Hamilton beats Button to Sepang pole

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button maintained McLaren's 2012 qualifying superiority as they repeated their Melbourne grid result and filled for the front row for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher produced the best qualifying performance of his Formula 1 comeback as he took third for Mercedes, while world champion Sebastian Vettel chose to run the harder tyre and will start fifth for Red Bull. Just as had been the case in Australia, Hamilton's first pole shot in Q3 was sufficient to secure the top spot, as his 1m36.219s proved unbeatable

Yves Giraud Cabantous Kasey Kenneth Kahne William Ashton Lewis Jr Innes Ireland David Hobbs Sam Hanks