Formula One: Rain interrupts Malaysia qualifying

A tropical downpour halted Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying for more than half-an-hour on Saturday, giving drivers an anxious wait before the top 10 shoot-out. Rain started falling at the end of Q1 and grew torrential by Q2, forcing the drivers back to their garages as fans ran for cover and mechanics mopped the pitlane. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was the big victim as he was unable to improve on his 11th position and was forced out of the Q3 shoot-out involving the 10 fastest drivers. Qualifying was halted at 5:40 pm (0940 GMT) and Q3 was due to start at 6:15 pm at the earliest, race organisers said in an official communication. Rain has played spoiler in Malaysia before. In 2012, the race was halted for nearly an hour and in 2009, it lasted just 31 laps before being stopped and awarded to Jenson Button.