Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton overcame major engine trouble in the morning to set the fastest time in Friday’s afternoon practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Demonstrating how far ahead Mercedes is in the field, Hamilton had missed about two-thirds of the day’s running yet still set the top time of 1 minute, 39.790 seconds at the Sepang International Circuit.

He was a third of a second faster than Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who surprisingly edged the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.

With track temperatures soaring past 60 degrees, many drivers struggled with tyre degradation, which loomed as a key factor in Sunday’s race.

Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat was fourth quickest, but he and Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo suffered yet more problems with their Renault engines.