Malaysia – FP2: Hamilton leads Räikkönen and Rosberg despite issues

The first driver on track is Will Stevens in his Manor. He starts with a practice start and sets the very first time of the session at 1:46.705. The Ferraris quickly take control, under the watchful eyes of Nico Rosberg.

After ten minutes, Pastor Maldonado experienced the lifting of a part of the engine cover on the left sidepod. He was able to return to the pits immediately to fix the issue. Moments later, a marshal was sent to retrieve a piece of the Lotus on the straightaway, without the yellow flag being waved, and while Felipe Nasr was speeding down with his Sauber.

After 20 minutes, Rosberg takes the lead, without pushing too hard as evidenced by his top speed. On the next lap, he improves his time again, extending his lead to just under four-tenths.

At the end of the first half-hour of testing, the Ferraris are the first on track with medium tires—the softest brought by Pirelli to Sepang. The red flag is deployed after an off-track excursion for Roberto Merhi, who is stuck in the gravel trap; the crane will intervene safely. The session resumes for about fifty minutes, with Lewis Hamilton back on track after his morning problem.

Romain Grosjean complains about engine cuts already on the out lap and has to return to the pits, which will be a final stop. At the same time, Vettel loses his Ferrari at the same spot as Merhi but avoids the gravel trap and can continue. Most drivers are on medium tires, like Räikkönen, who tops the timesheet with a 1:40.163. Hamilton is asked to return to the pits due to a new telemetry issue.

At the start of the last half-hour, many drivers return to the track, including the reigning world champion who sets off on a lap with medium tires. Despite not being a clean effort, this attempt allows him to take the lead with more than three-tenths of a second ahead of Räikkönen. On the Red Bull side, Daniel Ricciardo seems to be experiencing another technical issue.

The entire group of drivers is complaining about a very slippery track during the last quarter of an hour. Many locked tires and trajectory errors with medium tires that are near the end of their life. For Kvyat, the session also ends with a technical issue.

2015 Malaysian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2