Formula One news

Kovalainen nudges out Hamilton

McLaren Mercedes drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang Circuit from the second row of the grid. Heikki was third fastest with a time of 1m36.613 whilst Lewis's time of 1m36.709 means that he will start from fourth.

"I am pleased to have qualified third for the second consecutive time," Kovalainen said. "Of course, we would have preferred a position on the front row, but Felipe and Kimi have been strong here all weekend and as a result third place is the maximum we could achieve. I have improved step by step throughout all the sessions, and my lap in the third qualifying was really good. Now we have to wait and see how the strategies will unfold in the race. With rain expected tomorrow anything could be possible."

Hamilton commented, "There didn't seem to be as much grip in the tyres during the final session, and I just struggled a bit. Also it was tough finding a gap in the traffic, which had an effect on my ability to warm up the brakes and manage the tyres. To be honest I didn't do a perfect job today, and I will study the data to see how I can go faster tomorrow. We have to stay positive though as we are still in a good position and anything can happen in the race. "

Team boss Ron Dennis added, "A good job by both drivers, with two solid grid positions for tomorrow's race. Obviously it would be preferable to be starting from the first rather than second row, but we fully expected to face stronger competition here this weekend and are comfortable with our race strategy."

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