Lewis Hamilton believes he has ''less to lose'' than his sole title rival Nico Rosberg as he wrestles to get his stuttering championship campaign back on track.
Hamilton has been cast eight points adrift of Rosberg after seeing his Mercedes team-mate clinch a hat-trick of consecutive wins - including a crushing victory last time out in Singapore.
While the Briton showed signs of a resurgence in the sweltering Malaysian heat on Friday after he clocked the fastest time in practice for Sunday's grand prix, it would appear imperative for him to return to winning ways here with only six rounds left.
The historical odds, however, are stacked against Hamilton. Rosberg won the opening four rounds of the season, while his latest run of victories has taken him to eight for the year. No driver has achieved such a record without going on to win the title.
''Perhaps when you are in the lead it can be more positive, but the downfall can be bigger,'' said Hamilton, who was one quarter of a second faster than Rosberg on Friday.
''When you are behind you have less to lose, so the hunt is potentially more exciting, but I don't find it harder in either scenario.''
Hamilton failed to trouble the top of the timesheets during an off-colour weekend in Singapore, so he will be buoyed by his display in practice at the Sepang International Circuit on Friday.
The world champion's best lap of one minute and 34.944 seconds saw him finish ahead of Rosberg with the Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen third and fourth respectively.
"That was a good day with no issues to report, and we got through our run plans in both sessions," Hamilton added.
"There's a lot of data to analyse to make sure we have a good understanding of the tyres and of our position relative to the others.
"Overall a good building block for tomorrow and the rest of the weekend."
Max Verstappen celebrated his 19th birthday on Friday but the soaring Sepang heat appeared to take its toll on the teenager. He collapsed, off camera, at the back of the Red Bull garage shortly after the opening session with dehydration - but the Dutchman was soon back on his feet before posting the fifth best time in the afternoon running.
Jenson Button, who will become only the third driver in Formula One history to start 300 races, was 10th in the order, while British rookie Jolyon Palmer will be heartened by his performance after he finished 12th.
Source: PA
