LIVE: Malaysian Grand Prix - FP1

40

Follow live coverage of the first free practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix with F1i's live commentary page.

While the Sepang International Circuit has been on the F1 calendar since 1999, this year represents a new slot and a new challenge for the teams and drivers. Traditionally at the start of the season, the 18-month gap since the last race in Malaysia has allowed the organisers to resurface the track and made modifications to a number of corners.

LIVE: Malaysian Grand Prix - FP1

The biggest differences are at Turn 2 and the final corner, with the latter now clearly off-camber which will change the racing line. The new track surface has removed a number of bumps, while also increasing drainage in case of heavy rain at Sepang.

Nico Rosberg arrives at the race with an eight-point lead in the drivers' championship having jumped ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Singapore, while Red Bull and Ferrari will hope to be close once again. Seeping is a happy hunting ground for Sebastian Vettel, who won last year's race, his first victory for Ferrari in only his second start.

You can follow live coverage of the opening 90-minute practice session with F1i's live commentary page, which will keep you up-to-date with times as well as the latest news from the paddock. You can also get involved by sending in your questions and comments to the F1i team.

Romain Grosjean exclusive column: Haas can build momentum for 2017

Chris Medland's 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix preview

TECHNICAL: F1 telemetry: The data race

FEATURE: When F1 team-mates fight for the title

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.