Lewis Hamilton will start the Malaysian Grand Prix from pole position after setting an early benchmark in Q3 to go quickest.
The Mercedes driver handled the damp conditions well to post a 1:49.834, which he couldn’t better on his second flying lap after abandoning an attempt when team-mate Nico Rosberg seemingly blocked the British driver.
Sebastian Vettel seized his chance and almost took pole, but had to settle for second – Ferrari’s first front-row start in two years – to split the two Mercedes cars with Rosberg third.
Red Bull put in a strong performance to take fourth and fifth, whilst rookie Max Verstappen secured sixth on the grid to the delight of his watching father, Jos Verstappen.
Felipe Massa was eighth ahead of Romain Grosjean, Valtteri Bottas and tenth-placed Marcus Ericsson.
Q2 saw heavy rain fall half way through the session, resulting in the loss of Kimi Raikkonen who had looked quick all weekend. The Finn eventually had to settle for 11th.
Jenson Button managed to beat McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso, though both failed to escape the clutches of Q3, with only the Manor of Roberto Merhi slower.
| # | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
| 01. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:39.269 | 1:41.517 | 1:49.834 |
| 02. | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 1:39.814 | 1:39.632 | 1:49.908 |
| 03. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:39.374 | 1:39.377 | 1:50.299 |
| 04. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:40.504 | 1:41.085 | 1:51.541 |
| 05. | D. Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:40.546 | 1:41.665 | 1:51.951 |
| 06. | M. Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:40.793 | 1:41.430 | 1:51.981 |
| 07. | F. Massa | Williams | 1:40.543 | 1:41.230 | 1:52.473 |
| 08. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:40.303 | 1:41.209 | 1:52.981 |
| 09. | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:40.249 | 1:40.650 | 1:53.179 |
| 10. | M. Ericsson | Sauber | 1:40.340 | 1:41.748 | 1:53.261 |
| 11. | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:40.415 | 1:42.173 | |
| 12. | P. Maldonado | Lotus | 1:40.361 | 1:42.198 | |
| 13. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:40.830 | 1:43.023 | |
| 14. | S. Perez | Force India | 1:41.036 | 1:43.469 | |
| 15. | C. Sainz Jr | Toro Rosso | 1:39.814 | 1:43.701 | |
| 16. | F. Nasr | Sauber | 1:41.308 | ||
| 17. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:41.636 | ||
| 18. | F. Alonso | McLaren | 1:41.746 | ||
| 19. | R. Merhi | Manor | 1:46.677 | ||
| 20. | W. Stevens | Manor | – |
