The opening day of the AT&T Williams teams three day test at the Sepang circuit would see just Alex Wurz carrying out the driving duties. He will complete the first two days of testing and be replaced by Nico Rosberg on the third.

The team would spend their first day of testing focusing on on improving their single-lap pace and evaluating tyre options in preparation for the next round of the championship. In comments to Autosport.com Alex said: "The set-up is not good so that is what I worked on. I tried two different sets of tyres, there is a big difference between the two so we have to see."

AT&T Williams Race Team Manager Tim Newton commented: “We started the first of a three day test in Malaysia with Alex driving. We’ve had a productive start with Alex completing a solid 90 laps in uncomfortable conditions. We worked through a programme of short runs in the morning, followed by longer runs in the afternoon to test aero components and set-up options in preparation for the race next weekend. It’s the first time we’ve run the car in such hot conditions so it’s important data for us.”

Alex would also assist Bridgestone in evaluating new tyre markings. Bridgestone was testing two new tyre markings, one a red dot on the side of the tyre, the other a white line running around the tread of the tyre. Its is understood that that the white line is more complicated to produce so the red circle would be their favoured option. Both types were tested on Wurz's car.

Bridgestone's head of trackside engineering operations Kees van der Grint said that they were keen to ensure that the new tyre markings worked and allowed fro fans to get a better understanding of the types of tyres the teams were using. He said: "I think it should be open for discussion for the future. This is a rule that the FIA came up with very late, so we have just followed what the FIA wanted. I don't know if it will satisfy, but maybe there is the need for some discussion for the future."