Free 2: Hamilton remains fastest in Malaysia

As the Formula 1 cars returned to the track for practice 2 at Sepang, the threat of rain loomed over the track as stormy clouds bubbled up. However, as the session progressed, the threat of rain ebbed away as Lewis Hamilton remained fastest, roughly three tenths ahead of Michael Schumacher.

The Marussia of Timo Glock was the first car out on track as the session got underway, with many of the drivers’ opting to set timed laps straight away as the possibility of rain still threatened the running. It was the Australian of Mark Webber who went fastest at first with a 01:41.144 in the Red Bull.

The Toro Rosso’s of Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo then went quickest, before Nico Rosberg slotted into 2nd. Michael Schumacher then shot to the top for Mercedes with a 01:39.867. Paul Di Resta had a torrid session for Force India, suffering from a puncture early one, before his left-rear brakes briefly caught fire, forcing the mechanics to unleash a fire extinguisher on the rear of the car.

As the session wore on McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton returned to the top with a 01:39.611, before Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo went top with a 01:38.853. As these quick times were being set, Heikki Kovalainen was lucky not to collide with Mark Webber as he out-braked himself heading into turn 1 whilst overtaking the Red Bull.

Kamui Kobayashi’s afternoon was hampered by a gearbox problem, as the Sauber mechanics literally split the car into two parts to try and solve the issue. Whilst all this was going on, Hamilton returned to the top with a 01:38.816, which he beat with a 01:38.617 shortly afterwards.

Michael Schumacher then set the fastest time on what was suspected as a low-fuel run in the Mercedes. The German set a 01:38.533, before Hamilton returned yet again to the top with hardly anything between the top 4 drivers’ on timing sheets.

Narain Karthikeyan suffered another difficult session, as the Indian driver suffered from yet another hydraulics issue whilst in the garage. However, the HRT was able to return to the track shortly afterwards, however Karthikeyan ended the session pointing in the opposite direction at turn 15 after spinning the car.

Tomorrow sees practice 3 and Qualifying take place, with the threat of rain intensifying as the weekend progresses.

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