Leading up to the race - Sepang News

Alonso unconcerned by practice pace

Championship leader Fernando Alonso says he is unconcerned with the team's unremarkable showing in Friday practice and insists it is business as usual.

Alonso finished the session seventh, 1.4 seconds off the pace of Hamilton, but did not appear to attempt a low-fuel run.

"It's pointless to look for any significance in Friday's classification: I'm seventh, but I could just as well have been second or last and it would not have changed anything," he said. "It all depends on the difference between the programmes adopted by the teams.

"From our side, we are reasonably happy with what we have done and first impressions would be that there is no reason to expect a very different picture to the one we saw in Bahrain and Australia, partly because, in the space of four days, nothing much is likely to have changed. The car is very easy to drive and quite enjoyable to drive here in Sepang - with high fuel and low fuel it remains more or less the same balance, so this is good news for us in terms of race preparation.

"As before, I expect Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes to be very competitive and we will have to do our best. It will not be easy, but there is no reason to be pessimistic. The temperatures of the engine, brakes, tyres and last but not least, the drivers, will be an important factor, which we will have to keep under control."

Alonso, who has won twice before at Sepang in 2005 and 2007, also knows that the unpredictable Kuala Lumpur weather could play a big part in proceedings over the weekend.

"It remains very open about the weather conditions - it could rain at any moment in either qualifying or the race. So we need to concentrate and make no mistakes."

Fernando Alonso unconcerned by free practice pace in Malaysia | Malaysian Grand Prix | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1

After topping the time sheets during Friday's practice in Malaysia, Lewis Hamilton thinks McLaren is slowly clawing back the advantage Red Bull and Ferrari held in the opening two rounds.

His team-mate Jenson Button won the wet Australian Grand Prix, but the McLaren has lacked one-lap pace to make the difference in qualifying.

"I've got a good feeling in the car - it's probably the best feeling I've had in the car around this circuit," he said. "Every time I get to a track this year, it always feels light years better than the last time, which is very positive. We don't yet know where the others are, so we need to keep focusing on our performance, but we're optimistic that we've made a small step forward. Hopefully the weather will be okay for qualifying tomorrow."

Hamilton said he would work hard overnight to ensure he is in the best possible position on Saturday.

"We're still trying to get a better feeling for the tyres, but we've made some positive first steps," he added. "This evening, I want to sit down with my engineers and make a couple of changes. Sepang is a very special place - it's not a stop-start circuit; it's a flowing, high-speed track which is all about getting the car to flow from one corner to the next. You need lots of rear-end grip, a strong balance and a car that can ride the kerbs well while also conserving the tyres. And that's never an easy combination to achieve. I think we had a good first day today."

Hamilton holds top spot in Sepang - Malaysian Grand Prix - Free Practice Two | Malaysian Grand Prix | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1

Jenson Button said he was struggling to get to grips with the handling of his McLaren despite setting the fourth fastest time after second practice at Sepang.

"I'm getting there slowly but it's been a long afternoon," said Button. "I haven't really got to grips with the car round here, I really struggled with the balance and I haven't found something I like.

Button reported over the radio during the session that he was struggling with both understeer and an unstable rear.

"I had a very twitchy rear end and I just can't deal with it at the moment so we've been working with that. Eventually, towards the end of practice, I started feeling better but there's still a long way to go before I'm happy, so it will be a long night tonight."

Button's team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, clocked the fastest time in both of Friday's free practice sessions but also said he was not totally at ease with the car.

"I wouldn't say I was comfortable," said Hamilton. "Our qualifying pace hasn't been great in the last two races. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little bit better for us, but we have to look out for the weather.

"There are some changes we need to make, but nothing too serious. I'm going to sit down with the engineers now. There are a couple of changes we'll try for tomorrow, but they're quite subtle, and hopefully they'll help."

Jenson Button unhappy with McLaren handling | Malaysian Grand Prix | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1