Hamilton takes pole position for F1 Malaysian GP

SEPANG, Malaysia (AP) - Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position Saturday for the Malaysian Grand Prix after again edging out teammate Jenson Button to make it an all-McLaren front row in successive races.

Hamilton made it back-to-back poles with a time of 1 minute 36.219 seconds at Sepang International Circuit, beating Button by a tenth of a second and giving the team its first-ever pole in Malaysia for Sunday's race. Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher was third fastest, ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber and Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen, who will take a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox and will start tenth.

World champion Sebastian Vettel qualified sixth, Lotus' Romain Grosjean seventh, and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg eighth. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Sauber's Sergio Perez completed the top 10. Rain held off throughout qualifying but is an ever-present threat at Malaysia and could well affect Sunday's race.

Hamilton had a skip in his step as he emerged from the car, in contrast to his post-race demeanor in Australia when he was very disappointed to have finished third after starting from pole. "I don't know if (pole) is the best place possible to start here, its a long haul to turn one," Hamilton said. "Its about positioning, its about tire management. Its a tricky circuit with the track temperatures and the humidity outside - its going to be tough tomorrow."

Button was again second-best to his teammate but the 2009 Malaysia winner will be bolstered by the memory of last weekend in Australia when he beat Hamilton off the line and sped to victory. "I can't complain too much - its good for us as a team to be in the front row," Button said. "You want it the other way around, but Lewis did a great lap at the start."

Schumacher came inside two tenths of his first pole position for six years but was enthused by the progress Mercedes is making. "This was the maximum that was available," Schumacher said. "Its a great achievement. When you think about who is behind us, who would have thought last year?"

Results after qualifying Saturday for Sunday's Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix at the 5.543-kilometer (3.444-mile) Sepang International Circuit with driver, country, car, fastest lap time and laps completed:

Qualifying

1. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren, 1 minute, 36.219 seconds, 14 laps.
2. Jenson Button, Britain, McLaren, 1:36.368, 14.
3. Michael Schumacher, Germany, Mercedes, 1:36.391, 14.
4. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull, 1:36.461, 19.
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Lotus, 1:36.461, 13.
6. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Red Bull, 1:36.634, 14.
7. Romain Grosjean, France, Lotus, 1:36.658, 14.
8. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes, 1:36.664, 14.
9. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Ferrari, 1:37.566, 16.
10.Sergio Perez, Mexico, Sauber, 1:37.698, 17.

Eliminated after second session

11. Pastor Maldonado, Venezuela, Williams, 1:37.589, 14.
12. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari, 1:37.731, 15.
13. Bruno Senna, Brazil, Williams, 1:37.841, 13.
14. Paul di Resta, Britain, Force India, 1:37.877, 15.
15. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Toro Rosso, 1:37.883, 14.
16. Nico Hulkenberg, Germany, Force India, 1:37.890, 13.
17. Kamui Kobayashi, Japan, Sauber, 1:38.069, 12.

Eliminated after first session

18. Jean-Eric Vergne, France, Toro Rosso, 1:39.077, 7.
19. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, Caterham, 1:39.306, 9.
20. Vitaly Petrov, Russia, Caterham, 1:39.567, 6.
21. Timo Glock, Germany, Marussia, 1:40.903, 8.
22. Charles Pic, France, Marussia, 1:41.250, 8.
23. Pedro de la Rosa, Spain, HRT, 1:42.914, 4.
24. Narain Karthikeyan, India, HRT, 1:43.655, 6.

Third Practice Session

1. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes, 1 minute, 36.877 seconds, 16 laps.
2. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Red Bull, 1:37.320, 15.
3. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull, 1:37.338, 12.
4. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Lotus, 1:37.356, 13.
5. Romain Grosjean, France, Lotus, 1:37.382, 13.
6. Jenson Button, Britain, McLaren, 1:37.404, 12.
7. Pastor Maldonado, Venezuela, Williams, 1:37.455, 13.
8. Michael Schumacher, Germany, Mercedes, 1:37.663, 15.
9. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren, 1:37.776, 8.
10. Kamui Kobayashi, Japan, Sauber, 1:37.977, 17.
11. Bruno Senna, Brazil, Williams, 1:38.091, 20.
12. Sergio Perez, Mexico, Sauber, 1:38.178, 15.
13. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Ferrari, 1:38.246, 17.
14. Nico Hulkenberg, Germany, Force India, 1:38.285, 16.
15. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Toro Rosso, 1:38.423, 13.
16. Jean-Eric Vergne, France, Toro Rosso, 1:38.640, 11.
17. Paul di Resta, Britain, Force India, 1:38.794, 18.
18. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari, 1:39.209, 16.
19. Vitaly Petrov, Russia, Caterham, 1:39.704, 15
20. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, Caterham, 1:40.189, 14.
21. Charles Pic, France, Marussia, 1:41.901, 14.
22. Timo Glock, Germany, Marussia, 1:42.007, 14.
23. Pedro de la Rosa, Spain, HRT, 1:42.464, 14.

-thestar online.