Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (2nd L) of Britain celebrates with Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany after qualifying for the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia, Saturday. — AP SEPANG, Malaysia — Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton splashed through the puddles at a rain-soaked Sepang circuit to secure pole position for Mercedes in a hectic Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying Saturday. The Briton, who cruised to victory from the front in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix this month, had to battle through traffic just to make the final cut in the second of the three phases and was rewarded with the 40th pole of his career. Hamilton clocked one minute 48.834 seconds on his first lap of the final showdown and the time resisted all challengers, including Sebastian Vettel, who proved Ferrari's impressive early-season form was no fluke with a solid second place. “I think the first lap was good, it's always difficult in conditions like that and not one of us have driven in the wet this weekend,” Hamilton told reporters. Four-time world champion Vettel, who looks revitalized since joining the Italian outfit from Red Bull at the end of last year, backed up his third-place finish in Australia with a scintillating final lap to trail Hamilton by just 0.074 seconds. The German not only broke the Mercedes stranglehold in qualifying by beating a disappointed Nico Rosberg, but he also became the first Ferrari driver to sit on the front row since Felipe Massa at the same circuit in 2013. Rosberg will be joined on the second row by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo after a tropical downpour early in the second session forced the drivers to wait in the garage for 35 minutes before the track was safe enough to go out again. Daniil Kvyat will start in fifth place in the other Red Bull with Toro Rosso's 17-year-old Max Verstappen joining the Russian on the third row following another impressive afternoon. Verstappen's qualifying was the best by a teenager since 19-year-old Mexican Ricardo Rodriguez started on the front row for Ferrari at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix. It also equaled the career highest grid position of his proud father Jos, at the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix — also in wet conditions. Manor Marussia had a day to forget on its first qualifying action of the season, Spaniard Roberto Merhi last in his team's modified 2014 car while teammate Will Stevens was unable to get out of the garage. Stewards later granted Stevens permission to start. Malaysia, meanwhile, is set to sign a three-year contract extension for its Formula One Grand Prix, a top official said Saturday, in a welcome piece of positive news for the sport. Sepang International Circuit chairman Mokhzani Tun Mahathir said he hoped to put pen to paper in the next couple of weeks, continuing a race which first ran in 1999. This month, the German Grand Prix was removed from the 2015 calendar and the Korean and Indian races both disappeared last season. — Agencies
