Mercedes confident it can sort tyre degradation issues
Mercedes has faith that it can get on top of the tyre degradation issues that hampered its race performance in the Australian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton maintains McLaren form with fastest time in first Sepang session
Lewis Hamilton continued McLaren's strong form by setting the fastest time in the opening free practice session ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.
<font face='Courier New'>[U]<font color='DarkSlateGray'>Malaysian GP </font>
<font color='SandyBrown'>Practice Session 1</font>[/U]</font>
<font color='DarkOrchid'>Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps</font>
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.021s 19
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m38.535s + 0.514 21
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.813s + 0.792 21
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.826s + 0.805 19
5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m38.919s + 0.898 17
6. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m39.092s + 1.071 20
7. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m39.128s + 1.107 22
8. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m39.298s + 1.277 23
9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m39.323s + 1.302 15
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m39.440s + 1.419 19
11. Valterri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m39.724s + 1.703 23
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m39.783s + 1.762 23
13. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m39.896s + 1.875 16
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.910s + 1.889 21
15. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m39.980s + 1.959 23
16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.099s + 2.078 23
17. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m40.247s + 2.226 19
18. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.469s + 2.448 23
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m40.857s + 2.836 25
20. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m41.085s + 3.064 23
21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m43.170s + 5.149 18
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m44.580s + 6.559 14
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m45.360s + 7.339 8
24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m45.528s + 7.507 18
Mercedes queries Renault's engine behaviour with the FIA
Mercedes-Benz has sought clarification from the FIA on the behaviour of Red Bull Racing's Renault engines - amid suspicions that the reigning champion could be doing something trick with its mapping.
Sauber not expecting to lose Perez to Ferrari this year
Sauber is not concerned about fresh speculation linking its driver Sergio Perez with a move to Ferrari - perhaps as soon as this year.
Lewis Hamilton stays on top in second practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton completed a perfect day's work as he continued to lead the way after the second free practice session at Sepang on Friday.
[LEFT]<font face='Courier New'><font color='DarkSlateGray'>[U]Malaysian GP[/U]</font>
<font color='SandyBrown'>[U]Practice Session 2[/U]</font></font>
[/LEFT]
<font color='DarkOrchid'>Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps</font>
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.172 28
2. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.533s + 0.361 34
3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.535s + 0.363 29
4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.696s + 0.524 34
5. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.853s + 0.681 33
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m38.891s + 0.719 27
7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m39.133s + 0.961 29
8. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.297s + 1.125 33
9. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m39.311s + 1.139 22
10. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m39.402s + 1.230 25
11. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m39.444s + 1.272 35
12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m39.464s + 1.292 26
13. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m39.625s + 1.453 20
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.687s + 1.515 16
15. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m39.696s + 1.524 29
16. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m40.271s + 2.099 27
17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m40.678s + 2.506 34
18. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.947s + 2.775 33
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m41.464s + 3.292 25
20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.681s + 3.509 20
21. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m42.594s + 4.422 18
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m42.874s + 4.702 24
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m43.658s + 5.486 18
24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m43.283s + 5.561 22
Sebastian Vettel: Red Bull closer to McLaren on race pace in Malaysia
World champion Sebastian Vettel believes Red Bull may be closer to McLaren in terms of race pace in this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.
Mercedes duo say pole position in the Malaysian Grand Prix is out of reach
Mercedes duo Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg believe pole position will be out of their reach in Malaysia despite finishing inside the top four in second practice.
Ferrari says it has confidence in Felipe Massa despite troubled start
Stefano Domenicali is confident that both Felipe Massa and Ferrari can find improve after troubled starts to 2012.
Horner believes FIA policing of RRA would be wrong
Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes it would be wrong for Formula 1 to have the FIA policing the Resource Restriction Agreement.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner wants more talks on Mercedes's rear wing
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner believes that rival teams still want further clarification on the legality on the rear wing being used by Mercedes.
Kimi Raikkonen frustrated by troubled Friday ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix
Kimi Raikkonen says his Lotus team has work to do overnight in Malaysia after a frustrating day of free practice at Sepang.
Felipe Massa says new Ferrari chassis feels better
Felipe Massa is convinced that his change of chassis for this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix has had a positive effect after the first day of free practice.
Hamilton says car balance will be key during the Malaysian GrandPrix
Lewis Hamilton says finding a set-up balance which suits both qualifying and the race will be key to his fortunes in the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Di Resta believes Force India will face a tough time reaching Q3 in Malaysia
Paul di Resta believes Force India will have a tough time reaching Q3 in tomorrow's qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Jenson Button says low-fuel pace needs improving ahead of Malaysian GP qualifying
Jenson Button says he is 'not completely happy' with his low fuel set-up, an issue he feels is of paramount importance given the benefit pole position has on the race's outcome.
HRT confident it will qualify for the Malaysian Grand Prix
HRT duo Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan are confident that qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix should not be too much of a problem, even though doubts remain about their potential to make it through to the end of the race.
Bottas happy with practice pace after outpacing team-mate Maldonado
Williams test driver Valtteri Bottas said he was pleased to outpace team-mate Pastor Maldonado on his debut in a grand prix weekend session, even if free practice times are not very important.
Pirelli downplays Mercedes tyre issues
Pirelli believes too much has been made of tyre degradation issues at Mercedes - and reckons deeper analysis of the Australian race shows its issues are not as bad as some believe.
Daniel Ricciardo says points are possible in the Malaysian Grand Prix
Daniel Ricciardo is confident that Toro Rosso can be the in the mix for points in Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.
Raikkonen set for grid penalty in the Malaysian Grand Prix
Kimi Raikkonen is set to lose five places on the grid for the Malaysian Grand Prix after a gearbox change following the second free practice.