Sebastian Vettel will start the Malaysian Grand Prix in pole position after a stunning lap in drying conditions put him almost a second ahead of his nearest rivals.
The Red Bull driver timed his final flying lap perfectly as a late rain shower eased off in the closing minutes to give the late runners a chance to improve their times.
Felipe Massa will start second for Ferrari. It’s the first time the Brazilian has started on the front-row since Bahrain 2010. His team-mate Fernando Alonso starts third – the first time he has been outqualified by a team-mate in Malaysia since the 2006 race.
Lewis Hamilton, who had secured provisional pole, starts fourth for Mercedes ahead of Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg.
Kimi Raikkonen will start in the same position he did in Australia – a race he won from seventh on the grid.
Both McLarens made it through to Q3, with Jenson Button starting eighth and Sergio Perez tenth. The Force India of Adrian Sutil splitting them.
Paul di Resta left his flying lap during Q2 too late and was caught out by a quick shower. His first attempt was compromised with an off at turn seven before a second attempt was ruined by a spin at the same corner. He starts 11th.
Q2 was a case of drivers not going out early enough to miss the rain.
Meanwhile Jules Bianchi was once again the top ranked driver amongst the new teams, Marussia and Caterham.
Qualifying – 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix
| # | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:37.899 | 1:37.245 | 1:49.674 |
| 05 | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:37.619 | 1:36.449 | 1:52.244 |
| 08 | J. Button | McLaren | 1:37.487 | 1:37.117 | 1:53.175 |
| 10 | S. Perez | McLaren | 1:37.702 | 1:37.342 | 1:54.136 |
| 11 | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:37.363 | 1:37.636 | |
| 06 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:37.239 | 1:36.190 | 1:52.519 |
| 03 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:37.314 | 1:36.877 | 1:50.727 |
| 07 | K. Räikkönen | Lotus | 1:36.959 | 1:36.640 | 1:52.970 |
| 04 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:37.513 | 1:36.517 | 1:51.699 |
| 12 | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1:37.931 | 1:38.125 | |
| 02 | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:37.712 | 1:36.874 | 1:50.587 |
| 15 | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:37.493 | 1:44.509 | |
| 09 | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:36.809 | 1:36.834 | 1:53.439 |
| 18 | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:38.207 | ||
| 17 | J-E. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:38.157 | ||
| 13 | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:37.722 | 1:38.822 | |
| 16 | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:37.867 | ||
| 14 | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | 1:37.707 | 1:39.221 | |
| 19 | J. Bianchi | Marussia | 1:38.434 | ||
| 21 | M. Chilton | Marussia | 1:39.672 | ||
| 22 | G. van der Garde | Caterham | 1:39.932 | ||
| 20 | C. Pic | Caterham | 1:39.314 | ||
| Q1 107% Time: | 1:43.585 | ||||
