2013 Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying
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12 min: Alonso falls a fraction short of his earlier lap, slower in the final sector as his tyres fade.
Stopwatch
11 min: But Sutil blasts his way to the top of the pile on medium tyres with a lap of 1m36.809s. Medium tyres on both Force India cars.
11 min: These moves on medium rubber may be a headache for those banking times on hards, with the pace potentially forcing them out again.
11 min: Di Resta crosses the line and moves into sixth with a time of 1m37.788s.
11 min: Raikkonen heads out on medium compound, clearly planning on saving his hard rubber for the race tomorrow.
11 min: Rosberg completes another lap but is just shy of his own current benchmark.
10 min: Sutil is fastest of all in the first sector, three-tenths clear of team-mate di Resta.
9 min: Perez is also up there in sixth fastest as McLaren perhaps find a way to dial the troublesome MP4-28 in to this smoother circuit.
9 min: Sutil and di Resta were quick in final practice for Force India. They are starting their first timed lap in the session now.
9 min: Button takes fourth fastest with a tidy 1m37.560s lap on hard tyres.
8 min: Alonso pips his team-mate to that second spot with a 1m37.314s, under a tenth off Rosberg's best.
8 min: Hamilton is coming towards the end of his first timed lap now. He moves into third with 1m37.540s.
8 min: Massa comes around in second fastest with his first flying lap on the hards.
8 min: Bottas is straight back into the pits after three laps on the hard tyre. He drops down the list to third spot.
7 min: Hard tyres for Ricciardo and he marginally improves with a time of 1m39.031s. The Australian is sixth.
7 min: Gutierrez slots in third fastest in the early order with a 1m38.864s lap in his Sauber on the hard rubber.
Stopwatch
7 min: Rosberg is fastest of all in the first two sectors of the lap. He duly goes quickest with a time of 1m37.239s.
6 min: Button is building up to a flying lap in his McLaren, which has looked closer to the leading pace this weekend.
6 min: Maldonado slots into third spot with 1m39.011s as the Williams duo go early to get some times on the board.
Stopwatch
5 min: Bottas takes over from Bianchi at the front with a time of 1m38.376s.
Stopwatch
5 min: Chilton sets the first mark but Bianchi is much quicker in 1m40.053s.
5 min: Alonso and Massa join in with hard compound tyres on the Ferraris.
5 min: The early runners are well into their first timed lap. Hamilton joins the racetrack.
4 min: Rosberg is also out there. The German is using hard tyres for his first run.
4 min: Sauber drivers out there as well now, along with the Caterham pair.
3 min: Maldonado joins his team-mate on track, followed by the Toro Rosso duo.
2 min: Bottas joins the Marussia drivers on the circuit.
2 min: Bianchi follows his team-mate out of the pits, with both straight on to the medium compound.
1 min: Chilton is the first man to head out in his Marussia.
1 min: Leading teams are very keen to save rubber for the many expected race stints tomorrow, so will hope to make Q2 on a short run.
0 min: One minute in and no-one fancies heading out just yet.
0 min: No immediate takers, as everyone politely waits for someone to clean the circuit.
Green flag
Q1 kicks off in Malaysia.
Hulkenberg is ready for action in his Sauber, with the German setting some strong pace during practice so far.
Track temperature is up at 41 degrees, with just under one minute to go until the start of the first qualifying period.
Still dry for the moment as drivers focus themselves just ahead of the pitlane opening.
Tyre degradation is not the only problem in Malaysia, with the FIA again struggling to reliably communicate flag, DRS and safety car data to the cars:
No cockpit warning lights at Sepang
No cockpit warning lights at Sepang
Tyres
A mighty struggle for some to keep the dry-weather tyres alive for longer runs so far this weekend. However - on single lap pace - the softer, medium compound is clearly the quicker rubber.
Rain is never far away at this time of day here, so the intermediate and full wet tyres could also be in action, with the usual strategy of longer runs to find the best conditions if a deluge hits the track.
The medium slick is yet to be fully proven over a race run after rain hit Friday practice, but the durability difference to the hard may not be enough to force any compromise of Q3 tyres with thoughts about the first stint.
Teams are, however, keen to limit milage on the rubber today to preserve tyre life for the race tomorrow.
Here's how the qualifying battle stands after the first round of the campaign:
Qualifying head-to-head
Vettel 1 - 0 Webber
Alonso 0 - 1 Massa
Button 1 - 0 Perez
Raikkonen 1 - 0 Grosjean
Rosberg 0 - 1 Hamilton
Hulkenberg 1 - 0 Gutierrez
Di Resta 1 - 0 Sutil
Maldonado 0 - 1 Bottas
Vergne 1 - 0 Ricciardo
Pic 0 - 1 Van der Garde
Bianchi 1 - 0 Chilton
Conditions remain dry and hot, but clouds have steadily built since the end of final practice and it is now overcast, with a distinct threat of rain over the next 70 minutes, while air temperature remains high at 33 degrees Celsius.
By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton
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