Scott Redding had to settle for 15th on the grid for tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix, after being outgunned in qualifying at Sepang. As one of only two riders unable to use the softer tyre available only to his open class rivals, Redding was always on the back foot in his attempts to make it through to Q2.

At times during the session it looked as though the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider had the pace to go faster and challenge for a top two spot. However, having lost out so much time in the second half of the lap with the two long straights, the Briton was unable to get among the frontrunners and the fifth row was the best that he could achieve.

The 22-year-old's pace in FP4, when the majority of the field run race simulations, indicated that progress has been made for tomorrow's 20-lap race but starting from the fifth row will make it exceptionally difficult for Redding.



Scott Redding: 15th – 2’01.367

"I'm just struggling and I feel that we're limited a little bit by the lap time. When I hit that time I can't go any faster and with the last sector having two straights back to back it's hard for me because we tend to lose a little bit there for some reason. I gave it my best and today it just wasn't good enough. It's not the first time this year that we've had to start from the fifth row and the main thing tomorrow is that we finish, because it's going to be a long, tough race in these conditions. If you're strong mentally and physically at the end of the race you can gain some places."

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal 

"It was disappointing to be 15th because on Friday we was looking quite promising with a top ten time in conditions that weren't so favourable to Scott. To come only 15th isn't what I was expecting and it looks like the people with the softer tyre have an advantage. It's a shame, but we knew that this was the case because it's been the same all season and, in reality, we shouldn’t really be in Q1 in the first place. It'll be a tough race tomorrow because we're coming from quite far down the grid, so now we have to be realistic and aim for between 10th and 12th."