Italian Giancarlo Fisichella won the Malaysian Grand Prix from pole, making this a 1-2 for Renault. World Champion Fernando Alonso finished seven seconds behind, while British driver Jenson Button came home in third place in his Honda some 12 seconds behind the leader.
Juan Pablo Montoya finished in fourth place in his McLaren-Mercedes, followed by Ferrari team mates Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher in fifth and sixth.
Jacques Villeneuve finished in seventh place, with Ralf Schumacher in the Toyota finishing in the final points paying position.
Giancarlo Fisichella has had a difficult time so far this season but an engine change after Bahrain, allowed because his car failed to finish for other reasons, meant that the Italian went to steamy Malaysia with the potential to outshine his rivals. And so he did in the final minutes of the qualifying session as he took third career Pole Position away from Jenson Button by two-tenths of a second. The Renault driver’s final lap in the third and final phase of qualifying stopped the clocks in a 1:33.840s, a tenth clear of the field. Jenson button starts a cool second in his Honda while Nico Rosberg did a sensational job in what is his second Grand Prix weekend to qualify his Williams Cosworth third.
It is a great result for me and a great answer after the last race. We made a big mistake in Bahrain, but anyway now the package is fantastic and the reliability and performance is good and I am sure now I will have a chance to do well said Fisichella.
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