Hamilton seizes Malaysian pole, Vettel to start last

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes pulled out the stops to seize pole positionfor the Malaysian Grand Prix in an inspiring display of speed, even as apower unit problems left title rival Sebastian Vettel stranded in thegarage.The championship leader scorched the 5.5-kilometre long Sepang track inone minute 30.076 seconds, the fastest lap ever set at the track, tobeat Kimi Raikkonen and birthday boy Max Verstappen in a hard-foughtsession.Vettel, however, failed to set a time and will start dead last in yetanother blow to his title hopes, after a power unit issue on his firstflier in the opening phase of qualifying forced him to limp back to thepits.“I went out, everything was fine and then during the flying lap in turnfive very abruptly I lost power,” Ferrari’s Vettel, who had an enginechange before qualifying after running into problems at the end ofyesterday’s final practice session, told reporters. Vettel trailsHamilton by 28 points in the overall standings heading into Sunday’srace.The German crashed out of pole position on the opening lap of the lastrace in Singapore, with Hamilton capitalising from fifth to win.  Thegap between the pair is the biggest it has been all year and if Hamiltontriumphs on Sunday, with Vettel lower than second, the Briton will notneed to win another race to clinch his fourth title.The Malaysian Grand Prix has never been won from lower than eighth onthe grid. But retired champion Nico Rosberg recovered to third last yearafter a spin at the start dropped him to the back of the field.RAIN THREATRain is also an ever-present threat in Malaysia and a typical tropical downpour could also aid Vettel in his recovery.The four-times champion’s qualifying setback left the way clear forHamilton to take the 70th pole position of his career which makes the32-year-old, who surpassed Michael Schumacher’s record haul of polepositions with his 69th at Monza, the first driver to reach thelandmark.It was also his ninth of the season and fifth in Malaysia.But, even with Vettel out of contention it did not come easy, withMercedes having struggled all weekend to extract pace from their car.Hamilton’s team mate Bottas was only fifth.“Those laps, particularly the first Q3 lap, was very well put together,very nice lap, I don’t really know where it came from to be honest,”Hamilton, whose first flying lap in the final part of qualifyingremained his fastest, said. “It’s a surprise to be up here. I’m very grateful.”Daniel Ricciardo, who led Verstappen in a one-two for Red Bull inMalaysia last year, will start fourth. He will share the second row ofthe grid with the Dutchman who engaged in a bit of fun banter withRaikkonen after qualifying.“I don’t want to be sandwiched,” said Verstappen, pincered by the Ferraris in the opening-lap Singapore crash.“I don’t want to be hit,” responded Raikkonen.Frenchman Pierre Gasly, drafted in as a last-minute replacement forunder-performing Russian Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso, will make hisFormula One debut from 15th on the grid.The 21-year-old lost out to Renault-bound team mate Carlos Sainz by less than two-tenths of a second. Starting Grid1st rowLewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes)Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari)2nd rowMax Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull)3rd rowValtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes)Esteban Ocon (FRA/Force India)4th rowStoffel Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren)Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Renault)5th rowSergio Perez (MEX/Force India)Fernando Alonso (ESP/McLaren)6th rowFelipe Massa (BRA/Williams)Jolyon Palmer (GBR/Renault)7th rowLance Stroll (CAN/Williams)Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Toro Rosso)8th rowPierre Gasly (FRA/Toro Rosso)Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas)9th rowKevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas)Pascal Wehrlein (GER/Sauber)10th rowMarcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber)Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari)