In the second race of the new season, Lewis Hamilton is in pole position at The Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia after edging out Sebastian Vettel by just 0.074 seconds in Saturday’s soaking wet qualifying.
Hamilton won here for the first time last year, but Vettel has also tasted a lot of success in Malaysia in recent years – winning three of the last five races here – in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
The Englishman made the perfect start to the defence of his title a fortnight ago in Melbourne, edging out Mercedes team-mate, Nico Rosberg – with the rest of the field way behind and only 11 cars finishing. It seemed that the trends of 2014, i.e. McLaren dominance, financial concerns and political turmoil, had all been carried over to Australia, but will it be more of the same in 2015?
Vettel will be desperate prevent Hamilton pulling away quickly in the 2015 F1 Championship, and could earn his first win with Ferrari in doing so.
Hamilton and Vettel will line-up as one-two on the grid, with Rosberg in third – who was thought to have held up his team-mate on the final qualifying lap. However, the most notable performance in qualifying went to 17-year-old Dutchman, Max Verstappen, of Toro Rosso – who managed a stunning sixth place in only his second race.
It looks set to be a battle between the English and Germans once again, with Hamilton, Vettel and Rosberg all very likely to be in contention. If the Brit does win, it will represent a stunning eighth win in nine races – further emphasizing his current dominance. Rosberg and Vettel will know a defeat here could make it very difficult to reign Hamilton back in – and the championship could be as good as over by the time it reaches Europe if nobody can step up to seriously – and consistently – challenge him.
It’s likely to be wet again on race day, so any minor errors could be severely punished by the torrential conditions.
That said, the Sepang is probably the best of the Hermann Tilke-designed tracks and should provide a fascinating battlefield for the drivers.
Tip:
1st Hamilton, 2nd Vettel – 7/2 at SkyBet
Track: The Sepang International Circuit
Start Time: 08:00 GMT (15:00 local)
Laps: 56
Track Length: 5.543
Tyre Allocation: Hard (orange) and Medium (white)
Lap Record: Juan Pablo Montoya – 1:34.223 (BMW Williams; 2014)
Betfair:
Bet on Henrik Stenson to become the BMW PGA Championship Winner.
Paddypower:
Back Australia to take the Ashes home with them.
Betway:
Back Rafael Nadal to become the Mens French Open Winner.
Coral:
Back One For Arthur to win the Grand National.
Bet365:
Back Mexico to win the Confederations Cup.
