Lewis Hamilton took pole position ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix by just 0.074 seconds. Sebastian Vettel managed to separate the two Mercedes’ as Nico Rosberg ended the day third.

Rain delayed the final session by around 30 minutes as a sudden downpour during Q2 brought things to a standstill. Kimi Raikkonen was one of those caught out by the rain as he qualified 11th, both McLaren’s continue to struggle as they only managed 17th and 18th. Max Verstappen continued to impress as he went sixth.

The rain was threatening as early as Q1, with lightning striking in the background. However there were no real shocks in the first Qualifying session as the expected drivers went out. Manor’s Will Stevens had a fuel pressure issue and failed to make it out of the pits in Qualifying for the second race running.

However there are question marks over whether team mate Roberto Merhi will race. He qualified 19th but was a mere four tenths outside of the 107% rule, meaning the stewards may forbid the young Spaniard to race, with Manor applying to the stewards in order to find out. Ahead of them were the two McLaren’s of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. After an impressive debut outing, Felipe Nasr went 16th fastest, bringing the young Brazilian back down to Earth.

Returning to the cockpit after his smash in Barcelona pre-season testing, Alonso couldn’t have a strong debut outing with the beleaguered team. Button’s only saving grace was that he outqualified his team mate. However both drivers sounded positive about the MP4-30. “It is a lot closer than in Australia and I think our race pace is better than our qualifying pace.” Button said. “We should be happy with the step taken, but there is still a long way to go.” Alonso agreed with his team-mate: “We know we are struggling with the pace but we are much closer now.

Hamilton was fastest in two of the three sessions, but almost missed out on Q3. As rain looked imminent, the cars all flooded out on track to get their times in before the rain fell. Some cars were caught in the traffic and paid for it, including Raikkonen. Kimi could only go 11th fastest and after the rain fall it was impossible for him to go quicker, meaning his fate was sealed. Hamilton was only eighth fastest but squeezed through, despite not being happy with his Mercedes garage.

The World Champion wasn’t happy at being so far down the order, but managed to get through, with Raikkonen, Pastor Maldonado, Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz. Disappointing from the young Spaniard, who performed well in Q1, but like Nasr, Sainz has been brought back down to Earth.

After a 30 minute delay due to the adverse weather conditions, racing got back underway, with the cars all lining up at the pit exit to get on track. The question was whether intermediates or wets were the best call. Drivers on intermediates were going a lot faster and so everyone on wets switched over to the faster tyre.

As the usual flurry of times piled in at the chequered flag, Verstappen was running as high as third at one point. But slipped back down to sixth. The two Red Bull’s displaced the young Dutchman as Daniel Ricciardo went fourth with Daniil Kvyat in fifth. Lotus’ Romain Grosjean and the two Williams’ decided to pin their hopes on one lap. This didn’t have the desired effect however, as Massa went seventh, Grosjean eighth and Valterri Bottas ninth.

Marcus Ericsson made up the top ten on his first ever appearance in the shootout in the Sauber. The top three wasn’t exactly a surprise, but with Vettel separating the Mercedes’, Ferrari certainly look stronger. Their first front row start since the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix. But it’s Hamilton who goes fastest after a bit of a battle with team mate Rosberg. An on-track altercation between the two may mean words will be had between the two. But Hamilton is on pole as he chases his second consecutive win this season.

# Driver Team
     
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull
5 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull
6 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso
7 Felipe Massa Williams
8 Romain Grosjean Lotus
9 Valterri Bottas Williams
10 Marcus Ericsson Sauber
11 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari
12 Pastor Maldonado Lotus
13 Nico Hulkenberg Force India
14 Sergio Perez Force India
15 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso
16 Felipe Nasr Sauber
17 Jenson Button McLaren
18 Fernando Alonso McLaren
19 Roberto Merhi* Manor
20 Will Stevens* Manor

* Outside of 107% Rule.

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About the author
Aaron Irwin
Formula 1 editor, Football League co-editor at VAVEL UK. Writer since July 2014. Hull City correspondent. Currently studying for a Journalism degree at Hull School of Art and Design.