Fisichella Takes Sepang Pole

Giancarlo Fisichella has taken pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix in his Renault. The grid looks to be a good mix, with Jenson Button sharing the front row with the Roman, and Williams sensational rookie driver, Nico Rosberg claiming the third spot. Mark Webber shares the second row and starts fourth.

Juan Pablo Montoya out-qualified Kimi Raikkonen again, as the two rolled up fifth and sixth respectively. Alonso (who is experiencing some kind of fuel-rig problem at the moment) could only manage 7th, Klien popped his Red Bull into 8th and Jarno Trulli muscled his Toyota into 9th. The top 10 is rounded off by Jacques Villeneuve, who was promoted to 10th (I think) after Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and David Coulthard suffered engine related issues and took demotions on the grid. Michael will start 14th. I think.

It’s going to be a good race tomorrow, and hopefully Fisichella can put all those dark times from last year behind him and focus on beating the Hondas, Williams, the McLarens and the Schumacher.

Prediction for Malaysian Grand Prix: Fisichella 1st, Raikkonen 2nd, Alonso 3rd, Schumacher 4th. The Williams will tail off as the race progresses, but everybody will still be mighty impressed with Rosberg. Raikkonen will force his way through the field as usual, but Alonso’s fuel-rig problem will hamper his race. Schumacher will eventually get his way up to a reasonable position, but it will be too late to have any real effect on the outcome.

Please note that this post has been edited to reflect various changes made to the official grid due to drivers having to replace engines. The system is quite complex, but as I see it, Trulli and Villeneuve round off the top ten, as DC, MS, RS and RB would get sent towards the back of the grid. Anyone else got a suggestion, before the official grid is announced early tomorrow morning?

Image © The Cahier Archive