Nico Rosberg topped the timing screens during Friday's first practice session ahead of the 2016 Malaysia Grand Prix, but a huge fire for Renault's Kevin Magnussen was the main talking point.
Around twenty minutes of running was lost from the hour-and-a-half long session due to the huge blaze in the pit lane for Magnussen. The Dane completed an installation lap before heading back to the pits, but as he was wheeled back into the garage, the engine cover burst into flames.
He was quick to jump out of the car, and the flames were extinguished by the team, but a river of fuel could be seen flowing from the top of the engine cover, and it caught light several more times.
Eventually, the engine cover was removed and the fuel tank was emptied, but with the car and pit lane coated in carbon dioxide powder, there was no choice but to throw the red flag.
After the session resumed with around an hour to go, it was McLaren's Fernando Alonso who was the first to set a lap time, posting a lap of 1:39.797. The times soon tumbled as the drivers acclimatised to the track, which has been re-surfaced and several corners re-profiled for the first time in 18 years of running at the venue.
Rosberg's time of 1:35.227 on the soft compound tyre eclipsed next-best runner and Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton – who failed to set a decent lap on the soft tyre – by just under half a second, and was almost five seconds quicker than the fastest time in FP1 in 2015, largely due to the new asphalt.
Behind the Mercedes pair were the two Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, and in fifth was Fernando Alonso, putting in a promising shift in his McLaren.
The Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, and the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg – none of whom ran the soft tyre – occupied sixth, seventh and eight positions, with Sergio Perez and Jenson Button rounding out the top 10.
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