Hamilton: Happy

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After setting the fastest time during Friday practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton says he is in good shape for Sunday's race.

The McLaren-Mercedes driver set the benchmark in session two, having earlier settled for fifth quickest in the opening session behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

Hamilton had been forced to cut short his participation in session one five minutes from its conclusion - the 23-year-old crawling back to the pits.

But he stormed back in the second of the 90-minute periods, with a late effort of one minute 35.055secs enough to dislodge Massa from the top of the timesheets.

"I was pretty happy with today," said Hamilton, who won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last weekend.

"The car was consistent and had good overall speed.

"I had a slight problem with the car at the end of the morning session but it didn't really affect our programme."

Weather

However, Hamilton's smooth progress may yet be thrown awry by the weather forecast at Sepang, with Formula One bracing itself for its first wet race of the season without electronic driver aids.

He admitted that the absence of the likes of traction control on a wet track could well produce an outcome similar to that seen last Sunday in Melbourne.

Even though it took place in dry conditions, the first race without driver aids ended up a chaotic affair with only seven cars taking the chequered flag.

"The first time we had a wet track was at Jerez and I think everybody was experiencing some problems," Hamilton continued.

"The last time was at Barcelona and BMW seemed to have a very good car in the wet.

"They were not quite as strong as us I think, but Red Bull were quick also. Ferrari weren't there but I can only assume they were quick.

"It will be tough but I think here, it's slightly different wet race. Elsewhere, it can be quite cold and as soon as you have that, you lose the heat in tyres.

"Here, it will be wet but still hot so the tyres will still be quite warm."

Contention

Friday practice also saw Ferrari right back in contention after their disastrous showing in Albert Park when engine failures accounted for both Massa and world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

The Scuderia's engine woes briefly looked to have resurfaced when Raikkonen came to a stop at turn 12 after just eight laps of running in the morning session.

But the team revealed a miscommunication meant he had merely run out of fuel - the Finn eventually ending the day third quickest overall, 0.373secs behind Hamilton and Massa.

"We made up for it in the second session," Raikkonen said.

"The car seems to be going well and I'm pleased with what we've done. It's always difficult to say where we are but I think we can face the rest of the weekend with confidence."