Malaysian GP – No surprises in Sepang qualifying
Sepang, 9th April
The top two rows of tomorrow’s grid for the Malaysian Grand Prix feature just two teams, Red Bull Racing and McLaren: no surprises there then, given that while many questions remained unanswered after the opening round in Melbourne, the superiority of these two outfits was clear for all to see. So, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro is pretty much where it could expect to be, with Fernando Alonso “best of the rest” in fifth place on row 3 of the grid. Felipe Massa admitted that, apart from the fact the Ferrari F150º Italia is not yet competitive at the highest level, he did not put together the perfect lap, so the Brazilian will be seventh, starting behind his team-mate, both Ferrari men on the advantageous clean side of the track. In addition, Fernando and Felipe used one set of new soft tyres to make sure of getting through Q1, therefore having one less set for the crucial Q3: but this cannot be seen as an excuse as that choice is a function of the Scuderia’s car not being on the pace of the best.
Thunderstorms, the typical Sepang cliché, have been notable by their absence this week, with just one short but heavy shower on Thursday evening. However, it does seem as though tomorrow sees the highest chance of thunder and lightning hitting the area of the track at a time when it could cause the most chaos in the race. In this case, the permutations are as endless as they are unpredictable and could help Fernando and Felipe to a better result than would otherwise seem available. If it stays dry, then we will finally see the pit stop marathon predicted for many months now, with three or four visits to pit lane expected per car. If every driver made at least three stops to change dry tyres that would make a total of 72 pit stops, because unlike Australia, the two Hispania cars qualified inside the 107% rule, so we will have the full complement of 24 cars lining up for the 4pm local time start.
For the record, it’s world champion Sebastien Vettel who took his second consecutive pole, although it was achieved in the very last seconds of the session, thus relegating Lewis Hamilton to second place. In the second Red Bull, Mark Webber, third, is the only non-champion on the top two rows, ahead of Jenson Button in the second McLaren. Fernando will have the Renault of Nick Heidfeld alongside him on the outside of row 3, while Felipe shares the next row with the German’s team-mate, Vitaly Petrov.
The top two rows of tomorrow’s grid for the Malaysian Grand Prix feature just two teams, Red Bull Racing and McLaren: no surprises there then, given that while many questions remained unanswered after the opening round in Melbourne, the superiority of these two outfits was clear for all to see. So, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro is pretty much where it could expect to be, with Fernando Alonso “best of the rest” in fifth place on row 3 of the grid. Felipe Massa admitted that, apart from the fact the Ferrari F150º Italia is not yet competitive at the highest level, he did not put together the perfect lap, so the Brazilian will be seventh, starting behind his team-mate, both Ferrari men on the advantageous clean side of the track. In addition, Fernando and Felipe used one set of new soft tyres to make sure of getting through Q1, therefore having one less set for the crucial Q3: but this cannot be seen as an excuse as that choice is a function of the Scuderia’s car not being on the pace of the best.
Thunderstorms, the typical Sepang cliché, have been notable by their absence this week, with just one short but heavy shower on Thursday evening. However, it does seem as though tomorrow sees the highest chance of thunder and lightning hitting the area of the track at a time when it could cause the most chaos in the race. In this case, the permutations are as endless as they are unpredictable and could help Fernando and Felipe to a better result than would otherwise seem available. If it stays dry, then we will finally see the pit stop marathon predicted for many months now, with three or four visits to pit lane expected per car. If every driver made at least three stops to change dry tyres that would make a total of 72 pit stops, because unlike Australia, the two Hispania cars qualified inside the 107% rule, so we will have the full complement of 24 cars lining up for the 4pm local time start.
For the record, it’s world champion Sebastien Vettel who took his second consecutive pole, although it was achieved in the very last seconds of the session, thus relegating Lewis Hamilton to second place. In the second Red Bull, Mark Webber, third, is the only non-champion on the top two rows, ahead of Jenson Button in the second McLaren. Fernando will have the Renault of Nick Heidfeld alongside him on the outside of row 3, while Felipe shares the next row with the German’s team-mate, Vitaly Petrov.
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