Lewis Hamilton during FP1 in Malaysia
McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton has ended FP1 fastest in Malaysia ahead of reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, with the heat causing high amounts of tyre wear up and down the grid. Jenson Button suffered a difficult morning session, as the 2009 world champion’s running was cut short due to an oil leak on his McLaren.
As the session got underway in hot and humid conditions it was the Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne that took to the track first, the Frenchman followed out by many other drivers’ eager to complete their installation laps. Force India’s Paul Di Resta set the first timed lap of the weekend with a 02:04.524 shortly after the session began.
That timed lap was quickly beaten as Timo Glock, then Jenson Button went quicker. The McLaren driver set a 01:39.323 which was then beaten by a couple of tenths by F1 returnee Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn confident of a possible podium finish this weekend for Lotus.
The other Lotus driver of Romain Grosjean suffered an issue with his right-rear tyre throughout FP1, as the Frenchman limped back to the pits. Many believed at first that he was stuck in seventh gear, but as he returned to the pits it became apparent the tyre had worked itself loose. If Grosjean had gone any faster on his way back to the pits, it could have ended disastrously for the Frenchman.
Whilst the Lotus mechanics worked on Grosjean’s car, Michael Schumacher went fastest for Mercedes with a 01:39.083, which he improved upon shortly afterwards.
As the session wore on, the threat of rain in practice 2 began increasing, forcing many teams’ to alter their Friday plans to accommodate for the possibility of wet running in the afternoon. Hamilton, meanwhile, shot to the top with a 01:38.598, which was beaten by Vettel with a 01:38.535 as the times began to get faster. Hamilton continued his improvements at the top, going even quicker with a 01:38.021 after a heavy lock-up into turn 15.
HRT’s miseries continued throughout practice 1 as Narain Karthikeyan ground to a halt, this time with a suspected hydraulic failure. The Indian driver completed 8 laps in total throughout practice 1.
As their team-mates set the pace atop the timing sheets, Jenson Button's and Mark Webber’s cars were surrounded by their respective mechanics towards the end of the session. Red Bull mechanics seemed interested on the rear of Webber’s car, with one mechanic filing away at the floor of the Australian’s car.
However, things looked slightly more serious at McLaren, with Button’s car completely stripped down with even the KERs battery removed. It was confirmed that Button's McLaren was suffering from an oil leak, with mechanics crowding around the car trying their best to fix the issue.
As the session came to a close Hamilton was leading the way five tenths ahead of Vettel. With rain forecast for practice 2, this session of dry running could prove pivotal in the quest for success at Sepang.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.021s 19 2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m38.535s + 0.514 21 3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.813s + 0.792 21 4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.826s + 0.805 19 5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m38.919s + 0.898 17 6. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m39.092s + 1.071 20 7. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m39.128s + 1.107 22 8. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m39.298s + 1.277 23 9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m39.323s + 1.302 15 10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m39.440s + 1.419 19 11. Valterri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m39.724s + 1.703 23 12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m39.783s + 1.762 23 13. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m39.896s + 1.875 16 14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.910s + 1.889 21 15. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m39.980s + 1.959 23 16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.099s + 2.078 23 17. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m40.247s + 2.226 19 18. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.469s + 2.448 23 19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m40.857s + 2.836 25 20. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m41.085s + 3.064 23 21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m43.170s + 5.149 18 22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m44.580s + 6.559 14 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m45.360s + 7.339 8 24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m45.528s + 7.507 18
