Fisichella Takes Pole

The record books will be heavily thumbed in Malaysia this morning if Nico Rosberg becomes, at the age of 20, the youngest winner of a grand prix.

Such a feat seemed possible yesterday when the novice qualified third for his second Formula One race by continuing to show a maturity and quiet confidence beyond his years. Having established a place on the grid behind the pole-position Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button’s Honda, Rosberg was only too aware that qualifying, for all its frantic action under the popular new format, was a mere prelude to one of the most physically demanding races of the season.

Rosberg was perspiring heavily as he familiarized himself with a postqualifying interview routine that will become second nature if he continues his remarkable progress. The signs were that he may find the Malaysian Grand Prix a severe test of endurance, particularly if the ambient temperature continues to hover around 40C.

The cockpit readings will exceed 50C as the second round of the championship runs for an hour and a half and the drivers are subjected to massive g-forces as the track sweeps through the succession of fast curves that make Sepang unique. ‘I know this is going to be more difficult than Bahrain last week,’ said Rosberg. ‘That was quite easy for me even though it was hot there. I know from qualifying here that this is going to be very hard. But I’ll push and I’ll get to the end for sure.’ Rosberg reached the end in Bahrain by finishing seventh.

Scoring points might have been significant in itself, but it was the manner of his achievement that marked the Williams driver as a future star. Rosberg made a typical novice’s mistake by spinning at the first corner, which forced a pit stop for a new nose and a climb from the back of the field.

The Finn set the fastest lap of the race - a fact that made his father Keke, the 1982 world champion, particularly proud - and along the way showed he was not to be trifled with as he sliced through the field. Rosberg demonstrated another significant piece of his armory yesterday when he learnt the third longest - and one of the most difficult - tracks despite his number of laps being limited by the need to conserve his engine for qualifying and the race. ‘

Because of the restriction on the number of laps, it was not easy,’ he said. ‘I got into it quite quickly and maybe it was a help actually not knowing the track. I knew Bahrain very well [Rosberg clinched the GP2 championship there last year] and I thought I could use all that knowledge. But an F1 car is completely different and I found after a while that I had to start from scratch. Here, I had no references, so I just went out and took it as I found it. And it worked. ‘I gained confidence in Bahrain. Going well during winter testing is one thing. It was important to give a good impression in the race - and that gave me a boost.’

Today’s race might prove more difficult as some of F1’s heavy hitters look for a way past the Williams. Among them will be Fernando Alonso as the world champion starts from the fourth row of the grid, his lowly position compared to team-mate Fisichella being due to Renault having a problem with the fuel rig before his final run. The team would not elaborate, but it must be assumed that too much fuel had been added to the car.

Alonso’s handicap will be one of many confusing variables to take into consideration. More significant is the rule requiring a driver to lose 10 places on the grid if he has an unscheduled change of engine. That will affect at least five drivers, particularly the Schumacher brothers as Michael drops from fourth to thirteenth and Ralf takes a place towards the back of the grid because his engine failed during qualifying.

Schumacher and Ferrari almost won in Bahrain, the former champions being outfoxed - but only by a tenth of a second - as Renault got Alonso ahead of the Ferrari purely through the sort of slick strategy that Ferrari has used to such good effect in the past. ‘I’ll be starting from the seventh row, which isn’t too bad considering the penalty inflicted for the engine change,’ said Schumacher. ‘Considering the circumstances, our objective is not to lose touch with the drivers who will presumably be fighting for the championship.’

At the current rate of going, such a broad statement includes Schumacher himself, the Renault drivers Juan Pablo Montoya (sixth fastest yesterday) and Kimi Raikkonen (seventh), as well as Button and even his team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who starts from the back because of swapping to the spare Honda after a myriad of problems with his own car.

After yesterday’s performance, the Williams-Cosworth drivers cannot be ignored, Mark Webber taking fifth fastest time, but moving on to the second row of the grid at Schumacher’s expense. Williams have been seen as the dark horse, an independent team without the financial clout and assistance from a major manufacturer such as Mercedes or Renault. That will add to the sense of occasion if Rosberg wins in the opening phase of what looks like being one of the most unpredictable seasons of the past decade.

How they line up

1. G Fisichella Renault 1:33.840
2. J Button Honda 1:33.986
3. N Rosberg Williams 1:34.626
4. M Webber Williams 1:34.672
5. JP Montoya McLaren 1:34.916
6. K Raikkonen McLaren 1:34.983
7. F Alonso Renault 1:35.747
8. C Klien Red Bull 1:38.715
9. J Trulli Toyota 1:34.702
10. J Villeneuve BMW Sauber 1:34.752
11. N Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:34.783
12. S Speed Toro Rosso 1:36.297
13. V Liuzzi Toro Rosso 1:36.581
14. M Schumacher Ferrari 1:34.668*
15. C Albers Midland 1:37.426
16. T Monteiro Midland 1:37.819
17. T Sato Super Aguri 1:39.011
18. Y Ide Super Aguri 1:40.720
19. R Schumacher Toyota 1:34.586*
20. D Coulthard Red Bull 1:34.614*
21. R Barrichello Honda 1:34.683*
22. F Massa Ferrari 1:35.091*