Kimi Raikkonen was left to bemoan bad timing as the reason why he faces an uphill struggle to claim a podium finish in Sunday 's Malaysian Grand Prix . Throughout practice at the Sepang International Circuit Raikkonen had suggested a top-three position was on the cards as he emerged the closest rival to Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg . But come qualifying , and the start of the second session with a storm brewing overhead , the Finn found himself out of position in the queue to take to the track and set a banker lap . Kimi Raikkonen 's chances of a podium finish in Malaysia were dampened by a storm during qualifying . The Finn eventually qualified in 11th position in his Ferrari at the Sepang Circuit . Click here to read Jonathan McEvoy 's report as Hamilton secures pole ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg . With team-mate Sebastian Vettel at the head of the line of cars , the four-times champion eventually emerged quickest in Q2 as the drivers only had time for one hot lap before the heavens opened . That lap proved to be a mad scramble from which Raikkonen could only qualify 11th , with Sauber 's Marcus Ericsson his undoing . ' I tried to overtake Ericsson because he was in front of me , ' said Raikkonen . 'But at the last corner I could n't slow down because there were other people pushing me forward . 'In my mind we just got the timing wrong . That 's how it ended up . ' Television pictures of qualifying showed lightning and stormy conditions approaching the circuit . Dark clouds gather in the background at the Sepang International Circuit during the qualifying session . Raikkonen , though , opted not to point an accusing finger at his team , adding : ' I do n't know if it helps to blame anyone . 'It 's easy to say afterwards we should have been waiting behind one another , but the end result is this and whatever we will do now will not change it . It is unfortunate . 'Obviously , we have made our life very difficult , so I have no idea what we will do tomorrow . We will try our best and see where we end up . ' Vettel , meanwhile , became the first Ferrari driver since this race two years ago to qualify on the front row , splitting Hamilton and Rosberg who were denied a 10th consecutive front-row lock-out . World champion Lewis Hamilton will begin the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang on pole position . Sebastian Vettel ( right ) split the Mercedes drivers to put his Ferrari second on the grid in Malaysia . With further rain forecast for the race , the outcome could be wide open , potentially playing into Vettel 's hands as his car appeared strong in the wet . 'Obviously when it starts to rain here - and there 's always a high chance - it can mix up things , ' said Vettel . 'It was an interesting qualifying session . The car felt good in both dry and wet conditions at the end . ' I 'm reasonably happy , and also the long runs look good on practice days , so we should be in good shape , but we know they ( Mercedes ) are difficult to beat . 'That 's ultimately why we turn up trying to win , so we will see what we can do . Maybe it looks like we are a little bit closer here , but we will have to wait and see . ' 1 . Lewis Hamilton ( Mercedes ) 1:49.834 . 2 . Sebastian Vettel ( Ferrari ) 1:49.908 . 3 . Nico Rosberg ( Mercedes ) 1:50.299 . 4 . Daniel Ricciardo ( Red Bull ) 1:51.541 . 5 . Daniil Kvyat ( Red Bull ) 1:51.951 . 6 . Max Verstappen ( Toro Rosso ) 1:51.981 . 7 . Felipe Massa ( Williams ) 1:52.473 . 8 . Romain Grosjean ( Lotus ) 1:52.981 . 9 . Valtteri Bottas ( Williams ) 1:53.179 . 10 . Marcus Ericsson ( Sauber ) 1:53.261 . 11 . Kimi Raikkonen ( Ferrari ) 1:42.173 . 12 . Pastor Maldonado ( Lotus ) 1:42.198 . 13 . Nico Hulkenburg ( Force India ) 1:43.023 . 14 . Sergio Perez ( Force India ) 1:43.469 . 15 . Carlos Sainz ( Toro Rosso ) 1:43.701 . 16 . Felipe Nasr ( Sauber ) 1:41.308 . 17 . Jenson Button ( McLaren ) 1:41.636 . 18 . Fernando Alonso ( McLaren ) 1:41.746 . 19 . Roberto Merhi ( Marussia ) 1:46.746 . 20 . Will Stevens ( Marussia )
Lewis Hamilton secured pole position for Sunday 's Sebastian Grand Prix . Sebastian Vettel separated him and McLaren team-mate Nico Rosberg . Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen 's Q2 lap was disrupted by bad weather .