McLaren secure front row, as Michael Schumacher comes alive in Malaysia

It probably comes as no surprise that Hamilton clinched pole position ahead of his teammate, Jenson Button, in Malaysia. In dry conditions, the McLaren seems rather superior in qualifying, as we have seen last weekend in Australia. Nevertheless, merely two tenths of a second separated the top five drivers and it's currently as close and as tight as it gets.

Hamilton, Button and Schumacher

Hamilton was once again in superb form on a one lap flyer. Jenson Button closely followed him, but, as we have seen many times last year, he couldn't quite put up with the pace. However, Button is known to be more of a racer than a qualifier, as he's proven last weekend. Hamilton will be keeping a close look at those rear view mirrors if he doesn't want to endure the same fate as in the last race.

Michael Schumacher seems to be the surprise sleeper of this weekend. The German claimed his best grid position since his return and fans were finally happy to see him share his thoughts on the car in the press conference room as he firmly smiled over that 3rd place. He also ended a long drought of losses in qualifying towards Rosberg in the second Mercedes. His teammate couldn't really handle the pressure of the last moments in Q3 and made several mistakes on his flying lap, leaving him disappointed in only 8th place.

Schumacher prepping for a run in qualifying

The Red Bulls were nowhere in sight. At least that's appropriate to say for Sebastian Vettel, who set his best time on the harder tyre, in favor of pursuing a different and hopefully more effective race startegy from 6th place. Webber, on the other hand, was closer to the rivals, with merely two tenths off the pole, on the medium tyres.

Kimi Raikkonen bounced back from his rather dull mistake in qualifying last weekend. He pushed the Lotus up to 5th place, running the same exact time as Mark Webber. The Finn admitted to a slide in Turn 9, which probably cost him a few tenths and denied him pole position, but nevertheless, he was in much better shape with an improved steering rack, new floor and repaired KERS. However, he faces a five place grid penalty after a gearbox change on Friday, leaving him to start only from 10th tomorrow. Romain Grosjean, his teammate, seemed happy with the car's balance and landed the second Lotus in 7th place, just behind the Red Bulls.

Raikkonen on a flyer

Ferrari are still struggling. Alonso was constantly fighting the car on turn exits, and had to settle for 9th, which is probably a good representative of the team's current performance. Massa, on the other hand, was again knocked out from Q3, as he was struggling to understand the exact balance of the car. Still a weak performance by the Brazilian, but at least this time, he was only three tenths off Alonso's pace.

Tomorrow's race brings again a big pile of uncertainty. With thunderstorms knocking on the door, teams might as well be prepared to run an unpredictable race. Yet, that's what most were expecting today in qualifying, but the clouds ignored the race track. Visibly, conditions are changing fast and that adds to the excitement. If it stays dry, the slick tyres will be put to the degradation test, and managing them will be essential for anyone willing to present a strong performance. And by the looks of it, everyone intends to do so.

The main straight towards the first corner is a long one. Exactly 600 meters between Turn 1 and the starting line is a good opportunity for anyone willing to try his luck on gaining a few positions in the early stages. No doubt, the likes of Button, Vettel, Alonso and Raikkonen will be forcing their hands on the matter.

What to expect? McLaren could get away with it once again. The question is, which driver will take the car home first? Expect Vettel to interfere with that tyre strategy, should the rain avoid the track. There's a lot going on in the mix, and it's nearly impossible to predict the outcome of tomorrow's race. Let the weather and the drivers decide.