Saturday First Free Practice - Malaysian GP

A high-speed spin for World Champion Michael Schumacher was the highlight of the Malaysian Grand Prix's opening Saturday practice session, which saw McLaren's David Coulthard end up fastest.

Schumacher, who was experimenting with varying fuel loads and set-up for tomorrow's race, lost control of his Ferrari at 270km/h as he exited the Sepang circuit's almost flat-out, left-handed Turn 12.

It is the same corner that saw McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen run off the road and damage his car on Friday, but whereas the Finn was able to keep going, Schumacher's car spun and he sped backwards across the circuit before eventually stopping at the far side of a gravel trap.

The Ferrari's anti-stall system cut in and the German was able to drive back across the gravel trap, back onto the circuit and return to his pit garage, only to fail to return to the track again in the session.

The session was a troubled one for Ferrari as Schumacher ended up 12th and teammate Rubens Barrichello, who spent much of practice in the pits, 13th.

Both McLarens looked strong, with Coulthard fastest overall with a lap time of 1:36.777 seconds, and teammate Raikkonen seventh.

Renault, as they showed in Friday testing and practice, also look to have taken a leap in performance as their drivers Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso ended the session second and third fastest ahead of Williams-BMW's Juan Pablo Montoya, Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella and Toyota's Olivier Panis.

Behind seventh-placed Raikkonen, Brazil's Antonio Pizzonia provided a boost to Jaguar by setting the eighth fastest time following a variety of problems on Friday - which included a collapsed front wing and fuel pick-up problems, as well as failure to set a time in qualifying, when his car refused to start up in the pits.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:36.777 206.194 km/h 12 2. Trulli Renault (M) 1:37.198 + 0.421 15 3. Alonso Renault (M) 1:37.370 + 0.593 14 4. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:37.388 + 0.611 19 5. Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 1:37.443 + 0.666 16 6. Panis Toyota (M) 1:37.623 + 0.846 15 7. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:37.633 + 0.856 11 8. Pizzonia Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:37.947 + 1.170 17 9. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:38.080 + 1.303 17 10. Firman Jordan Ford (B) 1:38.282 + 1.505 16 11. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:38.329 + 1.552 18 12. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:38.361 + 1.584 6 13. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:38.509 + 1.732 15 14. Webber Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:38.637 + 1.860 17 15. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:38.639 + 1.862 12 16. Button BAR Honda (B) 1:38.671 + 1.894 17 17. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:39.246 + 2.469 15 18. Frentzen Sauber Petronas (B) 1:39.351 + 2.574 11 19. Verstappen Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:40.814 + 4.037 9 20. Wilson Minardi Cosworth (B) 1:41.479 + 4.702 6 All Timing Unofficial