Oliver WhiteThe second 90 minute practice session ended earlier this morning at unlike the first run, it wasn’t Williams who captured the top spots. Instead Ferrari found themselves leading the timing sheets and Kimi Raikkonen going fastest of all. Felipe Massa was only 0.1s down and the final order was much more mixed up than previously, with some teams unexpectedly doing better than others. Red Bull Racing found some pace and Kovalainen improved after a disastrous showing in the pre-lunch session.
Kimi Raikkonen suffered some problems with his KERS in the first session, and although the specific issue was rectified, the Finn still experienced problems with the device after lunch. The system has failed and overheated in testing prior to the start of the season although everything looked to be working well during the Australian Grand Prix last weekend.
Both Red Bull Racing drivers found themselves nearer the top of the tables in the second practice session, the RB5 coming alive later in the day, just as it did in Melbourne. Sebastian Vettel went third with a time that was just 0.247s shy of Kimi’s. Mark Webber also ran well and finished the day in fifth and 0.3s adrift of the pace setting time from the Ferrari.
Giancarlo Fisichella was running very well in the Force India, but was unable to compete any further after clouting the barrier on his 27th tour of Sepang. Team mate Adrian Sutil looked fairly competitive in the second Force India though, finishing sixteenth and improving on his first session time by 0.4s.
Looking at the times set, it appears as though many of the drivers are grouped by their cars. In the first session, Williams led, followed by both Brawns and both Ferraris. Red Bull, Toyota, Force India, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Renault all had their drivers run closely to one another. In the second session, we can see a similar effect taking place. Both Ferraris are at the top, the Red Bulls are close, then both Brawns, McLaren are close, as are Toyota.
Malaysia 2009
|
Lap Time
|
Laps Set
|
1. |  Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari |
1m35.707s | 40 Laps |
| 2. |  Felipe Massa Ferrari |
1m35.832s | 38 Laps |
| 3. |  Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing |
1m35.954s | 40 Laps |
| 4. | Nico Rosberg Williams |
1m36.015s | 39 Laps |
| 5. |  Mark Webber Red Bull Racing |
1m36.026s | 36 Laps |
| 6. | Rubens Barrichello Brawn |
1m36.161s | 37 Laps |
| 7. |  Jenson Button Brawn |
1m36.254s | 31 Laps |
| 8. |  Kazuki Nakajima Williams |
1m36.290s | 35 Laps |
| 9. |  Heikki Kovalainen McLaren |
1m36.397s | 40 Laps |
| 10. | Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault |
1m36.401s | 35 Laps |
| 11. | Lewis Hamilton McLaren |
1m36.515s | 30 Laps |
| 12. |  Jarno Trulli Toyota |
1m36.516s | 34 Laps |
| 13. |  Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso |
1m36.628s | 32 Laps |
| 14. | Timo Glock Toyota |
1m36.639s | 29 Laps |
| 15. |  Fernando Alonso Renault |
1m36.640s | 20 Laps |
| 16. | Adrian Sutil Force India |
1m36.875s | 36 Laps |
| 17. |  Robert Kubica BMW |
1m37.267s | 38 Laps |
| 18. |  Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso |
1m37.278s | 30 Laps |
| 19. | Giancarlo Fisichella Force India |
1m37.432s | 27 Laps |
| 20. | Nick Heidfeld BMW |
1m37.930s | 37 Laps |
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