Malaysian GP: Jaguar Friday practice notes

Hot humid conditions greeted the drivers today as they took to the track for Friday free practice at the Sepang circuit (Malaysia). Mark Webber (27) was the only one of the three Jaguar drivers that knew the circuit and this was reflected in his encouraging time of 1:35.054 placing him third overall at the end of the second session. Christian Klien (21) spent much of his time on track learning the layout and managed a time of 1:35.996 and a 14th position.

Third driver Bjorn Wirdheim (23) had a productive day working mostly on tyres and set-up and recorded a time of 1:36.883 that saw him finish in 18th position. The nose cone of the R5 today featured new Jaguar Racing sponsor YTL. As one of Malaysia's leading integrated infrastructure conglomerates they have secured a one race deal with the team.

Mark Webber:

I've had a good day here and despite the very hot humid conditions I am enjoying being out on track and seeing what we can do. The team have done a really good job in preparing the car and this is making it easier for me to get the most from the R5. Versus where we were last year when we were here with the R4, there is really no comparison. I spent most of today working on tyres and also set-up. The track is actually quite bumpy so its quite hard going on the car and as we could see there was a lot of people spending time off-track too!

Christian Klien:

Again this was another new circuit for me so this makes it more difficult for me to spend time working on the set-up and balance. I spent most of this morning working on circuit familiarisation and it is quite a hard track. There are some fast corners and I was doing my best to stay out of the gravel. This afternoon I spent more time working on tyres so I can discuss my option for the rest of the weekend, although Bjorn really helps out here. The conditions here are very hot and even with my training in Langkawi this is certainly more intense than Melbourne.

Björn Wirdheim: