Free Practice 1: The two Williams ahead of the two Brawn GP!

One week apart from the Australian Grand Prix, a new race weekend has just begun in Malaysia at the Sepang circuit. In the end, few things change as Williams with Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima dominate the first practice session on Friday morning ahead of the Brawn GP of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello.

Under a sunny sky and in hot and humid conditions, the Williams drivers waited until the last lap to seize the top two positions with 1.36.260 and 1.36.305. Next came the two Brawn GP drivers, with Jenson Button ahead of Rubens Barrichello, navigating the track with as much ease as in Melbourne.

Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen for Ferrari are fifth and sixth, respectively. The Finn was the first to set off for a timed lap completed in 1:42.194. He chained several laps gradually improving his time to reach 1:37.628. This start of the session is the opposite of its end since the 2007 world champion rushes back to the pits urgently. Thick white smoke comes directly from his cockpit. In front of the Ferrari stand, he removes his seat belts and jumps out of his car. The initial findings would indicate a problem originating from the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System).

Previously, and as in Australia, it took 20 minutes before anyone headed to the track.

With Räikkönen, it’s Nakajima who takes the lead twice until Massa settles the matter with a 1.37.343 after 40 minutes.

But Rosberg, undefeated in free practice this season, almost immediately replaces Massa at the top of the timesheet. At this stage, Button is not far behind and starts chasing the German.

In his first outright attack, Button falls short by 0.16 seconds to Rosberg, but on the next lap he manages to improve with a lap time of 1:36.676, which he immediately improves to 1:36.430. This time is good enough to secure him first place until Williams snatches the lead at the very end of the session.

Behind the Williams, Brawn GP, and Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton is in seventh position after having a fairly competitive session, less than half a second off the leading pace. The Briton and his McLaren teammate, Heikki Kovalainen, finished the session in the pits with their car under development.

The Finn completed only seven laps and is also last in this session.

Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are eighth and ninth respectively for Red Bull, followed by the Toyotas of Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli. Giancarlo Fisichella is also in form with the 12th fastest time for Force India.

The BMW-Sauber drivers are far behind with only the 13th and 18th places for Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld. Adrian Sutil ranks in 15th position ahead of Fernando Alonso, who completed only 12 laps. Sébastien Buemi (17th) and Sébastien Bourdais (19th) for Toro Rosso are, as in Melbourne, underperforming. Kovalainen is therefore last.

There were also many incidents. Räikkönen and Nelson Piquet, who eventually finished 14th, went off into the gravel. For the Brazilian, the consequences were a bit more serious, as were the causes, since at turn 12, something broke on the front-right wheel of the Renault.

Trulli, Fisichella, Kubica, Glock, Bourdais, Massa, Hamilton, and Alonso all did somersaults on the track or on the curbs with 360° spins for the Toyota drivers.

Result Free Practice 1 – Malaysian GP – Friday April 3, 2009: