Malaysia – Qualifying: Hamilton on pole in the rain, ahead of Vettel and Rosberg

The deluge falls on Kuala Lumpur at 8:50 AM and it becomes clear that the session will be delayed. After several postponements, the session starts at 9:50 AM.

Q1: Many drivers are waiting at the exit of the pit lane, most on intermediate tires: the FIA probably waited too long to start this session. And as soon as the green flag waves, Marcus Ericsson is the first to make an impression in this session with a Caterham that stalls at the start. In a small surprise, Jenson Button is on wet tires, and McLaren asks him to do a timed lap with those tires, even though a few drops are falling.

And the first lap time of the session is 1:57.309 with Lewis Hamilton, before being beaten by a few hundredths by his teammate Nico Rosberg. And these two drivers are well ahead of the pack, with more than a second margin on the first lap. Sebastian Vettel is called back to the pits by his team, a problem is detected on the car.

In mid-Q2, Romain Grosjean is informed that the rain is expected to intensify. The two McLaren drivers manage to improve as the session progresses, making it into the top 16 drivers. This is also the case for Sebastian Vettel, who is the first non-Mercedes driver to set a time in the 1:57 range for the third fastest time. At the back of the grid, Marussia and Caterham seem doomed to remain there, while a red flag is deployed! Marcus Ericsson made an error, running over a kerb and hitting the wall. The Caterham returned to the track with a broken suspension and carrying a distance marker, narrowly missing Esteban Gutierrez’s Sauber by a few meters.

Eliminated from Q1: Maldonado, Sutil, Bianchi, Kobayashi, Chilton and Ericsson

Q2: Several drivers line up at the pit exit before the green light, and rain tires are necessary, unlike in Q1. Some of them have chosen intermediate tires anyway, but it’s a mistake as a red flag appears. Fernando Alonso and Daniil Kvyat have collided, leaving debris right in the middle of a corner. The Ferrari seems quite damaged on the front-left, and Daniil Kvyat has a broken wing. It’s hard to assign blame to one of the drivers, as the Toro Rosso driver arrived quite quickly while the Spaniard cut directly in front of him taking his turn.

After this red flag, the drivers line up again in the pit lane and set off for a lap. Fortunately for Ferrari, the damages are repairable and Fernando Alonso returns to the track. Hamilton and Rosberg once again take the top spots, while it’s Kevin Magnussen who records the 3rd fastest time. But Daniel Ricciardo makes a strong impact and manages to separate the two Mercedes drivers, while Sebastian Vettel succeeds after several attempts to just get ahead of the Australian driver for second place. At Lotus, Romain Grosjean manages to secure the 10th best time, a notable performance given the hole the Enstone team seemed to be in.

Kimi Räikkönen manages to improve to secure the 7th fastest time just behind Fernando Alonso, while Kevin Magnussen makes a mistake at the last braking point, resulting in a big slide slowed down by the gravel, allowing him to return to the pits. In the final moments, Kvyat and then Vergne take the 10th place, while both Williams drivers fail in Q2. Romain Grosjean in his Lotus finishes 16th, while Sergio Perez is 14th, 1.7 seconds behind his teammate Nico Hülkenberg, who is 5th.

Eliminated from Q2: Kvyat, Gutierrez, Massa, Perez, Bottas, and Grosjean

Q3: Intermediate tires are not sufficient for the water on the track. Kimi Räikkönen, having started on wet tires, will therefore be the first to set a timed lap with 2:01.218, but Lewis Hamilton clearly sets the mark at 1:59.431. And for the first time, Sebastian Vettel seems truly capable of challenging the Mercedes by setting a time less than a tenth off the fastest lap. Fernando Alonso managed to set the 3rd fastest time, ahead of Nico Rosberg and Daniel Ricciardo.

At mid-session, Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Rosberg, Ricciardo, Räikkönen, Magnussen, Hülkenberg, Vergne, Button.

During the final laps, conditions seem to worsen, and only Nico Rosberg manages to improve to set the 3rd fastest time.

So it’s Lewis Hamilton who takes pole position ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg. Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo follow the leading trio, while the McLarens have fallen behind in this Q3.

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying Standings: