The Malaysian Grand Prix – the second race of the season-opening Oceania/Asia round – opened at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur on 21 March.

Temperatures had risen to 29 degrees C for the start of the first practice on Friday, and even though the air temperature was fluctuating in the twenties throughout the session, the temperature on the track, which had been recently resurfaced and was deep, shimmering black, rose to a simmering 45 degrees, making the going tough for the drivers.

Panasonic Toyota Racing started the always sweltering Malaysian Grand Prix on a fresh engine with no penalty. They had also prepared a battery that would not fall prey to the same problems as in Australia, giving the team a fresh slate and good feel for the weekend of racing ahead.

With the track temperature up to 50 degrees C, the afternoon’s session saw a succession of machines pull out early due to all kinds of problems. In a solid start though, both Panasonic Toyota Racing machines were blessed with a trouble-free session, enabling Jarno Trulli to finish the first day in sixth and Glock in 17th.

Heading the field at the end of the first day was Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) with a time of 1’35”055.

The first session of qualifying on the second day of the Malaysian Grand Prix saw teams scurrying to get in their time attacks ahead of imminent rain.

After a solid performance in the morning’s practice, in which the drivers marked the fourth and tenth fastest times, Panasonic Toyota Racing got off to a flying start in the first session of qualifying. Jarno set a blistering pace to mark the top time, with Glock also moving through to the second session in 11th.

In the second session, both drivers continued to perform strongly, finishing in seventh (Trulli) and ninth (Glock) to move through to the final session.

The third session of qualifying started to an air temperature of 28 and a track temperature of 36 degrees C. Glock, who had worn out his medium (soft compound) tyres ended in 10th; however, Trulli forged ahead to finish qualifying in fifth, just 0.002 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton.

Following the completion of qualifying both McLaren machines were judged to have impeded on others attacks and were handed a five-position penalty, which meant that Trulli moved up two positions to third on the grid.

Pole position honours went to Felipe Massa (Ferrari), his first for this season and 10th to date. His time: 1’35”748.

This year’s Malaysian Grand Prix is the 10th to date and Sunday was set for its anniversary celebrations. Fortunes smiled upon Panasonic Toyota Racing, reflecting in the team’s excellent performance, highlighted by Jarno Trulli’s fourth position finish, the first this good since the 2006 French Grand Prix.

Trulli started the race from third on the grid, two positions higher than he finished in qualifying, thanks to the five-position penalty dished out to the two McLarens. Timo Glock’s position from qualifying remained unchanged, meaning he started the race from 10th on the grid.

Jarno Trulli lost out in a tussle at the start of the race, dropping back to fourth and then to fifth in another tussle at the second corner. Then, in the fourth corner, he relinquished another place – this time to Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) – to suddenly find himself in a disappointing sixth.

In a similar development, Glock also lost out in the 14th corner of the first lap in a collision with Nico Rosberg (Williams). Damage to his rear suspension in the incident brought Glock’s race to a very premature end. The race continued in the meantime, albeit under a somewhat more oppressive atmosphere.

Fending off the gloom, however, were Trulli and the team’s staff. Trulli’s first pit stop for the race was in the 17th lap, and the staff did an excellent job, returning him to the course in minimum time to leave him one position up in fifth after the top group had also completed their first round of pit stops.

Following that, Trulli moved up a further place to fourth after the retirement of second-positioned Felipe Massa (Ferrari), going on to hold off a strong challenge from Hamilton to take the chequered flag in fourth. The resulting five championship points were a welcome first for the team this season.

Result:
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), who had started from second on the grid, clinched his first victory of the season to take his career total to 16.