Malaysian GP: Verstappen tops shortened FP1

Verstappen posted a 1m48.962s on the intermediate tyres late on to finish 0.757 seconds clear of teammate Daniel Ricciardo, with McLaren's Fernando Alonso just under a second further back in third.

Heavy rain drenched the Sepang circuit throughout the morning and though it briefly eased, the intensity increased just as the session was due to begin.

FIA F1 race director Charlie Whiting chose to delay the session “indefinitely” because of the conditions.

The safety car completed several reconnaissance laps to assess the track and after 20 minutes deemed the conditions had improved.

The session started with an hour to go, with Alonso the first driver to try out the conditions on a set of wet Pirelli tyres.

Thirteen other drivers headed out and completed an installation lap before pitting, with the Mercedes, Red Bull and Force India duos choosing to stay in their respective garages.

The rain eventually stopped with the track drying sufficiently for Force India pair Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez to head out on the intermediates.

Ricciardo followed suit and became the first driver to set a time, clocking a 1m55.601s with around 30 minutes to go.

The times started to tumble with Verstappen improving to a 1m51.201s, only to be usurped by teammate Ricciardo by 0.007s.

Ricciardo then extended the gap to 1.482s as he became the first man to dip under the 1m50s before Verstappen went nearly eight tenths quicker to steal top spot.

Ferrari duo Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel were fourth and fifth quickest respectively, after popping in the fastest time in the final moments of the session.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton completed just eight laps and ended up sixth fastest, 2.556s off the pace and half a second clear of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Lance Stroll finished eighth fastest, one place ahead of Pierre Gasly, who was making his race weekend debut in the Toro Rosso, with Sergery Sirotkin – standing in for Renault's Nico Hulkenberg for FP1 – completing the top 10.

Felipe Massa was the only driver not to set a laptime, the team now investigating what it believes is a hydraulic issue.

Sean Gelael stood in for Carlos Sainz at Toro Rosso while Antonio Giovinazzi was back on Haas duty in Kevin Magnussen’s car, however the latter only completed six laps.

Runaway F2 leader Charles Leclerc made the first of a string of late-season Sauber Friday morning appearances, replacing Marcus Ericsson and ended up 16th, three tenths quicker than teammate Pascal Wehrlein.