Malaysian GP - Within sight of the podium
Sepang, 10th April
Felipe Massa finished the second round of the world championship in fifth position, one place of his Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team-mate, Fernando Alonso. However, these bare facts hide the true story of the race that provided plenty of excitement for the fans, even without the much awaited Sepang storm and in which both Ferrari men had genuine opportunities to finish on the podium today. In the end, a malfunction of Alonso’s adjustable rear wing meant a straightforward passing move on Hamilton became a titanic and thrilling struggle between two worthy opponents. It ended when the Spaniard clipped the rear of the Englishman’s car, which forced the Ferrari driver to make an extra unscheduled stop for a new nose. Felipe too put in a spirited drive, although a slow pit stop dropped him down the order and in the end, Webber on fresher tyres was able to sneak past the Brazilian who had battled his way back to fourth, but had to settle for that fifth place. Eighteen points mean the Scuderia is still third in the Constructors’ Championship on 36 points, 14 behind McLaren and with half the number of Red Bull Racing the leaders on 72.
The race was won by Sebastian Vettel who thus has a full quota of points having won for Red Bull Racing in Melbourne a fortnight ago. Currently, the German world champion is in a class of his own. Behind him, there were several drivers who seemed ready to lay claim to second place, that position eventually going to Jenson Button for McLaren. Nick Heidfeld, who drives for Renault this year as the replacement for Robert Kubica took an impressive third place, which he built on by powering into second place at the start, from sixth on the grid.
As the lights went out Vettel led from pole, then came the unexpected Heidfeld, followed by Hamilton, Button, Petrov and then Felipe who passed Fernando at the hairpin, with Schumacher and Webber just behind. By lap 6 the two Ferrari men had got by Petrov and then as early as lap 10, Webber began the tyre changes. Three laps later, in came Felipe to switch from old to new soft tyres, but a problem on the left front wheel nut meant his stop was longer than it should have been and he dropped down the order, while Fernando, on the same three stop strategy came in next time round.
Lap 16 saw Fernando go fourth as he passed Button and then third as he moved ahead of Kobayashi. By lap 18, the Spanish Ferrari man was third, about 4 seconds behind Hamilton, while Felipe was in seventh place. From lap 22 onwards, the three stoppers came in for their second tyre change. Lap 30 saw Fernando fourth behind Vettel and the two McLarens and a few laps later, the Ferrari man began to close on Button, while Hamilton had a slow pit stop on lap 37. Lap 40 saw Alonso briefly second, but only because of the run of pit stops, after which he was right with Hamilton. Unfortunately, any chance of getting the F150º Italia ahead of the McLaren were thwarted by the fact Alonso’s moveable rear wing system was no longer working, but the double world champion is not the sort to give up easily, hence began a fantastic fight between the two men. Unfortunately, on lap 46, with 10 to go, Fernando’s front wing just clipped the back of his rival and he had to come in for a new nose, which effectively ruined any chances of a strong result. In fact, after the race, the Stewards gave both men a 20 second penalty; the Prancing Horse driver for causing an accident and the McLaren man for changing too often. Fortunately, while Hamilton dropped a place on the result sheet, Fernando’s time advantage was such that it kept him in sixth place.
As for Felipe, who made his final pit stop on lap 38, he found himself struggling a bit on the hard tyres and despite his best efforts, he was unable to fight off a recovering Webber, who on fresher tyres, eventually passed the Brazilian on lap 50 to take fifth place off him, after which the Australian also moved up to fourth when Hamilton, another one struggling with tyre wear, ran wide with three laps to go.
At the flag therefore, Vettel shared the champagne spraying duties with Button and Heidfeld (possibly the most delighted man in Sepang.) The other points went to Webber fourth ahead of Felipe, then Fernando was sixth, with Kobayashi promoted to seventh, Hamilton demoted to eighth, Schumacher ninth and Di Resta taking the final point for tenth spot.
For Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, the obvious conclusion, now reached in both races so far, is that the pace of the Maranello car is much better in the race than in qualifying. This alone will not be enough to win races and there has been plenty of talk all this weekend from senior personnel in the team, indicating that the technical battle is only just beginning,as everyone in the factory prepares to ramp up efforts in developing the car. Already there are updates making their way to Shanghai where the Chinese Grand Prix takes place in just one week’s time.
Felipe Massa finished the second round of the world championship in fifth position, one place of his Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team-mate, Fernando Alonso. However, these bare facts hide the true story of the race that provided plenty of excitement for the fans, even without the much awaited Sepang storm and in which both Ferrari men had genuine opportunities to finish on the podium today. In the end, a malfunction of Alonso’s adjustable rear wing meant a straightforward passing move on Hamilton became a titanic and thrilling struggle between two worthy opponents. It ended when the Spaniard clipped the rear of the Englishman’s car, which forced the Ferrari driver to make an extra unscheduled stop for a new nose. Felipe too put in a spirited drive, although a slow pit stop dropped him down the order and in the end, Webber on fresher tyres was able to sneak past the Brazilian who had battled his way back to fourth, but had to settle for that fifth place. Eighteen points mean the Scuderia is still third in the Constructors’ Championship on 36 points, 14 behind McLaren and with half the number of Red Bull Racing the leaders on 72.
The race was won by Sebastian Vettel who thus has a full quota of points having won for Red Bull Racing in Melbourne a fortnight ago. Currently, the German world champion is in a class of his own. Behind him, there were several drivers who seemed ready to lay claim to second place, that position eventually going to Jenson Button for McLaren. Nick Heidfeld, who drives for Renault this year as the replacement for Robert Kubica took an impressive third place, which he built on by powering into second place at the start, from sixth on the grid.
As the lights went out Vettel led from pole, then came the unexpected Heidfeld, followed by Hamilton, Button, Petrov and then Felipe who passed Fernando at the hairpin, with Schumacher and Webber just behind. By lap 6 the two Ferrari men had got by Petrov and then as early as lap 10, Webber began the tyre changes. Three laps later, in came Felipe to switch from old to new soft tyres, but a problem on the left front wheel nut meant his stop was longer than it should have been and he dropped down the order, while Fernando, on the same three stop strategy came in next time round.
Lap 16 saw Fernando go fourth as he passed Button and then third as he moved ahead of Kobayashi. By lap 18, the Spanish Ferrari man was third, about 4 seconds behind Hamilton, while Felipe was in seventh place. From lap 22 onwards, the three stoppers came in for their second tyre change. Lap 30 saw Fernando fourth behind Vettel and the two McLarens and a few laps later, the Ferrari man began to close on Button, while Hamilton had a slow pit stop on lap 37. Lap 40 saw Alonso briefly second, but only because of the run of pit stops, after which he was right with Hamilton. Unfortunately, any chance of getting the F150º Italia ahead of the McLaren were thwarted by the fact Alonso’s moveable rear wing system was no longer working, but the double world champion is not the sort to give up easily, hence began a fantastic fight between the two men. Unfortunately, on lap 46, with 10 to go, Fernando’s front wing just clipped the back of his rival and he had to come in for a new nose, which effectively ruined any chances of a strong result. In fact, after the race, the Stewards gave both men a 20 second penalty; the Prancing Horse driver for causing an accident and the McLaren man for changing too often. Fortunately, while Hamilton dropped a place on the result sheet, Fernando’s time advantage was such that it kept him in sixth place.
As for Felipe, who made his final pit stop on lap 38, he found himself struggling a bit on the hard tyres and despite his best efforts, he was unable to fight off a recovering Webber, who on fresher tyres, eventually passed the Brazilian on lap 50 to take fifth place off him, after which the Australian also moved up to fourth when Hamilton, another one struggling with tyre wear, ran wide with three laps to go.
At the flag therefore, Vettel shared the champagne spraying duties with Button and Heidfeld (possibly the most delighted man in Sepang.) The other points went to Webber fourth ahead of Felipe, then Fernando was sixth, with Kobayashi promoted to seventh, Hamilton demoted to eighth, Schumacher ninth and Di Resta taking the final point for tenth spot.
For Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, the obvious conclusion, now reached in both races so far, is that the pace of the Maranello car is much better in the race than in qualifying. This alone will not be enough to win races and there has been plenty of talk all this weekend from senior personnel in the team, indicating that the technical battle is only just beginning,as everyone in the factory prepares to ramp up efforts in developing the car. Already there are updates making their way to Shanghai where the Chinese Grand Prix takes place in just one week’s time.
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