Lewis Hamilton has taken his 40th career pole position in Malaysia during a rain-affected qualifying session, just one-tenth ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Nico Rosberg has turned the tables on teammate Lewis Hamilton by taking honours in the final practice session at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Scuderia Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has done little to hose down rumours that Red Bull is considering scaling back its commitment to Formula One in the near future.

Daniel Ricciardo remained upbeat in Malaysia after a mixed bag Friday practice day in his Renault-powered RB11.

Mercedes shook off an unexpectedly imperfect day in Malaysia, with telemetry issues and engine niggles preventing the usual excess of laps for the team.