Malaysian GP Free Practice Photos

Interview with Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has been at the centre of a controversy since the Australian Grand Prix, where the McLaren driver and sporting director Dave Ryan faced the FIA stewards to explain an incident with Jarno Trulli during the race.

Over the week, the FIA revealed both men had misled the stewards, leading to Hamilton's disqualification from the event and to heavy criticism in the British media over his antics.

On Friday at Sepang, Hamilton faced the media to offer an apology and to give his view on the whole incident.

Lewis Hamilton: In Melbourne, I had a great race. As soon as I got out the car I had the television interviews at the back of the garage, and straight away I gave them a good account of what happened during the race. Straight after that we were requested by the stewards, and while waiting for the stewards I was instructed and misled by my team manager to withhold information, and that is what I did.

I sincerely apologise to the stewards for wasting their time and for making them look silly. I am very, very sorry for the situation: for my team, for Dave because he has been a good member of the team for many years, and whilst I don't think it was his intention or...he is a good guy.

I went into the meeting, I had no intention of...I just wanted to tell the story and say what happened. I was misled and that is the way it went. I would like to say a big sorry to all my fans who have believed in me, who have supported me for years, who I showed who I am for the past three years, and it is who I am. I am not a liar. I am not a dishonest person. I am a team player.

Every time I have been informed to do something I have done it. This time I realise it was a huge mistake and I am learning from it. It has taken a huge toll on me. I apologise to you guys, I didn't speak to you yesterday, but there was a lot of take in and a lot to deal with. I am here to apologise to everyone and I assure you it won't happen again.

Q. How do you feel about yourself? Do you feel comfortable with yourself about what you have done?

LH: No. This is why I am here. This is why I am sitting here in front of you. This is not an easy thing for anyone to do. To put their hand up, and step back and realise they are in the wrong. But the fact is I was in the wrong. I feel I owe it to my fans and I owe it to my people to let them know. But like I said, I was misled. It is easy to be misled sometimes, and I realise that that is the situation and that is why I am here.

Q. You say you were misled. Can I ask, did you talk to Dave Ryan before you went into the stewards and say, that doesn't stack up with what I have just said or what I believe? And how difficult was it for you to go in knowing that what you were saying was misleading?

LH: The thing is we were rushed. I was still in my suit, and we went straight up. Actually when I came up from the garage, we went straight up the pitlane and we went straight there, and while we were waiting for Jarno to come out, I was instructed.

I honestly acted as a team member. If the team have asked me to do something I have generally done it. I didn't have time to think about it, to think about what I was going to do. I went in and I did it, and I felt awkward. I felt very uncomfortable. I think the stewards could see that, and I guess that is why I am in this position.

To refer to the guy before's question - I've never felt so bad. Try and put yourself in my position and understand that, like I said, I am not a liar. I have not gone through my life being a liar or dishonest. And so for people to say I am dishonest and for the world to think that....what can I say?

Q. You have said it was a matter between you and Dave Ryan. Was anyone else at McLaren involved in the planning for the decision, or was it only you two?

LH: No. It was just me and Dave.

Q. There was nothing wrong with what you did on the circuit. There was nothing wrong with the radio conversation itself. Did you not ask yourself why the hell they [the team] wanted to present this version, and what was the target out of it?

LH: Like I said, I was literally walking in so I didn't have time to really think about it. But for sure afterwards I wasn't completely sure why. We hadn't done anything wrong, we were just going in there to give account of what happened - regardless of if I had third or fourth. Jarno did a fantastic race and I had no need and no intention of giving him the penalty. That was not my aim. That is not something I do. I earn my points and my positions through hard work, and that is not the way I think.

Q. Have you apologised to Jarno, and was it you who pressured the team to sack Ryan [who has been suspended]?

LH: That second part of the question is nothing to do with me. Dave is a great guy and he has worked with the team for many years. He is feeling it just as much as the whole team. I haven't had the chance to speak to Jarno. I did actually see him before we went into the meeting and I said sorry for the situation. But…

Q. When Jarno went off and you passed him correctly, because he was off the track, why was there was any decision at all about letting him back in front? Why didn't you just stay there? Why was there any radio communication?

LH: When the safety car comes out, the team tell you time and time again, no overtaking under yellow flags. So while that has been drummed into you, you are dealing with everything that has been going on.

Jarno went off the track and clearly I went by. I tried to avoid going by, but I went by. Whilst I was sure in my mind that this is not my fault I have gone by him, I had to be sure. I worked this hard to get from dead last on the grid to fourth place, I was sitting in third now and I didn't want to be penalised. I didn't want the hard work to go out the window by getting a penalty, so I had to make sure. It is better to be safe and sound so I asked time and time again.

Q. Is this the worst thing you've ever had to do. And do you fear FIA retribution for the team, which a lot of people have speculated on? The FIA has said it is possible there could be repercussions

LH: For me, the situation is definitely the worst thing I've experienced in my life. That is why I am here. It is right for me as a human being and as a man to stand in front of you all and tell you exactly what went on and put up my hands. I cannot tell you how sorry I am. I'm sorry to my team and my family for the embarrassment. It is a very, very embarrassing situation.

I am sure the FIA will act accordingly and in the right way. I don't know what else is going to happen in the future. For me now, I have to focus on the race and try to move forward from this, learn from it and grow.

Barrichello get's five lace grid down penalty

Rubens Barrichello will be given a five-place grid penalty at the Malaysian Grand Prix after needing a gearbox change following Friday's practice.

The Brazilian, who finished second in the Australian Grand Prix last weekend, did not have any apparent problems during practice, but his Brawn GP team has decided a gearbox change was necessary ahead of tomorrow's sessions.

As a result of the change, Barrichello will get a grid penalty because gearboxes must last for four grand prix weekends.

Lewis Hamilton - "I've never felt so bad"

Lewis Hamilton has apologised to the FIA stewards and to his fans for what he has called a 'huge mistake' in how he handled post-race events at the Australian Grand Prix.

The Briton was disqualified from the Melbourne race after the stewards deemed he and his McLaren team had 'deliberately misled' them about a radio conversation that took place after he had got past Toyota driver Jarno Trulli behind the safety car.

Hamilton says he was advised by McLaren sporting director Dave Ryan not to mention that he had been ordered to let Trulli overtake him. That decision has resulted in Ryan being suspended from the team.

Clearly emotional about his involvement in the events, Hamilton called a press conference in the media centre at Sepang on Friday to apologise for all that happened.

"In Melbourne, I had a great race. As soon as I got out the car I had the television interviews at the back of the garage, and straight away I gave them a good account of what happened during the race," said Hamilton.

"Straight after that we were requested by the stewards, and while waiting for the stewards I was instructed and misled by my team manager to withhold information, and that is what I did.

"I sincerely apologise to the stewards for wasting their time and for making them look silly. I am very, very sorry for the situation: for my team, for Dave because he has been a good member of the team for many years, and whilst I don't think it was his intention or...he is a good guy.

"I went into the meeting, I had no intention of...I just wanted to tell the story and say what happened. I was misled and that is the way it went. I would like to say a big sorry to all my fans who have believed in me, who have supported me for years, who I showed who I am for the past three years, and it is who I am. I am not a liar. I am not a dishonest person. I am a team player.

"Every time I have been informed to do something I have done it. This time I realise it was a huge mistake and I am learning from it. It has taken a huge toll on me. I apologise to you guys, I didn't speak to you yesterday, but there was a lot to take in and a lot to deal with. I am here to apologise to everyone and I assure you it won't happen again."

Hamilton, who received applause by a number of journalists at the end of the short press conference, said that only he and Ryan had been involved in the decision to withhold information from the FIA.

The world champion reckoned the situation he found himself in now was the worst he had faced in his career.

"I've never felt so bad," he said. "Try and put yourself in my position and understand that, like I said, I am not a liar. I have not gone through my life being a liar or dishonest. And so for people to say I am dishonest and for the world to think that....what can I say?

He added: "For me, the situation is definitely the worst thing I've experienced in my life. That is why I am here. It is right for me as a human being and as a man to stand in front of you all and tell you exactly what went on and put up my hands. I cannot tell you how sorry I am. I'm sorry to my team and my family for the embarrassment. It is a very, very embarrassing situation."

When asked if he was concerned about the possibility of further action being taken against him and McLaren by the FIA, he said: "I am sure the FIA will act accordingly and in the right way. I don't know what else is going to happen in the future. For me now, I have to focus on the race and try to move forward from this, learn from it and grow."

Trulli - Toyota will be very competitive

Jarno Trulli is convinced that he and the Toyota team will be competitive in this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix despite both cars ending free practice outside the top ten.

The Italian, who finished third in the season-opening Australian GP, reckons there is good reason to believe that he can replicate that performance on Sunday.

"If you look at the timing sheets we don't look as competitive as I expected before coming here but I think the car is definitely there and it is just a matter of getting the right direction on set-up," he said.

"The soft tyres seem to be pretty competitive and they were faster but the hard ones were a little bit too hard."

Trulli's team-mate Timo Glock ran off-track a couple of times during practice, but shared the Italian's confidence in Toyota's race potential.

"It has been quite a tricky day for me today," he said. "The car this morning didn't feel quite right and I had some trouble with the stability, then at the beginning of second practice I was getting some oversteer and the car felt light.

"But we worked on some different set-ups and by the end of the day it was feeling better.

"We still have plenty of work to do before qualifying but we had a similar situation in Melbourne and we made a lot of progress so I am still optimistic."

McLaren feels ashamed by Melbourne saga

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh says he has 'deep, deep regret' for the situation his team has found itself in after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix.

On the day that he was was forced to suspend McLaren stalwart Dave Ryan, its sporting director, for providing 'deliberately misleading' comments to race stewards in Melbourne, Whitmarsh said his team was embarrassed by all that had happened.

He revealed that it had only become clear last night and this morning that Ryan had not been totally truthful with the race stewards as they discussed Jarno Trulli overtaking Lewis Hamilton in the final safety car period of the Australia race.

Ryan and Hamilton misled the stewards because they claimed that there had been no radio conversation to discuss letting Trulli retake third place - something that was disproved after the race.

Speaking during a tense FIA press conference at Sepang on Friday, Whitmarsh said he had no choice but to suspend Ryan for his behaviour in the stewards' meeting.

"It has become clear from discussions with Dave last night and through into this morning that during the stewards meeting after the Australian Grand Prix, he was not entirely full and truthful in the answers he gave the stewards," said Whitmarsh.

"Consequently we had no alternative today other than to suspend him. As you can imagine, it is a very sad day for the team. We have got to deal with this weekend. We have to look in a bit more detail all of the events that surrounded it.

"From my perspective obviously it is a point of deep, deep regret - it is not how I wanted this year in particular to start. It is something for which the team and myself are not only deeply embarrassed but deeply regretful, and for Davey it has been a shattering day for him."

Whitmarsh explained that Ryan and Hamilton's decision not to tell the stewards about the radio conversation between team and driver was taken unilaterally, without consultation with senior management.

"I think anyone who knows Davey will know that he did not set out with any deliberate intention to mislead the stewards," said Whitmarsh.

"He went to that meeting with Lewis I am sure with the intention of being very clear and straightforward, but I think during the course of that meeting, as we have explored it more with him over the past 24 hours, it has become clear that he was not as full and comprehensive as he could have been."

When asked if he felt Hamilton had also been truthful in the meeting, Whitmarsh said: "No. I think that Lewis was not entirely truthful, but we have spoken to Davey. He was the senior member of the team and they went into the situation together.

"I think they were trying to deal with the situation and they got it wrong – but Davey as the senior member of the team was responsible for what happened and therefore I took the decision this morning."

Whitmarsh said a decision about Ryan's future would be made when the team returned from the Malaysian GP.

"Davey has been sent home, and during the course of this weekend we need to understand exactly what happened and make the decision about Davey's future."

Whitmarsh also suggested further action could be taken, and did not rule out resigning himself over the matter.

When asked if he had considered stepping down, Whitmarsh said: "I think there are a lot of things going through my mind today as you can imagine, and it has happened during an event where we are trying to do the best job we can.

"I think as a team at the moment we have lost someone who is a significant anchor in this organisation and we have to make sure we pull together to do the best job we can this weekend. I think we have to reflect on anything that happened over the course of the Australian GP weekend after this race has finished."

He added: "I don't rule anything in or out. At the moment what we are keen and earnest to do today is make sure we put our hands up – and say there was a serious error of judgement during that process and we sure we come clean on that."

Hamilton has called a special press conference for Sepang this afternoon to explain his role in the events that took place in Australia last week.

Alonso still suffering from ear infection

Double world champion Fernando Alonso believes he will be only 90 per cent fit for tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying session after being hit by an ear infection.

Although the Renault driver is confident that he will be at full strength by the time the race starts on Sunday, he was forced to restrict himself to just 32 laps in Friday practice - fewer than any other driver.

"Tomorrow in qualifying I will be 90 per cent and Sunday hopefully 100 per cent," he said of his health. "The team doctor and physios are looking after my health, so I'm in good hands.

"I have an infection in my ear, a temperature and am not feeling very well from two days ago. Today we tried to do the minimum number of laps to not lose too much water. The race is on Sunday, so we tried to do some set-up work but it's very light."

Alonso added that despite the team struggling in practice, he expects a better performance from the Renault R29 in qualifying and the race.

"There is more to come from our car," he said. "We need to find a better set-up. We tested some interesting things today, so tomorrow we need to put everything together."

Ferrari - Malaysian GP - Free Practice

Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa topped the timesheets following the first day of practice of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend. It was not all smooth sailing for the Italian team however as Kimi Raikkonen was forced to pit with a KERS problem at the end of the morning session with steam or smoke filling the cockpit of the F60.

The Finn had a more trouble-free run in the afternoon to record a best lap of 1:35.707s, a tenth head of team-mate Massa.

Kimi Raikkonen
“This morning we had a problem with the KERS, which cost us a bit of time, but we managed to make up for most of it in the afternoon. We had felt that the situation here could be different to Melbourne, but it is still too early to say where we are up against the opposition. What we can be sure of is that when the car runs trouble-free, we are competitive. We hope we can do a good job in tomorrow’s qualifying.”

Felipe Massa
“The situation seems different compared to Australia, at least in terms of how the tyres operate. There is more grip and the softer tyres work well, even over a long distance. At the start of the long runs, I had a bit of understeer in the high speed corners and oversteer in the slow ones, but towards the end, the handling of the car improved continuously and I could set some great times. Clearly, looking at the time sheet today, there’s a slight feeling of relief, even if it has to be treated with caution: we are very motivated and the whole team will be trying its best.”

Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal
“These three hours of free practice would seem to offer a different view of the situation to the one we saw in Australia, which indeed was predictable given the characteristics of the two circuits.
Obviously, it’s much too early to say what is our level of performance when compared to all the other teams, but it is clear that it very finely balanced, given that the first fifteen in the second session are all covered by less than a second."

"Reliability remains the main priority: again today we had a technical problem which, if it had happened in the race, would have led to a retirement. Having said that, we must remain focused and calm, while allowing ourselves to look forward to the rest of the weekend being aware that we will have to fight hard to bring home a good result.”

Luca Baldisserri
“This morning we experienced a short circuit in the kinetic energy recovery system fitted to Kimi’s car, which cost us a bit of time, but it didn’t compromise our completion of today’s programme. The main aim was to understand how the two types of Bridgestone tyre we have here perform, both over a single first lap and over a distance. From what we have seen today, the situation seems very different to what we experienced in Melbourne, especially when it comes to the consistency of performance from the softer compound. From this point of view, it’s been a good day, but we have to work very carefully on every detail when it comes to the reliability of the car.”

Brawn GP - Malaysian GP - Free Practice

Just five days after the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Brawn GP's Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello took to the track at the Sepang International Circuit in the first of the practice sessions ahead of this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.

In hot and humid conditions, with air temperatures peaking at 33°C and 71% humidity, the duo completed 110 laps of the 5.54km circuit, ending the afternoon practice session with Barrichello in sixth position and Button in seventh place on the timesheets.

The pair worked through the team's Friday programme of set-up work and tyre evaluations with the soft and hard compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres which will be used this weekend.

Rubens Barrichello
"We achieved a good day's work today on a challenging track where it is always difficult to find the right balance with the car and tyres. Our evaluations with the prime and the option tyre were particularly useful and although we still have some work to do on the balance, overall it was a positive day."

Jenson Button
"We completed some useful running today to work on improving the balance of the car.
My biggest problem was that we are locking the tyres and brakes very easily so we need to have a good look at this. We're not quite there yet but we are going in the right direction and I'm confident we will achieve the optimum set-up ready for qualifying tomorrow."

Ross Brawn, Team Principal
"The practice sessions in Malaysia today have been our first experience of higher track and air temperatures so we made the most of the available running to learn how the car, tyres and engine work in these conditions. We struggled a little with the balance of the car and at the moment it is not performing quite as well as in Australia last weekend. However I am confident that we are on the right path and with some hard work overnight, we should be in a good position for the rest of the weekend."

McLaren Mercedes - Malaysian GP - Free Practice

Very much in the spotlight this weekend in Malaysia, the McLaren Mercedes team got back to work in the Malaysian heat with Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton ending the afternoon session with the ninth and 11th fastest times respectively.

Kovalainen's morning run was limited to just seven laps after the Finn flat-spotted his tyres but the team also opted to coat the rear diffuser area with the now familiar flow-visualisation paint, so prominent in pre-season testing. The team focused most of their efforts on the MP4-23 aero programme.

Heikki Kovalainen
“The track grip was immediately good, and less dusty than in Australia. We’ve made some good progress with the car’s development. As we started pushing, the car started to move around quite a bit and was more difficult to drive. But our consistency over the long runs looks quite promising. I just need some aircon in the car – it’s totally boiling!”

Lewis Hamilton
“I had no particular issues with the car this morning. Clearly, we still need a bit more grip but our balance, particularly through the high-speed stuff, felt good. The car felt stronger than I expected.”

Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal
“Once again, we fully utilised the track time during both Friday practice sessions to refine the bodywork developments we are making to MP4-24 and focus on set-up ahead of Sunday’s grand prix – a race we anticipate will be one of the hottest and most demanding of the year. MP4-24 continues to evolve, and today’s programme underlines the encouraging progress we feel we are making with the car.”

Norbert Haug, Mercedes VP
“We compared both tyre compounds and posted consistent lap times. After today, I would not say that we made a step forward but at least it looks as if we are headed in the right direction. The team improved quite a lot since the team test in Barcelona less than a month ago. But everybody inside Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is aware that we still have a lot of work ahead of us until we will be back at the top.”

Renault - Malaysian GP - Free Practice

Fernando Alonso opted to conserve energy today after being diagnosed with an ear infection and subsequently only completed 20 laps in the afternoon session in Sepang, recording the 15th fastest time.

Nelson Piquet suffered a wheel failure in the morning session but recovered to post the tenth best time in the afternoon.

Fernando Alonso
"We tried not to do too many laps today as I wasn’t feeling one hundred percent. It’s a very demanding weekend in terms of the heat because we sweat so much, but it was important that we still got enough information. I hope what we have learnt today will be useful for tomorrow and allow us to work on improving the set-up. Hopefully I will recover more this evening and feel better tomorrow so that I can give my maximum in qualifying, which I think will be one of the most important parts of this weekend, so we need to be ready for that.”

Nelson Piquet
“We had a good first day with no major problems and so things look a bit better than they did in Melbourne. There is still a lot of work to do, but I’m happy we improved the car between the two sessions. It will be a tough race with these temperatures, but I look forward to it.”

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
“The track was quite slippery this morning, probably due to the heavy rain yesterday. The balance of the car is slightly better than we had in Australia, but we would still like to improve stability on the brakes. The hard tyre here in Sepang has never been used before so it was a learning process for all of us, however the tyres seemed satisfactory.”

“Nelson went off this morning after a wheel failure and we are still investigating exactly what happened. Fernando’s performance and programme today has been compromised by the fact that he isn’t feeling well. For the rest of the weekend we have to improve our performance from Australia and early indications are that we can.”

Toyota - Malaysian GP - Free Practice

Toyota started its second race weekend of the season with two 90-minute free practice sessions for the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit today. Typically hot conditions, with air temperature from 28-33°C and track temperature from 33-48°C, greeted Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock.

In first practice, both drivers used only the hard Bridgestone Potenza tyre while trying out different aerodynamic and mechanical set-ups to suit the long straight and flowing corners of Sepang. A productive session brought in useful information, despite a harmless spin from Glock midway through.

More set-up work was scheduled for the second session, along with evaluating the soft compound tyre and both drivers had their first taste of the option rubber within the first 30 minutes. Dark clouds gathered and a few drops fell in the closing stages without affecting the session. Trulli and Glock were 12th and 14th fastest in the afternoon.

Jarno Trulli
"Today went fine and it was a very standard Friday session for us. The track was a bit slippery this morning but it cleaned up quickly and by the second session it was fine. We went through our programme and tried a few things with the set-up and the tyres to improve the car. If you look at the timing sheets we don't look as competitive as I expected before coming here but I think the car is definitely there and it is just a matter of getting the right direction on set-up. The soft tyres seem to be pretty competitive and they were faster but the hard ones were a little bit too hard."

Timo Glock
"It has been quite a tricky day for me today. The car this morning didn't feel quite right and I had some trouble with the stability, then at the beginning of second practice I was getting some oversteer and the car felt light. But we worked on some different set-ups and by the end of the day it was feeling better. We still have plenty of work to do before qualifying but we had a similar situation in Melbourne and we made a lot of progress so I am still optimistic."

Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test
"It was a pretty normal Friday for us. We concentrated on tyres and trying to find a balance for the cars. We struggled a bit today getting a perfect balance and we still have some work to be done on both cars overnight to fine-tune the cars in order to get the best out of the package we have. In terms of the tyres, we seem to be in a different situation compared to Melbourne, much less at the limit and both tyres seem to be working reasonably well. The timing sheets are very close together so we're not worried about the final positions at the moment."

BMW Sauber - Malaysian GP - Free Practice

The BMW Sauber team focussed on race preparation in the two free practice sessions for the Malaysian Grand Prix, with both running without any technical problems. The team opted to complete a race preparation programme and therefore did not feature highly on the timing screens with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld ending the afternoon session 17th and 20th respectively.

Nick Heidfeld ran with KERS in the morning and without in the afternoon.

Robert Kubica
"Today we concentrated totally on race preparation, and particularly on tyre comparisons. The specifications that Bridgestone have brought to Malaysia are very different from the ones we used in Melbourne, and obviously Sepang also has different characteristics. In addition, the track temperatures were much higher here, so it was a new situation. We gathered a lot of data and have the basis to use the tyres to their full potential during the race. While we were doing long-runs today, tomorrow we will focus on the single lap performance."

Nick Heidfeld
"Certainly the results don’t look good, but in Melbourne it was a similar picture on Friday. Nevertheless we do have some work to do in order to improve the balance of the car. In the first session I was running with the KERS and in the second I didn’t use the device.
Using it makes a huge difference to the car’s balance, but without it there is the loss of the boost. This was the experience we wanted and why we took it out for this session. Now we will throw everything into the mix - lap times, data and my feelings - and then decide whether or not to use the KERS here."

Willy Rampf, Head of Engineering
"We stuck to our planned programme today, and concentrated on race preparation. One focus point was the tyre comparison on the long-runs. Apart from that we tested two different options with Nick today – in the first session he drove with the KERS and in the second without. We did this for two reasons: On the one hand we wanted to get a direct comparison and on the other hand we wanted to practice changing in between the two sessions. We did not have any technical problems."

Force India Mercedes - Malaysian GP - Free Practice

The Force India Mercedes team today completed the opening day of practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Under increasingly cloudy skies, Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil recorded times just over a second from the fastest lap of the day, with Fisichella 12th and 19th in the morning and afternoon sessions respectively, and Sutil 15th and 16th.

The team completed short runs on the harder tyre in the morning, but concentrated the majority of its programme on the afternoon session, with its high ambient temperatures and later time slot being more representative of the expected conditions for Sunday's race, which will start at 17:00hrs this year. Both drivers compared the soft and hard tyre compounds available this weekend over both long and short runs, fine-tuned the set-up and reacclimatised to the tough physical pressures associated with the heat and humidity of this event.

The only blip in the programme was an accident for Fisichella in the second practice. The Italian put a wheel on the grass at turn 11 20 minutes from the end of the session and went through the gravel trap and into the barriers. His VJM02 sustained suspension damage in the impact but will be repaired overnight in time for tomorrow's final practice session and qualifying.

Giancarlo Fisichella
"We are still finding the best compromise under braking as there is front locking and poor grip and traction so we have to work a lot to make the balance work for us. Over the longer runs it doesn't look too bad however.
It's a shame about the accident in the afternoon - I just went a little bit wide as there was some graining on the tyres and I lost control of the car. It was just unlucky to go onto the gravel and into the barriers."

Adrian Sutil
"It was a good day today overall. We got through all our work and had no problems with the car. We have some work to do with the set up, it's still a bit understeery in the high speed corners and we can still make some improvements in this respect. The soft tyres seem to work quite well, but the hard tyre at the moment is really hard and never seems to come in. Overall it was a pretty productive day to set us up well for the weekend."

Simon Roberts, Chief Operating Officer
"We managed to get through most of the programme today in both sessions and had some good runs on the softer tyres in the second session, so we now have a good data point. Unfortunately Giancarlo came off the track in the closing stages of the afternoon and damaged the car, but I think we have got a good basis to move forward from now. Looking forward to tomorrow and the race I would hope that we are in a similar shape to last weekend, or even a slight improvement."

Toro Rosso Ferrari - Malaysian GP - Free Practice

After making an impressive start to his Grand Prix career with a seventh place finish in Australia, Sebastien Buemi was again on top form for the Toro Rosso Ferrari team.

Buemi recorded the 13th fastest time in the afternoon session, less than a second off pace-setter Kimi Raikkonen. Team-mate Sebastien Bourdais survived several off track moments in his STR4 on his way to the 18th best time.

Sebastien Buemi
“I drove here last year in GP2, so I know the track. It’s different of course in an F1 car but no problem. The heat is not bothering me and you just have to make sure you drink a bit more to cope with the sweating. Today, the track remained pretty consistent which meant we were able to try several things on the car. I am quite happy with what we have seen."

"In terms of tyres, it doesn’t look as though the difference between the two types is a great as in Melbourne and the degradation appears to be less. Our speed seems reasonable, but we still have a lot to do. Q2 tomorrow? Who knows, it might be wet, so let’s wait and see.”

Sebastien Bourdais
“As was the case here last year, the track improved a lot between the start and finish of the first session and then again in the second. It was a dramatic change and the few drops of rain that fell did not help us in understanding the situation. In the afternoon, we tried something on the car which took us down the wrong route. It’s still a case of finding out what works and what doesn’t on the car."

"I felt there was a big difference in terms of grip from the prime and option tyre so I did not get the most out of them. A long run on the options was quite satisfying and I was fairly happy with the balance compared to what I had on the shorter runs, so that is encouraging.”

Williams Toyota - Malaysian GP - Free Practice

After showing so much promise in the Australian Grand Prix, Williams Toyota hit the ground running as the Formula One circus began practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Nico Rosberg topped the timesheets in his FW31 in the morning session and went on to post the fourth fastest time in the afternoon.

Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima also ran well, ending the day eighth fastest just two-tenths shy of Rosberg's best.

Nico Rosberg
"We had a very good day and made a lot of set-up changes, and made good progress in finding a way forward. We also completed a good tyre test which is important as I think we now have a good idea of what is going on with the tyres for this circuit."

"Everything worked out well today and of course we all had our first sessions driving in the heat, but I think my fitness preparation over the winter has helped a lot."

Kazuki Nakajima
Today was a very positive day and we have carried over our competitiveness from the last race. Whether we are as quick relatively as we were in Melbourne remains to be seen, but certainly we are far further ahead than we were here last year and we’ll keep pushing on tomorrow and see what more we can find."

Red Bull Renault - Malaysian GP - Free Practice

Sebastian Vettel appeared to be right on the ragged edge at various stages of Friday practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Fortunately for the young German racer, Nick Heidfeld did keep his eye on the mirrors and gave Vettel room as he slither wildly under braking into the final turn.

Vettel may not have been the smoothest as the action got underway at Sepang but he did finish the afternoon session with the third fastest time, just a fraction faster than team-mate Mark Webber who was fifth.

Sebastian Vettel
“The heat in Malaysia is always a surprise, even if you’re here for a couple of days before you jump in the car. Today went well, with smooth running. We ran through our programme, did a lot of laps and got a lot of information about our tyres. There were no major problems with either car, so it was a good day.”

Mark Webber
“Today was a lot better for us in terms of reliability than Friday in Melbourne, so it was a big step forward. Both cars ran well and obviously it’s a big challenge for the cars around here with the heat, so that’s good. We got all of our programme completed in plenty of time. Performance wise, we’re not too bad here. We have a bit of work to do tonight, but in general it was a pretty good day for the team and for me."

McLaren suspended Sporting Director Dave Ryan

During second practice at Sepang on Friday, McLaren issued a statement confirming that Sporting Director Dave Ryan has been suspended due to his role in the Lewis Hamilton/Jarno Trulli Melbourne saga.

Team boss Martin Whitmarsh lauded the contribution to the Woking-based team of the long-serving New Zealander, but said: "I suspended him this morning and he has accepted this."

Whitmarsh had told the press on Thursday that McLaren did not lie about the Melbourne safety car incident, but evidence provided by the FIA proved this was not the case.

Ryan left the Sepang circuit during the initial free practice on Friday.

Whitmarsh said: "His role in the events of last Sunday, particularly his dealings with the FIA stewards, has caused serious repercussions for the team, for which we apologise. Therefore, I suspended him this morning and he has accepted this."

McLaren Mercedes statement in full
This morning, Dave Ryan was suspended from his position as Sporting Director of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.

Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh said: “In my 20-odd years working for McLaren, I doubt if I’ve met a more dedicated individual than Davey. He's been an integral part of McLaren since 1974 and has played a crucial role in the team’s many world championship successes since that time."

“However, his role in the events of last Sunday, particularly his dealings with the FIA stewards, has caused serious repercussions for the team, for which we apologise. Therefore, I suspended him this morning and he has accepted this.”

Malaysian GP Free Practice 2 - Ferrari one-two

Kimi Raikkonen bounced back in style this afternoon in Malaysia following his KERS fire at the end of the morning session. The 2007 champion topped the timesheets at the end of the second 90 minute session with a best time of 1:35.707s, a tenth clear of team-mate Felipe Massa.

Sepang traditionally suits Ferrari and after the poor start in Melbourne last weekend, the Italian team will be very much encouraged to find themselves at the top of the timesheets. There was however a second problem for Raikkonen right at the end of the session as the team instructed him to turn off his KERS.

Sebastian Vettel was right on the limit again for the Red Bull Renault team as he recorded the third fastest time. The young German racer had his fair share of off-track moments and almost came to grief for the second time when he tried to pass Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber in the run to the final turn. Heidfeld opted to give Vettel room and contact was however avoided.

Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima were fourth and eighth fastest for the Williams Toyota team with Mark Webber and the Brawn Mercedes duo of Rubens Barrichello slotting in between. Barrichello in particular seemed to have problems under braking for the final turn early in the session but made gains late in the session to pip team-mate Button.

Heikki Kovalainen led the McLaren Mercedes charge with the ninth fastest time, with the team again using flow visualisation paint around the rear diffuser. Team-mate Lewis Hamilton was 11th fastest.

Nelson Piquet recovered from his morning off to post the tenth fastest time while Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso had a low-key session on his way to the 15th fastest time. Alonso, suffering with an ear infection, completed just 20 laps while most completed nearly 40.

Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock were 12th and 14th respectively for Toyota with the latter surviving numerous off track excursions and a spin. The Toyota was well suited to Albert Park but seems to be lacking rear end grip in Sepang.

Sebastien Buemi continued to impress in his Toro Rosso Ferrari as the Swiss rookie recorded the 13th fastest time ahead of Glock and Alonso. Adrian Sutil was 16th best in the leading Force India Mercedes.

It was another difficult Friday for the BMW Sauber team with Robert Kubica just 17th fastest while Nick Heidfeld was slowest of all at some 2.2 seconds off the ultimate pace. As we saw in Melbourne however, the Friday pace from this team does not represent the true pace of the F1.09 package.

Sebastien Bourdais was 18th fastest in the second Toro Rosso while Giancarlo Fisichella missed the final 20 minutes of running after going off at turn ten and damaging the left hand side of his Force India Mercedes.

'Lewis, You're a liar'

Britain's mainstream sports press branded Lewis Hamilton a 'liar' overnight, after stewards revealed he and the McLaren team deliberately misled them in Australia.

At a reconvened inquiry in Malaysia, Jarno Trulli had his podium reinstated while 24-year-old Hamilton was excluded from the results, regarding the incident behind the safety car at Albert Park days earlier.

But additional sanctions are now possible, given the FIA's right to refer the matter to the World Motor Sport Council because Hamilton was charged with bringing the sport into disrepute.

"It is potentially an extremely severe situation," a spokesman for the Paris body said at Sepang. "We cannot rule out further action."

The British press is musing the possibility of race bans, or total exclusion from the world championship.

But the worst damage is likely to be to the reigning world champion's image.

The Daily Star headlined the story 'Liar Lewis', and The Sun tabloid said 'You're a liar, Lewis'.