2009 F1 Round 2 Malaysian GP quali: Button versus Trulli

Q1:
Ferrari really messed up in Q1. Massa and Räikkönen only did 4 laps each and parked the cars thinking they had done enough, but the times tumbled and Räikkönen was lucky he didn't get knocked out too. Piquet had a disappointing session, he's usually faster in the race, but the season isn't starting well for him. Fisichella and Sutil being out is no great surprise, but Buemi was on a fast lap and went off the track.

Knocked out thus far:
P16 Massa - Ferrari
P17 Piquet - Renault
P18 Fisichella - Force India
P19 Sutil - Force India
P20 Buemi - Toro Rosso

Q2:
Surprising to see Heidfeld and Nakajima there. The McLarens aren't fast, so this is no surprise, but it's surprising not to see Alonso here. He's struggling with an ear infection which will affect his balance, but he wrangled his car to get it into Q3 by 0.063 seconds. Wow. Bourdais messed up his second sector and last corner.

Knocked out thus far:
P11 Heidfeld - BMW
P12 Nakajima - Williams
P13 Hamilton - McLaren
P14 Kovalainen - McLaren
P15 Bourdais - Toro Rosso
P16 Massa - Ferrari
P17 Piquet - Renault
P18 Fisichella - Force India
P19 Sutil - Force India
P20 Buemi - Toro Rosso

Q3:
Button and Trulli were the men to beat, they fought for P1 trading punches, Button pipping Trulli by just 0.092 seconds. Very cool, and Button's time of 1:35.181 s is 0.567 seconds faster than Massa's 2008 pole position. Vettel did a great job too, but he has a 10 place grid penalty from his crash with Kubica in Australia. Barrichello made a little mistake in the last corner, also he's got a 5 place grid penalty. Glock was half a second slower than Trulli, just goes to show how good Trulli is over one lap. Rosberg did well, Webber is getting smashed by his younger team-mate, but Vettel can make errors in the race while Webber is unlucky, I hope he has a good race this weekend, he deserves it. Kubica is almost a second off the pole, Räikkönen had problems with his KERS apparently. It was off during Q3. Alonso must have filled the car full of fuel because his time was very slow compared to the others.

The grid for tomorrow's race:
P1 Button - Brawn
P2 Trulli - Toyota
P3 Vettel - Red Bull * to drop 10 places
P4 Barrichello - Brawn * to drop 5 places
P5 Glock - Toyota
P6 Rosberg - Williams
P7 Webber - Red Bull
P8 Kubica - BMW
P9 Räikkönen - Ferrari
P10 Alonso - Renault
P11 Heidfeld - BMW
P12 Nakajima - Williams
P13 Hamilton - McLaren
P14 Kovalainen - McLaren
P15 Bourdais - Toro Rosso
P16 Massa - Ferrari
P17 Piquet - Renault
P18 Fisichella - Force India
P19 Sutil - Force India
P20 Buemi - Toro Rosso

Post-qualifying car weights:
[CODE]Pos. Driver Team Car weight (kg)
1. Button Brawn-Mercedes 660
2. Trulli Toyota 656.5
3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 647
4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 664.5
5. Glock Toyota 656.5
6. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 656
7. Webber Red Bull-Renault 656
8. Kubica BMW-Sauber 663
9. Raikkonen Ferrari 662.5
10. Alonso Renault 680.5
11. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 692
12. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 683.4
13. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 688
14. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 688.9
15. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 670.5
16. Massa Ferrari 689.5
17. Piquet Renault 681.9
18. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 680.5
19. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 655.5
20. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 686.5
[/CODE]