Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix and in doing so is in the best position to deal a potentially decisive blow to his championship rival Sebastian Vettel, who failed to set a time at Sepang and will start from the back of the grid. Kimi Raikkonen in the sister Ferrari was in second place and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in third.

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After going out on the first lap at the last round in Singapore, Vettel suffered a huge setback to his championship hopes. A mechanical problem prevented the German from setting a time in Q1. He trails Hamilton by 28 points and up until the start of qualifying had looked a strong candidate for pole but will now at best be attempting to minimise his losses on Sunday.

Hamilton had struggled with his car all weekend but on the final runs in Q3, put together some exceptional laps. For his first run, a 1min 30.076, he finally had the car hooked up and once again made the most of it. He was unable to improve on the second run but despite an impressive final lap from Raikkonen – the Finn came to within four-hundredths of a second – it was not quite enough.

“Somehow we turned it round, the car felt great, it is a real surprise to be up here,” said Hamilton. “We are going to have a tough battle but I am hoping our car has moved in the right direction for race day.” His ninth pole of the season, takes him to a career total of 70 and is a clear reminder of how strong he has been over the single lap in Sepang. He now has five poles here, equal with Michael Schumacher’s record. The serious work has still to be done however, only once before has he converted pole to a win, in 2014, also his only victory at the race.

Mercedes were expected to be strong in Malaysia, the long straights and sweeping high-speed corners, similar to Silverstone and Monza playing to the strengths of their car and Hamilton, as he had in Britain and Italy, exploited it to maximum effect when it mattered.

It had not come easily, however. The team had brought upgrades to Malaysia but struggled with balance, set-up and a lack of grip in practice. On Friday they were well off the pace, Hamilton was sixth in the second session and the team believed the car had a fundamental issue they needed to solve but he was still over a half a second back in fifth on Saturday morning.

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Turning it around for qualifying was a mighty effort and once again he proved that he can deliver an inch perfect lap when it matters. He will be taking nothing for granted, however. It was at Malaysia last year that he suffered an engine failure that dealt what was to prove an insurmountable blow to his title hopes. Vettel had an electrical problem in final practice and the team opted to change their engine as a precaution, fitting the new upgraded iteration. They had little time to make the change but had done so in time for the start of the session. On his first run he reported a turbo problem and was forced to return to the pits.

The mechanics struggled to solve the issue but were unable to do so and he could take no further part in the session. He had looked destined for a strong weekend, having been quickest in the second practice session and second on Saturday morning, well clear of Hamilton.

“It’s part of motor racing,” he said. “It’s not ideal, especially when you feel you have got it in the car. It was a bad day but we will make the most of tomorrow.” Having failed to set a time, Vettel will start from the back the grid. Since penalties will make no difference to his starting position, the team are likely to take a raft of new powerunit components, including the turbo, of which he has used his allocated four of this season.

Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull was in fourth, followed by Valtteri Bottas in the Mercedes. The two Force India’s of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez finished in sixth and ninth respectively. McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne showed strong form to take seventh, with his team-mate Fernando Alonso in 10th. Renault’s Nico Hülkenberg finished in eighth.

The young French driver, Pierre Gasly, making his Formula One debut having been brought in for this race to replace Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso as the team assess his potential for a drive in 2018, proved very impressive. He finished in 15th just two tenths off his team-mate Carlos Sainz, in 14th.

The Williams of Felipe Massa was in 11th, with his team-mate Lance Stroll in 13th and Renault’s Jolyon Palmer in 12th. Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen of Haas were in 16th and 17th respectively, with the two Sauber’s of Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson in 18th and 19th.