Hamilton leads McLaren lockout
BRITON Lewis Hamilton put himself in a perfect position to set the record straight today after earning McLaren's first ever pole position at the Petronas Formula One Malaysia Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit.
Hamilton and British team-mate Jenson Button maintained McLaren's qualifying superiority for 2012 by repeating their Melbourne grid result to lock out the front row for the Malaysian GP under balmy but clear skies.
Veteran Michael Schumacher produced the best qualifying performance of his Formula One comeback by taking third for Mercedes, just ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber, while team-mate and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, who opted to run on harder tyres, will start fifth.
Just as was the case in Australia, Hamilton's first attempt in Q3 proved enough to claim the top spot as none managed to better the 1:36.219 he posted despite locking the tyres at the start of his run.
Button was second fastest after those runs but was pushed back by Schumacher. Mercedes left it late in Q2 and looked in danger of being eliminated before surging into the top 10. They then went for just one run in Q3, producing 1:36.391.
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