Free Practice 2: Ferraris Outpace Vettel in the Heat

For the second free practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, it was the Ferraris that set the fastest times. Räikkönen led his Brazilian teammate, Felipe Massa, by 125 thousandths, and young Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel. The BMWs and Renaults were at the bottom of the rankings.

Under very hot temperatures in Malaysia, 33°C in the air and 45°C on the track, and despite his incident in the morning, Kimi Räikkönen put his Ferrari team back on track by recording the best times of the session along with his teammate Massa. The rain ultimately did not make an appearance on the circuit despite the very high ambient humidity.

Reliability can therefore be lacking, and it is not yet perfect at Scuderia Ferrari since the team asked the Finn not to use his KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) at the end of the session due to the risk of breakdown and thus electrification.

Behind the two F60s, Sebastian Vettel wins a very close duel by hundredths with his Red Bull teammate. Both men stayed on the track together for a long time to achieve strong lap times. Vettel is third, 247 thousandths behind Räikkönen, while Webber is fifth, a little over three tenths back. Between the two Red Bull cars is Nico Rosberg, confirming that the performance of the Williams is not imaginary.

Barrichello is 6th in the first Brawn GP. The team apparently did not seek performance but reliability, and the cars delivered. Button follows his teammate by less than a tenth. Nakajima in the second Williams is 8th, ahead of Kovalainen (McLaren) and Nelson Piquet Jr. The Brazilian from the Renault team feels more comfortable on this circuit, and this is quickly reflected in his times. Fernando Alonso, on his part, limited his time on the track due to his ear infection. The Spaniard registered the 15th fastest time with only 20 laps.

Lewis Hamilton was one of the first drivers to clock competitive times, seeing the looming monsoon clouds quickly forming. He ultimately finished 11th, and the rain did not fall on the circuit… although it did all around.

The Toyotas are less than a second per lap behind Räikkönen. Trulli is 12th, his teammate Timo Glock is 14th. Sébastien Buemi is sandwiched between the two red and white cars. The Toro Rosso driver made no mistakes this afternoon, unlike Bourdais, who went off the track twice without damaging his car. The Frenchman is 18th, ahead of Fisichella.

The BMWs were not performing well either. Kubica is 17th, with his teammate Heidfeld in last place. However, the German team focused on reliability, completing 75 laps in an hour and a half.

Free Practice 2 Results – Malaysian GP – Friday, April 3, 2009: