From GMM
Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel used KERS to power to pole at Sepang on Saturday.
The team did not use the energy-recovery technology to dominate in Melbourne two weeks ago, but championship leader Vettel said he needed it to stave off a resurgent McLaren in Malaysia by just one tenth.
"We came here and solved most of the (reliability) problems," the German said. "I think if we did not have it (KERS) today, we would not be here (on pole)."
So significant has been McLaren's progress in recent weeks that Hamilton, happy to be second best in Australia, was visibly disappointed with his P2 on the Sepang grid.
"These guys (Red Bull) still have a slight edge but it seems we've closed the gap a bit," said the Briton.
Also visibly disappointed was Vettel's teammate Mark Webber, but he said Saturday was a "better performance from me" after a poor showing two weeks ago.
"Mark (P3) had a little KERS alarm that we're looking at," Red Bull boss Christian Horner told the BBC, "but I don't think it was anything significant."
Vettel, meanwhile, said he thinks there will be lots of pitstops in Sunday's race given the high degradation of the Pirelli tyres.
"I hope the spectators don't lose count," he smiled.
Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying:
Pos No Driver Team Q1Q2Q3 Laps
1 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:37.4681:35.9341:34.870 12
2 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.8611:35.8521:34.974 19
3 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:37.9241:36.0801:35.179 17
4 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.0331:35.5691:35.200 15
5 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:36.8971:36.3201:35.802 14
6 9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 1:37.2241:36.8111:36.124 9
7 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:36.7441:36.5571:36.251 13
8 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:37.2101:36.6421:36.324 9
9 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:37.3161:36.3881:36.809 17
10 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:36.9941:36.6911:36.820 13
11 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:36.9041:37.03512
12 18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:37.6931:37.16013
13 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:37.6771:37.34712
14 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:38.0451:37.37012
15 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:38.1631:37.49615
16 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.7591:37.52810
17 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:37.6931:37.5939
18 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1:38.2768
19 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1:38.6458
20 21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1:38.7918
21 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:40.6488
22 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1:41.0017
23 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1:41.5497
24 22 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1:42.5747
Q1 107% Time 1:43.516
Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel used KERS to power to pole at Sepang on Saturday.
The team did not use the energy-recovery technology to dominate in Melbourne two weeks ago, but championship leader Vettel said he needed it to stave off a resurgent McLaren in Malaysia by just one tenth.
"We came here and solved most of the (reliability) problems," the German said. "I think if we did not have it (KERS) today, we would not be here (on pole)."
So significant has been McLaren's progress in recent weeks that Hamilton, happy to be second best in Australia, was visibly disappointed with his P2 on the Sepang grid.
"These guys (Red Bull) still have a slight edge but it seems we've closed the gap a bit," said the Briton.
Also visibly disappointed was Vettel's teammate Mark Webber, but he said Saturday was a "better performance from me" after a poor showing two weeks ago.
"Mark (P3) had a little KERS alarm that we're looking at," Red Bull boss Christian Horner told the BBC, "but I don't think it was anything significant."
Vettel, meanwhile, said he thinks there will be lots of pitstops in Sunday's race given the high degradation of the Pirelli tyres.
"I hope the spectators don't lose count," he smiled.
Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying:
Pos No Driver Team Q1Q2Q3 Laps
1 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:37.4681:35.9341:34.870 12
2 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.8611:35.8521:34.974 19
3 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:37.9241:36.0801:35.179 17
4 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.0331:35.5691:35.200 15
5 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:36.8971:36.3201:35.802 14
6 9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 1:37.2241:36.8111:36.124 9
7 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:36.7441:36.5571:36.251 13
8 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:37.2101:36.6421:36.324 9
9 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:37.3161:36.3881:36.809 17
10 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:36.9941:36.6911:36.820 13
11 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:36.9041:37.03512
12 18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:37.6931:37.16013
13 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:37.6771:37.34712
14 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:38.0451:37.37012
15 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:38.1631:37.49615
16 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.7591:37.52810
17 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:37.6931:37.5939
18 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1:38.2768
19 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1:38.6458
20 21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1:38.7918
21 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:40.6488
22 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1:41.0017
23 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1:41.5497
24 22 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1:42.5747
Q1 107% Time 1:43.516