FORMULA 1 Live

Malaysian GP - Qualifying

Saturday April 4, 2009 | Finished

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  1. Button takes pole in Malaysia

    Button takes pole in Malaysia

    Jenson Button clinched his second pole position in a row for the new Brawn GP team at the Malaysian Grand Prix. More

Qualifying live standing

P. Driver Team Time
1 Jenson Button Brawn 1:35.181
2 Jarno Trulli Toyota 0:00.504
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 0:00.749
4 Rubens Barrichello Brawn 0:01.882
5 Timo Glock Toyota 0:00.921
6 Nico Rosberg Williams 0:00.981
7 Mark Webber Red Bull 0:01.028
8 Robert Kubica BMW 0:01.337
9 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 0:01.401
10 Fernando Alonso Renault 0:02.890
11 Nick Heidfeld BMW 0:00.000
12 Kazuki Nakajima Williams 0:00.019
13 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 0:00.139
14 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 0:00.155
15 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso 0:00.662
16 Felipe Massa Ferrari 0:00.873
17 Nelson Piquet Renault 0:00.939
18 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 0:01.139
19 Adrian Sutil Force India 0:01.182
20 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 0:01.338

Live Commentary

  1. 11:06 Lewis Hamilton will be 12th on the grid - "It's what we expected - the car doesn't feel terrible, it just isn't able to carry the speed through the corners", said the reigning world champion afterwards.

  2. 11:04 The rain stayed off - whether it will or not for the race remains to be seen. Either way, it's advantage Brawn once again - but those Toyotas looks as if they will be real contenders again at this circuit.

  3. 11:02 It'll be Button in pole followed by Trulli - Vettel and Barrichello in third and fourth have grid penalties that will put them down the grid ten and five spots respectively.

  4. 11:01 Trulli crosses the line - but no! He's 0.092 seconds slower than Button, an extraordinary less than a tenth, but unaccountably he drifted across the track on the finishing straight instead of coming dead straight down! He could have had it there, but Button is on pole again!

  5. 11:00 Nico Rosberg goes fourth - Raikkonen is down the field a bit now - and then Vettel takes second. But Trulli is still in touch!

  6. 11:00 Button and Vettel are both on flyers... Button crosses - and he's quickest by half a second! 1:35.181!! Astonishing stuff!

  7. 10:59 Barrichello goes quickest! 1:35.651 - though of course the Brazilian will have that 10-spot penalty to contend with.

  8. 10:58 Raikkonen loses it a bit on the final sector, but still takes fourth. He'd be happy-ish to start from there...

  9. 10:57 Raikkonen's back out on track now - and is fastest in the first sector!

  10. 10:56 Trulli puts in another flyer - and trumps Button by four thousandths of a second to sit in pole!

  11. 10:55 Sebastian Vettel comes in, and is second at this stage! Lovely lap from the talented Red Bull driver...

  12. 10:53 Everything changes now as the cars have more fuel on board in anticipation of the start - but it's still Button, Trulli and Barrichello who are at the top of the time board so far. rosberg is looking good too... but Vettel and Glock are on flyers...

  13. 10:50 The top-10 shootout begins, and it's Kimi Raikkonen who's first out on the track.

  14. 10:43 Last man over the line is Jarno Trulli, putting in a 1:33.9 to show Button that he's not far off the Brawn pace after all, and team-mate Timo Glock is just behind him in third for the session. The shoot-out looks like it could be anybody's - but Button certainly looks like the favourite at the moment.

  15. 10:42 Alonso pinches 10th place at the death, while Heidfeld isn't quick enough. And the McLarens are both out of the top 10!

  16. 10:41 Glock is up to 6th, while Hamilton looks like he doesn't have the pace to make the top 10 here.

  17. 10:40 Kovalainen is just slower than Hamilton for the moment. And then Button crosses the line in 1:33.784! An astonishing lap - Brawn GP are just showing off now!

  18. 10:39 Raikkonen improves to sixth place with a decent lap - but he's only two tenths behind Trulli, the top guys are jam-packed together at the top just now...

  19. 10:38 Kovalainen is out and looking solid - he could knock his McLaren team-mate out of the top 10 here. That'd make for fun and games in the team garage tonight!

  20. 10:35 Kubica is leaving it late once again, while Glock is also looking at an early exit. Hamilton is going back to the pits now and will come back out at the very end...

  21. 10:34 Lewis Hamilton comes through... and takes ninth place, but Webber follows him over the line and consigns him to 10th. The reigning champion is on the verge of missing the shoot-out!

  22. 10:31 Jenson Button puts in a storming 1:34.409, proving that once again Brawn have the pace of the field... but then Toyota's Trulli records a wonderful 1:34.250! Best lap of the week by a hefty margin; Trulli's team-mate Glock needs a good run, though: he's hanging on by his fingernails to 10th spot at the moment.

  23. 10:29 Nice start from the Japanese driver, who steers his Williams to a 1:35.118 that's a solid time... Raikkonen isn't far behind at 1:35.202, but he did so with a slide off the track! Where has it all gone wrong? Ferrari had been looking great this week...

  24. 10:28 The second qualifying session gets under way, and Nakajima is the first car out on a flying lap.

  25. 10:26 Ferrari news is that the team have been struggling to conserve their tyres this week, and didn't want to waste a set of softs when they thought they had done enough. But great laps from some of the guys down the field meant the gamble misfired horrendously.

  26. 10:22 Rubens Barrichello comes through at the end to record the fastest lap of the session, but that's an extraordinary turn-up for Ferrari.

  27. 10:21 Ferrari trying to conserve tyres have made a huge error of judgement: Raikkonen is safely through in 14th - just - but Massa will start 16th! Unbelievable tactical error by the Italians!

  28. 10:20 Felipe Massa has been overtaken in a flurry of cars at the end! He's outside the top 15 and will start from almost the back!

  29. 10:20 Kubica comes through to make 8th spot and get through... and huge relief for Hamilton who jumps to 9th!

  30. 10:19 Unbelievable! Hamilton now 15th in major trouble, Alonso 16th...

  31. 10:19 Vettel puts in the third quickest lap to guarantee moving on to the second qualifying stint; and is outdone by his team-mate a few moments later. Hamilton now down to 13th with Kubica and Heidfeld out there. The world champ might miss out!

  32. 10:18 Trouble for BMW as Heidfeld and Kubica are still outside the top 15... they've unleashed their cars on to the track, but each driver will only have one crack at this one.

  33. 10:17 Rosberg puts in a flyer - and gets up to second! Relief for the German; and then Trulli puts in the quickest lap, a 1:34.745 which is within spitting distance of the qualifying record!

  34. 10:16 Najkajima rises to second, but Rosberg and Heidfeld are both now outside the top 15 as things stand!

  35. 10:15 Piquet puts in a good sector two... and loses it a bit on the final sector, but is still good enough for seventh.

  36. 10:14 Nelson Piquet is on a flyer now - and given that he's yet to record a proper lap he needs to pull something out. But now he goes quickest in the first sector!

  37. 10:14 Reanult breathe again: Alonso survives his excursion on to the grass and puts in a lap that gets him 10th, and should be enough to make it through to the second phase of qualifying.

  38. 10:12 Alonso goes off the track! A disaster for Renault, with just 8 minutes left to get a flying lap in and get through! Can he get one in?

  39. 10:09 Renault's Fernando Alonso is still pottering about in the garage - no big drama for them - as Button buts in another flying lap to cut a further tenth of a second off his time. Then Barrichello comes in with a good lap, to edge Raikkonen.

  40. 10:07 Jenson Button storms through to blow Raikkonen's time away! Last week's winner puts an effortlessly pretty lap together to record a 1:35.173, comfortably quicker than the competition.

  41. 10:06 Raikkonen's choice of the soft tyres have clearly worked here... Hamilton has the same tyres, and is just crossing the line... in fifth place! Good result for the reigning champion.

  42. 10:05 Raikknonen hooks a great lap together - a 1:35.476 - which is the fastest lap of the week so far! Great start for Ferrari - can Brawn match their pace?

  43. 10:04 Almost every car is out on the track now - just four still in the pits - with Rosberg setting a 1:36.596 to take the early lead... but here comes Raikkonen!

  44. 10:02 Latest weather report suggests that rain is definitely on its way - and will likely hit in about half an hour, meaning that this first Q1 stint should be unaffected.

  45. 10:00 And qualifying is under way! Kimi Raikkonen is out on the track straight away, as is practice king Nico Rosberg. It looks like some of the big teams are trying to get banker laps in just in case it starts pouring.

  46. 9:58 A couple of minutes to go before the first qualifying stint gets under way...

  47. 9:52 It's hot and mostly sunny at the moment, but there are a few ominous clouds in the steamy tropical skies... It's not rained yet today, making the threat of a stormy shower even greater.

  48. 9:50 We're just 10 minutes away from the start of qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix, and the talk in the pit lane is about the potential threat of rain.

Circuit Map

Sepang Circuit
 

About the Malaysian GP

Length 5.543 km
Laps 56 (310.408 Km)
Last Year 1, 2, 3 1. K. Raikkonen 2. R. Kubica 3. H. Kovalainen
Record Lap J. Montoya - 1'34''223 (2004, Williams)
Record Pole M. Schumacher - 1'33''074 (2004, Ferrari)
Last Year Pole F. Massa - 1'35''748 (Ferrari)

Previous winners

Year Driver
2008 K.Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2007 F.Alonso (McLaren)
2006 G. Fischella (Renault)
2005 F. Alonso (Renault)
2004 M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
2003 K. Raikkonen (McLaren)
2002 R. Schumacher (Williams)
2001 M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
2000 M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
1999 E. Irvine (Ferrari)

Comment 29 - 48 of 48

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  1. I will Quit. it's the right thing to do!!!

    From DC, on Sun 5 Apr 1:16PM

  2. Why don`t the rest of the world get their heads round­ it! F1 GP racing is an ENGLISH sport, the only correct­ state of affairs is that the World Champon is an­ Englishman - Lewis Hamilton to be followed by Jenson­ Button. In an English racing car - McLaren followed by­ Brawn, both with an ENGLISH manufactured engine -­ Mercedes! Please no more Germans in Italian cars. Billy­ the Kid.

    From William, on Sun 5 Apr 8:30AM

  3. Why don`t the rest of the world get their heads round­ it! F1 GP racing is an ENGLISH sport, the only correct­ state of affairs is that the World Champon is an­ Englishman - Lewis Hamilton to be followed by Jenson­ Button. In an English racing car - McLaren followed by­ Brawn, both with an ENGLISH manufactured engine -­ Mercedes! Please no more Germans in Italian cars.

    From William, on Sun 5 Apr 8:29AM

  4. looks like it will rain here in Sepang...perhaps heavy­ rain, we'll see soon..
    ---from KL M'sia---

    From 1mr4n-syaitan merah, on Sun 5 Apr 8:10AM

  5. me say button i number 4 in malaysian grand pix
    it­ will rain and button will do mistake
    hamilton will hit­ the wall and break his legs and will be like his­ brother
    massa will finish third
    and vettelllll­ friiissssstttt go belgium go

    From eddy, on Sat 4 Apr 10:57PM

  6. Well Well Well what do we have hear then... Looks like­­ JUSTICE is being carried out by the FIA at long last.­­ For months marnio from peru , Marion , Potter ,­­ Touronroute , and many others have been preaching­ about­ mclaren and mr hamilton son as being cheats ,­ looks­ like they were right after all. They also­ preached on­ f1 now being a farce and yet mclaren and­ mr hamilton­ son fans were quite content in allowing­ this to­ continue so as long as it benefited mclaren­ and mr­ hamilton son. Now its back firing so we at f1­ police do­ not want to hear mclaren and mr hamilton son­ fans­ whinning like girls.
    Mclaren created their­ situation­ let them lie in it.
    We have now come to the­ conclusion­ that once found cheating in f1 you will­ always be­ looked upon as cheats. Mclaren and mr­ hamilton son just­ cant help themselves and so it­ continues.
    FIA are now­ considering more action­ against mclaren ,, a report­ will follow shortly
    0­ POINTS O POINTS 0 POINTS Marnio from­ peru,,Marion,,Potter,,Touronroute,,Bernard and many­ others must be laughing their socks off Thinking Told­ you so. More so F1 POLICE believe all Mr hamilton son­ fans should apologise to all above.
    Mr hamilton son­ most famous Quotes,, I did not Lie (which was a Lie) I­ was misled (Yet , another Lie) My Team told me to Lie­ (Another Lie as whe whole Team were in on it Now using­ Ryan as the ultimate scapegoat ) Not forgetting all the­ Lies told to the stewards when Questioned,,HANG YOUR­ HEADS IN THE SHAME MCLAREN

    From , on Sat 4 Apr 8:41PM

  7. Well Well Well what do we have hear then... Looks like­­ JUSTICE is being carried out by the FIA at long last.­­ For months marnio from peru , Marion , Potter ,­­ Touronroute , and many others have been preaching­ about­ mclaren and mr hamilton son as being cheats ,­ looks­ like they were right after all. They also­ preached on­ f1 now being a farce and yet mclaren and­ mr hamilton­ son fans were quite content in allowing­ this to­ continue so as long as it benefited mclaren­ and mr­ hamilton son. Now its back firing so we at f1­ police do­ not want to hear mclaren and mr hamilton son­ fans­ whinning like girls.
    Mclaren created their­ situation­ let them lie in it.
    We have now come to the­ conclusion­ that once found cheating in f1 you will­ always be­ looked upon as cheats. Mclaren and mr­ hamilton son just­ cant help themselves and so it­ continues.
    FIA are now­ considering more action­ against mclaren ,, a report­ will follow shortly
    0­ POINTS O POINTS 0 POINTS Marnio from­ peru,,Marion,,Potter,,Touronroute,,Bernard and many­ others must be laughing their socks off Thinking Told­ you so. More so F1 POLICE believe all Mr hamilton son­ fans should apologise to all above.
    Mr hamilton son­ most famous Quotes,, I did not Lie (which was a Lie) I­ was misled (Yet , another Lie) My Team told me to Lie­ (Another Lie as whe whole Team were in on it Now using­ Ryan as the ultimate scapegoat ) Not forgetting all the­ Lies told to the stewards when Questioned,,HANG YOUR­ HEADS IN THE SHAME MCLAREN

    From , on Sat 4 Apr 8:41PM

  8. I am not a Hamilton fan, and I'm sure nobody­ twisted his arm to tell porkies to the stewards. But­ PLEASE lets leave it alone!
    We are taking attention­ away from Buttons achievments, which he so richly­ deserves, remember Button HAS paid his due's in F1­ and I dont mean to the stupid FIA.
    Well done Jenson,­ bring it home!

    From Walking quiet, on Sat 4 Apr 5:21PM

  9. OI RAIKONEN BANGKITLAAAA
    RAIKONEN THE BEST...........

    From zulhafiz_06, on Sat 4 Apr 2:20PM

  10. Force India F! should have signed new drivers for this­ season god it looks as if they will be back end­ charley's again they can't blame the car or­ engine this season.UTM

    From richard t, on Sat 4 Apr 11:54AM

  11. This site's comments page is fast becoming an­ advertising site for anything but the Subject. If I­ wanted a PlayStation I wouldn't have come on this­ site so why do these damn idiots keep posting this­ nonsense. Better still, why do Yahoo allow these idiots­ to screw up the Comments section with adverts? So piss­ off Laila. Piss off JJ S.

    [Incidentally, Davey Parr,­ young man, it's actually spelt "should­ have" or "should've". What it­ isn't spelt like is "should of". If you­ spoke properly, of course, you would have realised how­ it is spelt. Another favourite misspelling is to use­ the word "loose" when the word­ "lose" is meant. The standard of English­ taught to youngsters is little short of a disgrace.­ Strikes me the teachers are taking money under false­ pretences. No wonder foreigners are taking your jobs in­ the UK.]

    From vigorniensis, on Sat 4 Apr 11:46AM

  12. Hamilton is not fit to be the World champion. the man­ cannot stand on his own two feet and tell the truth. He­ should stand down forthwith and his team should be told­ they are no longer wanted for the rest of the season.­ Also while Hamiltons at it he should hand back his MBE,­ as liars dont deserve.
    From BJ

    From WILLIAM A, on Sat 4 Apr 11:45AM

  13. Hamilton is not fit to be the World champion. the man­ cannot stand on his own two feet and tell the truth. He­ should stand down forthwith and his team should be told­ they are no longer wanted for the rest of the season.­ Also while Hamiltons at it he should hand back his MBE,­ as liars dont deserve.

    From WILLIAM A, on Sat 4 Apr 11:44AM

  14. On the Button!!

    From jason k, on Sat 4 Apr 11:37AM

  15. yeah!! go go Toyota!

    From murad, on Sat 4 Apr 11:34AM
  16. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I BET FIA ARE @#$% THEM SELVES, FOR THEIR RED CARS ARE­ NOWHERE TO BE SEEN. HAHA SCUMBAGS

    From Dave worsell, on Sat 4 Apr 11:33AM

  17. yeah!... gogo toyota!

    From murad, on Sat 4 Apr 11:32AM

  18. WHO THINKS THAT CHIZZEL CHIN DC LOOKS AWFULL WITH A MIC­ IN HIS HAND, HIS HOLE POSTURE IS SO OUT OF SORTS,­ SHOULD OF STUCK TO DRIVING DAVID.

    From Dave worsell, on Sat 4 Apr 11:30AM

  19. The competent or not so fast cars last year e.g,­ Williams, Redbull, Toyota & the new team Brawn GP­ are faster as hell.I can see how improved they are. But­ we hv to wait after the court hearing to see whether­ their cars were developed under the rules, not as what­ claimed from few car manufacturers. 2009 will be a­ great year to watch F1

    From Mohd, on Sat 4 Apr 11:29AM

  20. To the racist "power of the stilo" go away we­ don't need you and your childish thoughts

    From Nick P, on Sat 4 Apr 11:25AM
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