Sepang, 23 March

Qualifying was affected by rain arriving at the mid-point, complicating matters for everyone, but come the end, Scuderia Ferrari had got Felipe Massa into second place and Fernando Alonso into third.

It was dry and very hot for the start of Q1 when both Ferrari men did just one run using the P Zero Orange hard tyres. A single run was also the strategy for Q2, this time using the Mediums. After 8 minutes of this part of qualifying, light rain began to fall, so that no one went out for the final moments. Tyre choice was now problematic for the final part.

As Q3 began the ten cars went out on Intermediates, the drivers testing the conditions during the ten minute session. Massa and Alonso did two runs each, the last one on new Intermediates.

It was very close in the final stages, with each successive car going quicker at the flag, so that Fernando was briefly on pole, before being overtaken by Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull, fastest at the end and Felipe. It was a good team effort for Scuderia Ferrari, following on from the positive showing in Melbourne and the first and second rows look promising for tomorrow.