Lewis Hamilton tops the time-sheets in the final Malaysian practice: Formula 1 Update
Things just got more exciting in the third practice session of the 2011 Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix, as a lot of teams expressed their speed and competitiveness. However, the session was spearheaded by the McLaren driver, Lewis Hamilton, who clocked a
lightening time of one minute and 36.340 seconds.
After the inaugural race of the season in Australia, it seemed that no team would be able to match the pace of Red Bull. Reigning champion, Sebastian Vettel was dominant throughout the weekend at Melbourne and no team was able to catch him in the race.
However, McLaren have turned the tables on the 2010 champions, posting competitive lap times at the Sepang circuit. Vettel’s team-mate Mark Webber was quick during Friday practice, as he set the pace yesterday. He managed to clock the second fastest time
of the session towards the end today, after some initial struggles. He will be pleased with his performances until now, as he has outpaced Vettel in Malaysia.
The second driver of McLaren, Jenson Button, was lined up behind Webber in the third spot, but the British driver would not be worried as he was just 0.032 seconds behind the Australian.
Renault had some issues during the practice sessions yesterday, but they seem to be resolved today. Drivers, Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov, were quick, posting the fourth and seventh fastest times in today’s practice. They will be eyeing a similar qualifying
session, which starts within a couple of hour’s time.
After struggling to match the front-runners before today, Ferrari required an extra-effort from their drivers, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. Both drivers lived up to the expectations of their team and fans, posting some competitive lap times. They finished
sixth and eighth respectively.
There was a last minute surprise from Sauber’s driver Kamui Kobayashi, who jumped to ninth, ahead of the two Mercedes drivers, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. The German team has been quicker in Malaysia and will be expecting a strong show in qualifiers
today.
The second race of the season has been far more competitive as compared to the Australian Grand Prix. There is also a possibility of rain during qualifying and race day, which will make things trickier for the drivers.
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