Malaysian Grand Prix practice as it happened

LIVE TEXT COMMENTARY (all times GMT)

0910: With the matchsticks wedging my eyes open about to snap, let me quickly thank you all for your splendid company and contributions over the past six-or-so hours and point you in the direction of Sarah Holt's report from the track. Tomorrow is all about the third free practice session and qualifying. FP3 runs from 0600-0700 and can be viewed live on the BBC Red Button and here online, with audio provided by BBC Radio 5 live sports extra. Qually follows at 0900, with coverage on BBC One, the BBC HD Channel, online and 5 live between 0800 and 1030. A cracking day awaits. I'll see you at 0530.

Hispania driver Narain Karthikeyan on Twitter: "Feels good to get some running. Lot of work to be done, but feel positive for qualifying! Glad to be within the 107%."

Team Lotus technical chief Mike Gascoyne on Twitter: "Not so good this afternoon. Heikki had a differential failure and could not get out again and Jarno [Trulli] didn't get a lap time on the soft tyre. Still evidence from this morning shows we will be much more competitive here than in Melbourne."

0850: It was a wretched FP2 for Virgin's Jerome D'Ambrosio, who failed to post a timed lap, while Lotus will be far from chuffed to see Heikki Kovalainen more than eight seconds off the pace in 23rd after completing only four laps. There was, however, a slight improvement for Hispania, who were prevented from competing in the Australian Grand Prix because their drivers failed to post a lap within 107% of the fastest time set in the first session of qualifying. Narain Karthikeyan went round in 1:43.197, which was inside the 107% mark and bodes well for Saturday, although team-mate Tonio Liuzzi was marginally outside.

0840: McLaren must also be happy with their day's work after Jenson Button finishes second fastest in FP2, just 0.005secs off the pace, and Lewis Hamilton third with a lap of 1:37.010. Webber's team-mate and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel (1:37.090) is fourth and Michael Schumacher of Mercedes (1:38.088) fifth. Ferrari may be disappointed that their drivers - Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa - finished ninth and sixth respectively, while Renault recovered somewhat from a troubled morning to get Nick Heidfeld (1:38.570) up to eighth and Vitaly Petrov (1:39.267) 13th.

0835: A satisfying day for Red Bull and Webber in particular following his Melbourne disappointment. The 34-year-old Australian takes the headlines after topping the timesheets in both of Friday's practice session and he will go into FP3 and qualifying on Saturday with renewed optimism.

0830: In the bag it is - Mark Webber sets the fastest time in second practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Good job.

0828: The track is absolutely covered in marbles of rubber, which could cause a genuine problem if we have a dry race on Sunday. Closing stages now and Webber seems to have it in the bag.

0825: Not long now, folks. Who's it to be? A Webber-Button-Hamilton top three looks pretty secure to me. Red Bull and McLaren bringing their Melbourne form to Sepang. Where are you, Ferrari?

WilkinsonAshley on Twitter: "I'm sat in Derby Uni's canteen, starving but refusing to buy any bacon or sausage until Malaysia GP'S FP2 is over. Daft or committed?"

0820: Vettel climbs to fourth behind team-mate Webber, Button and Hamilton. A good day for McLaren but commentator David Croft on 5 live sports extra suggests Red Bull may be 'sandbagging' to hide their true speed. Anthony Davidson agrees, pointing out that the reigning constructors' champions are probably focusing on reliability.

0810: Into the final half-an-hour we go and plenty of drivers are now running on the soft 'option' tyres to simulate qualifying. Webber is top of the pile with a 1:36.876 with Button just 0.005secs off the pace and Hamilton (1:37.010) not too far back in third. Vettel and Schumacher complete the top five but Ferrari are struggling with Massa sixth and Alonso ninth, 1.213secs and 1.707secs off the pace respectively. Alonso says he's confident he can fight for the world championship despite a disappointing start to 2011 but his team have just tweeted to say their drivers are both "far away from the leaders (WEB, BUT, VET). It's not too late for you to get involved in the chat yourselves via Twitter hashtag #BBCF1 - or you can contact me direct @bbcsport_david. Also be sure to keep the text messages flowing to 81111 (UK) both now and over the weekend.

Gary, Yaxley in Suffolk, via text on 81111: "1:43.657 = currently 107% of Webber's fastest time. Hope that helps save the number crunching!"
Fine maths, sir!

0756: Karthikeyan working hard to climb the leaderboard and, despite oil smoke making its way out of the back of his vehicle, he moves up to 18th with a 1:43.197. That's a massive 6.321 seconds off the pace but would probably see him avoid falling victim to the 107% rule - as was the case in Australia - come qualifying.

0755: Jenson Button exits this pits on a fresh set of tyres and flies round in 1:36.881 to go second fastest. BBC pit-lane reporter Natalie Pinkham suggests the 2009 champion's mechanics were called to work after a piece of DRS shroud detached itself from his MP4-26.

0750: The Red Bulls make their move, Sebastian Vettel gliding atop the timesheets with a lap of one minute 37.090 seconds before being pipped by team-mate Mark Webber (1:36.876). Schumacher (1:38.088), Alguersuari (1:38.846) and Maldonado (1:38.968) are also in the top five. Maldonado, as it happens, has just gone and nosed his Williams into a barrier on entering the pit lane. With Liuzzi charging into the gravel elsewhere on the track, the yellow flags are out.

0742: Hispania's day goes from bad to worse as Narain Karthikeyan is punished for pitlane speed limiter offence. "The last thing he's got on his mind is a pitlane speed limiter when he's got a horrible rollercoaster of a car to drive," says Anthony Davidson on 5 live sports extra.

0740: Maldonado remains the pacesetter from Hamilton but Fernando Alonso has crept into the top three for the first time today with a lap of one minute 39.120. Barrichello, Button, Massa, Schumacher, Rosberg, Sergio Perez and Jaime Alguersuari complete the top 10. But here comes Schumacher... topples Maldonado with a 1:38.088.

Renault GP on Twitter: "No running for LRGP at the moment as we try to fully understand our suspension issues from this morning. Best to be on the safe side."

0730: It's still actually fairly sunny out on the track just now and BBC weatherman Ian Ferguson reports that dry conditions should remain for the remainder of Friday practice. "Showers are currently confined out offshore to the west, where I'm expecting them to remain (and fade)," says Ferguson. "Saturday - good chance for FP3 to remain dry. Highs around 33-34C. Qually also has a fighting chance of staying dry, but shower activity will be starting to evolve and we're suggesting a 45% chance of catching one above the circuit during the session. The risk then increases post-qually. Sunday - could become spicy. Again, shower threat grows steadily and there's a risk of thunderstorms during the race window. Current model output offers anywhere from 75% to as high as 90% chance of this. Air temps around 32-34C. I'd stress again how knife-edge the distribution of showers/storms could be - i.e. towering black clouds missing the circuit by only a km or two, so fortunes will be very finely balanced."

0725: The Williams of Pastor Maldonado goes quickest with a 1:38.968, shunting Hamilton into second with Schumacher now third, Nico Rosberg four and Button down to fifth.

0720: Jenson Button struggled for rear-wheel grip earlier today but he's faring better now and is up to third with a 1:40.368. Lewis Hamilton (1:38.987) leads the way from Michael Schumacher by 0.833 seconds. Talking of rear tyres, Mark Webber's race engineer Ciaran Pilbeam has instructed his charge over the team radio to "look after" them in high-speed corners. This was an area in which Webber struggled in Australia a fortnight ago and as Sepang is a circuit that requires heavy braking on a hot surface, tyre management is sure to play a key role come Sunday.

BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Kuala Lumpur: "Renault's mechanics skipped lunch in Malaysia to work on both cars after Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov retired from the morning session. Nick Heidfeld had to ease the car back to the pits after his right front wheel locked and would not release and Petrov went off track in what also appeared to be a problem with his wheel. It was initially thought to be a brake problem but the team are now investigating potential problems with the upright, which holds the brake and wheel in place. Renault add that neither car will go out on track in the second session until the team fully understand what went wrong."

0713: It was an awful morning for Renault as both Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov struggled for laps. Here's Holty with the very latest...

BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Kuala Lumpur: "The message from McLaren is not to read too much into the times from first practice, which the team summed up as 'scrappy'. Lewis Hamilton went out on a single hot lap but his best time was a huge 1.6 seconds off Mark Webber's leading time for Red Bull. Neither Hamilton nor his team-mate Jenson Button, who was 15th fastest overall, were happy with the car's balance and the team will try to rectify that in the second session. There were also problems with Hamilton's radio and Button's steering wheel which need to be sorted out for second practice."

0710: And right on cue, Massa goes quickest with a lap of 1:40.463... only to be pipped by Rubens Barrichello (1:40.441) moments later. And then Lewis Hamilton uses the DRS and Kers to post a 1:387. Solid start to FP2 for the 2008 world champ.

Ferrari on Twitter: "This afternoon's programme will be a classical one, i.e. focused on finding the best set-up and evaluating Pirelli tyres. Felipe just left the garage for his first run, on hard tyres."

0700: The Toro Rosso of Jaime Alguersuari exits the pits and that means we're up and running in the second free practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Kuala Lumpur: "You would think the hot and humid weather would keep people out of the midday sun but Formula 1 folk are a bit tougher than that. The paddock was very busy and even F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone was taking a stroll in the sunshine. Felipe Massa was in good spirits. The Brazilian has his Dad Luiz and his wife Rafaela here - and we know Massa is one of the more diminutive drivers but he seemed very happy sitting on her knee over the break. There weren't too many panicked faces after Mark Webber pulled 1.6 seconds clear of the pack in P1 as the word is that he was on a low fuel run. Let's hope second practice gives us more clues."

0650: Meanwhile, there was ample use of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) - also known as the moveable rear wing - and Kers into play too. Ominously for the rest of the field, Kers WAS used by Red Bull after they made do without it in Australia. If the Milton Keynes-based outfit can work the power boost into their package from now on without compromising reliability then who knows what they're capable of. Sarah Holt's report from Sepang and FP1 video highlights are now both available for you to enjoy. Got get 'em.

0645: With most of you probably fast asleep during the opening practice session, how about we take a quick look back at what you missed. In a nutshell, Mark Webber clocked easily the quickest time to suggest Red Bull remain the team to beat. The Aussie's lap of lap of one minute 37.651 seconds was 1.665secs quicker than second-place Lewis Hamilton's best effort and 2.140 clear of Michael Schumacher in third. With no rain falling in the morning, Pirelli's hard 'prime' tyres were given a good going over and there was significant degradation, causing a sea of 'marbles' at various points on the track. Most teams got a decent amount of running under their belts but Renault and Hispania suffered brake/suspension problems and will be desperate to make up for lost time in FP2.

Force India on Twitter: "Good FP1 for Force India drivers. Nico P4 with a 1:40.377 and Adrian P11with a 1:40.734. Humidity up to 84.8% during first practice... some very hot drivers and teams in the garages!"

0630: Breakfast/lunch digested, sleep/sweat wiped from eyes, whether you're in the UK or Malaysia - or anywhere else in the world for that matter - let's get this show back on the road. You with me?

Ferrari on Twitter: "It is difficult to analyse this morning session as there were more factors to be considered, especially on tyre side. Pirelli brought here a new hard compound to be evaluated only in Friday's free practice so it is more difficult to make proper comparisons."

0455: With not all that much known about fuel loads or strategies, there's only so much we can read into practice times. However, it's fair to say that - yet again - things are looking pretty bleak for Hispania. They were excluded from the Australian Grand Prix after failing to post a lap within 107% of the fastest time set in the first session of qualifying and, despite claiming that a new front wing would help them avoid such embarrassment in Malaysia, they seem to be struggling once more. Tonio Liuzzi is 7.577 seconds off the pace and Narain Karthikeyan 8.616. Bad times.

f1fanatic_co_uk on Twitter: "McLaren describe this morning's times as 'inconclusive'. If they are representative we're on for a Red Bull rout."

Press Association F1 correspondent Ian Parkes on Twitter: "Remarkable practice session as Heidfeld, Petrov and D'Ambrosio all suffer brake or suspension failure."

0445: Another dominant showing from Red Bull. Can anyone catch 'em? McLaren are trying their hardest but with little success, although admittedly these are early days. Ferrari are working on aerodynamics today so we won't really know their true pace until Saturday. All good, then, for the reigning constructors' champions.

0430: And that brings an end to the session with Mark Webber top of the timesheets following a lap of one minute 37.651 seconds. Lewis Hamilton is seconds fastest, a massive 1.665 seconds off the pace, with Michael Schumacher (1:39.791), Nico Hulkenberg (1:40.377) and Pastor Maldonado (Force India reserve, 1:40.443) completing the top five. Felipe Massa, Nick Heidfeld, Rubens Barrichello, Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg all make the top 10. Adrian Sutil and Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso reserve) are within 3.1 seconds of Webber, while Jaime Alguersuari, Kamui Kobayashi, Jenson Button, Jarno Trulli, Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez are within four seconds. Timo Glock, Jerome D'Ambrosio, Davide Valsecchi (Lotus reserve), Tonio Liuzzi, Narain Karthikeyan and Vitaly Petrov bring up the rear.

0428: Late-session running disrupted by a Renault-esque problem for Vigin's Jerome D'ambrosio. The Belgian shoots into the gravel, prompting yellow flags and a slowing of the field.

0425: It's going to be particularly interesting to see how big a role Kers (kinetic energy recovery system) plays this weekend, especially at Red Bull. They Milton Keynes-based outfit used the power boost system during Friday practice at the Australian Grand Prix but dropped it on Saturday and Sunday after reportedly struggling to control the heat generated by the batteries in their tightly-packed Adrian Newey-designed vehicle. I can confirm that Red Bull ARE using it today and they will hope it fares better this time round. Sepang features two long, back-to-back straight and the run to the first corner is 460m, compared to 200m in Melbourne, making Kers a more useful advantage at the start of the race.

Lopek on Twitter: "Looked to me like the brake disk exploded taking out the wheel rim. Renault have serious brake issues here it seems."

0416: On his team radio the Russian points to a suspension problem. His car is being lifted away by crane. With both Heidfeld and Petrov in the pits, it's safe to say lunch is cancelled at Renault!

0415: Renault's miserable day continues as Vitaly Petrov shoots into the gravel after his left front explodes - looks like a possible wheel failure. Not pretty.

0410: On Thursday, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner moved to defend the absolute legality of his cars amid accusations of potential rule breaking over their front wing last season. Here's BBC Radio 5 live analyst Anthony Davidson on the matter: "It's about time the other teams caught up with the Red Bull front wing. They all make advancements in F1, and the other teams copy it, like the double diffuser. They know they need to copy the Red Bull front wing. They can all see how it droops down out on the track, but no one can replicate it."

0405: Mark Webber (1:38.483) leads the way from Lewis Hamilton (1:39.316), Pastor Maldonado (1:40.443) and Nick Heidfeld (1:40.525). Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have all now posted times but still nothing from Felipe Massa.

BBC Sport's Andrew Benson: "A lot of you are asking whether the moveable rear wing - or drag-reduction system (DRS), as F1 is, rather unhelpfully, officially calling it - will have more of an effect in facilitating overtaking in Malaysia than it did in Australia two weeks ago. The short answer is yes, you'd certainly expect so. The main reason is that the pit straight - where it will be used - is much longer in Sepang than at Albert Park, so the drivers trying to overtake will have the benefit of the extra straightline speed for longer. The driver defending is not allowed to use his wing. Governing body the FIA and the teams have always said that the first few races will be a bit of a suck-it-and-see situation as they try to achieve the right balance between making overtaking a bit easier - but not so easy that it stops becoming an event. It remains to be seen whether they have got that right in Malaysia."

0355: Questions galore about the Drag Reduction System (DRS), also known as the moveable rear wing. Use will be restricted to the pit straight from Turn 15 to Turn One in Sepang, but it's available throughout practice and qualifying and plenty of the drivers are taking advantage as we speak. Anthony Davidson on 5 live sports extra reckons the teams are finding up to 15-20km/h from the device, which could prove telling on Saturday and Sunday. More from Andrew Benson coming right at you...

0353: Lewis Hamilton comes out for a five-lap stint on a fresh set of hard 'prime' tyres and goes second-fastest with a 1:39.316. Heidfeld bumped down to third and nowhere to be seen after his brake-locking incident. "Cooling down in his driver room," says David Croft on 5 live sports extra. Bad news for the German, who was supposed to be leading Renault in the absence of the injured Robert Kubica but has been put in the shade by team-mate Vitaly Petrov following the Russian's superb podium-finish in Australia.

0348: On the subject of Webber, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has been talking to 5 live sports extra about Webber's Melbourne disappointment... "It was a few little things that we think contributed. The biggest thing that we found after the race that wasn't there after qualifying was a damaged rear centre damper, but it's difficult to quantify what effect that would have had." The 34-year-old qualified in third and finished fifth in a race won comfortably by team-mate and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel.

0345: Heidfeld is displaced atop the charts by Red Bull's Mark Webber (1:38.952), who will be desperate to bounce back kangaroo-style from a disappointing weekend at his home GP in Melbourne.

Ferrari on Twitter: "It will be a bit different Friday for both our drivers. This morning session will be mainly dedicated to aerodynamic tests. The crew is painting the front of the cars with the flow wiz, which is used to understand the flow of the air on the wings and bodywork. The weather is as usual, very hot and humid. At the moment we have 28 C of air temperature, 32 C track temperature."

0338: You can watch Lee's interview with two-time world champion Alonso on BBC One and right here online on Sunday.

BBC F1 pit-lane reporter Lee McKenzie: "Fernando Alonso has said many times that he is desperate to secure another world championship with Ferrari, to add to the two he won with Renault. Last year he was denied at the final race in Abu Dhabi but he spoke openly to me on Thursday about how he feels his chances were actually dashed much earlier in the season. The Spaniard also feels that Ferrari are much stronger now thanks to the raft of personnel changes that happened throughout the off-season. He also talked about team-mate rivalries within Red Bull and McLaren and said that Massa is a much closer rival than it looks and that Felipe would have had some much better results if it hadn't been for bad luck in some of his races."

0335: To the track we go and Renault's Nick Heidfeld currently tops the timesheets with a time of one minute 40.525 seconds, 0.329 seconds clear of Williams' Pastor Maldonado. Michael Schumacher of Mercedes, Force India reserve Nico Hulkenberg and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi complete the top five. None of the so-called big guns have posted timed laps yet. Heidfeld is back in the pits after his front right brakes locked and wouldn't unlock, prompting some serious tyre wear, while Hispania's Narain Karthikeyan offered up some fairly dramatic TV pictures with an engine problem. Smelly smoke galore.

0325: Talking of tyres, Pirelli have selected the same compounds for this weekend as they took to Melbourne a fortnight ago. So it's the hard 'prime' rubbers and soft 'option' variety. We could, of course, see intermediate and wet tyres used for the first time but only about half of the field have tested them, meaning things could get tasty if the heavens do indeed open. On Thursday the rain fell at 1600 local time, which is exactly when qualifying begins on Saturday and the race on Sunday. Meanwhile, Pirelli have added a gold stripe to the side of the soft tyres to help make it easier for fans to see which compounds drivers are using. The intermediates are distinguished by light blue markings.

0315: Sean in Nottingham texts us to ask how the new Pirelli wet and intermediate tyres will perform if it rains over the weekend. Well, some of the teams enjoyed a spot of wet-weather testing in Barcelona but the proof, as they say, will be in the pudding. With Pirelli taking over from Bridgestone and providing a rubber that will degrade more rapidly then its predecessor, tyre performance is likely to play a key role this season.

BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Kuala Lumpur: "Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were in good spirits when I spoke to them yesterday. Hamilton was still smiling after getting caught in a downpour while conducting his TV interviews, and joked afterwards that he was going to speak to team boss Martin Whitmarsh immediately about getting a bigger umbrella. The McLaren drivers are both confident that they can carry forward the momentum from Australia, where Hamilton finished second to Red Bull winner Sebastian Vettel, and Button finished sixth after an eventful race. Hamilton flew back from Melbourne to spend some time working at the team's Woking HQ and to witness brother Nicolas's racing debut at Brands Hatch, while Jenson Button headed to the more glamorous Hawaii to race in a triathlon. McLaren have arrived in Malaysia with some new bits and pieces on their car and both drivers have good form when it comes to driving in the rain, which is pretty handy as the rain clouds here have a habit of opening at 4pm local time - right on cue for qualifying and the race."

0305: Nice and sunny at the circuit as several drivers get installation laps under their belts. Here comes Lewis Hamilton, to whom Holty has been chatting...

BBC F1 pit-lane reporter Lee McKenzie: "Malaysia is a pretty demanding track for drivers both mentally and physically. Many of the Formula 1 drivers arrived in Kuala Lumpur or its surrounding islands well ahead of the race to acclimatise and do some heat training. Red Bull's race winner from Australia Sebastian Vettel went to Bali, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso arrived in Malaysia early while Nico Rosberg of Mercedes headed to Langkawi. I spoke to Rosberg about how physically demanding this climate is for a driver. He said its not unusual for him to lose two or three kilos through sweating during the race here. The interview I did shows how he uses some pretty different training techniques to keep his brain agile during extreme conditions, such as playing memory card games while doing push ups! You can see my interview in full on the BBC qualifying show, which starts at 0800 BST on Saturday."

0300: And out the cars come...

BBC Radio 5 live F1 on Twitter: "Air Temp 26, Track Temp 26 and Humidity 88% no rain clouds around at the moment..."

0255: Five minutes until the start of the free practice one (FP1), a 90-minute session streamed live on the BBC Red Button, here online and with audio courtesy of 5 live sports extra. Same drill for FP2 at 0700, with FP3 an hour-long sesh at 0600 on Saturday and then qualifying at 0900. Qually, by the way, is live on BBC One, the HD channel, online and 5 live. As is Sunday's race, which starts at 0900 but our coverage gets under way an hour beforehand. More about that nearer the time. Basically, we're all over this.

BBC weatherman Ian Ferguson on Twitter: "Tricky for teams this weekend. Friday likely to remain dry; quite possibly FP3 & quali too. But who might gamble on a wet set-up for race? Some of you have asked for the % chances of rain into quali & race. Based on all f'cast model ensembles: 40% & 80% respectively. Fri = 25%."

0245: As per usual, Holty will be trackside for us all weekend while Andrew Benson - another of our F1 experts - is alongside me to answer your questions. Many of which I'll be able to count on over the coming hours and days, right? You know the format... get nattering via the Twitter hashtag #BBCF1 or Tweet me directly @bbcsport_david. Text message is also an option via 81111 (UK).

BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Kuala Lumpur: "From Melbourne's autumn parkland to the tropical oil palms of Kuala Lumpur, the heat is back on the Formula 1 field. Hazy sunshine and simmering temperatures have greeted us at Sepang's high-speed circuit ahead of first practice and it is the first time this year that the cars have run in these conditions. With cool temperatures in all the Spanish testing sessions and the track reaching just 22C in Australia, all the talk here is how the new Pirelli tyres - which held up better than expected in the first grand prix - will perform in these conditions. Red Bull may have slam-dunked Melbourne but even they admit there are still plenty of unknowns at the second race of the season. 'This is a completely different track with different characteristics and different demands on the tyres and the cars,' said Sebastian Vettel, the man they will all be looking to beat this weekend."

0235: So here we are, round two of the new campaign. After the postponement of Bahrain and the entertaining season-opener in Australia, to the Sepang International Circuit we go. Two Friday practice sessions followed by a third and qualifying on Saturday - and then the big daddy on Sunday. Miss it, miss out.

0230: When Bernie Ecclestone suggested using sprinkler systems to make Formula 1 more entertaining, my mind immediately turned to the one race at which no such gimmicks are necessary. Set in a hot and sticky corner of Southeast Asia - no stranger to thunderstorms and biblical downpours - the racing is can be wet, often wild and always entertaining. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix.