It was a deeply uncomfortable inquisition for Whitmarsh, who has not yet
brought home a drivers’ or constructors’ title for McLaren since he replaced
Ron Dennis in the top job in 2009.
His team also gives the impression of lacking clear direction when they most
need it, with former technical director Paddy Lowe placed on gardening leave
before his move to Mercedes
for the 2014 campaign.
Whitmarsh did his best to play down that image, arguing: “Previous questioning
was about me laying the blame at the door of someone who may or may not be
in the team anymore.
“That has never been my approach. As a team, we have to fix this. I am
relaxed about it. I have been involved personally in over 100 grand prix
victories, so I know what that is like. We have had some black moments
before, and we can get through it.”
How starkly McLaren’s travails contrasted with the dominance of Red
Bull here. With a masterclass in the Malaysian rain, Sebastian
Vettel took his second pole position this season as an afternoon downpour
forced a dramatic conclusion to the third qualifying session.
Red Bull’s triple world champion squeezed through the first session by only
four tenths of a second, but after he switched to a second set of
intermediate tyres during the final session, Vettel again underlined his
peerless composure under strain.
The German will be challenged from the outset by the Ferrari pair of Felipe
Massa and Fernando Alonso, following their late surge to move second and
third, with Lewis Hamilton fourth.
Kimi Raikkonen, fresh from his victory in Australia, had the raw speed to
contend for the front row but was given a three-place penalty for impeding
Nico Rosberg, relegating him to 10th.
It proved a torrid afternoon for Lotus as the Finn’s team-mate, Romain
Grosjean, also suffered having mistimed his run in the second qualifying
session in changeable conditions due to a faulty weather radar.
Hamilton stood top of the standings with just two minutes to go but Vettel
ultimately eclipsed the field with a beautifully judged lap of one minute
49.674seconds.
“It was a generally interesting qualifying,” Vettel said, smiling at the rain
disruption. “We had a little bit of a different approach to other people.
With the circuit drying, it was clear that it was better to change tyres.”
Given that qualifying had little bearing upon last weekend’s race, which
Raikkonen won from seventh on the grid, Malaysia is likely to yield another
engrossing tactical battle. “Managing the tyres will be crucial,” said the
25-year-old, who sits third in the all-time pole-sitters’ list behind only
Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.
The pace of the Ferrari duo looks ominous, and a potentially tense dynamic is
developing within the team as Massa out-qualified lead driver Alonso for the
fourth consecutive race.
The Brazilian refused to be drawn on the increasing rivalry, saying only: “I
know that I can get the maximum from the car.”