[Official] Round 02: Malaysian Grand Prix

[frostie]

Sorry for the delay in getting the thread started...I only flew back from Sebring yesterday!
-----------------
The Australian Grand Prix provided answers to some questions posed in preseason but by and large it created even more questions.

Is McLaren really as dominant as their impressive Melbourne performance indicated? Has Red Bull missed a trick with their new car? Are Ferrari really so far off the pace? Perhaps most intriguingly is whether Mercedes have developed a car that can legitimately challenge throughout the season.

Malaysia should help to provide answers over the coming weekend but the big question about the opening race of the year has to be, if Red Bull was as dominant as McLaren were, would we expect a thrilling and competitive season?

The McLaren’s showed the kind of single lap and race pace dominance which we have grown accustomed to seeing Red Bull display in recent years. Apart from their stunning front row lockout the ease with which Jenson Button opened a commanding lead from Sebastian Vettel after the safety car showed the performance advantage that McLaren had at their disposal in Melbourne. With Button able to open a 2.5s lead in the first two laps following the safety car he showed the turn of speed that McLaren have lacked in recent years and which Red Bull has had in abundance.

With Melbourne providing a very specific challenge on the calendar-a track that needs considerable running to “rubber in” and one without high speed corners-this weekend’s race in Sepang is much more likely to give an indication of the pecking order for the coming year.

Sepang International Circuit

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, a factor that could play a key role in Mercedes performance this weekend.

The heat and humidity makes this a challenging environment for drivers and team members but one which Mark Webber is clearly relishing:

"Malaysia is obviously very, very hot, so the track temperature is very hard on the tyres, which needs managing,” said the Australian. “The track is beautiful to drive on; you really get to feel the sensation of a Formula One car, particularly in the middle sector. It's a great venue and, as a track, it has different demands to the Melbourne circuit, so that's something we'll be looking to get on top of very quickly."

Strategy for Malaysia

With high temperatures and high tyre degradation expected this weekend it would be very surprising if anything other than a three stop strategy was employed by the leading teams. Pirelli will bring the medium and hard compounds this weekend so we should expect some of the midfield runners to try a two stop strategy.

With Lotus having shown impressive pace in Melbourne it will be interesting to see what the team do this weekend. We never truly saw their race pace because of Grosjean’s early retirement and Raikkonen spending much of the afternoon in traffic but they could be a wildcard front runner to try a two stop strategy.

Pressure already building....

There are only two states in Formula 1; applying pressure or receiving it. There is no middle ground and even at this early stage of the season the pressure is starting to build on Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton.

With Ferrari struggling so badly in Australia it took a Herculean drive from Fernando Alonso to net a fifth place finish and with Massa having once again been outclassed there is huge pressure on the Brazilian. With the 2008 championship runner up in the final year of his contract there is little prospect an extension given his struggles since his Hungarian GP crash over two years ago.

Massa doesn’t necessarily need a strong result this weekend he just needs to show his team that he can still compete with Alonso. In their two years as teammates it has been startling to see just how much of a beating Massa’s reputation has taken at the hands of the Spaniard and it is clear that it has taken its toll emotionally on Massa.

Malaysia has never been a happy hunting ground for Felipe, his best finish is fifth, so it is unlikely that he will find the performance required this weekend but it is amazing that with only one race down of twenty that the Brazilian is already feeling the pressure.

For Hamilton the pressure is familiar...Jenson Button outclassing him in the opening race. Last year Hamilton was firmly put in his place by Button with the 2009 champion firmly entrenching himself as the leader of McLaren. The season opened with Hamilton firing a warning shot across the garage to Button with a dominant pole but once again when the chequered flag was waved it was Hamilton who had been defeated.

His pole lap in Melbourne was stunning but with Button claiming the win there was little doubt that, once again, Lewis had been outshone on race day. Button’s cerebral approach to racing has reaped rewards in the last two years but it does him a disservice to lay that as the only reason he has won races. Button’s race speed when the car is as he wants it is as impressive as anyone’s on the grid.

He does lack the one lap pace of Hamilton but the trade off, in the current regulations, has allowed him to show that races have evolved from sheer sprints into a more sophisticated, tactical battle. For Hamilton this weekend is crucial. He has spent the last week saying that Australia wasn’t a reminder of last year to him; now he has to prove to the world that he can compete with Button over a race distance.

Australia showed that the fiery, determined Hamilton is still very much a threat and without the intervention of the safety car he would have finished a comfortable second but now he has to show that he can beat Button and get his championship challenge back on track. If he fails to do so the writing may be on the wall for another season that will end in disappointment for the Englishman.

Heat and humidity provide huge challenge to teams

With the teams having spent the winter testing in Spain in temperatures of around 15C the challenge of racing in Malaysia is immense.

Suddenly mechanics are forced to deal with temperatures of almost 40C and they need to adapt their cars to deal with this heat. Finding a suitable cooling solution has always been the biggest test for squads in South East Asia.

When asked about the task of dealing with this issue Sauber’s head of engineering, Giampaulo Dall’Ara, said:

“In terms of cooling for the engine and gearbox, you normally run the maximum available configuration in Sepang. Last, but not least, there you sometimes have to deal with changing weather conditions at very short notice."

Remi Taffin, head of Renault Sport’s F1 operations, was keen to talk about how the French manufacturer has developed safeguards within the engine to deal with the heat:

“Malaysia places a very different set of stresses on an engine from Australia,” commented the engineer. “The heat and humidity can present stiff challenges for an engine's cooling systems that may mean extra holes have to be put in the bodywork to diffuse heat. The safeguards Renault has put in place mean no such measures need to be taken with the RS27 so we can focus entirely on delivering the drivability needed for the flowing corners and those two long straights, which account for 25% of the lap, and building on the strong start in Melbourne.”

Weather for this weekend

As ever the weather in Malaysia will be one of the key factors in the outcome of the races. With high temperatures and thunder storms expected throughout the weekend. In the past we have seen downpours come out of nowhere to drench the circuit and force a safety car situation.
In addition to this qualifying can leave teams facing a conundrum. In 2010 we saw rain hit the session and Ferrari and McLaren inexplicably left their drivers in the garage with the expectation that the track would dry. When it became clear that this would not happen the grid saw Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa all eliminated in Q1. The lesson was that in Malaysia it is crucial to always be on the right tyres for the conditions rather than trying to “out-think” the weather.

[Marbot]

Totally cool intro yet again, frostie.

This is going to be a much better reference as to who is where in the pecking order, weather permitting.

I'm not going to post a weather forecast as they seem to have no bearing on what happens in the immediate locality.

[Bononi]

Thanks frostie !

[wolfhound]

Great intro I think that Sepang will give us a better indication of who has the best cars compared to the circumstances in Australia. Sepang is permanent track that has a first sector dominated by the two slow first corners, a second sector with a lot of fast corners and a final sector dominated by straights and hairpins. If one looks at the various sector times it can sometimes reveal interesting information.
For example take the final sector if a car shows good top speed but its sector time is realatively poor then there is strong likelyhood of a lack of mechanical grip, either in traction or branking weaknesses.

[CTD]

The Ten Tenths Chatroom

Remember to join us!

(Link in the red text, and here:http://chat.mibbit.com/?server=irc.p...t&nick=user001)

[JeremySmith]

Goodness frostie ! You are dangerous aren't you with this stuff...

Thank you....

[Purist]

Ferrari still seem lost, and Massa actually went quicker than Alonso.

Looking at the top speeds from onboard telemetry, I'd say Mercedes still has the strongest engine. Lotus still looks pretty good, so no sign yet of the drop-off they seemed to have after Melbourne last year.

We'll see what the other sessions hold, but I don't have much hope in seeing HRT on the grid for this one either.

[TF110]

Hamilton a half second clear of the field. Hopefully he'll get the handle on a race setup though as that was part of what hindered him in Australia.

[Grandpa_Rob]

Love this track it does provide for plenty of passing moves.

[NPP]

Originally Posted by TF110

Hamilton a half second clear of the field. Hopefully he'll get the handle on a race setup though as that was part of what hindered him in Australia.

Interesting quotes on the autosport site - Button and Hamilton seem to be approaching things from opposite ends, with Jenson working on, and feeling comfortable with, the race setup and Hamilton concentrating on, and feeling happy with, the qualifying setup.

[ECW Dan Selby]

Slight OT but can anyone believe this track was bought in in 1999?! Seems crazy now...

To me it's still a 'new' track!

Selby
--
In retrospect, this was 'just another Tilkedrome' to many at the time (well, I say at the time, i'm talking more from 2003-4 when I started using forums..), but over years people have started to embrace the track and it's generally quite favorable with the fans.

Does anyone else think we'll start to embrace tracks like Shanghai and Abu Dhabi?

[Marbot]

Raikkonen hit with 5 place grid penalty for gearbox change.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98302

I do rather think that this is most definitely a 'McLaren' track.

[steve_r]

Thats a shame for Kimi. I was hoping he would get a decent grid position so that we could see the true pace of the Black & Gold car.

Judging by FP2 times, by my reckoning we should have a full grid as HRT were within 107%.

[stripedcat]

Originally Posted by ECW Dan Selby

Slight OT but can anyone believe this track was bought in in 1999?! Seems crazy now...

To me it's still a 'new' track!

Selby
--
In retrospect, this was 'just another Tilkedrome' to many at the time (well, I say at the time, i'm talking more from 2003-4 when I started using forums..), but over years people have started to embrace the track and it's generally quite favorable with the fans.

Does anyone else think we'll start to embrace tracks like Shanghai and Abu Dhabi?

Hmmm, I don't know. I think Shanghai might become loved, but Abu Dhabi maybe not!

The thing that sort of makes Sepang different from other Tilkedromes is that it has a decent flow to the track, unlike some of his other creations. It does seem to be a decent challenge to drive around it. Plus you can pass there - even without DRS!

Lets us hope that if it does rain there, we don't get another 'stay behind the safety car for 15 laps' period. When it rains in Sepang, you need an ark!

The McLarens look strong again. Even Vettel says that Red Bull need to do some work to catch them. I still wouldn't write them off for the season.

Schumi might be strong - if it rains on race day.

[Born Racer]

Originally Posted by ECW Dan Selby

Slight OT but can anyone believe this track was bought in in 1999?! Seems crazy now...

To me it's still a 'new' track!

In retrospect, this was 'just another Tilkedrome' to many at the time (well, I say at the time, i'm talking more from 2003-4 when I started using forums..), but over years people have started to embrace the track and it's generally quite favorable with the fans.

I know what you mean Dan. I was thinking the same last night. I think it's because it heralded a lot of new Tilke tracks, so it was the start of a new era in that respect.

[Knowlesy]

I wouldn't say I have embraced the track as it is rubbish, the odd quick turn aside. It's just so fiddly and wide and, since 2001, has nearly always had to follow glorious Melbourne.

But, compared to the rest of Tilke's efforts, it is a relative Nordschleife.

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

But, compared to the rest of Tilke's efforts, it is a relative Nordschleife.

As a general rule I think his tracks are dire. But I disagree with Knowlesy, the Istanbul Track is outstanding. A case of right track, wrong country. It should have been built in Bahrain (disregarding the political stuff), or indeed Qatar, if we are going away from the core of racing.

[Knowlesy]

I had forgotten Turkey. A great track indeed.

But that really is it.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

As a general rule I think his tracks are dire. But I disagree with Knowlesy, the Istanbul Track is outstanding. A case of right track, wrong country. It should have been built in Bahrain (disregarding the political stuff), or indeed Qatar, if we are going away from the core of racing.

did you ever drive it?

[TF110]

Yeah, really. The hate for some of the tracks he helps design is funny. I think the turns on this track are great. It's wide enough to allow different lines, and there are overtaking points.

[JeremySmith]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

I had forgotten Turkey. A great track indeed.

But that really is it.

Not so fast mate...

India is good, and Austin is going to be lovely..

[Bononi]

This is the Tilke world !

[Purist]

TF110, the trouble is a lot of Tilke's tracks don't have a great overall flow, and also encompass quite a few sections where it is clearly most ideal to remain single-file and on the one best racing line. This frequently means that all that width goes to waste, because it's of no practical use while you're racing.

India is alright, Jeremy, though I don't care for those strange, wide corner entries they have at a few points around the lap; there's no point in using them, since it would compromise your exit line far too much, not to mention the track's relative disuse leaving the off-line sections very dusty and slick.

Austin has some different combinations, but I'm not sure about how the whole lap fits together. Some sections I like, but some areas just don't do it for me and seem rather out-of-place. There are three potentially good overtaking points, but I wonder how spread out the cars may be given the layout of the track ahead of those zones. And, of course, the track at Austin actually needs to get built.

I'll echo a few others in my relative liking for Sepang and Istanbul among the Tilke circuits. Sepang may have slightly better flow, while Istanbul makes very nice use of the hills it is built upon.

[JeremySmith]

But there is only one ideal racing line on any race track.. India I like because of all the elevation changes... Austin is being built I promise you, as we speak they are working on it..

[Purist]

There might be one ideal line for getting an optimum time. However, there may be alternate lines that give you an advantage a certain points that you would use to try and set a guy up to pass him in that particular section. You may sacrifice a little time overall on that one lap in order to make that position. The issue is those sections where deviating enough from the main line to work the guy over and perhaps initiate the pass would actually lose you enough time while you're still behind that you drop too far back when you get to the overtaking zone itself.