.:: 2010 Malaysian GP - 2-3-4 April ::.

.:: 2010 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX ::.

Welcome to the 2010 Australian GP Thread. cjek and mjk1 will keep the thread updated with the latest times as they happen.

RANDOM FACT

If full points were awarded for last year's race, Jenson Button would've finished the 2009 season on 100 points exactly.

CIRCUIT STATS

2010 Race Number: 3
Circuit Event Number: 12
Circuit Length: 3.376 miles
Number of Laps: 56
Lap Record: 1:34.223 (J.P.Montoya, 2004)

2009 Podium
1. Jenson Button (Brawn GP)
2. Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber)
3. Timo Glock (Toyota)

POINTS OF DISCUSSION

1. With Australia balancing out the Bahrain GP, do you think that Malaysia can be the middle ground?
2. Do you feel the rain issues seen last year will play a major role in 2010?
3. What do you feel Sebastian Vettel can achieve this weekend, and will reliability issues play another part of his race?
4. How will Hamilton react after his nightmare weekend in Melbourne?
5. What are your views on the wing mirror situation after the past weekend, and how soon should the issue be sorted?

SCHEDULE FOR WEEKEND (All Times UK)

Fri 2 Apr: Practice 1 0300-0430; Practice 2 0700-0830

Sat 3 Apr: Practice 3 0600-0700; Qualifying 0900

Sun 4 Apr: Race 0900

WEEKEND WEATHER

FRIDAY: Heavy Rain Shower, Max. 31 deg. cent.
SATURDAY: Heavy Rain Shower, Max. 32 deg. cent.
SUNDAY: Heavy Rain Shower, Max. 33 deg. cent.

PRESS CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

THURSDAY:Rubens Barrichello (Williams), Karun Chandhok (HRT), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) & Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP). 8AM BST.

FRIDAY:Tony Fernandes (Lotus), Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus), Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India) & Otmar Szafnauer (Force India). 9AM BST.

QUALIFYING:Mark Webber (Red Bull), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP) & Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull).

RACE:Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Mark Webber (Red Bull) & Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP).

BBC CIassic Malaysian GP's
2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2005 | 2009
Extended Highlights: N/A

The Red Light: Malaysian GP Preview

BBC Presents the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix

PREVIOUS SESSIONS
Practice 1
Practice 2
Qualifying
Race (Part 1: Build-Up & BBC One) (Part 2: BBC Two)
Forum

1. I hope Malaysia puts on a good race as I'm a big fan of the circuit but I can't say that it will definately be a good race. Although the late start puts it at risk for monsoon rain again...

2. If it does rain, definately. If not then no.

3. I certainly hope not, he should be running away with the championship. He looks to be having a Kimi 2005 season... this makes me sad.

4. Who knows, he was a bit erratic both on and off the track last weekend but put his head down during the race only to lose his head again going off at his team on the radio and then being schooled by Alonso then Webber braked too late end of game.

5. There are rules saying how big they must be and what they must be able to do (The driver is presented with a card placed x distance behind the car that they have to be able to read.) That said the test has absolutely no correlation with a real racing situation. I don't mind how they're placed if the drivers can use them and the drivers can. They've been this big for as long as I can remember and made out of the same stuff. They were first placed on the outside of the sidepods in 2006 by Ferrari and other teams copied from there, there weren't many complaints back then most came from DC and Webber and Red Bull gave them in board mirrors so they could see.

HERBERT TO ADVICE STEWARDS IN MALAYSIA

Johnny Herbert will be the drivers' representative on the stewards' panel at this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Briton, whose final F1 race was at Sepang in 2000, will provide input to the stewards at any time they need advice about events from a drivers' perspective.

Alain Prost and Tom Kristensen undertook the drivers' duties at the first two races of the season, and Herbert is expected to be used at several races this year.

Herbert will work alongside Garry Connelly and Radovan Novak in Malaysia.

AUTOSPORT

Sorry, did I say Melbourne was gonna be wet? Bring your boats if you're going to Sepang...Redders1989

espnf1 

PRACTICE 1

Pos  Driver         Team                    Time               Laps
 1.  Hamilton       McLaren-Mercedes        1:34.921  19 
 2.  Rosberg        Mercedes                1:35.106  + 0.185   19
 3.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes        1:35.207  + 0.286   25
 4.  Schumacher     Mercedes                1:35.225  + 0.304   14
 5.  Kubica         Renault                 1:35.402  + 0.481   22
 6.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault        1:35.479  + 0.558   22
 7.  Sutil          Force India-Mercedes    1:35.955  + 1.034   20 
 8.  Alonso         Ferrari                 1:35.959  + 1.038   20
 9.  Vettel         Red Bull-Renault        1:35.043  + 1.122   19
10.  Buemi          Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1:36.100  + 1.179   20
11.  Massa          Ferrari                 1:36.451  + 1.530   22
12.  Kobayashi      Sauber-Ferrari          1:36.503  + 1.582   28
13.  Alguersuari    Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1:36.645  + 1.724   18
14.  Petrov         Renault                 1:36.712  + 1.791    9
15.  di Resta       Force India-Mercedes    1:36.891  + 1.970   25
16.  de la Rosa     Sauber-Ferrari          1:36.899  + 1.978   24
17.  Hulkenberg     Williams-Cosworth       1:37.802  + 2.881   27
18.  Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth       1:38.278  + 3.357   18
19.  Trulli         Lotus-Cosworth          1:39.460  + 4.539   21
20.  Glock          Virgin-Cosworth         1:39.755  + 4.834   17
21.  di Grassi      Virgin-Cosworth         1:40.159  + 5.238   25
22.  Fauzy          Lotus-Cosworth          1:40.721  + 5.800   19
23.  Senna          HRT-Cosworth            1:41.832  + 6.911   27
24.  Chandhok       HRT-Cosworth            1:41.966  + 7.045   24

All Timing Unofficial

 AUTOSPORT

PRACTICE 2

Pos  Driver         Team                    Time                Laps
 1.  Hamilton       McLaren-Mercedes        1:34.175  27 
 2.  Vettel         Red Bull-Renault        1:34.441  + 0.266   28
 3.  Rosberg        Mercedes                1:34.443  + 0.268   30
 4.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes        1:34.538  + 0.363   24
 5.  Schumacher     Mercedes                1:34.674  + 0.499   30
 6.  Kubica         Renault                 1:35.148  + 0.973   34
 7.  Alonso         Ferrari                 1:35.581  + 1.406   34
 8.  Buemi          Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1:35.660  + 1.485   39
 9.  Petrov         Renault                 1:35.872  + 1.697   20
10.  Sutil          Force India-Mercedes    1:35.957  + 1.782   32 
11.  Kobayashi      Sauber-Ferrari          1:36.018  + 1.843   38
12.  Liuzzi         Force India-Mercedes    1:36.221  + 2.046   34
13.  de la Rosa     Sauber-Ferrari          1:36.325  + 2.150   33
14.  Alguersuari    Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1:36.325  + 2.150   39
15.  Massa          Ferrari                 1:36.602  + 2.427   30
16.  Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth       1:36.813  + 2.638   26
17.  Hulkenberg     Williams-Cosworth       1:37.415  + 3.240   19
18.  Trulli         Lotus-Cosworth          1:38.454  + 4.279   34
19.  Kovalainen     Lotus-Cosworth          1:38.530  + 4.355   32 
20.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault        1:38.786  + 4.558   13
21.  Glock          Virgin-Cosworth         1:39.061  + 4.886   23
22.  di Grassi      Virgin-Cosworth         1:39.158  + 4.983   29
23.  Chandhok       HRT-Cosworth            1:41.084  + 6.909   27
24.  Senna          HRT-Cosworth            1:41.481  + 7.306   32

All Timing Unofficial

Lotus and Virgin are a second off their nearest rivals, Not bad so far on playing catch up eh?

QUALIFYING RED-FLAGGED AT 4:53PM LOCAL TIME - INDEFINATE DELAY.

SESSION RE-STARTED AT 5:10PM LOCAL TIME.

MALAYSIAN GP - QUALIFYING

Pos  Driver         Team                   Q1        Q2        Q3
 1.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault       1:51.886  1:48.210  1:49.327
 2.  Rosberg        Mercedes               1:52.560  1:47.417  1:50.673
 3.  Vettel         Red Bull-Renault       1:47.632  1:46.828  1:50.789
 4.  Sutil          Force India-Mercedes   1:49.479  1:47.085  1:50.914
 5.  Hulkenberg     Williams-Cosworth      1:49.664  1:47.346  1:51.001
 6.  Kubica         Renault                1:46.283  1:46.951  1:51.051
 7.  Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth      1:50.301  1:48.371  1:51.511
 8.  Schumacher     Mercedes               1:52.239  1:48.400  1:51.717
 9.  Kobayashi      Sauber-Ferrari         1:48.467  1:47.792  1:51.767
10.  Liuzzi         Force India-Mercedes   1:49.922  1:48.238  1:52.254
11.  Petrov         Renault                1:47.952  1:48.760
12.  de la Rosa     Sauber-Ferrari         1:47.153  1:48.771
13.  Buemi          Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1:48.945  1:49.207
14.  Alguersuari    Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1:48.655  1:49.464
15.  Kovalainen     Lotus-Cosworth         1:52.875  1:52.270
16.  Glock          Virgin-Cosworth        1:52.398  1:52.520
17.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes       1:52.211
18.  Trulli         Lotus-Cosworth         1:52.884
19.  Alonso         Ferrari                1:53.044
20.  Hamilton       McLaren-Mercedes       1:53.050
21.  Massa          Ferrari                1:53.283
22.  Chandhok       HRT-Cosworth           1:56.299
23.  Senna          HRT-Cosworth           1:57.269
24.  di Grassi      Virgin-Cosworth        1:59.977

Ya I can't believe nothing more was done with Hamilton besides a warning. That was really excessive and we've seen a drive through for doing less in the past.

And ironically in a race with so much relaibilty retirements Vettel finally didn't get bit by it. Congrats to him and Webber and Red Bull for more or less dominating the Grand Prix.

And that sucks for Alonso, he was driving fantastic with that problem only to retire with 2 laps to go :(

I'm surprised nothing came of Hamilton's weaving, really.

Anyone finding it ironic that with changes made to the points system to reward the winner, it's Massa - who isn't 100% yet with the car - leading the championship with consistency? :lol:

Nominations for Driver of the Day and Star of the Day can now be made. You have until 5PM BST on Monday.

DotD: Lewis Hamilton (excluding weaving)
SotD: Jaime Alguersuari

DotD: Vettel - Excellent move at the beginning gave him the lead then he controlled it, the way he has for the last two GP's but without the reliability woes.

SotD: Petrov - Way to get under Hamilton's skin, what a champ.

Great race - very entertaining and congrats to Red Bull

DotD: Lewis Hamilton
SotD: Jaime Alguersuari

DotD: Vettel

SotD: Alguersuari

RACE RESULTS

The Malaysian Grand Prix
Sepang F1 Circuit, Malaysia;
56 laps; 310.408km;
Weather: Sunny.

Pos  Driver       Team                  Gap
 1.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault
 2.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      + 4.8s
 3.  Rosberg      Mercedes              + 13.5s
 4.  Kubica       Renault               + 18.5s
 5.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  + 21.0s
 6.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      + 23.4s
 7.  Massa        Ferrari               + 27.0s
 8.  Button       McLaren-Mercedes      + 37.9s
 9.  Alguersuari  Toro Rosso-Ferrari    + 1m10.6s
10.  Hulkenberg   Williams              + 1m13.3s
11.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    + 1m18.9s
12.  Barrichello  Williams-Cosworth     + 1 lap
13.  Alonso       Ferrari               + 2 laps
14.  Di Grassi    Virgin-Cosworth       + 3 laps
15.  Chandhok     Hispania-Cosworth     + 3 laps
16.  Senna        Hispania-Cosworth     + 4 laps
17.  Trulli       Lotus-Cosworth        + 5 laps

Not ****fied/retirements:

     Kovalainen   Lotus-Cosworth        46 laps
     Petrov       Renault               32 laps
     Liuzzi       Force India-Mercedes  12 laps
     Schumacher   Mercedes              9 laps
     Kobayashi    Sauber-Ferrari        8 laps
     Glock        Virgin-Cosworth       2 laps
     De la Rosa   Sauber-Ferrari        0 laps

Fastest lap: Webber 1m37.054s 

World Championship standings, round 3:

Drivers:                   Constructors:
 1.  Massa         39       1.  Ferrari                    76
 2.  Vettel        37       2.  McLaren-Mercedes           66
 3.  Alonso        37       3.  Red Bull-Renault           61
 4.  Button        35       4.  Mercedes                   44
 5.  Rosberg       35       5.  Renault                    30
 6.  Hamilton      31       6.  Force India-Mercedes       18
 7.  Kubica        30       7.  Williams-Cosworth           6
 8.  Webber        24       8.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari          2
 9.  Sutil         10
10.  Schumacher     9
11.  Liuzzi         8
12.  Barrichello    5
13.  Alguersuari    2
14.  Hulkenberg     1

On the BBC: Speed = Distance + Time

Tut, tut. I thought they were clever. Also, why did they switch to BBC 2, when they could have shown the whole race on BBC 2 and moved Match of the Day to BBC 1? It finished just before the Easter Service. Also, they said there would be a 5 minute overlap. Then how come at 5 to 10 I switched to BBC 2 and threw up my breakfast because I saw Gary Lineker????? Honestly, BBC. And all the hype "It's gonna be wet!!!". Eddie Jordan was the wettest thing there on raceday. Still, I have to say, I did enjoy the race, but was kind of disappointed with Alonso's retirement 2 laps from the finish (I could have got more points in the predictions championship!!! GRR!), and Eddie Jordan:

"WHY DIDN'T THEY PUT IN A BANKER LAP???"

VETTEL ESCAPES YELLOW FLAG PENALTY

Sebastian Vettel has escaped a penalty for overtaking backmarker Jarno Trulli under yellow flags in the closing stages of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull Racing driver was leading comfortably two laps from home when he came up to lap the slowing Lotus at Turn 4 - just as the yellow flags were out for Fernando Alonso's stranded Ferrari.

Vettel overtook the Lotus on the inside of Turn 4 -a move which was in breach of the regulations that bans car from overtaking each other when yellow flags are out.

The stewards spoke to Vettel after the race and, after also viewing video and telemetry data, they decided that since he had made 'a large reduction in speed through the yellow flag area and that he understood that Car 18 was slowing with an obvious problem' it was decided that no penalty would be applied.

Former grand prix driver Johnny Herbert was acting as the drivers' advisor on the stewards panel in Malaysia.

SOURCE: Autosport