SEPANG: Rookies Nabil Jeffri and Akash Neil Nandy both found the going tough in the first race at the Malaysian round of the GP2 and GP3 series today.
Nabil settled for a disappointing 18th out of 21 drivers after struggling with various issues at the Sepang circuit.
He completed the race in 53 minutes and 21.118 seconds, a distant one minute and 3.069 seconds behind winner Antonio Giovinazzi of Prema Racing.
Nabil, who drives for Arden International, was clearly disappointed with his result.
"I had one of my best starts today and managed to overtake two drivers at the first corner," said the 22 year-old, who started from 17th on the grid.
"However, I was unable to maintain my position and the team decided to pit early for fresh tyres. Unfortunately, the change took longer than expected, which pushed me further back.
"The setup today was also not the best and I suffered from tyre degradation towards the end of the race.
"I hope to have a well-balanced car for the second race tomorrow and hopefully try and fight for a top 10 finish."
Akash fared no better in GP3 as he was forced to retire after only two laps due to unknown issues with his car.
The Jenzer Motorsport driver, who started from 11th, disclosed that the team are working hard to identify and rectify the problem ahead of tomorrow's second race.