It has been an interesting qualifying session today at Kuala Lumpur. I was expecting a surprise from my favourite team, McLaren, but it didn't turn out, neither in the Practice nor in the Qualifyings. However, I am satisfied with the final result, with Heikki on the third position, and Lewis behind him, on fourth. As you may notice from the official press release posted below, both drivers kept their calm up to the end of the qualifyings, as they didn't seem they wanted to force the car and their situation to the maximum limit. In addition to this fact, they even aborted their chances to the first places by refusing to run the last lap of the Q3 part of the qualifyings. Proceed below to read the official results for today and the above-mentioned press release:
SAT Practice
Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps
1 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:35.019 18
2 1 Kimi R�ikk�nen Ferrari 1:35.262 0.243 17
3 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.388 0.369 17
4 11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:35.389 0.370 20
5 10 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:35.437 0.418 16
6 9 David Coulthard Red Bull 1:35.653 0.634 17
7 6 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1:35.768 0.749 15
8 16 Jenson Button Honda 1:35.781 0.762 19
9 15 S. Vettel STR 1:35.827 0.808 16
10 12 Timo Glock Toyota 1:35.911 0.892 21
11 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:35.927 0.908 13
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16 23 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:36.529 1.510 16
SAT Qualifying
Pos No Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.347 1:34.412 1:35.748 17
2 1 K. R�ikk�nen Ferrari 1:35.645 1:34.188 1:36.230 13
3 23 H.Kovalainen McLaren 1:35.227 1:34.759 1:36.613 12
4 22 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:35.392 1:34.627 1:36.709 18
5 11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:35.205 1:34.825 1:36.711 18
6 4 Robert Kubica BMW 1:35.794 1:34.811 1:36.727 13
7 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:35.729 1:34.648 1:36.753 13
8 10 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:35.440 1:34.967 1:37.009 18
9 5 F. Alonso Renault 1:35.983 1:35.140 1:38.450 18
10 12 Timo Glock Toyota 1:35.891 1:35.000 1:39.656 20
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday�s Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang Circuit from the second row of the grid. Heikki was third fastest with a time of 1m36.613 whilst Lewis�s time of 1m36.709 means that he will start from fourth.
Heikki Kovalainen
�I am pleased to have qualified third for the second consecutive time. Of course, we would have preferred a position on the front row, but Felipe and Kimi have been strong here all weekend and as a result third place is the maximum we could achieve. I have improved step by step throughout all the sessions and my lap in the third qualifying was really good. Now we have to wait and see how the strategies will unfold in the race. With rain expected tomorrow anything could be possible.�
Lewis Hamilton
�There didn�t seem to be as much grip in the tyres during the final session and I just struggled a bit. Also it was tough finding a gap in the traffic, which had an effect on my ability to warm up the brakes and manage the tyres. To be honest I didn�t do a perfect job today and I will study the data to see how I can go faster tomorrow. We have to stay positive though as we are still in a good position and anything can happen in the race. �
Ron Dennis
�A good job by both drivers, with two solid grid positions for tomorrow�s race. Obviously it would be preferable to be starting from the first rather than second row, but we fully expected to face stronger competition here this weekend and are comfortable with our race strategy.�
Norbert Haug
�Both Vodafone McLaren Mercedes� on the second row is a good basis for tomorrow�s Grand Prix. Congratulations to Ferrari on their front row qualifying. With the predicted rainfall everything will be possible in tomorrow�s race.�
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