Sebastian Vettel secures second pole position of 2013 - Qualifying in Sepang is hit by rain, but Vettel still makes it to the top
Published by Christine
The first session of qualifying in Malaysia took a couple of minutes to get going, but gradually the drivers piled out to set their first flying laps of the day. Adrian Sutil posted the fastest time halfway through, and he managed to stay at the top as the first session drew to a close. The Red Bull drivers looked for a moment as though they would not make it through, but they managed to pull it back. Dropping out were both Caterhams, Marussias plus Valtteri Bottas and Jean-Éric Vergne.
The rain came halfway through Q2, with drivers abandoning their flying laps once they saw Paul di Resta spinning his way back to the pit lane. Luckily, most had already set times, and the expected midfield runners dropped out, with Romain Grosjean 11th and Nico Hülkenberg 12th.
The shootout for pole position was completed on intermediate tyres as the rain shower continued. Felipe Massa struggled to keep control of the car, but went on to finish ahead of Alonso - second to the Spaniard’s third. Both drivers were pipped to pole position by Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton was fourth whilst a disappointed Webber was fifth.
