SEPANG: Lewis Hamilton outpaced his championship-leading Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg in practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Friday, the Briton topping the time-sheets with the fastest lap.
The defending Formula One champion finished behind Rosberg in the morning but found his groove around a resurfaced Sepang circuit in the afternoon to set a benchmark time of 1:34.944.
Hamilton trails Rosberg by eight points after the German won the last race in Singapore but his prospects of striking back with a 50th career win were lifted by an improved performance in practice following a disappointing Friday a fortnight ago.
Rosberg, who led his team mate by a comfortable margin in the morning, ended the day with a time 0.233 seconds slower than the Briton with the Ferrari pair of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen finishing third and fourth respectively.
Max Verstappen celebrated his 19th birthday by improving from seventh to fifth for Red Bull.