vettel are within spitting distance of one another; this will go right down to the line. But we’re not going to show you that. Instead, here’s Fernando Alonso: he started fifth, he’s currently in fifth, there hasn’t a car in sight of im for the entire race and the most we can say for him so far is that he showed up. We’ll check back in with Vettel and Hamilton in the press conference to see who won.”
driftin
9th April 2011, 10:46
Was that the BBC coverage? The coverage I saw was just fine.
Todfod (@todfod)
9th April 2011, 11:16
I think PM is referring to a 5 sec shot of Alonso in the garage looking at his timing screens. Apparently those crucial 5 seconds changed the face of qualifying entirely. It was utter chaos, as during those 5 seconds, we didn’t know what times the 4 front runners were putting in. And it wasn’t until they pulled in to parc ferme that we realised that Vettel had taken pole. All us fans missed the excitement of Hamilton’s out lap, and for that some of us will never forgive BBC’s 5 second shot of Fernando.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
9th April 2011, 13:33
No, no, you miss the point. I’m talking about the last few minutes of qualifying. For some reason, the TV director seemed to think that we should follow Alonso around for an entire lap despite the fact that Ferrari had already admitted that they wouldn’t be a pole contender. And by the time we got into the final sector, it was painfully obvious that Ferrari weren’t just playing the underdogs.
Meanwhile, Button, Hamilton, Vettel and Webber were all out on track, and all of them had demonstrated that they could easily take pole position. They all had one lap in them each, and that lap would have to be perfect if they wanted to take pole. But we didn’t see any of that. Instead, we followed Alonso around for a lap while these guys were all putting in the first crucial sectors that would make them or break them. We didn’t actually pick them up until they were well into the final sector. I’m just wondering what the hell the TV director was thinking when he made that decision.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
9th April 2011, 11:53
It almost seems like you have pathological hatred for Ferrari and Alonso in particular.
It really spoils your very acute racing analysis. You’re really very good but being so anti Ferrari can’t certainly can’t be your “raison d’etre” as it so often appears in your posts.
I’ve learned a few things from the way I react to your posts as well.
Just give it some thought M8.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
9th April 2011, 14:39
To be fair I don;t see anything anti-Ferrari about it. It could have been anyone.
Warwick (@warwick)
9th April 2011, 18:14
I agree with PM on this one… Watch from here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b0109l4s/?t=2h03m.
I thought the commentators did a pretty good job of filling us in.
TFLB
9th April 2011, 10:41
Formula 1 is not just about the front-runners. Also, some people would actually find it interesting to watch someone who is pushing harder than anyone else to try to out-perform a poor car.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
9th April 2011, 13:28
It is when pole could go to any one of four guys, all of whom only have a do-or-die flying lap in them.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
9th April 2011, 19:07
I agree. Sometimes qualifying can be boring, with no real fight for pole. We then get a cracking qualifying session, and FOM chooses to ride on board with someone that most fans new yesterday would not be challenging for pole. Oh well, at least there’s live timing to follow along in sector times. It was fun watching Hamilton go purple then Vettel immediately behind him squash that sector and go purple again himself. Too bad we didn’t actually get to SEE that though. Well said Prisoner Monkeys!
bosyber (@bosyber)
9th April 2011, 11:34
Yes, that was exciting wasn’t it.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
9th April 2011, 11:36
I agree PM. This is fantastic!
infy (@infy)
9th April 2011, 17:26
I actually thought The show of Alonso was deserved considering they didnt show he AT ALL in the practice sessions. All we knew was that he was slow, but we didnt get to see how the car was handling. All the while, we had to follow the even slower cars around.
So yeh. It was about time they showed us Alonso. Better late than never.
Lachie (@lachie)
9th April 2011, 10:19
Tomorrow’s race Vettel gets off the line unhindered, Hamilton, Webber and Button are slow and fight amongst themselves at least one of whom loses position to someone behind making a stonking start.
No one drives at Vettel’s speed and he wins lights to flag.
How can it possibly go any other way?
Icthyes (@icthyes)
9th April 2011, 10:20
Two weeks ago people were saying that 0.778s gap was just going to get bigger – how wrong they were!
Personally disappointed that Vettel snatched it but it was a great effort, we shall have to see how things like tyre life will pan out in the race.
And well done Mark Webbber, 3 tenths is still bigger than you’d want but I don’t see anyone saying Button was washed up from having a similar gap to his team-mate (and in Australia too).
BasCB (@bascb)
9th April 2011, 10:33
That was because Button seemed more satisfied they were really taking the fight to the Bulls. He perfectly knew he shot his tyres in the last corner.
I agree with you, that I would have liked any of these 3 guys to beat Vettel to it (if only because of the stupid line afterward on radio). On the other hand, he did not just drive away with it but had to really did deep to just manage to be in front, so that was a great improvement over the trend in the past races.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
9th April 2011, 10:40
You know, Hamilton used to say that. I’ve always wondered if Vettel “borrowed” it.
Doance (@doance)
9th April 2011, 10:21
qual is more exciting than the race. that was heart-pounding gut-busting excitement!
dissapointing webber :( but its good that there more of a possibility of the positions changing in the race now, so webber can still win
really
9th April 2011, 10:44
The race should determine the best.
RIISE (@riise)
9th April 2011, 12:07
Really? =P
But yes I believe this is the perfect track to gauge who’s the best Driver/Team.
Mads
9th April 2011, 12:22
Great qualifying. That was absolutely stunningly tense. I just hope the race finishes in the same order as they start because that would really boost my prediction score, as all would be in the right places in top 5, but on the same time i hope for a very intense race between Red Bull and McLaren. But it is really shaping up to be a good race.
geo132 (@geo132)
9th April 2011, 16:05
I’m hearing pole position has changed its position on the grid? Moved to the right side instead of left. How true is that?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
9th April 2011, 16:14
It is – just had confirmation. Have changed the grid layout above to reflect that.
geo132 (@geo132)
9th April 2011, 16:22
So, which side the drivers were talking about today, the ‘new’ one? Or should i ask, which side is cleaner?
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
9th April 2011, 18:07
Good qualifying session. Awful stuff from Williams, better stuff from Mercedes and good strong stuff for Sauber (especially Kobayashi!) and Di Resta. Sutil had a bit of a terrible day :/
I expected no less from Vettel once I knew the session was going to be dry. He keeps his head down until the last 3 or 4 minutes and just destroys everyone. Classic Vettel.
That said, Hamilton did well considering that flat spot he got.
kbcusa
9th April 2011, 18:38
It’s interesting that with the five teams at the front, both drivers are lined up front to back, RedBull 1&3, McLaren 2&4, Ferrari 5&7, Renault 6&8, Mercedes 9&11. When is the last time that happened? And what will it mean for the start?
disjunto (@disjunto)
9th April 2011, 18:47
you’re missing all the team links on the right side of the grid