Qualifying: Vettel grabs pole at a wet Sepang

Sebastian Vettel was probably happiest when the rain came down in Malaysia as the German secured pole position ahead of Felipe Massa

The German posted a 1:49.674 to beat Ferrari's Massa to pole position. It was Vettel's 38th career pole. Fernando Alonso qualified in third place ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg. Australian GP winner Kimi Raikkonen was seventh, joined on the fourth row by Jenson Button.

Qualifying 1
It was standard Malaysia warm as we headed into Q1 with the inevitable chance of a shower or two. The ambient temperature was an unwavering 32C with the track at 41C but no chance of a shower in the first few minutes. Thus we had to wait till there were 17 minutes left on the clock before the Marussias came out on track.

It was the Williams of Valtteri Bottas who set the first sub-1:40 time at 1:38.376 (faster than his team-mate) for P1 followed by Nico Rosberg whose 1:37.239 stood as P1 for a long time in the session.

The Force Indias had chosen to go out on the faster, medium tyre for their first runs, and they were joined by the Lotuses. Adrian Sutil took over P1 with a 1:36.809 and Kimi Raikkonen slotted into P2 for Lotus. Further down the field Nico Hulkenberg was vocal on team radio about being blocked by Sergio Perez, who didn't take his McLaren off line for his old team.

Red Bull, who were rumoured to have stationed ten different rain spotters in a circle around the track, left it very late in the session to leave the garage and with four minutes to go had yet to set a time for either car. At this point the bottom end of the grid looked like:
14. Hulkenberg, 15.Vergne, 16.Ricciardo, 17.Bianchi, 18.Chilton, 19.Pic, 20.Van der Garde, 21.Webber, 22.Vettel.

The Red Bulls duly set a time, but they weren't particularly quick, Mark Webber was P15 and Sebastian Vettel P13 as the tail end of the field put in faster laps. At this stage, the P.17 drop-point was: 15.Webber, 16.Gutierrez, 17.Bottas, 18.Vergne

Bottas, who had been overtaken by team-mate Maldonado couldn't improve, Gutierrez jumped to P11, Webber jumped up to P9 as Vettel's time started to dip towards the drop-zone. Although the World Champion was on a strong lap, Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso was the only car capable of demoting him and so when JEV could no longer improve, the Red Bull team brought Vettel in to save his tyres.

So, out went: 17.Vergne, 18.Bottas, 19.Bianchi, 20.Pic, 21.Chilton, 22.Van der Garde.

At the end of Q1 Gutierrez had run ten laps and Sutil just three. Marussia would have got both cars ahead of the Caterhams if it hadn't been for a lurid moment at Turn 6 for Max Chilton which dropped him 1.2 seconds behind his team-mate.

Qualifying 2
A significant item at the beginning of Q2 was the fact that the FIA rain radar went down. This was another failure of the official telemetry system after Australia last week. There would be no cockpit warning lights, or DRS activation or safety Car systems because of the problems for a second GP in succession - something that could be critical in setting in-lap deta times for Safety Car periods.

Paul di Resta was out first on the set of used medium tyres he'd just finished Q1 with. He was en route to setting a reasonable lap (fastest middle sector, but then again everyone else was only on out-laps, so he should be) when the team brought him in. It was his team-mate Adrian Sutil who set the first significant P1 time with a 1:36.834.

Again it was Nico Riosberg at the top of the timesheets in the W04 with a 1:36.190 - Lewis Hamilton slotted into P2, which was then taken by Mark Webber.

Hamilton reported back that there were spots of rain between Turns 5 and 6 and the rain started to increase. Without the FIA radar the teams hadn't seen it coming and so Paul Di Resta and Pastor Maldonado had yet to put in serious laps. In fact Paul Di Resta set a very competitive 25.0 for sector 1 before hitting trouble.

At this point of the session, with most cars anticipating at least one more run, the order was: 1.Rosberg, 2.Webber, 3.Hamilton, 4.Raikkonen, 5.Sutil, 6.Massa, 7.Alonso, 8.Button, 9.Vettel, 10.Perez, 11.Grosjean, 12.Hulkenberg, 13.Ricciardo, 14.Gutirrez, 15.Di Resta, 16.Maldonado

DiResta ran off track at Turns 5/6 as the rain began to increase. Nobody was going to set a faster time and it was pointless going out. So the Q2 times were locked and out went. 11.Grosjean, 12.Hulkenberg, 13.Ricciardo, 14.Gutirrez, 15.Di Resta, 16.Maldonado.

Most frustrated of anyone was Romain Grosjean whose mystery chassis problems and annoyance at team-mate Raikkonen getting all the development parts was plain to see as he got out of the car. Pastor Maldonado was relatively at-ease with failing to get in a competitive lap, pleased to see the car improved and probably most pleased of all to put some distance between himself and his team-mate.

Qualifying 3
The rain had fallen for fifteen minutes and the sun was emerging over part of the circuit as the cars came out for Q3 creating a rainbow. It was intermediate tyres for everybody through the whole session and so the top ten would be allowed to choose their own tyres for the race start (should it be dry) tomorrow.

Despite the period of rain, the temperatures were exactly the same as when the session had started, but this time the DRS was disabled.

Adrian Sutil took some karting (outside) lines around corners as he set provisional pole at 1:58.293, this was beaten by Sergio Perez with a 1:56.640 and then Lewis Hamilton with a 1:54.899. Nico Rosberg jumped to the top with a 1:53.898 as the track dried out and times got progressively faster. Sebastian Vettel proved this with a superb 1:52.576 before diving into the pits for some fresh intermediate tyres. Mark Webber was good for P2.

Webber continued on his single set of intermediates, as did the McLaren drivers, whereas Vettel, Alonso and Massa took on a second set. Webber edged out Vettel with a 1:52.244 lap and then was elbowed out of the way by Lewis Hamilton with a 1:51.699.

All ten drivers were on track and with the track rapidly drying the times were tumbling. Perez took P6, Button moved up into P4, Raikkonen took P4, Rosberg grabbed P3. Alonso then jumped into provisional pole with a 1:50.727 before Sebastian Vettel went a whole second quicker to take his 38th pole with a 1:49.674.

However there was more drama in the final seconds as Felipe Massa crossed the line to take P2, the second race in a row to beat team-mate Fernando Alonso. Hamilton had beaten Rosberg when it counted after lagging for most of the session, Button was in front of Perez, P8 and P10, and Kimi Raikkonen would start another race from P7. The most important thing was that the top 10 could start on exactly the same tyre as the rest of the field, though everyone is expecting rain at some stage tomorrow.

Times
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:49.674
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:50.587 +0.913
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:50.727 +1.053
4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:51.699 +2.025
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:52.244 +2.570
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:52.519 +2.845
7. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1:52.970 +3.296
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:53.175 +3.501
9. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:53.439 +3.765
10. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1:54.136 +4.462
11. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:37.636 +1.446
12. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1:38.125 +1.935
13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:38.822 +2.632
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1:39.221 +3.031
15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:44.509 +8.319
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault no time
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:38.157 +1.348
18. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1:38.207 +1.398
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1:38.434 +1.625
20. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1:39.314 +2.505
21. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1:39.672 +2.863
22. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1:39.932s +3.123

Source: Planet-F1

Practice One: Webber sets the pace

Mark Webber led the way at a hot and humid Sepang circuit on Friday morning, edging Australian GP winner Kimi Raikkonen by 0.068s

It was a slow start to the session as the teams all waited for another to blink. Eventually - after 30 minutes - Max Chilton ventured out and clocked a 1:42.513. McLaren joined the Marussia driver out on track with Sergio Perez going quickest while Romain Grosjean took second ahead of Jenson Button. However, halfway through FP1 they were the only four drivers on the timesheets.

Shortly after more headed out with Lewis Hamilton taking over at the front after posting a 1:38.113. The Mercedes driver had a brief exchange with Grosjean for the top spot before his team-mate Nico Rosberg entered the fray.

Rosberg's reign, though, was also short-lived as Mark Webber climbed to the top of the timesheets while his team-mate Sebastian Vettel made it a Red Bull 1-2 ahead of a Mercedes 3-4.

With the Red Bulls looking secure in first and second the battle was on for third with Fernando Alonso taking the fifth to the Mercedes drivers as he climbed to fourth place ahead Adrian Sutil, Felipe Massa and Paul di Resta. Hamilton was down in eighth with 30 minutes remaining in the session.

Esteban Gutierrez brought out the first yellow flags of the session as he came up behind the slower Ferrari of Massa and balked as he braked. The Mexican rookie touched the grass and found himself backwards on the run-off area. Moments later Adrian Sutil was seem lapping with a broken front right wing courtesy of a trip over the grass.

A mixture of strategies emerged in the final 30 minutes as Kimi Raikkonen opted for used tyres, which put him up to second place, while Hamilton switched to race set-up and putting in a few 1:44s before being told by his Merc engineer that he needs to get that down to a 1:42.

The final ten minutes of FP1 saw some serious tyre issues for some of the drivers with anyone from reigning Champ Vettel complaining about "vibrations" to newcomer Giedo van der Garde pointing his out to his Caterham team. The old tyres meant that the drivers were not able to improve their times and Webber finished quickest of all, 0.068s up on Raikkonen.

Times:
1 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:36.935 15 laps
2 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:37.003 +0.068 15 laps
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:37.104 +0.169 21 laps
4 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:37.319 +0.384 13 laps
5 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:37.588 +0.653 19 laps
6 Adrian Sutil Force India 1:37.769 +0.834 17 laps
7 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:37.771 +0.836 15 laps
8 Paul di Resta Force India 1:37.773 +0.838 15 laps
9 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:37.840 +0.905 18 laps
10 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:37.915 +0.980 17 laps
11 Jenson Button McLaren 1:38.173 +1.238 16 laps
12 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:38.673 +1.738 16 laps
13 Sergio Perez McLaren 1:38.830 +1.895 17 laps
14 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:39.054 +2.119 17 laps
15 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:39.204 +2.269 16 laps
16 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:39.208 +2.273 19 laps
17 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:39.284 +2.349 17 laps
18 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:39.567 +2.632 16 laps
19 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1:40.728 +3.793 17 laps
20 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:40.996 +4.061 14 laps
21 Charles Pic Caterham 1:41.163 +4.228 18 laps
22 Max Chilton Marussia 1:41.513 +4.578 14 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Exclusive Q&A with Lotus’s Kimi Räikkönen 24 Mar 2012

The Australian event probably wasn’t the welcome back to the sport Lotus’s Kimi Räikkönen would have wanted. But after starting down in 17th and eventually finishing in seventh, Raikkonen made the best of a bad situation and left with a well-deserved haul of six points. In comparison, the Malaysian weekend is already looking a lot better, even though a five-place gearbox penalty will see him drop down from fifth on the grid to tenth. Räikkönen discusses the Melbourne race and looks ahead to Sunday in Sepang…

Q: Kimi, is racing again in Formula One as much fun as you had hoped?
Kimi Räikkönen: It is all the same as before. It hasn’t changed. But the car is good and that always makes it a bit nicer. If you are in 15th place, then that of course is never nice. Okay, in terms of the paddock, I really didn’t expect it to be any different from when I left, but the team is nice so I feel very comfortable.

Q: So things haven’t really changed. You initially left for a reason so can you stomach those reasons now?
KR: I like the racing. And if you do so then it is inevitable you must accept the rest. Sometimes you discover that on your second try.

Q: How would you sum up your first race? Was it business as usual or did you have to warm up first?
KR: I made a mistake in qualifying so I put myself in a very bad position, but at least in the race we got something out of it. I took it quite easy as I didn’t want to get overly excited and throw it away. As for this weekend we’ve got a five-place penalty which means I will start from P10 tomorrow. But I’m used to penalties; I’ve got so many during my career! (laughs)

Q: Was it painful seeing your team mate, Romain Grosjean, start from P3 in Melbourne?
KR: No - we knew that we botched it and that we never gave ourselves a real chance. But that’s racing. Sometimes you are fastest and sometimes you are slower in qualifying. But it’s the race where you get the points.

Q: So were you angry about botching it up?
KR: We did it ourselves so we are the ones to be blamed. So what’s the point in crying over spilt milk now? I have been long enough in the business to know about the ups and downs of racing. It’s not the first time that I had to stop after Q1 - it is what it is.

Q: Today went better though…
KR: It was of course much nicer. The car felt really good. So maybe I am a bit disappointed as I very well could have ended up in P3 - or even on pole position. But I made a small mistake and there you go. And then with the penalty, of course that costs us even more. But sure it is day and night compared to Melbourne. Here the race should give us a very real chance. P5 would have been easier as P10 already means you have a ‘crowd’ in front. But after the first three corners I should be fine.

Q: You said that you missed the direct competition with other drivers when you were rallying. But there wasn’t too much direct competition in Melbourne…
KR: Ha! If I had been further at front the competition would have been much less. But again, the race went nice and smoothly.

Q: There have been rumours that your nickname could change from ‘ice man’ to ‘nice man’. How do you like that?
KR: It’s all just a rumour. It is the media who make up these kinds of things in the first place. It’s all rubbish!

Q: How do you feel seeing your former team Ferrari struggling so much?
KR: I don’t care. We try to beat all the teams and they are just one of them. If they do poorly it is bad for them but as we are ahead of them I could not care less. And if they become better than us then it’s a sign that we have to improve.

Q: What is your strategy for the race?
KR: I will try to get through the first corners without any accidents and then go on from there. There is not a plan or manual of what to do in the first lap. As I said at the beginning, the car feels good and there should be some options for me tomorrow.

Source: Formula1.com

Sepang Qualifying: Lewis does it again

Lewis Hamilton produced his second storming qualifying performance inside eight days to secure pole position in Malaysia as McLaren again locked out the front row

Underlining McLaren's status as the team to beat in the early stages of 2012, Hamilton sailed through the first two knockout stages before unleashing a spectacular 1:36.219 lap on his first Q3 run which ultimately proved out of reach for all his nearest rivals.

Michael Schumacher initially got closest as Mercedes opted to complete just one flying run with their cars but the seven-time World Champion was denied his first front-row start for nearly six years as Jenson Button pipped him by a mere 0.023 to replicate the front of the grid from Melbourne.

Third place though still represents the best qualifying result since Schumacher's return to the sport in 2010, and means he outqualified Nico Rosberg for the second successive weekend after the younger German again blew his qualifying lap with a lock-up, leaving him further down the order.

F1's previous qualifying kings Red Bull once more didn't feature in the battle for pole but the World Champions opted to split their tyre strategies - Mark Webber using the faster medium tyre to set the fourth-best time while World Champion Sebastian Vettel scarified some speed and went for the slower hards.

The German was the only top 10 runner to qualify on the 'prime' compound and while the resulting lap time was only good enough for sixth place again, it throws an interesting curve ball in the battle for victory on Sunday.

Vettel will, however, start fifth as Kimi Raikkonen, who ran impressively for Lotus throughout the hour and split the Red Bulls on the timesheets, will drop to a less spectacular 10th on the grid after a five-place penalty for a gearbox change.

Raikkonen's team-mate Romain Grosjean therefore will line up sixth, ahead of Rosberg, with Fernando Alonso only managing ninth for struggling Ferrari ahead of Sauber's Sergio Perez.

Pastor Maldonado was threatening to make Q3 for the second successive weekend going into the final seconds of the second phase but was eventually shuffled down by the two Mercedes' to 11th, although this was still something of an achievement given he ran wide off the road at turn 10 earlier.

The Williams will be joined on the sixth row by the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa, the Brazilian managing to improve by four places his grid slot from Melbourne but still not delivering the kind of breakthrough Ferrari may have hoped for having pressed a new chassis into service for him this weekend.

Bruno Senna will line up directly behind his team-mate in 13th, as Williams outpaced midfield rivals Force India and Toro Rosso who both failed to deliver in Q2.

Paul di Resta recovered from a scruffy ride through Friday practice to make it one-all in what is set to be an intriguing season-long qualifying duel with Force India team-mate Nico Hulkenberg - although 14th and 16th on the grid hardly reflect the team's ambitions.

Likewise at Toro Rosso, who lost Jean-Eric Vergne in Q1 after the French rookie flat-spotted a tyre in a lock-up at the first corner and then saw Daniel Ricciardo set only the 15th fastest time.

Caterham, Marussia and HRT again took up their usual positions at the foot of the order, although for the latter this was hailed as a 2012 breakthrough as both Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan set times within 107% of the fastest Q1 effort to ensure they will line up on Sunday's grid.

Times
01. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m36.219s + 0.149
02. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m36.368s + 0.172
03. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m36.391s + 0.242
04. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m36.461s + 0.415
05. Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault 1m36.461s + 0.439
06. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m36.634s + 0.445
07. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m36.658s + 1.347
08. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m36.664s + 1.479
09. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.566s + 0.242
10. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m37.698s + 1.370
11. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m37.589s + 0.874
12. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m37.731s + 1.016
13. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m37.841s + 1.126
14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m37.877s + 1.162
15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m37.883s + 1.168
16. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m37.890s + 1.175
17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.069s + 1.354
18. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.077s + 1.905
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m39.306s + 2.134
20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m39.567s + 2.395
21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m40.903s + 3.731
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.250s + 4.078
23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m42.914s + 5.742BR>
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m43.655s + 6.483

Source: SkySports

Massa's Blog: Everyone is pushing hard to improve the car

So far we have had two Grands Prix this season, producing the same winner and the same three teams on the podium, while Ferrari has not been part of that. If you are not winning, then of course you are not happy and you try and change the situation but the facts show that our situation is not as bad as some might say.

It’s true that in qualifying in both races so far, we were not quick enough and in Melbourne, even our race pace was not that impressive. However, in Malaysia our car had the performance on Sunday in the race. That is something we must keep up but in addition, even if this sounds like what we said last year, we need to push hard to improve our car’s performance over a single lap in qualifying. Over the winter, there was speculation that qualifying would be less important this year because of an expected increase in overtaking, but so far, we have seen that if you do not start at the front, life is more difficult for you, even if you have good pace.

Everyone in the team, back in the factory is pushing particularly hard to improve the car as soon as possible. But it’s hard to say how long a job that will be and of course I hope it will happen very quickly. In China we will have some updates and something new to be tested on Friday, whereas Turkey in a month’s time is when we can realistically expect to bring some significant updates for the car.

My race was spoilt by a problem at the first pit stop. The fact that we are definitely going to see more pit stops per race throughout the season means this is an area of teamwork, driver’s role included, that we have to be sure functions perfectly. Also, in Sepang, my problem occurred the first time I came in to change tyres which is the worst possible situation as it is in the early stages of a race that a delay can cost you the most track position and places, because all the cars are much closer to each other. If it happens late on in the race when positions have stabilised and maybe you have five seconds over the car behind, then you can get away with this sort of problem at a stop. It highlights the fact that this is a team sport and while the driver is a very important part of that, so too are the engineers and also the mechanics, this year even more so than before.

Another trend we are seeing is that there can be many changes of position in the closing stages of the race, as drivers perhaps try to get to the race finish without making a further stop for new tyres, despite suffering high degradation. That was clearly the case in Malaysia with a lot of overtaking in the final laps. That is why the strategy is even more important now, in order to get the tyre change sequence just right, so that you can avoid finding yourself fighting for position in the last few laps, while dealing with tyres that are no longer at their best. This is not just down to the engineers to chose the best moment, because now the driver really has to think about managing the tyre situation himself, to avoid destroying them too soon.

I arrive in Shanghai on Wednesday, having stayed on in Malaysia for a couple of days. I have finished twice on the podium in China, with a second and third place, but last year I was only ninth in that wet race. It’s a nice circuit to drive even if the weather can be unpredictable. In the past, even with the long straight, overtaking was quite difficult but the combination of the long straight and the moveable rear wing should make passing easier.

There is no panic at Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, because we know panic does not achieve anything. Everyone has to work together and push hard to solve these problems we currently have and move in the direction that will see us secure better results as soon as possible.

Source: Ferrari.com

Sebastian Vettel blog: 'There's no need to panic'

There might be a few unknowns with tyres and KERS for Seb, but Red Bull Racing’s reigning F1 champion is far from uncomfortable at sweltering Sepang


by Sebastian Vettel on Apr 8, 2011

I was 17th quickest in practice on Friday morning, which was not very encouraging, but setting the fourth-fastest time in the afternoon was way better!

Today we were using KERS which, if it works as we hope, will help us improve our lap times.

Tyres don’t last very long in Malaysia, but that’s not a big secret. You really notice the degradation here. When we start racing, we’ll find out how long they last, but at the moment we’re happy with both the hard and soft compounds of the new Pirellis.

Mark [Webber] and I have been using the same strategy today, but he was just faster than me – in both practice sessions. His pace in the last sector was outstanding.

And this is not tactics on my part, I always want to go as fast as I can and no shilly-shallying…

Besides, it’s not a good idea to get caught with your trousers down on a Friday! But I’m certain I’ll improve my times tomorrow, so there’s no need to panic.

Source: Red Bull

Webber: Wing will work in Sepang

Mark Webber believes F1 will see the full capabilities of the new adjustable rear wings at this weekend's Malaysian GP

Although the wing, officially called the Drag Reduction System (DRS), made its debut in Australia, the layout of the Albert Park circuit meant it couldn't be used to its full effect.

However, this weekend's grand prix takes place at the Sepang circuit with its long start-finish straight.

The FIA has confirmed that the DRS detection zone will be situated 207 metres before the track's final corner while drivers may activate the wing five metres after the final corner and use it for the entire length of the start-finish straight.

And Webber believes this weekend's race will give F1 the first idea of how successful the wing can be.

"I got pretty close to Fernando (Alonso) a few times (in Australia) and only once with Lewis on Lap Three," the Aussie told Autosport. "Fernando was someone I expected to put more pressure on.

"But it was a characteristic of the corner onto the start-finish - it was too quick. And the entry to Turn 1, even if you got close, it was easy for the guy to manipulate the line for you, and give you a different trajectory into the corner.

"Here will be a completely different story - if you are within the zone on the Apex of Turn 15.

"If it doesn't work here I don't know where it will work. You have a slow corner to open the lap, a slow corner at the braking point, and Heathrow airport in between as well in terms of options, so it should work."

Source: Planet-F1

Alonso's Blog: A weekend to tackle one day at a time

I arrived in Malaysia a few days ago, having stayed a while in Australia, on Hamilton Island. I decided to stay in this part of the world so as to be used to the local time zone, given we now take on two races in the Far East, first in Sepang and then in Shanghai. It’s important to get used to the weather conditions, especially here where the temperatures are around the 30 °C mark and, much more significantly, it’s very humid. I have done some sport, because it’s essential to keep training: in this race you lose a lot of liquid and it’s very tough driving in these conditions, so you need to be on top form to tackle the weekend properly. Being 100% ready in this respect can make all the difference on Sunday afternoon as even on a mental level, this race is very special.

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

Luckily it’s not all been work, as I was able to have some fun too which is good as it helps you unwind at such a busy time: from the start of testing there hasn’t been much of a break in this bit of the season.

I stayed in touch with the engineers, via email and phone. We re-examined the way the weekend had gone in Melbourne and we discussed our preparations for here in Sepang. We know we have to improve our performance level, but we are equally aware that in the end, the race result was not such a disaster. We will have a few minor updates on the car, but nothing very significant, or the sort of thing you could say would be the key to take a leap forward in performance terms. I believe we must stay concentrated on our own work and try to understand how to get all the potential out of the 150° Italia and I’m sure there’s plenty to come. Before we achieve that, it’s pointless standing here making predictions about how the weekend will turn out. We just have to tackle it one day at a time.

My happiest memory of Sepang circuit goes back to my first ever pole position, which I secured on 22 March 2003. Neither myself, nor my team, Renault, had expected that sort of result on Saturday morning, but come the end of qualifying, we found ourselves with both cars on the front row. It was a very happy moment and I can still clearly remember how the afternoon went, then the dinner and Sunday morning, when I was thinking about what would happen in the race. Every time I come back here, I think of that weekend, at the happiness of taking pole and the feeling of trepidation going into the race. I did not win, as later happened in 2005 and 2007, but I was still third and so managed to jump up on the podium for the first time. It was definitely a weekend to remember for a long time!

Source: Ferrari.com

Webber chasing Sepang champagne

Mark Webber is confident Red Bull will find the cause of his lack of pace in Australia and rectify the problem before he heads to Malaysia

While his team-mate Sebastian Vettel dominated the Australian GP weekend, Webber came up short at his home race.

He was almost a full second slower than his Championship-winning team-mate in qualifying while on Sunday afternoon could only manage fifth place.

It was a disappointing result for the Red Bull driver, made more so by the fact that the team could not pin-point why was second best to Vettel.

The Aussie, though, has revealed that although the team found "a few pointers", they still aren't sure as to the reason behind his lack of pace.

"We found a few pointers in the data but we'll need to strip the car down before drawing any conclusions," Webber told The Telegraph.

"Only then will we know whether something was broken, or whether there was something fundamentally wrong with the car.

"More than anything, I struggled with a lack of grip. That affected the longevity of my Pirelli tyres because the degradation was much higher on my car than on Seb's.

"I was forced to make three pit stops during the race, whereas he dominated proceedings with a two-stop strategy."

But despite losing out to his team-mate Down Under, Webber reckons there could be champagne on the cards for him this Sunday in Malaysia.

"It always provides an interesting race, especially with the weather," the 34-year-old said.

"It's a great challenge for the driver too in terms of temperature and we'll need to see how the tyres go there.

"We got a lot of information from the first race and we expect our car to be good in Malaysia - I want to get some champagne and up on to the steps."

Source: Planet-F1

Monsoonal thunderstorm strikes Sepang

With the F1 circus bustling around the Sepang paddock late on Thursday afternoon, the skies opened.

There was thunder, lightening, and reams of driving rain, and similar conditions - rain in the late afternoon after a hot and humid day - have been observed in and around Kuala Lumpur for the past few days.

Moreover, local forecasts say the weather is staying put for the remainder of the week and the weekend, with a particularly high chance of rain around 4pm -- precisely the same time scheduled for qualifying and the race.

"The rain is expected to start around 4pm and normally lasts two hours," said a spokesman of the Malaysian Meteorological Department.

Source: Motorsport.com