Red Bull’s Mark Webber topped an action packed free practice one by over 1.6 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.
The Australian set the early pace going into the Malaysian GP weekend, completing 22 laps, the fastest of which was a 1:37.561, the only man to go into the 1:37’s.
The drama started with Narain Karthikeyan’s HRT coughing and spluttering smoke as it left the pitlane, the Indian opting to stop on-track at turn three.
Then came Nick Heidfeld’s right-front brake failure which caused the brake pad to stick in place, gripping the tyre, stopping it from turning and resulting in a puncture.
The German nursed the car back to the pits with sparks flying from the rear as the plank rubbed along the track surface.
Renault’s worrying day only got worse with Vitaly Petrov suffering a similar fate, although in much more spectacular fashion. The Russian’s front-left exploded sending him into a spin and into the gravel with debris littering the track at turn nine.
Tyre/brake failures were the subject of the session with Jerome d’Ambrosio ending up in the gravel after his suspension seemed to fail under braking, ripping the wheel from his car.
Malaysian GP Free Practice 1 Results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:37.561 | 22 | |
| 02. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:39.316 | +1.665 | 16 |
| 03. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:39.791 | +2.140 | 29 |
| 04. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:40.377 | +2.726 | 23 |
| 05. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:40.443 | +2.792 | 31 |
| 06. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:40.453 | +2.802 | 22 |
| 07. | N. Heidfeld | Renault | 1:40.525 | +2.874 | 6 |
| 08. | R. Barrichello | Williams | 1:40.581 | +2.930 | 21 |
| 09. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:40.601 | +2.950 | 23 |
| 10. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:40.646 | +2.995 | 29 |
| 11. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:40.734 | +3.083 | 21 |
| 12. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:40.734 | +3.097 | 23 |
| 13. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1.40.770 | +3.119 | 24 |
| 14. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:40.872 | +3.221 | 27 |
| 15. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:40.927 | +3.276 | 16 |
| 16. | J. Trulli | Team Lotus | 1:41.620 | +3.969 | 21 |
| 17. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:41.627 | +3.976 | 18 |
| 18. | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:41.642 | +3.991 | 24 |
| 19. | T. Glock | Virgin | 1:42.154 | +4.503 | 18 |
| 20. | J. d’Ambrosio | Virgin | 1.42.540 | +4.889 | 20 |
| 21. | D. Valsecchi | Team Lotus | 1:44.054 | +6.403 | 18 |
| 22. | V. Liuzzi | Hispania | 1:45.228 | +7.577 | 20 |
| 23. | N. Karthikeyan | Hispania | 1:46.267 | +8.616 | 10 |
| 24. | V. Petrov | Renault | 1:47.932 | +10.281 | 4 |
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