Planet-F1

Fastest laps: Nick surprises at the top

Monday 24th March 2008

Nick Heidfeld and his BMW F1.08 proved to be the surprise of the Malaysian GP as the German set the fastest lap of the race ahead of Ferrari and McLaren.

After struggling a bit in pre-season testing, there had been some concerns over BMW's pace entering the new season. However, Heidfeld officially put those to rest with his 1:35.366 on the penultimate lap of the grand prix.

It was 0.039s up on race winner Kimi Raikkonen's best time and 0.096s faster than Championship leader Lewis Hamilton's best.

Meanwhile Honda, in yet another surprise, set the fourth best time of the day with Jenson Button posting a 1:35.715, which put him ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

However, whether Button's time or his team-mate Rubens Barrichello's, which was a second slower, is the true reflection of Honda's pace remains to be seen.

Robert Kubica, who finished runner-up in the grand prix, was sixth quickest, although half a second off Heidfeld's pace, while Heikki Kovalainen, who completed the podium, was seventh.

Toyota's Jarno Trulli completed the top eight.

Times
01 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:35.366
02 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.405
03 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:35.462
04 Jenson Button Honda 1:35.715
05 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.914
06 Robert Kubica BMW 1:35.921
07 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 1:35.922
08 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:36.068
09 David Coulthard Red Bull 1:36.206
10 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:36.288
11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:36.693
12 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:36.696
13 Nico Rosberg Williams 1:36.782
14 Sebastian Vettel STR 1:36.870
15 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1:36.956
16 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 1:36.962
17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1:37.711
18 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri 1:38.171
19 Takuma Sato Super Aguri 1:38.504
20 Adrian Sutil Force India 1:40.330