Formula 1

Hamilton Leads First Practice In Malaysia

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Lewis Hamilton picked up in Malaysia where he left off in Australia by setting the pace in first practice at Sepang. The Briton took pole position for the season opener only to be sidelined by reliability problems but Mercedes remain the team to beat on outright pace if this morning is anything to go by.

The Brackley squad kept their powder relatively dry in the opening half hour while Fernando Alonso set the fastest time on the extra set of prime tyres provided by Pirelli. After a brief lull, Kevin Magnussen rose to the top of the timesheets but his McLaren soon slowed with a sensor indicating a rise in temperatures at the rear of the car, turning the power unit down.

By the time the Dane was able to re-join, his time had been overhauled by Kimi Raikkonen who showed his best form since joining Ferrari. The two-time Sepang winner set a 1:40.843 which eventually secured him second place overall, Hamilton going a tenth faster to edge him out. Lewis’ session ended with a tricky moment at turn eleven after running on the kerbs before turning in but after a trip through the gravel, he cruised back to the pits.

Behind Raikkonen, Nico Rosberg took third with Jenson Button sneaking ahead of his teammate for fourth. Jean-Eric Vergne pipped Sebastian Vettel for sixth to finish as the top Renault-powered runner while Nico Hulkenberg and the Williams duo, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, completing the top ten. Fernando Alonso was eleventh fastest in the second Ferrari on a morning which saw him spin at turn eight. He wasn’t alone though with Massa making the same mistake while Sauber’s Adrian Sutil managed a pirouette on his way into the pit lane.

Lotus’ miserable start to 2014 continued with both cars breaking down during the first session. Romain Grosjean went out for an installation lap early on but ground to a halt at turn ten while Pastor Maldonado’s E22 coasted back to the pits leaving plumes of smoke in its wake, neither having set a time. Grosjean did at least return in the closing stages for another installation lap but the Enstone team will be looking to make up for lost time this afternoon.

 

 2014 PETRONAS MALAYSIA GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE 1 RESULT
POS DRIVER TEAM TYRE TIME
1  44. LEWIS HAMILTON MERCEDES HARD 1:40.691
2  7. KIMI RAIKKONEN FERRARI HARD 1:40.843
3  6. NICO ROSBERG MERCEDES HARD 1:41.028
4  22. JENSON BUTTON McLAREN MERCEDES HARD 1:41.111
5  20. KEVIN MAGNUSSEN McLAREN MERCEDES HARD 1:41.274
6  25. JEAN-ERIC VERGNE STR RENAULT HARD 1:41.402
7  1. SEBASTIAN VETTEL RED BULL RACING RENAULT HARD 1:41.523
8  27. NICO HULKENBERG FORCE INDIA MERCEDES HARD 1:41.642
9  19. FELIPE MASSA WILLIAMS MERCEDES HARD 1:41.686
10  77. VALTTERI BOTTAS WILLIAMS MERCEDES HARD 1:41.830
11  14. FERNANDO ALONSO FERRARI HARD 1:41.923
12  3. DANIEL RICCIARDO RED BULL RACING RENAULT HARD 1:21.117
13  99. ADRIAN SUTIL SAUBER FERRARI HARD 1:42.365
14  26. DANIIL KVYAT STR RENAULT HARD 1:42.869
15  21. ESTEBAN GUTIERREZ SAUBER FERRARI HARD 1:42.904
16  17. JULES BIANCHI MARUSSIA FERRARI HARD 1:43.825
17  9. MARCUS ERICSSON CATERHAM RENAULT HARD 1:45.775
18  4. MAX CHILTON MARUSSIA FERRARI HARD 1:46.911
19  10. KAMUI KOBAYASHI CATERHAM RENAULT HARD 1:51.180
20  11. SERGIO PEREZ FORCE INDIA MERCEDES HARD NO TIME
21  13. PASTOR MALDONADO LOTUS RENAULT HARD NO TIME
22  8. ROMAIN GROSJEAN LOTUS RENAULT HARD NO TIME
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