Hamilton straight back in his stride at Sepang

F1 News
Date: 23/March/2012

Having failed to hide his disappointment at slipping from pole to third in last Sunday’s Australian F1 season-opener, Lewis Hamilton got back into his stride in style by leading both Friday practice sessions at Sepang in Malaysia.

The McLaren driver shot out of the blocks to sit half-a-second clear of Red Bull’s reigning champion Sebastian Vettel in the morning session - then held off another German star, Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) by 0.36sec in the afternoon.

“It’s been a good day for me,” said Hamilton. “We’ve made a few changes to the balance of the car since the last race and I’m much happier - but we’ll still be making changes to improve our long-run pace, which can always be better.

“I went wide a couple of times on my long run in the afternoon, and looking after the tyres will be a tough call in the race – so it’s all about finding the right balance.

“Around here, overtaking will be a little more possible than in Melbourne. Nevertheless, starting from the front will still be the best position for the race, and that’s what I’ll be going for tomorrow.

“We’ve got to keep pushing, stay hydrated and remain focused - there’s a lot of hard work ahead.”

Hamilton’s team-mate Jenson Button, who won last weekend’s race, moved from ninth in the morning to third place in the afternoon session at the sweltering Sepang Circuit.

“The morning was a little frustrating: we had an oil leak which cut my session short, but it didn’t really matter as the track was still dirty,” explained Button.

“In the afternoon, I did some positive running on both tyre compounds - I think we have a good understanding of the tyre. But it’s going to be tough on both compounds around here with all the humidity and the heat.

“I think the race will be tough for all of us - unless the circuit improves a great deal, there’s going to be quite a few stops on Sunday!

“The aim for tomorrow is pole – you make your life a lot easier if you start from pole position, so we’re putting a lot of work into single-lap performance.”

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Daniel Ricciardo (STR-Ferrari), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Mark Webber (Red Bull) and rookie Jean-Eric Vergne (STR-Ferrari) completed an unpredictable afternoon top eight.