Sepang, 22 March – Red Bull took the top slot in the first practice session of the second round of the Formula 1 World Championship, just a few days after the season opener in Melbourne. Australia’s Mark Webber lapped in 1.36.935, to finish ahead of Kimi Raikkonen (1.37.003) in the Lotus and the other Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel (1.37.104.) As usual, the Malaysian track was a furnace, with air and track temperatures reaching 33 and 42 degrees respectively. Fernando Alonso was fourth in a time of 1.37.319, while in the other Ferrari, Felipe Massa was seventh in 1.37.771. Both men had a programme aimed at finding the right balance on the car and tuning the set-up to suit the orange-banded Hard Pirelli P Zero tyres. The other compound in use here, aimed at being best suited to the extreme heat and the abrasive nature of the track, is the white-banded Medium, which was already used in Australia.
Classification
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time/Retired | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:36.935 | 15 | |
| 2 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:37.003 | 0.068 | 15 |
| 3 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:37.104 | 0.169 | 21 |
| 4 | 3 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:37.319 | 0.384 | 13 |
| 5 | 9 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:37.588 | 0.653 | 19 |
| 6 | 15 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1:37.769 | 0.834 | 17 |
| 7 | 4 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:37.771 | 0.836 | 15 |
| 8 | 14 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:37.773 | 0.838 | 15 |
| 9 | 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:37.840 | 0.905 | 18 |
| 10 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:37.915 | 0.980 | 17 |
| 11 | 5 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:38.173 | 1.238 | 16 |
| 12 | 16 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:38.673 | 1.738 | 16 |
| 13 | 6 | Sergio Perez | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:38.830 | 1.895 | 17 |
| 14 | 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:39.054 | 2.119 | 17 |
| 15 | 12 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:39.204 | 2.269 | 16 |
| 16 | 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Renault | 1:39.208 | 2.273 | 19 |
| 17 | 18 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:39.284 | 2.349 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:39.567 | 2.632 | 16 |
| 19 | 21 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham-Renault | 1:40.728 | 3.793 | 17 |
| 20 | 22 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:40.996 | 4.061 | 14 |
| 21 | 20 | Charles Pic | Caterham-Renault | 1:41.163 | 4.228 | 18 |
| 22 | 23 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:41.513 | 4.578 | 14 |
