[Official] Round 02: Malaysian Grand Prix

[frostie]

The Formula 1 circus moves onto Asia with Malaysia playing host to the second round of the 2011 season.

The Sepang Circuit

Sepang hosted the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix in 1999 with Eddie Irvine taking the victory, but only after Ferrari successfully appealed their expulsion from the race following post race scrutineering failures. Their failure was blamed, just like Sauber’s in Melbourne, on manufacturing faults and not by any bid for an unfair advantage. In ‘99 the overturned disqualification kept Irvine in the hunt for the title but for Sauber their decision not to appeal their Australian disqualification leaves the team searching for their first points of the season this weekend.

The Malaysian Circuit is one of contrasts with two long high speed straights leading into slow second gear hairpins which are sure to see the vast majority of overtaking attempts. The middle sector of the lap is a mix of fast corners, turns 5-8, and another slow hairpin that can present overtaking opportunities, if you have a willing partner. The final sector is dominated by the challenging complex from turn 12 that is the most exciting part of the lap for drivers where they thread the eye of a needle flat out in sixth gear before finding their braking point for the next corner which leads onto the long back straight.

With such a varied track layout the setup of the car is a compromise. Do you look for ultimate top speed at the expense of grip in the infield or vice versa? Obviously to set your car up for either extreme would be courting disaster so teams look to find a happy medium in terms of speed and grip. There is however one key point to take from this balance, the car with the fastest top speed has invariably finished inside the top five at this circuit.

The heat and humidity makes this a challenging environment for drivers and team members and relative to other venues the circuit has gained a reputation as a tough race to finish. In the 12 previous races there has been a finishing rate of less than 70% with 17 taking the flag last season.

What are the main talking points before this race?

The Australian Grand Prix failed to offer much of the excitement that many anticipated and as a result the new regulations have come under fire from certain quarters. “Where was the overtaking” was a common refrain but Melbourne did provide a lot of positives to take for the rest of the season and showed that this weekend’s Grand Prix could be one to savour.

The DRS did not lead to as many overtaking moves in Melbourne as anticipated, just three, but it should be much more effective at Sepang with the long front straight leading into the tight opening hairpin giving drivers a great opportunity to attempt an overtaking move.

Even though there little DRS assisted overtaking in the opening race there was actually quite a bit of overtaking in the midfield and lower reaches which is very encouraging. In addition the early battle between Jenson Button and Felipe Massa in Melbourne showed us that while overtaking is still difficult it is now possible to battle with the car in front and use the slipstream to get close enough race wheel to wheel with a rival.

The main talking point throughout the winter was that the Pirelli tyres were not durable and that we could see races with four or five stops. The opening race was anti-climatic in terms of such an event but this race will give us a much better indication as to whether the Australian tyre pattern is the norm or the exception. Personally I see little chance of the tyres performing similarly in Malaysia and foresee much more problems with three stops likely to be the strategy of leading drivers.

As with any opening race the performances of individual teams are analysed afterwards. It was clear Ferrari and Mercedes both underperformed to preseason expectations in Melbourne while Sauber impressed everyone with both drivers having strong races. It can be misleading to read too much into one race and as a result Malaysia will help give a much better indication as to what to expect from Formula 1 in 2011. Whether you are looking at the performance of teams or the effect of the DRS and Pirelli tyres this race will be instrumental in painting a much fuller picture of what the new season will be.

What to expect in Sepang

Red Bull clearly had the fastest car over a single lap in Australia but if the team continues to be unable to utilise their KERS package it could be quite costly this weekend. Rival teams would have a great advantage on the long run down to turn one. We saw in Australia that the KERS equipped McLaren of Lewis Hamilton was able to get past Mark Webber once the “boost” was used. As a result it has to be expected that the team will use the system this weekend.

The performance of McLaren in Melbourne was one of the biggest surprises of the opening weekend. The team came to Australia after a troubling winter but performed much better than expected with a heavily revised car. Gone was the complicated exhaust system and in its place was a conventional system. The change transformed a slow, unreliable car into one that finished second in the race. The team’s knowledge on the new car is still quite limited but their potential for improvement is huge at this early stage of the season.

Ferrari also has considerable room for improvement. It is perfectly clear that their Australian offering is not a representative indication of where the team is in terms of performance. Their car was close to matching Red Bull in testing so should be given the benefit of the doubt. Malaysia has been a happy hunting ground for the team in the past with Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine claiming four wins in the early races held at the circuit but they have struggled in recent years with Felipe Massa’s 2008 and 2007 pole positions failing to net more than a fifth place finish.

The team know that they need to improve with Massa commenting on the situation after Australia:

"No one at Ferrari was satisfied with our overall performance, nor the final result of the Australian Grand Prix and much work has gone into understanding why that race did not live up to our expectations and then to plan how to move forward this weekend."

As ever the battle at the front will revolve around these teams but the performance of Renault, Mercedes and Williams will also be interesting. At Renault the main question will be can Vitaly Petrov carry forward the momentum of his maiden podium and will Nick Heidfeld bounce back from his nightmare weekend in Melbourne.

Mercedes lacked pace in the opening race but their final testing performance at Barcelona should not be forgotten. This race will tell us whether Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg can battle at the front for victories as their preseason expectations stated, or whether another year in the doldrums awaits the silver cars.

In the midst of a ridiculously untidy race from Ruben Barrichello which culminated in him taking out Rosberg in Melbourne the new Williams actually showed promising speed. With a radical rear end the team is clearly pushing the envelope in terms of design; all that remains is for them to show what their car is capable of. Barrichello will be eager to move on from his opening race mistakes and he could be one to watch this weekend.

Strategy for the Malaysian Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel was victorious in Australia while availing of three stops but it seems unlikely that he will be able to make only two visits to the pits this weekend. The conditions are sure to be a much greater test of the Pirelli tyres and as a result a three stop strategy should be expected for the vast majority of runners.

Pitstops should take approximately 22s and with fresher rubber likely to offer a marked improvement on the used rubber, to a much greater degree than Australia, we could see drivers availing of an extra stop in a bid to get ahead of rivals forced to care for their tyres.

A four stop race would be an exceptionally risky proposition but with the new tyres in their infancy and the DRS still to prove its worth risky calls could become the order of the day in the early days of 2011.

The past 12 races in Malaysia have been won by an average of 17 seconds, an average of 0.3s per lap, so the fastest cars on track have had a tendency to lead from the front and open a comfortable gap. The new regulations could force a change in this and with the winner having only started off the front row twice, Ralf Schumacher from fourth on the grid and Kimi Raikkonen from seventh, it is clear just how important qualifying is at Sepang.

It will be interesting to see what strategy teams will utilise with the DRS set to be much more effective this weekend the Red Bull’s could be challenged, and overtaken, in the early stages and without KERS in their car they might find it difficult to get back past on the track. Will the team employ a daring pit strategy to overcome this? It’s possible that we could see Vettel and Mark Webber make an additional pitstop and use the extra performance and grip from the newer tyres to make their way through the field.

Weather for this weekend

As ever tropical storms are to be expected this weekend. Temperatures in the low to mid 30s are expected with the traditional high humidity set to make conditions exceptionally difficult for all concerned. It is almost certain that rain will fall at some stage of the weekend with the cars on track; the big question is whether it will be in qualifying or the race.

Last season a shower in qualifying left McLaren and Ferrari eliminated from qualifying after the opening minutes (Jenson Button spun at the start of Q2) with the teams expecting it to stay dry they waited in their garages for perfect track conditions which never came. It was only when it was too late that they scrambled onto the track and found it impossible to set a representative lap time. There is little to take for granted this weekend other than if there is any doubt as to what the weather will do in qualifying that both teams will have their drivers on track.

Fernando Alonso put it best when the double world champion said:

"The fact that the weather can change so quickly here makes the preparation work for the various phases of work on track more stressful," he said.

"Suddenly it can go from sunshine to a short sharp shower and you need to be prepared for every eventuality. It's not just a problem for us drivers, as its affects the whole team: in some cases you need to be ready with a plan B or C, or even maybe a D for all the various scenarios."

BBC Schedule

Session	Time	Channel]
Friday 8 April
Practice one	0300-0430	Red Button
Practice two	0700-0830	Red Button
Saturday 9 April
Practice three	0600-0700	Red Button
Qualifying	0900-1000	BBC 1
Sunday 10 April
Race	0900	BBC1

Key points to keep in mind

Total pitstop time	22s
Average margin of victory	17s
Average Finishing %	69%
Average starting position of winner	2nd

Year	Driver	Team	Grid Position
2010	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	2nd
2009	Jebson Button	Brawn GP	Pole
2008	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	2nd
2007	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	2nd
2006	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	Pole
2005	Fernando Alonso	Renault	Pole
2004	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Pole
2003	Kimi Raikkonen	McLaren	7th
2002	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	4th
2001	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Pole
2000	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Pole
1999	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	2nd

Misc

Weather

Chatroom

[Born Racer]

Sepang does have some unusual corners with some interesting cambers.

The last round was excellent. Bring on Round 2.

[Marbot]

Apparently the weather looks set to be the most unsettled for qualifying. Bernie needn't bother with 'sprinklers' for Sepang.

[Bononi]

Sepang ! Let's go to round 2 !

[Super Hans]

I'm getting very excited.

Cheers once again for an excellent preview frostie

[Taprobane]

Excellent preview. Should be getting paid for work of that quality!

[stripedcat]

Great preview Frostie. I like the Sepang track. It's the best track Tilke has ever made, in my opinion. Why can't he produce tracks of this quality for his other tracks? It has some fast corners as well, something of rarity nowadays in F1.

Hopefully, we'll have a good race on Sunday. The wet weather will spice things up, unless Bernie fires off a silver-oxide rocket to get rid of it! Maybe Bernie should practise a 'rain dance' at races, it will be cheaper than sprinklers?

It remains to be seen how the adjustable wings work in the wet. I wonder if, when it gets used, whether it will spill a load of water on to the track, behind the car?

I hope Sauber don't get another DNQ after the race. I also hope that HRT qualify.

[Sodemo]

Not a track that I enjoy, I just think the layout is rather dull. Only really a downpour can save this track for me. It just never seemed to generate any atmosphere.

[bjohnsonsmith]

That's an excellent race preview, lots of info. If the weather is unsettled a wet and dry race should make things interesting in addition to the tyre stops.

[Andy77]

Don't forget to join 10 Tenth Chatroom from 2200 EST / 0200 UTC / 0300 BST / 0400 CET for the practice sessions

[jobdone]

I also think Malaysia is probably the best track Tilke has made, and deserves its place on the calendar.

It should be a good race, all being well Red Bull won't use Kers again and we could have someone else closer, especially in race conditions!

[E.B]

Red Bull very comfortably clear at the top again.... this time Mark at the top. (Seb had his late run interrupted by yellow flags which remained for the rest of the session, and so he did not bother and returned to pitlane.

Mark over a second clear of 2nd placed Hamilton and Schumacher is best of the rest in third place, but 2.140 seconds back, ahead of Hulkenberg fourth and Maldonado in fifth. (Pastor setting his best time quite late into a very long19-lap run on his primary Pirellis.)

Massa is the quickest Ferrari driver in sixth, with Heidfeld seventh, Barrichello eighth, Alonso ninth and Rosberg rounding out the top 10..

Possibly the only dry session we will have all weekend?

P1 Times.

Pos. Driver Team Time Laps
1. Mark Webber Red Bull 01:37.651 22
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 01:39.316 16
3. Michael Schumacher Mercedes Grand Prix 01:39.791 29
4. Nico Hulkenberg Force India F1 01:40.377 23
5. Pastor Maldonado Williams 01:40.443 31
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 01:40.453 22
7. Nick Heidfeld Renault 01:40.525 6
8. Rubens Barrichello Williams 01:40.581 21
9. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 01:40.601 23
10. Nico Rosberg Mercedes Grand Prix 01:40.646 29
11. Adrian Sutil Force India F1 01:40.734 21
12. Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso 01:40.748 23
13. Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 01:40.770 24
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 01:40.872 27
15. Jenson Button McLaren 01:40.927 16
16. Jarno Trulli Lotus F1 01:41.620 21
17. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 01:41.627 18
18. Sergio Perez Sauber 01:41.642 24
19. Timo Glock Virgin Racing 01:42.154 18
20. Jerome d` Ambrosio Virgin Racing 01:42.540 20
21. Davide Valsecchi Lotus F1 01:44.054 18
22. Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1 Team 01:45.228 20
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team 01:46.267 10
24. Vitaly Petrov Renault 01:47.932 4

[Pete123]

What happened to Petrov?

[MCWB]

Brake/wheel/tyre explosion. Heidfeld also had similar dramas!

[Andy77]

P2 about to start. Feel free to join 10 Tenth Chatroom for the session

Please be aware that an irc-client software such as mirc or icechat enhances the performance compared to the webchat in use.

[E.B]

P2 and not only did it remain dry but it turned out that nothing much has really changed from Melbourne. The cream are still Red Bull, at a canter, with McLaren trying to keep them honest. Mercedes are quicker but still slow, a second off McLaren and Ferrari are in the same place as they were in Melbourne it seems, over a second off even McLaren. As for the McLarens closer, Jenson and Lewis were both quicker than Vettel, indeed Jenson was within 5 thou of pacesetter Webber's fastest. I doubt if Seb will lose any sleep over it, and normal service will be restored tomorrow.

The Renaults eventually must have got to their findings on what had failed on the two cars in P1 as they ventured out mid session, and Heidfeld was just ahead of Alonso, beaten today by Massa, who AFAIK was the driver chosen to check the Ferrari softs.

Maldonado spent a bit more of his bendit budget, but was marginally faster than Rubens with the Saubers down with the Force India, 2.5 off the pace. So it is Red Bull and McLaren, then a 1.3 gap to Schumacher, and from there (5th) down to down to 16th by another 1.3 with the best of the new times a second off the slowest established team.

Down at the 107% end, Custard Abrosio did not get out on track at all after his major failure in P1, but Gock, in the other Virgin, was fastest of the new teams, just a fraction ahead of Trulli's Team Lotus.

Karthikeyan was 0.8sec faster than Liuzzi, who was just over seven seconds off of Webber...... and both were faster than Kovalainen whose problems I am not sure.

[pauln]

I make 107% of Webber's time to be 1:43.657. One HRT in, one just out.

[steve nielsen]

seems like Red Bull also has some brake issues

[ECW Dan Selby]

Reminicent of late 90's there!

I watched the Hungarian GP of 1998 the other day and was surprised by the sheer amount of break dust/smoke generated during the pit stops!

Selby

[Grandpa_Rob]

Like this venue very much a wild card as the elements test the drivers, 24 overtakes last year in a dry race lets see if that outcome will be beaten with KERS and adjustable wings somehow l doubt it.......

[chunterer]

Nice to see Heidfeld where logic suggests he ought to be!! Sensibilty resumed..... for now

[Andy77]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Nice to see Heidfeld where logic suggests he ought to be!! Sensibilty resumed..... for now

Well, Petrov haven't had enough track time in both sessions to set a faster time. In p1 the suspension broke in his fast attempt and in p2 Petrov haven't had a fast attempt at all. From this point it is sort of logic that Heidfeld has had the faster times today but Petrov wasn't really able to do fast times today anyway.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by Andy77

Well, Petrov haven't had enough track time in both sessions to set a faster time. In p1 the suspension broke in his fast attempt and in p2 Petrov haven't had a fast attempt at all. From this point it is sort of logic that Heidfeld has had the faster times today but Petrov wasn't really able to do fast times today anyway.

I meant that Heidfeld is in the sort or position one would normally expect, I.E, nearer the top than the bottom of the times!

[Andy77]

Ahh sorry ! LOL
I thought you meant in comparison to Petrov. My fault

Cheers,
Andy

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by E.B

P2 and not only did it remain dry but it turned out that nothing much has really changed from Melbourne. The cream are still Red Bull, at a canter, with McLaren trying to keep them honest.

0.005s = canter?

Any tips for the National tomorrow?