Like Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso before him, another driver is celebrating his birthday on race weekend, in the person of Max Verstappen today in Sepang.<\/p>\n
\nHappy 20th, Max! \ud83c\udf82\ud83c\udf89\ud83c\udf81#MalaysiaGP<\/a> \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfe #Quali<\/a> #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/A5T8XBb67G<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) 30 septembre 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Trouble continues for Sebastian Vettel<\/b><\/p>\n
At the green light, the Saubers and Romain Grosjean’s Haas are the first cars to present themselves. Taking to the track in turn, the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers have chosen the soft tires to record their lap times, while the rest of the field seems to prefer the super-softs.<\/p>\n
Lewis Hamilton takes the best time after 5 minutes of the session, but Kimi R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen quickly surpasses him with a 1:32.277, a tenth ahead of the Briton. Things seem to be getting worse for Sebastian Vettel, who, after his engine change before qualifying, is forced to return to his pit announcing a possible lack of turbo on the radio.<\/p>\n
\nProblems for VET \ud83d\udcfb: “It’s like I have no turbo”#MalaysiaGP<\/a> \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfe #Quali<\/a> #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/8Sd5Gceb5h<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) 30 septembre 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Mid-session standings: Hamilton, Verstappen, R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen, Bottas, Ricciardo, Ocon, P\u00e9rez, Vand, Mas, Hulk, Sainz, Magnussen, Gasly, Palmer, Grosjean, Wehrlein, Ericsson, Vettel, and Alonso. The German and the Spaniard have no recorded times.<\/p>\n
Fernando Alonso ultimately jumped to 10th place after his first attempt while in the Ferrari garage, the team was busy working on Vettel’s SF70H, which was still immobilized. A confident Lewis Hamilton stepped out and took advantage of the last 4 minutes to temporarily leave the Mercedes garage.<\/p>\n
The drivers at risk of elimination are: Gasly, Wehrlein, Grosjean, Ericsson, and Vettel.<\/p>\n
Dramatic turn of events in the pits, Vettel’s Ferrari engine is cut off, the German will start last tomorrow! No time recorded for him.<\/p>\n
In a final attempt, Pierre Gasly saves his place in Q2 in the most impressive way by moving from the elimination zone to 8th place. Romain Grosjean, despite an improvement, is eliminated by Lance Stroll, who saves his 14th place. Jolyon Palmer also improves and records a 9th time, ahead of his teammate.<\/p>\n
The eliminated are: Grosjean, Magnussen, Wehrlein, Ericsson, and Vettel.<\/b><\/p>\n
\nINITIAL CLASSIFICATION: END OF Q1<\/p>\n
Vettel out \ud83d\ude32<\/p>\n
Gasly in the top 10 \ud83d\udc4f<\/p>\n
Don’t miss Q2 – it’s minutes away#MalaysiaGP<\/a> \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfe #Quali<\/a> #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/n9oDgRZlQz<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) 30 septembre 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
New track record for Valtteri Bottas<\/b><\/p>\n
Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton waste no time in taking to the track, followed by the Force India drivers and Kimi R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen. Bottas, being the first to start, completes a lap in 1:31.272, but his British teammate ups the ante with a 1:31.009, setting a new track record. Coming out strong, it’s R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen who hits hard and drops below the 1:31 mark to reclaim the track record with a 1:30.926. The Finn is under pressure as Verstappen is just 0.005 seconds behind him.<\/p>\n
Ranking point: R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen, Verstappen, Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo, Ocon, H\u00fclkenberg, Massa, Alonso, Palmer. The ones at risk are Vandoorne, P\u00e9rez, Sainz, Gasly, and Stroll.<\/b><\/p>\n
Less than 3 minutes before the end of the session, everyone gets back on track except R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen and Verstappen, confident in their times. It’s chaos on the track because all the drivers went out at the same time, preventing proper preparation before attacking the clock.<\/p>\n
Bottas is the first to pass under the checkered flag, recording a new track record in 1:30.803. The McLarens make it through and both manage to reach Q3, which eliminates the Williams and Toro Rosso.<\/p>\n
The eliminated are: Massa, Palmer, Stroll, Sainz, and Gasly.<\/b><\/p>\n
\nINITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF Q2): \ud83d\ude80 Blistering lap from BOT, \ud83d\udc4f Both @McLarenF1<\/a>‘s in Q3 #MalaysiaGP<\/a> \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfe #Quali<\/a> #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/zMa77BTyB8<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) 30 septembre 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The 70th pole position of Lewis Hamilton<\/b><\/p>\n
Who among R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen, the Mercedes, or the Red Bulls will take pole at the end of the 12 minutes? The first to start are Bottas and Hamilton, with R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen waiting in the wings. In the first sector, Hamilton and R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen are neck and neck, and the same in the second. At the line, Hamilton sets a 1:30.076 while R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen loses out in the final sector and ends up 0.232 behind the Brit. Ricciardo and Verstappen are 39 thousandths apart ahead of Valtteri Bottas.<\/p>\n
Behind the top 3, we find P\u00e9rez in 6th position ahead of Ocon, Vandoorne, Alonso, and H\u00fclkenberg who did not take the track.<\/p>\n
The last run begins for the drivers with 3 minutes remaining in the session, Nico H\u00fclkenberg finally leaves his pit. Daniel Ricciardo is the first to crash into the gloves, he’s two-tenths behind in sector 1 but improves his own time, which doesn’t help his lap time but he’s the only one able to do another lap.<\/p>\n
The red bullet improves everywhere but the Finn falls short by 45 thousandths of a second to Lewis Hamilton, who claims the 70th pole position of his career. Disappointingly, Bottas finishes behind the Red Bulls, while the “best of the rest” is none other than Esteban Ocon, who secured 6th place at the end of the final run.<\/p>\n
\nINITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF QUALIFYING): Confirmation of an incredible turnaround by @LewisHamilton<\/a> #MalaysiaGP<\/a> \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfe #Quali<\/a> #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ENum47cARD<\/a><\/p>\n