Kimi Raikkonen is out to prove that his form from Australia, is spilling over to the free practice sessions at the circuit of Sepang in Malaysia.
Just 5 days after securing his
20th career win by taking the chequered flag at Australia. The Fin, was originally right smack bang in the middle of a RedBull Sandwich after P1. With Webber leading P1 with a respectable 1:36.395, which seperated him from Kimi by .068. With the reigning World Champion in 3rd place with a 1:37.104 Lotus team personnel were extremely confident Kimi would be able to come out on top of the next session, which bearing in mind - Kimi spent a good amount of time in the pits, due to a problem with a sensor on the KERS system. The Lotus team quickly worked i harmony to rectify the problem and get Kimi back on the track, which is when he set his 2nd place time. It is also worth mentioning at the end of FP1, The FIA fully examined the 2013 Red Bull, checking the weight and length of all panels, after a few reports of the car being underweight.o
So with P2 underway out went the Ice Man, the majority of the teams switched to the softer compound tyres. Kimi set a blistering 1:36.569 which is quicker than any time set over the threedays last year. Vettel who was in 2nd place behind Raikkonen, just could not match the Lotus' speed. Then an abrupt end came to the dry run when the rain started coming down. Meanwhile Mercedes seemed unable to match the pace of the Ferrari's, Red Bull's and Lotus' Rosberg was 0.879 behind Kimi's time, while Nico's teammate Lewis Hamilton was 1.005 seconds behind the Lotus.
Hamilton told
BBC Sport:
"I just didn't get to do a single-lap time on either set of tyres because we went out on heavier fuel and then when we went back out it rained," said Hamilton. "The race run felt pretty strong. It felt quick and the car felt better than in the last race. I think we have made a step forward with the car but it's difficult to judge where we are."
While The McLaren's are still struggling to get anywhere near the middle of the field, Martin Whitmarsh told the press
"All of our engeries are focused on the MP4-28, we believe we can still turn it into a winning car."
By the sounds of that, McLaren don't intend to ditch the MP4-28 anytime soon. Despite the team desperately bringing some small upgrades to Malaysia, the pace doesn't seem to of improved much.
McLaren aren't the only team to try and scrape together some upgrades, Williams have brought some of their old car and some new pieces to try and recuperate some of the pace they had last season.
Join us in the the
Official Malaysian Grand Prix discussion all weekend long.
