Formula One Malaysia - Sepang, Apr 2 - 4

I wondered if it rained at Sepang during the Formula One practice session this afternoon. It was dry. At last year's Formula One, the races had to be called off one hour after it started and by the time the rain stopped, it was too late to resume.

Lesson learned, this year's Formula One has been scheduled to begin at 4pm instead of the usual 5pm just so that it will still be bright enough to resume should there be a repeat of the heavy downpour of last year.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in Friday's opening practice for the Malaysian F1 GP. Clocking in a time of one minute, 34.921 seconds, he was the quickest around the Sepang circuit, just under two-tenths of a second faster than Nico Rosberg of Mercedes, who set his best time on his last lap.

Their respective teammates, Jenson Button of McLaren and Mercedes' Michael Schumacher, were third and fourth fastest in the qualifying session.

Malaysia's own Lotus Racing's Fairuz Fauzy (picture below) was 22nd while his teammate Jarno Trulli was 19th.



You can read more about the F1 qualifying round on The Star but let's just take a look at the standings at the end of today's session:

Practice results Friday for Sunday's Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix at the 5.543-kilometer (3.444-mile) Sepang circuit with driver, country, car, fastest lap time and laps completed:

First Session

1. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren, 1 minute, 34.921 seconds, 19 laps.

2. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes, 1:35.106, 19.

3. Jenson Button, Britain, McLaren, 1:35.207, 25.

4. Michael Schumacher, Germany, Mercedes, 1:35.225, 14.

5. Robert Kubica, Poland, Renault, 1:35.402, 22.

6. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull, 1:35.479, 22.

7. Adrian Sutil, Germany, Force India, 1:35.955, 20.

8. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Ferrari, 1:35.959, 20.

9. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Red Bull, 1:36.043, 19.

10. Sebastien Buemi, Switzerland, Toro Rosso, 1:36.100, 20.

11. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari, 1:36.451, 22.

12. Kamui Kobayashi, Japan, Sauber, 1:36.503, 28.

13. Jaime Alguersuari, Spain, Toro Rosso, 1:36.645, 18.

14. Vitaly Petrov, Russia, Renault, 1:36.712, 9.

15. Paul di Resta, Britain, Force India, 1:36.891, 25.

16. Pedro de la Rosa, Spain, Sauber, 1:36.899, 24.

17. Nico Hulkenberg, Germany, Williams, 1:37.802, 27.

18. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Williams, 1:38.278, 18.

19. Jarno Trulli, Italy, Lotus, 1:39.460, 21.

20. Timo Glock, Germany, Virgin, 1:39.755, 17.

21. Lucas di Grassi, Brazil, Virgin, 1:40.159, 25.

22. Fairuz Fauzy, Malaysia, Lotus, 1:40.721, 19.

23. Bruno Senna, Brazil, Hispania, 1:41.832, 27.

24. Karun Chandhok, India, Hispania, 1:41.966, 24.


So, will you be there on Sunday?


Source: The Star