Lewis Hamilton claims Pole Positon for the Malaysian GP

In qualifying for the Malaysian GP, Lewis Hamilton claims Pole Position for the Malaysian GP ahead of his team mate Nico Rosberg and Max Verstappen in a session that saw Hamilton securing the fastest lap around the Sepang circuit.

In Q1, Lewis Hamilton set the pace early on, despite the oil dust that was present on the track on the start/finish straight. There were plenty of yellow flags during the session from drivers such as Jolyon Palmer and Daniil Kvyat as Romain Grosjean lost his right wing mirror while on a flying lap.

In Q2, Hamilton once again set the pace early on with his team mate and the Red Bull drivers battling for the top three positions behind him. However, there was a battle in the midfield for the last remaining positions and this saw Valtteri Bottas becoming the driver who didn't make it through to the final stages of qualifying.

In Q3, Hamilton was faster than teammate Nico Rosberg in all three sectors, but made up the most time in the final corner where Rosberg lost the rear of his car under braking and sailed well wide of the apex. The result puts Hamilton in a strong position to close the gap to Rosberg in the drivers’ championship on Sunday and puts Mercedes even closer to its third consecutive constructors’ title.

But it was Lewis Hamilton claimed Pole Position for the Malaysian GP with a lap time of 1:42.584 (the fastest lap time around the Sepang circuit) ahead of Nico Rosberg in second place who was 0.531 seconds behind him and ahead of Max Verstappen in third place who was 0.704 seconds behind Hamilton.

Daniel Ricciardo qualified in fourth place ahead of Sebastian Vettel in fifth place, kimi Raikkonen in sixth place, Sergio Perez in seventh place, Nico Hulkenberg in eighth place, Jenson Button in ninth place and Felipe Massa who rounded off the top ten finishers.

Valtteri Bottas qualified just out of the top ten in eleventh place ahead of Romain Grosjean in twelfth place, Esteban Gutierrez in thirteenth place, Kevin Magnussen in fourteenth place and Daniil Kvyat in fifteenth place.

As we head into the latter stages of the grid, Carlos Sainz Jr qualified in sixteenth place ahead of Marcus Ericsson in seventeenth place, Felipe Nasr in eighteenth place, Jolyon Palmer in nineteenth place, Esteban Ocon in twentieth place, Pascal Wehrlein in twenty-first place and Fernando Alonso in twenty second place.

The classification of Qualifying for the Malaysian GP is as follows:-

1.Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1.32.850
2.Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 0.414s
3.Max Verstappen, Red-Bull-TAG Heuer, 0.570s
4.Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-TAG Heuer, 0.617s
5.Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 0.734s
6.Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 0.782s
7.Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes, 1.469s
8.Nico Hulkenberg, Force India-Mercedes, 1.639s
9.Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda, 1.668s
10.Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes, 1.821s
11.Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes, 1.34.577
12.Romain Grosjean, Haas Ferrari, 1.35.001
13.Esteban Gutierrez, Haas Ferrari, 1.35.097
14.Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1.35.277
15.Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1.35.369
16.Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1.35.374
17.Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari, 1.35.816
18.Felipe Nasr, Sauber-Ferrari, 1.35.949
19.Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1.35.999
20.Esteban Ocon, MRT Racing, 1.36.451
21.Pascal Wehrlein, MRT Racing, 1.36.587
22.Fernando Alonso, McLaren-Honda, 1.37.155

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa