Mercedes lead the way in Malaysia as Magnussen suffers free practice fire - Renault cause red flag after car bursts into flames
Published by Christine
First practice in Sepang was dominated by a terrifying fire outside the Renault garage. Kevin Magnussen completed just two installation laps before his car burst into flames. He leapt out and allowed the mechanics to move in with fire extinguishers, but they couldn’t get the fire to stay out. The session was red flagged for twenty minutes until the blaze could be brought under control.
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso was running an upgraded Honda engine which saw him fifth in the first session and seventh in the second.
Ferrari were best of the rest in both sessions, as Rosberg was ahead of Hamilton and then the two red cars in FP1, whilst Hamilton got ahead of Nico in FP2, with Vettel settling for third. Raikkonen was less happy in the car in the afternoon.
All drivers struggled for grip at the start of each session, due to the new resurfaced track and the rising temperatures. Oh and it’s worth giving a round of applause to the Renault crew for getting Magnussen back out on track halfway through FP2. Good job team.
