<p>The 2008 champion had his street car impounded by Melbourne police days before an ill-advised pitstop ruined his Australian Grand Prix last Sunday but the Briton was back on form in Sepang, clocking a fastest time of one minute 34.175 in his McLaren. <br /><br />Sebastian Vettel showed the pace that has taken his Red Bull to two poles in as many races by lapping just 0.266 seconds behind Hamilton after a subdued morning practice but his team-mate Mark Webber's session was cut short by an engine problem. <br /><br />Ferrari opted to use both sessions to test out various tyre and fuel combinations and finished well off the pace but Mercedes enjoyed a solid showing with Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher matching the pace set by McLaren and Red Bull. <br /><br />Hamilton dominated both sessions and topped the timesheets throughout most of the day but remained cautious ahead of Saturday's qualifying. <br /><br />Team-mate Button won a rain-shortened race for Brawn GP a year ago and although he could not match Hamilton on Friday, his third and fourth fastest times over both sessions suggest he could follow up last week's victory with a strong performance. <br /><br />Top 10 for Sutil <br />Meanwhile, Force India driver Adrian Sutil was seventh in the first practice session before he returned to clock the 10th fastest time in the afternoon.<br /><br />Sutil clocked one minute 35.955 seconds in the first practice session for the seventh place in the timesheet and registered 1:35.957 in the afternoon to finish 10th. His team-mate Vitantonio Liuzzi, who skipped the morning session, finished 12th the evening clocking 1:36.221secs. Karun Chandhok completed 24 laps in the morning session, for a best lap time of 1.41.966, and managed another 27 in the afternoon.</p>
<p>The 2008 champion had his street car impounded by Melbourne police days before an ill-advised pitstop ruined his Australian Grand Prix last Sunday but the Briton was back on form in Sepang, clocking a fastest time of one minute 34.175 in his McLaren. <br /><br />Sebastian Vettel showed the pace that has taken his Red Bull to two poles in as many races by lapping just 0.266 seconds behind Hamilton after a subdued morning practice but his team-mate Mark Webber's session was cut short by an engine problem. <br /><br />Ferrari opted to use both sessions to test out various tyre and fuel combinations and finished well off the pace but Mercedes enjoyed a solid showing with Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher matching the pace set by McLaren and Red Bull. <br /><br />Hamilton dominated both sessions and topped the timesheets throughout most of the day but remained cautious ahead of Saturday's qualifying. <br /><br />Team-mate Button won a rain-shortened race for Brawn GP a year ago and although he could not match Hamilton on Friday, his third and fourth fastest times over both sessions suggest he could follow up last week's victory with a strong performance. <br /><br />Top 10 for Sutil <br />Meanwhile, Force India driver Adrian Sutil was seventh in the first practice session before he returned to clock the 10th fastest time in the afternoon.<br /><br />Sutil clocked one minute 35.955 seconds in the first practice session for the seventh place in the timesheet and registered 1:35.957 in the afternoon to finish 10th. His team-mate Vitantonio Liuzzi, who skipped the morning session, finished 12th the evening clocking 1:36.221secs. Karun Chandhok completed 24 laps in the morning session, for a best lap time of 1.41.966, and managed another 27 in the afternoon.</p>