Report – Saturday – McLaren misses out on the front row

The British team was warned! Even though the race has not yet taken place, Ferrari wants its revenge. This is on the way to realization because McLaren was unable to take the first two positions, ultimately held by the Scuderia.

After a mediocre third practice session where Hamilton and Kovalainen only managed the 11th and 16th fastest times, the two drivers were able to regroup and easily make it to the final stage of qualifying (Q3). The Finn is ahead of the Briton on the second row, more than a second behind Massa, the pole-sitter.

Heikki Kovalainen – 16th and 8th (3rd before penalty):

« I am happy to have qualified in third position for the second consecutive time. Of course, we would have preferred a position on the front row, but Felipe and Kimi have been very strong here since the beginning of the weekend. Therefore, third place is the maximum I could do. »

« I improved through all the free practice sessions, and my fast lap in Q3 was really good. Now, we have to wait to find out what race strategies we’ll implement. Plus, with the rain expected tomorrow, anything is possible. »

Lewis Hamilton – 11th and 9th (4th before penalty):

« It seems that during the qualifiers, I had a little less grip than during the morning test session. So, I struggled a bit too much at that level to hope for a better performance. It was difficult to gain speed in traffic, which affected my ability to warm up my brakes and especially my tires.

« To be honest, I didn’t do a perfect job today, and I will study the available data to see how I can go faster tomorrow. We need to stay positive because we are still in a good position and anything can happen in the race. »

Ron Dennis – Director McLaren F1

« A good job from both drivers, with two strong positions on the starting grid for tomorrow’s race. Of course, it’s always better to start on the front row rather than the second. But we expected to face opposition here in Malaysia. The important thing is to have a good race strategy. »

Norbert Haug – Mercedes Motorsport Director:

« McLaren-Mercedes finds itself on the second row, it’s a good result for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. Congratulations to Ferrari for securing pole position and second place during the qualifications. With rather pessimistic weather forecasts for tomorrow’s race, anything is possible. »