Alonso will aim for the first row of the grid

La Team remains at the forefront at the end of the first day of testing on the Sepang circuit since Felipe Massa set the third fastest time of the afternoon session (1'36"661) less than a tenth from Kimi Räikkönen while his teammate Fernando Alonso follows in fourth place, four tenths behind. If the Asturian is slightly behind the Sao Paulista, his delay does not worry him given the circumstances encountered during the tests. The double world champion is especially satisfied to see his car still competitive on the Malaysian track after having already shown good potential last weekend in Melbourne. His only uncertainty logically focuses on the very high tire degradation at Sepang and the rapidly changing weather conditions at this time of year in Malaysia.

“The car performed well in all conditions and this is very good news for us”, commented Fernando Alonso at the end of the test day. “The circuit is more representative than in Australia for evaluating the performance of the car and it was important to see here if the positive feedback from winter testing was not just a simple illusion. I didn't have the right balance on my flying lap on medium tires and I could certainly have improved my time enough to place myself on the front row. We will now have to see the weather forecast tomorrow as it could rain at any time on a track where tire degradation is greater than in Melbourne. With likely a higher number of pit stops, a car that performs better in the race than in qualifying could be an advantage. However, we will do our best to find a place on the first row. »