Sepang (Malaysia), March 27 (IANS): Formula one team Mercedes' driver Lewis Hamilton set the quickest time to top the second practice session at the Malaysian Grand Prix here on Friday despite an engine problem which forced him to quit the first session.

The reigning world champion was sidelined on his fifth lap in the first practice due to a failure on his car's power unit inlet system, which halted his first session practice, reports Xinhua.

After the engine problem was fixed, Hamilton returned to the second practice and clocked the fastest lap of the day in one minute and 39.790 seconds.

His Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg was also impressive performance on the day. He dominated the first session and got the third position on the second.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen ranked second in both the two practice sessions. McLaren's Alonso, who missed the Australian Grand Prix after a crash in testing, got a smooth return, ranking the 14th and 16th in the two practices.

The third practice and the qualifying race will be held on Saturday.