Lewis Hamilton is seeking the "right compromise" in his Ferrari after a tricky return to Sepang.
Hamilton placed only fifth in FP2 during Friday practice for the Bahrain GP in Malaysia, with team-mate Charles Leclerc topping the Briton by 0.305s, with both Red Bulls and Lando Norris sandwiched between the two Ferraris.
This followed FP1, where Hamilton placed sixth and was 0.223s down on Leclerc, who was fourth, as the 2014 Malaysian GP winner was left with work to do on grand prix racing's return to Sepang.
The track surface has been described as "sandpaper" and made conditions tricky for drivers as it overheats the tyres and makes controlling pace tricky, with Hamilton explaining that his target was to evaluate set-up choices and home in on the correct choice ahead of qualifying.
"It was a challenging day overall, with very little grip available on track," said Hamilton.
"Finding the right balance wasn’t easy, but that appeared to be a common theme across the field.
"Throughout the sessions we explored a couple of different set‑up directions, and now the focus is on understanding the data and identifying the right compromise.
"We don’t seem too far off the pace, but we know there’s still work to do to put the car in a better place for tomorrow."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on the Azerbaijan GP but also look ahead to F1's return this weekend to Malaysia! Rumours linking Christian Horner with a return to the sport is a major talking point.
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