A bad afternoon for Ferrari in Sepang as another qualifying gamble failed to pay off and it meant that both drivers failed to get through to the second part of the session which leaves Fernando Alonso nineteenth on the grid with Felipe Massa twenty first. Hopes of a strong qualifying session based on competitive runs during free practice, were literally washed away in the rain, when a heavy downpour hit the track just as the first part of the session began. The plain facts are that Fernando Alonso will start tomorrow’s Malaysian Grand Prix from the tenth row of the grid in nineteenth place, with Felipe Massa right behind him in twenty first place.

Of course, like every other team, the Ferrari strategists were aware of the rain, except that the team’s weather forecast predicted an improvement in track conditions towards the end of Q1, so Fernando and Felipe were kept in the garage. By the time it was clear that the downpour was getting stronger, it was an impossible task to lap quickly enough to set at least a sixteenth fastest time which would have given the drivers a chance to make a better attempt in Q2. There can be no consolation in these situations, but at least two of the team’s main championship rivals, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton were also caught out and start from seventeenth and twentieth places respectively.

The team that seems to have the fastest car so far this season, Red Bull, made the best of the conditions, getting Mark Webber onto pole position and Sebastian Vettel right behind him in third. Joining the Australian on the front row is Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes. Alongside him is fellow German, Adrian Sutil in the Force India. Row 3 sees the Williams of Nico Hulkenberg in fifth spot, with Robert Kubica next to him in sixth place.

More rain is forecast for tomorrow’s race which starts at exactly the same time as today’s session – four in the afternoon. Whether or not this will favour or hinder the two Ferrari men is impossible to tell, as much will depend on the behaviour of those around them on the grid.

“We are very disappointed with the way qualifying went,” said Stefano Domenicali. “We made an error of judgement in trusting the weather forecast: when we went out on track the rain, rather than dying down, suddenly got even stronger. With hindsight, it is easy to say we should have gone out immediately. It’s a real shame because all the signs were that we could have done well and now we will have to prepare for an uphill fight in the race. But there’s no point in crying about things before they have even happened, because the race is not until tomorrow. And as we saw today, anything could happen. We will try and pick up as many points as possible, making the most of any opportunity that presents itself.”

Fernando Alonso: “We were expecting the rain to stop and that’s why we stayed in the garage longer than the others. When we went out, in fact the conditions got worse and even on the extreme wets, we were unable to improve our time. Rain might make things more spectacular, but the session just turns into a lottery. Today, it went badly for us and we found ourselves in the wrong place – the track – at the wrong time. However, the result of qualifying is only worth the paper on which it is written, because the points are assigned at the end of the race. Of course, starting from the back puts us in a difficult position but, as we saw last Sunday in Melbourne, anything can happen and we have to trust in our abilities. We must do our best to bring home a points finish.”

Felipe Massa: “We are very sorry about what happened. We waited a bit before going out, because it was raining hard and the forecast was for an improvement, however we found ourselves out on track where there was more water than predicted. We made a mistake and we were caught out by the weather forecast. Now we must do our best for tomorrow’s race. It will be tough, as always when you start from the back of the grid, but we will have to try and score at least a few points. It’s hard to say whether it’s better to hope for rain or sunshine: maybe with the former there might be more chance of the tables being turned, but it’s equally true that there are more chances of ending up out of the race.”

Chris Dyer: “Obviously, we are very disappointed. Yesterday, we did a good job of preparing for the weekend and this morning, the F10 was clearly very competitive in the dry and we therefore hoped for a good result this afternoon. The way the weather changed caught us on the back foot. An improvement had been predicted up to the end of Q1 and, in those circumstances it made sense to go out in the late stages. We went out at the mid point and after a few laps, some of them spoiled by yellow flags, the rain got heavier and we could no longer improve our performance, even if Fernando got very close right at the end. A real shame, as tomorrow’s race now becomes a case of damage limitation because of our grid positions. All the same, we are confident that we have a competitive car and we also have faith in our drivers, therefore we will try and make the most of this situation.”

Qualifying details:

Session Driver Pos. Time Laps Driver Pos. Time Laps
Q1 Alonso 19th 1.53.044 8
Q1 Massa 21st 1.53.283 7