Formula 1

Malaysian GP: Michelin Friday practice notes

Honda test driver Anthony Davidson was the quickest Michelin runner on the opening day of the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Englishman posted a 1:35.041s lap in the second free practice session, which took place in hot, muggy conditions similar to those ...

Published: Mar 21, 2006, 5:46 AM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Honda test driver Anthony Davidson was the quickest Michelin runner on the opening day of the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Englishman posted a 1:35.041s lap in the second free practice session, which took place in hot, muggy conditions similar to those that are likely to prevail during Sunday's 56-lap race.

Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber/Michelin) was third on aggregate while world championship leader Fernando Alonso (Renault/Michelin) was fourth overall and quickest of the regular race drivers, a fraction ahead of Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes/Michelin) and Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault/Michelin).

Anthony Davidson and MF1 racer Christijan Albers were both fined for speeding in the pit lane this morning.

Davidson missed a large part of the day's second free practice session after spinning off the circuit at Turn 14. David Coulthard (Red Bull/Michelin) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari) will be docked 10 places on Sunday's grid after making unscheduled engine changes.

Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault/Michelin) and Jacques Villeneuve (BMW Sauber/Michelin) also have fresh V10s this weekend. As they failed to finish the previous race in Bahrain, however, the regulations absolve them of any penalty.

Giorgio Mondini conducted testing duties for the MF1 team today. The Swiss driver is one of several youngsters MF1 intends to evaluate during grand prix weekends.

Red Bull/Michelin driver Vitantonio Liuzzi spun into the pit lane entrance during today's second free practice session, but didn't make contact with the barriers.

Nick Shorrock, Michelin Formula One Director:

"Conditions were cooler than we anticipated during the first free practice session, which caused softer compounds to grain a little, but that problem went away this afternoon when the heat returned to its customary ferocity. As we saw in Bahrain, the level of competition promises to be extremely high this season and today's closely-matched times reflect as much."

"Our partners have completed a number of useful long runs, however, and that has given us an excellent platform for the balance of the weekend. We have brought seven different types of tyre to Sepang and, on the basis of what we have seen so far, I expect a number of them to be used in Sunday's race."

-michelin-

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article Malaysian GP: BMW Sauber Friday practice notes

Next article New sponsor for MF1

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

Felipe Massa



On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement

Formula 1

Formula 1

Italian GP

On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement



Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case

Formula 1

Formula 1

Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case



Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial

Formula 1

Formula 1

Las Vegas GP

Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial

More from

Ferrari



Fred Vasseur "not sure" if Red Bull is currently F1's best team

Formula 1

Formula 1

Singapore GP

17 h

Fred Vasseur "not sure" if Red Bull is currently F1's best team



Charles Leclerc admits he missed a chance against Max Verstappen – but not the obvious one

Formula 1

Formula 1

Singapore GP

Charles Leclerc admits he missed a chance against Max Verstappen – but not the obvious one



'Senior moment' or breakdown of trust? The implications of Hamilton's Singapore GP meltdown

Formula 1

Singapore GP

'Senior moment' or breakdown of trust? The implications of Hamilton's Singapore GP meltdown

Latest news



Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

2 h

Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction



William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

3 h

William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix



Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring

IndyCar

Indy IndyCar 3 h

Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring



Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

3 h

Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season

Feature

Discover prime content



Why Mercedes' latest 2026 F1 update is no downgrade

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Why Mercedes' latest 2026 F1 update is no downgrade



'Senior moment' or breakdown of trust? The implications of Hamilton's Singapore GP meltdown

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Stuart Codling

'Senior moment' or breakdown of trust? The implications of Hamilton's Singapore GP meltdown



What we learned from the 2026 F1 Singapore GP sprint and qualifying

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What we learned from the 2026 F1 Singapore GP sprint and qualifying



How Honda plans a return to being an F1 powerhouse

Formula 1

By Ronald Vording

How Honda plans a return to being an F1 powerhouse

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe