SEPANG, Malaysia // Lewis Hamilton had nothing but praise for his Mercedes mechanics after they worked tirelessly on an engine issue between practice sessions at the Malaysian Grand Prix and produced a car that posted the fastest time of the day.
The defending world champion stopped at the apex of the Turn Nine hairpin in first free practice and could only sit and watch from the garage as teammate Nico Rosberg topped the timesheets ahead of the two Ferraris.
Back in the cockpit after his mechanics had completed their repair job and fitted with the faster medium tyres, a relieved Hamilton was then able to sweep around the 5.543 km Sepang International Circuit in one minute, 39.790 seconds late in the afternoon.
“It was an amazing job by my guys to rebuild the car, and get the engine and gearbox back on,” Hamilton told reporters.
“I am grateful for that,” he added before conceding further improvements were needed as the race weekend progressed.
“Particularly here, where it is so hot and so difficult with the tyres out there, it was important to go out and get some laps,” the Briton said.
“I know my lap wasn’t spectacular. I think I have some improvements to make with the balance and settings, as they were all from the last race. I am sure we can improve it.”
After leading a one-two finish for a dominant Mercedes in Melbourne, Hamilton acknowledged that the Ferrari resurgence appeared to be gathering steam as both Kimi Raikkonen and new recruit Sebastian Vettel looked impressive in Malaysia.
“The Ferraris look great, they really do,” he said. “It’s surprising to see how good their times are. We will see if it continues this weekend.”
Rosberg was equally as gushing about the Italian outfit after he was unable to overhaul Raikkonen in the second session and had to settle for the third fastest time.
“It seems that again Ferrari is pretty close, so we need to keep an eye on them,” the German said.
MANOR HAVE A ‘SHAKEDOWN’
The troubled Manor Marussia Formula One team declared themselves back in business on Friday after returning to the track for the first time since plunging into administration last October.
Spanish rookie Roberto Merhi and Britain’s Will Stevens completed 34 laps between them in practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix after failing to turn a wheel in the Australian season-opener two weeks ago.
“Obviously, we are thrilled to be back on track again, finally seeing all the hard work and determination paying off,” said team principal John Booth.
“I’m very satisfied with what we have achieved today,”
Manor, who emerged from the ashes of the failed Marussia outfit that missed the last three races of 2014, were unable to take part in pre-season testing and only emerged from administration last month.
Their inability to get either car on track in Melbourne, blamed on computer software problems, drew an angry response after that weekend from Formula One’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
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