Malaysian F1 GP 2008 - Qualifying :Malaysia Mighty Massa heads Ferrari front row at Sepang

Today in the Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying, it was Ferrari’s turn to shine in qualifying as they claimed the first row of the grid. It was Felipe Massa who grabbed pole with a 1:35.748 and Kimi Raikkonen behind.

Heikki Kovalainen out qualified Lewis Hamilton for the 3rd spot with Hamilton grabbing 4th on the grid. So an all Ferrari front row, and an all McLaren Mercedes second row is what will start the Malaysian Grand Prix.

During Q3, and after flying laps, both McLaren drivers were ordered to slow down on their way back to the pits to conserve fuel. While doing this, Both Nick Heidfeld and Fernando Alonso, on flying laps seemed to be impeded by the slow MP4-23s. In particular you could easily see Nick Heidfeld having to weave through them because they remained on the racing line.

Nick Heidfeld described the McLarens as:
“cruising on the racing line”.

After being summoned by the race stewards to explain their actions on track, both Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen have been penalized 5 grid positions. This puts Kovalainen starting 8th and Hamilton starting 9th.

Back to qualifying. Next was the usually fast qualifier Jarno Trulli in his Toyota followed by Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld in that order.
It was Williams Toyota who suffered terribly with the new track surface with Nico Rosberg not able to advance from Q2 and finished 16th. Kazuki (crash) Nakajima, who everybody now wants to stay clear of managed a disappointing 18th on the grid. Nico Rosberg said the Williams is not coping with the new track surface well and cannot find enough grip to keep from sliding around everywhere.

Honda continue to gain ground with a fairly solid qualifying round and the team are especially pleased with Rubens Barichello’s result considering that after a gearbox change in final practice had to run with Jenson Button’s setup.

Initial Grid (Before Penalty)

1 F. Massa Ferrari 1:35.748
2 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:36.230
3 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:36.613
4 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:36.709
5 J. Trulli Toyota 1:36.711
6 R. Kubica BMW 1:36.727
7 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:36.753
8 M. Webber Red Bull 1:37.009
9 F. Alonso Renault 1:38.450
10 T. Glock Toyota 1:39.656
11 J. Button Honda 1:35.208
12 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:35.408
13 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:35.562
14 R. Barrichello Honda 1:35.622
15 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:35.648
16 N. Rosberg Williams 1:35.670
17 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:36.240
18 K. Nakajima Williams 1:36.388
19 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:36.677
20 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:37.087
21 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:37.101
22 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:37.481


Revised Grid (After Penalty)

1 F. Massa Ferrari 1:35.748
2 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:36.230
3 J. Trulli Toyota 1:36.711
4 R. Kubica BMW 1:36.727
5 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:36.753
6 M. Webber Red Bull 1:37.009
7 F. Alonso Renault 1:38.450
8 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:36.613
9 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:36.709
10 T. Glock Toyota 1:39.656
11 J. Button Honda 1:35.208
12 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:35.408
13 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:35.562
14 R. Barrichello Honda 1:35.622
15 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:35.648
16 N. Rosberg Williams 1:35.670
17 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:36.240
18 K. Nakajima Williams 1:36.388
19 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:36.677
20 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:37.087
21 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:37.101
22 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:37.481