McLaren's Lewis Hamilton expects Red Bull to be quicker in qualifying
McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has claimed that Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel weren't able to display their true pace during the Friday practice sessions ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix. Hamilton added that the duo could still go half a second quicker than what they managed in free practice.
Webber was quickest in both practice sessions at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia today, but his team-mate Vettel didn’t find the right setup. The reigning champion ended up 17th and fourth fastest in practice one and two respectively.
Hamilton claimed, “I think it's a lot of rubbish, really. I'm sure they have another half a second at least to pull out tomorrow. I hope that's the case that we are closer than we were in the last race, but we'll wait and see tomorrow.”
The British driver further added, “I think it's been interesting. Whether it has been good.. We seem to be reasonably close, but I'm sure the Red Bulls will pull something out tomorrow in qualifying. Nonetheless, we found some good things in the set-up of the car.”
Hamilton’s team-mate Jenson Button was happy with his progress today, but he also expected a lot more from the reigning champions. The 2009 Formula One champion was unable to clock a good time in P1, as he finished 15th overall. However, he got things working for him in P2 and clocked the second fastest time of the session, which was just 0.005 seconds behind Webber’s lap.
Although Button was excited about his performance today, he was not certain whether it would continue in the race itself. He claimed that McLaren’s only concern was to improve their car and get the best out of it for the race, which will take place on Sunday, 10th April.
The British driver further added that he was not sure about what fuel loads other teams were running, as he only knew about his team.
Apart from the McLaren drivers, Michael Schumacher enjoyed a good day in his Mercedes car. The veteran failed to perform in the inaugural Australian Grand Prix, but bounced back with some good lap times during free practice in Malaysia. He ended up third fastest in P1 whereas managed to clock fifth best time in P2.
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