Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg believes that this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix will prove a stern challenge for the Formula 1 grid as higher temperatures test reliability.
The German finished in the points as he and teammate Sergio Perez managed to go the distance at the Australian Grand Prix, but Hulkenburg insists that Force India and their rivals will be tested thoroughly by the heat of Sepang.
He told reporters: "Malaysia is going to be a tough challenge with totally different track characteristics and higher temperatures, which always leads to higher tyre degradation.
"It should be a good test of the new cars because it's much more open than Melbourne with a nice variation of high and low-speed corners, plus two long straights."
Force India are fifth in the constructors' standings.