Romain Grosjean says progressing through to Q2 was a surprise but reckons Lotus could have made it through to the final segment of qualifying. Lotus has endured a miserable season so far with reliability issues plaguing the E22, but Grosjean will start from 15th on the grid after taking advantage of wet conditions in Malaysia. "It was definitely a good surprise to reach Q2 today, and I think we would have had the potential to reach Q3 had it not been for a miscommunication towards […]

Nico Hulkenberg is confident that he can finish in the points again after progressing through to the top 10 shootout in Malaysia. Hulkenberg set the seventh fastest time during qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix and the German is confident that he can build on his sixth place from the previous race in Australia. "It was pretty challenging with the weather conditions today," he said. "There was so much rain, standing water and spray. Visibility was an issue and it was hard to see your […]

Kevin Magnussen says an off during Q2 affected his performance during the top 10 shootout at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Magnussen slid wide at the final corner and bounced through the gravel before recovering to the pit lane. He made it through to Q3 and set the eighth fastest time. "The car isn’t too bad in these rainy conditions, but I think we just got the timings a bit wrong," he said. "I’m still learning about Intermediates and Full Wets, so it was hard to […]

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel has conceded that beating the Mercedes drivers during the Malaysian Grand Prix will be a difficult proposition. Vettel missed out on pole position to Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton by 0.055s at Sepang and reckons his rivals have a better package. "I think we always have a chance to beat everyone, that’s why we’re here," he said. "Obviously, as I said, in terms of a package, I think they have the most competitive package. "Lewis isn’t digging around, equally, Nico [Rosberg] is […]

Fernando Alonso praised his Ferrari mechanics for repairing his car during qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Alonso made contact with Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat during Q2, with the impact damaging the Spaniard's F14T. Alonso was able to return to the track and eventually qualified in fourth place. "I am really pleased with this fourth place, because to get into Q3 with the problem I had with the steering is really a good result," he said. "In a season when it takes a lot of […]

Kimi Raikkonen admitted that sixth place was a disappointment during qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Raikkonen appeared more comfortable during dry conditions in Malaysia compared to the season opening race in Australia but the Finn was unable to extract the maximum from his Ferrari during wet conditions at Sepang. "The rain made this qualifying very difficult," he said. "I knew that in the wet it would not be easy, but I didn’t expect to have so many problems. I had poor traction and on […]

Valtteri Bottas has been handed a grid penalty for the second successive race after he was deemed to have impeded Daniel Ricciardo during qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Finn has also had his license endorsed with two penalty points. Bottas was on Intermediate tyres during Q2 and was deemed to have held up Ricciardo, who was on the faster Wet tyres at Sepang. Bottas failed to make it through to Q3 while Ricciardo made the top 10 shootout and set the fifth fastest […]

A happy Lewis Hamilton has targeted picking up his first Malaysian Grand Prix victory after securing pole position during a wet qualifying session at Sepang. Hamilton edged out reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel by 0.055s as rain struck Sepang and Hamilton is seeking to make amends after he was forced to retire from the Australian Grand Prix earlier this month. "I'm really happy with our result today," he said. "It was a very close session and I'm relieved to come away with pole position as […]

Kamui Kobayashi has joked that he just wants the chance to race properly after he was knocked out during Q1 for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Kobayashi set the 20th fastest time during a wet qualifying session after the Japanese driver encountered more car problems during the final practice session. "Even with limited running we were still able to make a bit of progress, and with the data generated from my teammate’s car we were able to set the car up for qualifying, but obviously this […]

Marcus Ericsson has apologised to his Caterham team but accepts that crashes are part of being a rookie after he lost control of his CT05 during qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Ericsson dipped a wheel on the white line exiting turn three in wet conditions and collided with the barrier, damaging his car and causing Q1 to be red flagged. "That was my first ever wet running in Formula 1, in any session, so from the first lap it was all a new experience […]

Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position during a qualifying session which was delayed by 50 minutes due to torrential rain in Malaysia. Hamilton edged out Sebastian Vettel by 0.055s at a wet Sepang to clinch his second successive pole position. Hamilton’s team-mate, Nico Rosberg, will start from third on the grid, ahead of Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo. Kimi Räikkönen was sixth for Ferrari, ahead of Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen. Jean-Éric Vergne progressed through to Q3 and will start from ninth, while Jenson Button opted […]

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