Sebastian Vettel says he was surprised by the advantage he held over his rivals in the final phase of qualifying at Sepang on Saturday, with the Red Bull driver producing a personal best time almost one second faster than Ferrari's Felipe Massa.
Vettel, who had struggled for pace in the opening two sessions, ultimately took pole position with a time of 1:49.674 when the rain arrived, citing his decision to pit for a fresh set of Intermediate tyres as a key factor in his dominant performance.
"I think it was generally quite an interesting qualifying session," Vettel explained in the post-qualifying press conference. "We knew rain was on the way; we expected some at the beginning but it didn't come. Q2 was quite on the edge for me, but the rain helped a little bit and it was just enough to get into Q3.
"Then in Q3, with the circuit drying, it was clear that it was better to change the tyres. I think we did the right thing, but it was very tricky as you didn't know if more rain was coming. I'm surprised by the gap - it's a very good session for us. I think we managed to save some tyres, too, which could be crucial tomorrow."
While Vettel claimed pole position, team-mate Mark Webber struggled to fifth on the grid, with the Australian opting to remain on one set of tyres for the entirety of Q3.
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:49.674 | 13 |
| 2. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:50.587 | 15 |
| 3. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:50.727 | 14 |
| 4. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 01:51.699 | 15 |
| 5. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:52.244 | 14 |
| 6. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:52.519 | 14 |
| 7. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 01:52.970 | 12 |
| 8. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:53.175 | 14 |
| 9. | A. Sutil | Force India | 01:53.439 | 12 |
| 10. | S. Perez | McLaren | 01:54.136 | 16 |
| Full results | ||||
| Sebastian Vettel | |||
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