Malaysia – Free Practice 1: The First for Webber

Great weather and clear blue skies in Malaysia, just a few cable lengths from Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, with temperatures at 30°C in the air and 32°C on the track.

Off we go for this first free practice session. As often, it’s a Toro Rosso that opens the track, with Daniel Ricciardo. The drivers don’t waste any time and start their installation laps, starting with the reigning world champion, Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and the latest winner, Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus). The drivers head out on hard tires (orange), then return to provide and gather initial feedback with their team.

After ten minutes, still no times have been recorded and the activity on the track is very calm as only Mark Webber is out there. Fernando Alonso walks around his car in the garage before pausing for a moment to chat with Scuderia’s third driver, Pedro de la Rosa. The drivers occasionally stick their noses out to do one or two installation laps.

After half an hour, no one had written their name on the timing sheet. The teams and drivers are not in a great hurry to face the Malaysian furnace. Max Chilton is the first to set the clock: 1:42.513 for the Briton, who is discovering the track. He improves his time on the next lap by more than seven-tenths. Sergio Pérez, on his McLaren, also takes on the clock, achieving 1:39.653, which he later lowers to 1:38.830. McLaren has committed to significant development work to try to make up for the observed delay: this promises Martin Whitmarsh some intense head-scratching, during which his sebaceous glands will be put to the test. The Mexican is said to be on a different program compared to his teammate, on a more conventional program.

After forty-five minutes, Pérez leads ahead of Grosjean, Button, Ricciardo, and Chilton. But Lewis Hamilton takes the lead by setting a 1:38.113, under the watchful eyes of Niki Lauda. Romain Grosjean records a 1:37.915 and surpasses the Briton. The Mercedes team doesn’t back down as Hamilton and then Rosberg claim the provisional best time, before Mark Webber sets the definitive pace with a 1:37.075. Vettel falls short by two tenths of his teammate. The two Red Bull drivers go head-to-head.

After an hour, Webber, with a time of 1:36.935, leads ahead of Vettel, Rosberg, Alonso, and Sutil. Surprised by a somewhat slow Ferrari, that of Felipe Massa, Esteban Gutiérrez spins out but takes advantage of the large runoff area to continue without difficulties. On Adrian Sutil’s side, the front wing is damaged: Force India informs him via radio and he returns to the pits. Räikkönen takes second position, falling short by 68 milliseconds behind Webber.

After twenty minutes, Webber, Räikkönen, Vettel, Alonso, and Rosberg form the top 5. The drivers are now on stints with heavier fuel loads. On Räikkönen’s side, there’s a minor alert in the final straight of the circuit with difficulty shifting gears. He manages to return to his pit. Chilton, with very worn tires, is struggling at the first braking point. On his side, Sutil is asked, via radio, not to use the kerbs, but the German understands KERS. It takes two attempts for the message to be conveyed correctly. A moment reminiscent of the sound quality of old intercom systems.

Ten minutes before the end, the standings remain unchanged at the top. The drivers are testing the tire durability, which doesn’t seem impressive: Hamilton informs his pit that his rear tires are destroyed, which is the case for many cars.

The standings are no longer changing, and so it’s a first for Mark Webber, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel.

Results of the Free Practice 1 of the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix: