ESPN rounds up the main talking points from qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix after Sebastian Vettel's championship challenge suffered another major setback.
Shock: Prior to the start of qualifying, Lewis Hamilton's fastest lap of the weekend had been a 1:32.539. Over the course of qualifying he managed to lower that to a new track record of 1:30.067 and in the process took his eighth pole position of the season. Up until qualifying the car had lacked grip, inducing slides through high-speed corners, which in turn overheated the tyres.
The issue created a downward spiral in performance as the overheating tyres offered less grip and more slides -- creating a huge headache for both drivers and engineers. Some major tweaks overnight saw Hamilton finally overcome the issue as the track temperatures dipped in the afternoon sun, and the result was a remarkable lap to take pole position from a very competitive Ferrari in the hands of Kimi Raikkonen.
Shocker: On a weekend where Sebastian Vettel had to mount a comeback, Ferrari reliability let him down. Up until final practice everything had been going perfectly, with Mercedes struggling to break the top four and Ferrari setting the pace in dry conditions. A suspected electrical issue towards the end of FP3 prompted Ferrari to fit a new power unit for qualifying, but on just its second lap the engine lost power as Vettel came through the second sector.
"Lost drive, let me know what to do," Vettel said over the radio.
"Try to battle on," his engineer replied.
Vettel's flat response: "That just makes it worse. I have very little power. I'm limping back. It feels like I have no turbo."
After losing 25 points to Hamilton at the last round in Singapore, the issue could be a killer blow for Vettel's slender championship hopes as he looks set to lose more points to the Mercedes driver on Sunday. The only one silver lining to the back-row start is the opportunity to fit a new turbocharger without penalty (Vettel will start from the back regardless) but that's unlikely to lift the four-time champion's mood.
Honourable mention: It's ironic that just as McLaren's partnership with Honda is coming to an end its package starts performing. While Malaysia isn't the most power-sensitive circuit, it was still impressive to see Stoffel Vandoorne haul his MCL32 up to seventh. The lap was 0.122s faster than teammate Fernando Alonso in tenth, underlining just how tight the competition outside of the top three teams.
Best one-liner: With Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen starting second and third on Sunday's grid, ex-F1 driver Johnny Herbert couldn't resist bringing up their Singapore collision during the post-qualifying interviews. When asked about Sunday's start, Verstappen quickly said "I don't want to be sandwiched" before the microphone was thrust under Raikkonen's nose for a response. With a wry smile he replied "I don't want to be hit!"
Star of qualifying: It seems like the obvious choice, but for anyone who followed the practice sessions ahead of qualifying Lewis Hamilton has to be driver of the day. Part of the pole position was undoubtedly won in the engineering room as Mercedes made major changes to Hamilton's car overnight, but he still had to deliver on track.
His lap was 0.682s faster than teammate Valtteri Bottas, which is a remarkable margin after they were so closely matched during all three practice sessions. Hamilton admitted after the session that he had not slept well on Friday night, but after securing pole position with title rival Sebastian Vettel on the back row of the grid, he can rest easy this evening.