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Preview - Malaysia 2009 |
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Drivers: Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso), Jenson Button (Brawn GP), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), Nico Rosberg (Williams), Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) Q: Sebastien, can I start with you first. Your feelings about Melbourne and perhaps also a late start for you to the season. What were your feelings there? Sebastien Bourdais: Well, obviously like everybody knows we showed up in Melbourne with very little running of the car and it was kind of a test session for the first few days. Qualifying didn’t go well obviously for me but then in the race as usual it was a pretty eventful one and we fuelled to the finish when the safety car happened and tried a gamble and you can’t say it worked perfect but we still made up quite a bit of ground. It was good to kick off the season and to get things rolling and get both cars to the end of the race. I don’t know if we will eventually keep that point we inherited but it doesn’t matter. It is going to be a long season and both cars at the end will have a lot more development to come and hopefully we can improve our performance level. Q: Given the late decision that you were going to stay with the team do you feel that you were both physically and mentally prepared for the start of the season? SB: Yes, absolutely, especially as I had the opportunity to do 12 hours before that first race. It was good, just obviously the biggest problem was the knowledge of the car. We were still receiving parts and it was very difficult to know what was going to do, what to fix problems. That was the biggest challenge but obviously it will improve as time goes by. Q: Lewis, if I can ask you your feelings about this race. You have qualified fourth here both years though of course you had a penalty and raced to second in 2007. Lewis Hamilton: My experiences here haven’t been so bad. For sure we have not had the best result here the last year. I would have been third but we had a bit of a problem with the pit stop. But generally it has not been one of my strongest circuits but one that I am working very hard on and one that I really enjoy. The weather is always great, though it is not at the moment. I think it is the toughest race of the year due to the climate, so it is a challenge for all of us. This weekend is going to be very tough again and we don’t have as quick a car as any of these guys particularly here but we are doing the best job we can with it. Q: Tell us about your experiences with KERS in Melbourne. When did you use it and did you feel it was a benefit? LH: We used it every lap. It is the same for everyone else who has KERS. You use it as much as you can. There are some opportunities when you are behind sometimes to use it all in one lump which does definitely give you a little bit extra end of straight speed to get a toe and have a better chance of overtaking. But it still ends up with you having to overtake at the end of the straight with a late manoeuvre. But who knows? Maybe here it will be even better with longer straights. Q: And you expect to use it here? LH: As far as I know. We haven’t been told differently but we are fortunate that it is reliable enough at the moment but we definitely need to work harder to make it better. Q: Nico, fastest in three practices in Australia. How did you feel about the race though? Nico Rosberg: Well, unfortunately result-wise we didn’t quite get the best out of it during the race. For various reasons I think as a team we just did not do the best possible job. But it was better than we expected coming to Melbourne, finishing sixth and getting three points. We have to go away and be happy with that as a starting base for hopefully a good season. Q: You started third here in 2006 but you have had two engine failures here. Do you think that is a basic problem with the design concept in the past? NR: Reliability here in the past, this hasn’t been our strongest track. I have always been in good positions when we did stop but I still have high hopes for us here. We still have to be a bit cautious obviously because Melbourne is quite a different track than Malaysia. But definitely we have been a lot stronger this year than last year in Melbourne and we also did some set-up mistakes here last year which really hurt our performance which we have got on top of, so I am really looking forward to the race here. Q: You are quite optimistic? NR: I am very optimistic, yes. Q: Sebastian Vettel, tell us about the incident with Robert Kubica. What are your thoughts on it? Sebastian Vettel: I can only repeat what I said in Australia. Obviously I had a bad run out of turn one, Robert had more speed. I was on the soft tyres and they were pretty worn at that stage and he was on the hard compound. Then braking for turn three I was trying to defend my position. I was on the inside and was very cautious to start braking because I didn’t know how dirty it was there. He was braking a little bit later. Under braking I was catching up and I was more or less side-by-side. Then at some stage I noticed that he was pulling to the apex and doesn’t give me a lot of room. I tried to avoid contact but at that point there was no chance to get out of there, so I was already far to the right, running over the kerb and then we made contact. I lost my front wing and after that point I had no control over the car, so it was a bit of a shame that it meant the end the race for both of us. That’s basically it, not much more to tell you. |
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Q: And racing with a penalty here? SV: Of course I am not happy with the penalty. For me it was a racing incident. Obviously there is no logic behind taking him out of the race because I took him out of the race as well. It is not just a shame for him but also for us. We had a strong weekend and a strong race and just a couple of laps to finish and we didn’t make it, so of course it is a shame. But we have to try to make the best possible job. I think we have a good car. I think we brought a good car to Australia and hopefully to here as well. The circuit is slightly different and the weather as Lewis said is not good at the moment. Let’s see on Sunday and we will push very hard to get the best possible result on Sunday. Q: Kimi, can I ask you about your experiences with KERS last weekend? Was it of use to you and how much did you use it? Kimi Raikkonen: I used it all the time if nothing is wrong with it. For us it has been better in testing, it was good there, so I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t use it. Q: And a two time winner here. This is obviously a good circuit for you? KR: I like the circuit. Sometimes it can be a bit tricky. It is a nice place, quite a bit different from others. It is very humid here. When it rains, it rains heavily, so we will see how it is this weekend. Q: Would you say you are more optimistic than you were in Australia? KR: I mean the end result could have been pretty okay without my accident. Probably the speed is not where we want to be right now but this is a completely different place. It is more like a normal circuit compared to Australia, so we will see how we can do here but I still think that our car is not too bad, so we should be able to get good results once we get everything going well. Q: Jenson, have you come down since Melbourne? Jenson Button: Yeah, definitely. It is only a week between races, so you are straight back into it. It has obviously been a great feeling after the weekend in Melbourne. I think it was a very special weekend, for myself and for the whole team but we very quickly had to look forward to the next chapter and look forward to the race this weekend. Q: This circuit has been quite good for you. You have had a front row start and a couple of third places here. How good is the car going to be and how optimistic are you about the car as you have tested it on a couple of circuits and it’s been very competitive there. It was very competitive in Australia. Is it going to be a car that is good everywhere? JB: You have got to hope so. In winter testing we were strong on two different circuits, strong in Melbourne, and you would expect us to be competitive here. Nobody knows yet how competitive compared to the rest of the field. But I enjoy this circuit. I really do. It is a very fast flowing circuit and I think it will suit our car pretty well. There are some very low speed corners which I think will suit us. Also, mechanically our car is strong. I am looking forward to getting out on the circuit tomorrow. Weather-wise it is going to be a lot trickier this weekend than in Melbourne. We had a few safety cars thrown into the mix to make it exciting but here with the weather it is going to bedifficult to know what is going to happen over the race weekend. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Q: (Frederic Ferret - L’Equipe) Jenson, how do you feel to have the best car? JB: It is a new feeling and it feels great. I think a few of us have sat here and been in competitive cars in the past. It is obviously a good feeling. The strange thing is after the winter we had and the last couple of years you do the first race and you win it and it is obviously exciting and quite emotional but you get over that pretty quick and you are on to the next race. You get used to being at the front very quickly, I suppose it is because it’s what we have all done in the categories leading up to Formula One. Q: (Will Buxton - Australasian Motor Sport News) A question to everyone on the subject of KERS. Do you see it more as an offensive or defensive button at the moment? Are you using it more to overtake people than stop people overtaking you? To the guys that don’t have KERS, are you finding it is being used to overtake you or stop you overtaking somebody? NR: I had an eventful race racing against a lot of people who had KERS and I found it quite challenging for myself actually because especially to overtake was difficult but then to defend was very difficult against people that did have KERS just because they come at you very quickly. That made it quite challenging but I guess that is what the sport needs, so from that point of view it was quite good. LH: I think it was perhaps better for defending. If you have a bad exit of some sort and there is a quick car behind you, for example, the Toyota couldn’t get close enough to out-brake me into some of the corners. Obviously at the end of the slipstream it is right at the end, into the corner, that you are overtaking someone and you know you can get close enough to do that. It was an advantage in terms of defending. KR: We use it for lap time. Of course it can help you overtake or defending your position at some places but it really depends what happens during the race where you are going to use it. SV: I think mainly the people use it to get an advantage on the lap time and then of course it can help you in the races maybe sometimes to pass or defend. Mainly we are using it to gain performance otherwise it would not make sense to run it. Q: (Sarah Holt - BBC Sport) Jenson, you’ve been distracted by the weather. You go into this race favourite to win back-to-back victories. Are you worried that the forecast wet weather and diminishing light with the late staging of the race could undermine your performance this weekend? We know that Rubens is super-strong in the wet. Can you explain a little bit about your approach to driving in the wet? JB: Well, I’ve actually done OK driving in the wet myself, so I’m not too worried about that. The last two years we’ve come to circuits hoping for rain because it throws a bit of excitement into the race for us because we would normally be hanging around at the back but here, when you’ve got a quick car you obviously want it to be dry and you don’t want any safety cars, you don’t even want a breath of wind. So for sure, I would rather it was just dry this weekend but looking at the weather forecast it’s going to be storms in the afternoons and obviously it’s a five o’ clock race. It makes it more difficult and a bit more challenging for sure but we’ll take it in our stride hopefully and hopefully have a good car in the wet. We haven’t tested in the wet yet with our car but it’s a good car and we’ve just got to hope it works in the wet. The only thing we’ve got to work out is the front wing angles and what-have-you because previous cars we’ve had we’ve had to adjust massively for the wet conditions, so hopefully we’re going to have some wet running before the race. Q: (Paulo Ianieri - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, we are waiting for the stewards’ decision but can you tell us what has changed from Sunday to today that they had to reconsider everything and listen to both you and Jarno? LH: Well, all I can really say is that they are obviously trying to resolve the situation and looking into more detail whether the penalty for Jarno was fair and that’s all I can really say. Q: (Paulo Ianieri - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Has it to do with some interviews and quotes after the race or some comments between you and your team engineer on the radio? LH: It’s just to do with information that they have. I shouldn’t really talk too much about it. It’s being resolved at the moment, so we have to wait and see what happens. Q: (Juha Paatalo - Financial Times Germany) This one is for Kimi and Lewis: theoretically, the KERS should be an advantage at restarts but in Melbourne it didn’t seem to help at all. Do you think that was because of cool tyres and are you expecting a different picture at other races? KR: As I said, it depends on many different things, it’s not just that you get 80 horsepower and you are going to get around somebody or you can pass easily. It’s always if your car is good or it’s not good and if you get a good run on him, or he gets the jump on you at the restart. It’s just not pretty straightforward thinking. At the start, it definitely helps but at a restart it’s not so easy. LH: The tyres are just the issue, I think, getting heat back into the tyres is what stops everyone from overtaking. Q: (James Allen - Financial Times) Can I ask Lewis and Kimi how many seconds after you launch the car do you feel the boost from KERS? I realise you have to get to 100km/h before you can actually use it but how many seconds is it then before you feel the kick up your back? LH: I haven’t been using it at the starts and I didn’t use it at my start in Melbourne. You can press it whenever you want, as far as I know. You feel a little bit of a boost of power which is cool. When you press it, it seems to work. Q: (Will Buxton - Australasian Motor Sport News) One for everybody on tyres: how much is the wider gap affecting you guys in the race, how much is it going to change strategy over the coming races? JB: I think they’ve done it to make it more exciting between the tyres choices and a few more different strategies. Obviously it made a big difference with the safety cars in Melbourne because the softer tyre was graining for most people, so it threw it up in the air a little bit which was good. Here we have a soft tyre and a hard tyre. The hard tyre we haven’t run yet in testing, so that’s going to be interesting to see if we can get it to work here. I think it’s going to take a couple of laps to get heat into it. It’s going to be difficult to work out which is the better tyre and which is the tyre for the race but that’s obviously what we’ll be doing tomorrow. KR: For sure it makes the race much more exciting when somebody has the harder and somebody the softer tyres, so it makes the lap time difference much bigger between the cars, so you can see some overtaking. It’s also a little bit tricky to get them working in the way you want sometimes. For us the soft tyre didn’t last very long, so we just came in and changed the tyres, it was a good move. Everybody needs to suffer on the worse tyre at some point in the race. For us, we decided to start with them. SV: I think it has an effect on your strategy. You could see everyone was struggling the whole weekend to make the soft tyre last and therefore the majority of the people pitted very late for the last stop and had a very, very short last stint. It’s always tricky, in a way. We asked for a wider separation between soft and hard. In Australia there was quite an extreme wide separation as the hard ones were difficult to warm up and the soft ones were difficult to keep alive. We will see how the tyres work here. I’m looking forward to the hard compound, because I think it’s a totally new compound and no one has had any experience on it yet, so we will see how it works here. SB: Obviously it’s a bit of a tricky situation when you have to pick your strategy and you don’t know when the safety car is going to happen. That’s really what makes your strategy work or not. If it’s a straightforward race and you know what’s going to happen then you make your choice, knowing what’s going to happen. You can be wrong, but there are less chances if it’s the other way round and safety cars start messing up everything, then it’s a big problem. Personally, I understand the reasons and obviously it makes racing very exciting. Personally I’m not a big fan of it because I just think it takes a lot of things away from the driver because you can’t control everything and it’s a bit artificial, but definitely for the show it’s a good thing. LH: There’s not really much more to say, they’ve all said it. There’s quite a big difference between both compounds but it makes racing more exciting. NR: I think it’s a very good thing for the sport, it makes it very challenging for the teams to get it right. It’s a big challenge to sort out strategy, what you’re going to do, how you’re going to do it, because there’s such a variable in it with these tyres. And for the racing it’s great, as we saw in Melbourne. I was a special victim of that, for example, just went backwards. I was just so slow on the softs because they just went away completely, but I’m happy with it, I think it’s good. Q: (Paulo Ianieri - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Jenson, do you think here we are going to see the same situation as in Melbourne with Brawn with a huge advantage over the others? Do you think it’s going to be tighter or do you expect even more (of a gap)? JB: I don’t know, we have to wait and see. I’ve already answered this question really, but we don’t really know how much advantage we had in Melbourne either. It’s difficult to say with the safety cars and what-have-you but it wasn’t a perfect weekend in Melbourne. If we get a perfect weekend here, obviously we’ll be looking strong but this is a very different circuit and I think that some of the other teams could be strong here. And I think that the cars with KERS, as far as we know, will have a bigger advantage than they had in Melbourne, so they are obviously to watch out for, especially Ferrari, so we wait and see. We hope we’ve got an advantage but we won’t know until qualifying on Saturday. Q: (Frederic Ferret - L’Equipe) Jenson, who do you think will cope with you as you seem unbeatable at the moment? JB: Difficult to say after one race, really, that we’re unbeatable. I don’t know. Red Bull were obviously quick, quicker than what we expected in Melbourne. I didn’t think that they would be the team that would be up at the front. I also think that Ferrari will catch up, they always do. Those two teams are the teams for me that are going to be competitive going forward and also BMW. It’s a very strange mix with teams this year. It seems to be very close, we seem to have a slight advantage and then everyone else is very close and in the mix. It makes it exciting and I think different people will stand out at this race. Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, can you give us your version, your point-of-view of what happened last Sunday at the end of the race? LH: I just said&ldots; I’m sorry, I’m usually happy to answer these questions but the situation is being resolved at the moment, so I think it’s probably improper for me to talk about it or discuss it now but for sure, afterwards we can talk about it. Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) And I would just like to know from all of you if only the weather can change the first two steps on the podium for Sunday? JB: I hope not. Apart from that, what can I say? SB: I think if it rains like this we will need to organise a boat race. KR: It can change anything or everything if it rains like it was raining just now. We will see what happens. JB: If it’s raining like that it’s about keeping on the circuit, and I’ve struggled with that in the past couple of years in the wet. SV: I think it can, yes, you’ve already seen in the past - obviously I’m not that old, so I haven’t got that much experience - but I think there have been a lot of races where, in the wet conditions it mixes up the field and also sometimes it happens that the podium looks different. Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sorry, my question was can only the weather make the change, the difference? Is there somebody else who can fight for victory in this Grand Prix? JB: Rubens? LH: When it’s wet for sure it makes it more of a lottery for everyone. It becomes more of a challenge for everyone. It’s not necessarily the fastest cars that can win. It’s who can keep the car on the track and who is in the right place at the right time, so for sure anyone from the back can have the same opportunity as the one at the front. SB: Who knows? We don’t even know what this car is like in the rain, so I don’t think we can really give an answer to this. NR: To answer the question, if it doesn’t rain then Brawn Grand Prix should win and if it does rain then things might look a little bit different but the rain is the only chance that we all have, I think, to change that in some way. Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo) To all drivers: if the FIA confirms that the cars from Brawn, Toyota and Williams are all legal, as is very possible, do you think that we will have a new start to the season at the Spanish Grand Prix with all teams changing their cars and new teams will come to the top and others going down? JB: Barcelona is the first race where I think you will see packages on cars. Everyone’s going to be making a step forward this year and obviously there is a mass of rule changes, so people could make big, big steps forward, I think, coming into the European races. And for sure, all of the cars at the front will have to watch out for that. The season is not over, we’ve only had one race and I think that with the rule changes, people can make big steps forward. It’s about us being able to keep up with them more than anything, with the steps in performance. |
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Following a sensational debut race weekend in Australia where Jenson Button led Brawn GP to its first Grand Prix victory, the team headed straight to Malaysia for Round Two of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship. This weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix takes place on Sunday 5 April at the Sepang International Circuit close to Kuala Lumpur. The 56-lap race is one of the toughest on the calendar due to the punishing heat and humidity coupled with the challenge of the circuit's demanding corners, long straights and bumpy asphalt. This year's race will be the 11th to be held at the Herman Tilke designed track which was built on the site of a 260-hectare swamp. The 5.54km (3.44 mile) circuit sees the cars average 210kph (130mph) around its 15 turns. Brawn GP will be hoping to build on its successful weekend in Melbourne which sees the team leading the Constructors' Championship with 18 points and Jenson Button leading the Drivers' Championship with 10 points.
A dream start
to the season in Australia. Can you follow up that level of
performance in Malaysia?
With such an
impressive opening weekend, what are your thoughts ahead of the
second race of the season?
What are the
particular challenges of the Malaysian Grand Prix? |
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Australian GP winner Jenson Button will be one of six drivers to field questions during Thursday's press conference in Malaysia.
All times are
local - (Sepang is GMT +8)
Martin Whitmarsh
(McLaren Mercedes)
Saturday, April
4 - post qualifying
Sunday, April 5
- post race
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The ING Renault F1 Team reflects on the opening race of the season in Melbourne and looks ahead to this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang. Fernando Alonso: “I expect our car to be more suited to Sepang” Fernando, Australia was a tough weekend for the team, yet you must be happy to come away with four points... Yes, considering how our weekend went in Australia, we have to be happy to have come away with some points. I lost a lot of positions at the start of the race as I had to avoid the first corner accident in front of me and from then on I was at the back of the field and fighting to recover the lost ground. As usual the first race of the year was quite eventful and in the closing stages we were able to take advantage of the incidents to move up into fifth position. Although it’s nice to have the points, we know we must work hard to improve the car, but we have the belief that we can do that. Looking ahead to Sepang in Malaysia, what areas do you feel you need to concentrate on? In Australia we struggled in qualifying and our race suffered as a result. So we need to make sure we qualify well so that we can have a strong race. We also need to make sure we get the most from our KERS system at the start of the race as there is a long run to the first corner where it should make a big difference. We must also concentrate on understanding the tyres because Melbourne showed that the two compounds play a major role in determining the performance of the car. This will be particularly important in Malaysia where the track temperatures will be very high so we need to see how the tyres perform in these conditions. What are your expectations for the race this weekend? Sepang is totally different to Melbourne and so I expect our car to be more suited to the circuit. It’s a special track for me as I’ve won there twice and it’s probably my favourite circuit so I always enjoy racing there. There are lots of fast, sweeping corners and it’s a circuit where you can really appreciate the performance of a Formula 1 car. In terms of our competitiveness, I hope we will be stronger there, but as we saw in Melbourne all the teams are very closely matched and we will have to fight hard to finish in the points. Nelson Piquet: “I’m fully focussed on coming back with a strong weekend in Malaysia” Nelson, your race in Melbourne ended early, but until your retirement you were looking competitive... Yes, I had a really good start to the race and made up a lot of ground on the first lap, but after the safety car came out I started having some problems with the brakes. When the race restarted I was fighting with Rosberg and managed to get passed him, but when I touched the brakes they were totally gone, which caused me to spin into the gravel. Fortunately I didn’t hit anything and there was no damage to the car, but it was a real shame because I was well placed and I think we could have had a strong finish in the points. Tell us about the Sepang circuit and what it’s like to race there... It’s a very wide and open track which offers several good overtaking opportunities and usually produces close and competitive racing. There are two long straights where our KERS should make a difference and help us to overtake. In terms of the hot temperatures, it is always a very physical race for the drivers as well as the team, but I’ve been training hard over the winter to prepare for the season and so the heat and humidity should not be too much of an issue. How will you approach this weekend’s race in Malaysia? I’ve already put Melbourne behind me and I’m fully focussed on coming back with a strong weekend in Sepang. We know we need to improve our performance, but we also learnt a lot about the R29 in Melbourne and we will use that information during free practice to try and find a better balance with the car. As a circuit Sepang will also give us a better idea of our competitiveness as it’s a more conventional track than Melbourne and I’m looking forward to driving there. Bob Bell: “I’m confident we can do a better job in Malaysia” Bob, what was your verdict on the team’s performance last weekend in Australia? I don’t think we lived up to the expectations that we set ourselves before Australia. We thought we would be more competitive than the performance we actually delivered, although I suspect part of that is due to the nature of the track. Albert Park is a circuit that didn’t really suit the characteristics of the car and so we suspected we might be in for a difficult weekend. We now have to work to try and understand why that was the case and rectify it as best we can in time for Malaysia. Were you surprised by how closely matched all the teams were? Could this be a result of the new 2009 regulations? Yes, it was a surprise as there was a group of teams behind the Brawn cars that were particularly closely matched. That’s surprising as we expected the new regulations to spread the pack out a little bit more, which is what normally happens following a change of regulations. Normally you only get such parity when the regulations have been in place for a year or so as it allows the teams to converge on the optimum design solutions. It’s just surprising how close it was in Melbourne and it will be interesting to see if this continues in Sepang this weekend. The team needs to improve its competitiveness, how can this be done? I don’t think we have a specific problem. I think that we need to lift our game in several areas to get more aero performance from the car. We’ve also got to get the balance of the car a bit more to the drivers’ liking and work on the tuning of the KERS system to get more from it. So it’s a question of maximising what we already have in all areas rather than a specific problem to resolve. What are your expectations for Malaysia – will the circuit suit the car? The Sepang circuit is very smooth which should be more to our advantage compared with the bumpier surface that caused us problems in Melbourne. I also think the KERS system will be more of a benefit in Malaysia as the circuit has a couple of long straights and so I’m confident we can do a better job this weekend. With Australia and Malaysia being back-to-back races, we won’t be able to introduce any new developments in such a short space of time and so we need to concentrate on getting more performance out of our existing package.
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The circuit is a great challenge so it's a pretty full-on weekend for the teams. You arrive at the first corner in seventh gear, at about 310kph (192mph). There is a lot of grip from the asphalt, so you can brake really late before turning in third gear. The rear gets a bit light at this point. You then have the left hander at turn two, which is the slowest corner on the circuit. It's first or second gear and it has a camber change in the middle, so it's quite difficult to find the right differential set-up for it. Next comes a long right-hander, which is easy-flat even in the wet, and then you're braking for the right-hander at turn four. The braking area is really bumpy, which makes it a bit tricky, and then comes a really nice part of the circuit. You enter turns five and six in fifth gear, at 230kph (143mph), and the entry to turn five is almost flat so you really have to squeeze the throttle and make sure you have a very late apex. There's an immediate change of direction and at this point we pull about 4.5g. You might touch the brakes to stabilise the car into turn six, which is incredibly bumpy and the rear gets very light. Don't forget that we are still at 220-230kph (137-143mph), with not much run-off, and I really enjoy it! Then comes a double right-hander, which is easy to get wrong if you overdrive and it leads to a hairpin. It's first or second gear and it's very important to have a good exit because that gives you pure lap time. Then we go to another flowing section, which leads to the penultimate corner. It's very difficult here because you enter it very fast and the rear gets very light. You have to brake down to second gear while turning and the car is oversteering the whole time. It's very easy to overdo it. The last corner is another hairpin and we again brake very late, from 300kph (186mph), down to second gear.
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Whenever a team has a bad race weekend, the general feeling is always one of impatience to try again as soon as possible and after failing to score points in the opening round and only one car classified at the finish, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro gets a chance to redeem itself immediately this weekend, with Round 2, the Malaysian Grand Prix, at the Sepang Circuit, outside Kuala Lumpur. In Malaysia one of the key areas the Scuderia will be looking into from the start of free practice, will be optimising the useage of the tyres, as this is one area where the F60 appeared to struggle in Albert Park. One of the major changes in the rules is the fact that Bridgestone has been instructed to bring two types of tyre that are significantly different one from the other, whereas last year, the two types of tyre that had to be used during a race were often very similar in terms of wear and performance characteristics. The result is that not only do you have make your car work on two different tyre compounds, it has to work in two different operating ranges of temperature, for example a soft tyre that works at high temperatures and a hard that works best at lower operating temperatures. These rules are the same for everyone of course and teams have to find the best possible solution, which Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro clearly failed to do in Melbourne last weekend. Both Ferrari drivers started on the softer tyre in the Australian Grand Prix and although this did not work for Felipe and Kimi, it was not necessarily a bad strategic decision as other drivers did the same and went on to finish in the points. Tyres now seem more sensitive to individual circuits, because during winter testing in Bahrain, the team managed to complete longs on these same tyres with absolutely no problems. Another interesting element that came under the microscope after the first race of the season, is the effect of KERS on tyre useage. It was clear that, particularly with the super-soft, wear rates were higher than expected on the rear tyres because of the extra strain created by the KERS system. The team needs to continue analysing the best way to use it, having seen the advantage it brings, specifically at the start, where Felipe gained two positions (not counting the third, as Barrichello was just slow.) This means it is a useful tool, even if there might still be a question mark over its use for overtaking. In terms of reliability, the broken upright from Felipe's car has been taken back to Maranello for metallurgical analysis, to see if its failure was due to stress, quality control or some contact made earlier in the race. Its failure is all the more surprising as the uprights are one of the few components on the F60 that are virtually identical to those on previous years' cars. Kimi's differential problem is still under investigation after a quick look on Sunday night prior to shipping the car to Malaysia where a more thorough check will be carried out. The mood in the team was not the best on Sunday night, but Ferrari has been in this situation many times before and knows what it must do in terms of working hard to react. This is one of the hardest starts to any recent season, as the crew did not finish work in Albert Park until around four o'clock on Monday morning, flying to Malaysia a few hours later and on Tuesday morning, work was already underway on setting up the garages and preparing the cars at the Sepang circuit. The team is confident it will fight back, although there are bound to be some unknown factors in Malaysia as the race runs to the same late-start schedule as Australia, which means running the cars on track at a time of day when traditionally, tropical storms are commonplace. As to the question mark regarding visibility, there might still be one in Sepang, but instead of a dazzling setting sun, drivers might have to contend with a lack of visibility as darkness falls. As a general comment regarding the state of the championship after the opening round, the teams seem much more closely matched than last year, so that the slightest difference can result in drivers missing out on Q3 on Saturday, therefore more effort will have to be concentrated on qualifying performance this year, making better use of the tyre choices available, at the expense of looking purely at race performance. However, it has to be said that one team is, for the moment, going to enjoy a far easier time. For the other nine, the fight looks like being very tight.
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The Australian Grand Prix did not provide the points the BMW Sauber team wished for: Nick Heidfeld claimed 10th position, while Robert Kubica's almost-assured podium expectations came to an abrupt end three laps from the finish when Sebastian Vettel collided with his car. The BMW Sauber F1 Team now travels to the home of its premium partner Petronas for the second round of the 2009 World Championship. The Twin Towers, the company's head office, are a major landmark of Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang circuit normally takes place in extreme heat, making it one of the toughest races of the season for drivers, team personnel and the cars. Robert Kubica "We have a lot of fans in Malaysia and it is really a special feeling to drive there. The race went extremely well for me last year. Of course I hope that we can get a strong result again this time around. I'm really looking forward to this GP, as this is a unique track with a wide variety of corners; some are seriously quick, but others are very slow. And in some places you can choose different lines, which makes it particularly interesting. The final sector is very different from the other two, as it has just two long straights and a hard braking area. This track really offers everything, and that means it demands a lot of the car. The later start time means there is a pretty strong chance of rain. I'm sure that we are in for an extremely interesting weekend." Nick Heidfeld "For me Sepang is a nice, challenging circuit. Last year I managed to pull off some good overtaking moves there. The heat is always an issue, coupled with a high level of humidity. However, I've never had a problem with it and am particularly fit this year. We've often experienced cloudbursts in Malaysia in the late afternoon and early evening. This year's schedule increases the chances that we will still be on the track at this time. Hopefully it will still be light enough. I always feel very much at ease in Malaysia." Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering "We always look forward to this race in particular, as it's the home Grand Prix for our partner Petronas. The Sepang circuit is very challenging and places big demands on the chassis and the teams' choice of set-up. There are fast ess-bends in which stability is critical. At the same time, you need good traction under acceleration out of the tight corners, some of which are uphill. The right-hander before the back straight, which closes up at the exit, is especially tricky. Because the tyres are placed under heavy loads in the fast corners, in particular, in Sepang, we use the soft and the hard compound here. So we're driving a level harder on them than in Melbourne. Cooling is also an issue, given the high ambient temperatures. And, of course, the weather is very unpredictable. You always have to be prepared for rain here."
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The Malaysian Grand Prix has been a fixture on the Formula 1 calendar since 1999, with Sepang hosting its 11th Grand Prix this year. Prior to that the Malaysian Grand Prix was an event for other racing series, running intermittently from 1962-1995. Toyota Racing is quickly in action again with the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, following just days after the season got under way in Australia. Heat and tremendous humidity await the team this coming week-end. Toyota has proud memories of Sepang, which was the scene for its first Formula 1 podium back in 2005 when Jarno Trulli finished second. Last year the Italian again showed his mastery of Malaysia by finishing a superb fourth place while Timo Glock suffered an unlucky retirement when another car caused an accident. Jarno Trulli "I generally go really well in Malaysia and I have had some strong results there so I am approaching this race with great confidence. We achieved a great breakthrough in Malaysia in 2005 when I got the team's first podium in Formula 1 so I have good memories which will inspire me this weekend. Of course one of the big topics in Malaysia is the heat and humidity, which is quite a challenge for the drivers. It's not easy but that's why I train so much over the winter; I'm fit and it will be fine. Australia was a weekend of highs and lows but we showed that we are very competitive and I hope we can do that again this weekend." Timo Glock "I don't have much experience of racing in Malaysia because I was taken out so early last year, but from the practice and qualifying I know the conditions are quite extreme. It's also pretty tough on the cars and tyres as well but I can adapt quickly to different conditions and different tracks so I'm ready for the challenge. I said before the season started that our car looked pretty good and the performance we showed in Australia proved that. It's great to have good points on the board already this season and my goal is obviously to add to that this weekend. We have every reason to be optimistic." John Howett, President "Australia was a very challenging weekend for the team but we responded extremely well to it and the performance was a credit to everyone. We showed extremely strong pace in the race and all our work has clearly delivered a competitive car which we expect to show again in Malaysia." Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of motorsport tyre development "Sepang is quite severe on tyres as it has many different corner types and two heavy braking zones after long straights. This means the energy going through the tyres over a lap is considerable. Drivers will have to be careful not to lock their brakes, especially with the new generation cars which seem less stable due to the lower levels of downforce. High temperatures are usually a factor in Malaysia, and the later start time for the race is when we often see rain, so there are many challenges we could face. The hard compound we have in Malaysia is a development from the hard compound that teams used in pre-season testing. It has been modified to be softer than before, in response to feedback from the teams, however it is not a very big change and I am confident that it will be suitable. Management of the soft compound is likely to be the biggest challenge of the weekend, as we have not previously brought a soft tyre to Sepang."
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Lewis Hamilton “Firstly, we shouldn’t get carried away by our podium in Australia. Yes, we had a fantastic race but we’re all aware that our car isn’t capable of repeating that sort of performance on sheer pace alone. And Sepang is one of the tougher tracks on the calendar, one where we will probably be further from the frontrunners than we were in Albert Park. The track is both fast and technical so requires good mechanical and aero grip. It’s much more aero-dependent and rear-limited than Melbourne so it may highlight some of the shortcomings in MP4-24. Nevertheless, we’re all really encouraged by the progress we’ve made and I know we’ll be pushing as hard as ever to put more points on the board in Sepang.” Heikki Kovalainen “The Sepang track is a challenge because it requires several compromises to get the best set-up. There are plenty of long straights, where you ideally need lower downforce, but that gives the car a tendency to slide too much through the high-speed corners. The best corners are Turns Six and Seven – the fast left-right esses behind the pits. In the car, you’ve not only got to find the optimum balance, but also make sure the brakes and cooling are efficient, otherwise you’ll be in trouble before you get to the end of the race. The only difficulty for me is the heat; coming from Finland, we often see the same temperature-readings – but with a minus in front!” Martin Whitmarsh Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes “Despite a good result in the race, our performance in the Australian Grand Prix was not what we would like it to be, and the reality is that this weekend’s race in Malaysia is unlikely to offer a significant improvement in fortunes. Nevertheless, we are still pushing to introduce performance to the car – the close proximity to the opening race means there won’t be many large changes to the car but there will be several upgrades to existing components. For us, the mission is clear: we must introduce laptime to our car faster than our rivals to enable us to, firstly, catch the leading runners and then to be able to compete against them. It’s a task we take incredibly seriously and are confident that progress will be made sooner rather than later.” Norbert Haug Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport “With Lewis in third place, the season opener in Melbourne ended much better for us than we had expected after his 18th grid position. Compared to our test results in Barcelona two and a half weeks ago, we made a good step. This result was mainly due to Lewis’s perfect drive and a good strategy by our team. Moreover, some of the incidents in the race went in our favour. However, we cannot expect the same again this coming weekend in Malaysia. We all will work flat out to improve our technical package further – that’s a promise.”
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Kazuki Nakajima, Williams 2008 Qualifying - 22nd, 2008 Race - 17th “For me, Sepang is one of the most exciting tracks we visit during the year. That doesn’t mean it is an easy track, far from it, as it has some complex and technical corner sequences and some that demand special attention such as Turns 11 and 14 where your braking and turn-in sequence is different to say the least. Malaysia is closer to my home country than many of the places we visit, so I find it more familiar in terms of the culture, the food etc. I raced at Sepang in Japanese GT, so I am also a bit better acquainted with the place, but of course the heat and the humidity are quite exceptional.” Nico Rosberg, Williams 2008 Qualifying - 16th, 2008 Race - 14th “Just like Kazuki, I really like the Sepang circuit, it is fast and flowing and has a nice variation of corners that makes it really exciting to drive. The climate makes the racing very demanding for driver and machine. The heat and humidity means that it is physically exhausting and this is one track where the fitness training over the winter really pays off. I love the country, there is a nice warmth about the people too and like almost everywhere in Asia, I like the food, so it is a good place to visit every year.”
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Straight after the debut of Bridgestone’s 2009 slick Formula One tyres at the exciting Australian Grand Prix, Bridgestone heads to Malaysia for the second race in as many weeks as it faces the challenges of the Sepang circuit near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for round two of the FIA Formula One World Championship, the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix. The Malaysian event is the second of what will be four races in five weeks, giving no respite for Bridgestone personnel. The Sepang circuit is a severe circuit on tyres with two long straights leading into tight, slow speed corners which require heavy braking, putting high energy levels through the tyres. In addition to these two heavy braking zones, a wide range of corner types mean that Bridgestone’s tyres are kept under heavy loads over the course of a lap. The circuit layout is no tough, as the hot weather experienced here provides a harsh test too. Indeed, even when it rains in Malaysia, as it does frequently, temperatures remain high. Bridgestone will bring its hard and soft compound Potenza tyres. Previously in Malaysia, hard and medium compound dry grooved tyres have been used, so this year’s allocation has a softer tyre than has been seen here before. Also of note, this will be the first time that teams get to use the 2009 hard compound, as the current specification hard tyre is an evolution from that used by teams in pre-season testing. Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, said: Q: What are the challenges of Sepang? Hirohide Hamashima: “Sepang is quite severe on tyres as it has many different corner types and two heavy braking zones after long straights. This means the energy going through the tyres over a lap is considerable. Drivers will have to be careful not to lock their brakes, especially with the new generation cars which seem less stable due to the lower levels of downforce. High temperatures are usually a factor in Malaysia, and the later start time for the race is when we often see rain, so there are many challenges we could face.” Q: What are the implications of the tyre allocation? Hirohide Hamashima: “The hard compound we have in Malaysia is a development from the hard compound that teams used in pre-season testing. It has been modified to be softer than before, in response to feedback from the teams, however it is not a very big change and I am confident that it will be suitable. Management of the soft compound is likely to be the biggest challenge of the weekend, as we have not previously brought a soft tyre to Sepang.”
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Force India preview |
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Guide To The Track The 5.543km Sepang International Circuit, 60km from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, was built at the same time as the nearby Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The track was the first of the new breed of super circuits to be built by German architect and track designer Hermann Tilke. It formed the blueprint for subsequent new venues in Bahrain, Shanghai, Istanbul and Abu Dhabi. Tilke's trademark is to incorporate a national symbol into his designs, usually in the buildings. 'The structure of the grandstand roof is like a banana leaf,' he explains. 'You can see one shot of it, and you know it's Malaysia.' The first Malaysian GP was held in October 1999, as the penultimate round of the World Championship. The following year it was the final round, but from 2001 the race was switched to earlier in the season and paired with Australia. It has been the second round of the series ever since. Giancarlo Fisichella "Sepang is a very interesting track, for me one of the best circuits of the year. It's modern but it has a bit of character and I won here in 2006 so I have good memories. "It's a nice circuit actually, with many different types of corners. There are a couple of slow corners, for example turns one and two and again in nine. Turns five and six are high speed, fifth gear corners and turn 11 is one of the most difficult braking points of the season -- when you brake, your front wheels are on the right hand side of the track so the front is locking but just at the end of the braking you've got oversteer. It's difficult to get right. "Everyone says this is the toughest race of the season so it seems like a cliche, but it really is hard, both physically and mentally. It's hot and humid and the circuit is quite twisty, so physically it takes a lot out of you -- we sweat so much that at the end of the race I normally lose around three kilos of weight." View From The Pit Wall Dominic Harlow Chief Race Engineer This 15-turn track contains a variety of corners, from a tight second gear hairpin leading on to the pit straight to two high-speed sweeping corners at turns five and six and a fast double-apex right hander. With such tricky combinations of corners, braking stability is key, although with understeer predominating in the long slower corners, getting a good balance can be difficult. An evening race in Sepang is going to be about one thing, thunderstorms. As convective clouds build over the circuit during the day, the cooling conditions of the late afternoon trigger heavy downpours. For the qualifying and race sessions this could really mix things up. The larger difference in grip between the slicks and wets in 2009 could mean a test for the drivers, something that Force India are confident Adrian and Giancarlo will revel in. The Sepang circuit is physically demanding because of heat and lateral forces. The track surface is now quite old and with the substrate not fully compacted bumps have increased over time. For the engineers, the set-up here is one of the toughest of the season and with the soft tyre will be even more tricky. Vintage Malaysia GP Moments Eddie Irvine won the spectacular inaugural Malaysian GP in 1999, only for both Ferraris to be disqualified for having illegal bargeboards. The decision was later reversed, allowing Irvine to remain in contention for the World Championship going into the Suzuka finale.
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Toro Rosso preview |
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SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO TO USE KERS AT SEPANG CIRCUIT Although it wasn't planned to introduce KERS until later in the season, recent progress made at our Faenza R & D facility means that Scuderia Toro Rosso will now use Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems on its cars in Sepang, for the second round of the World Championship. In the interests of maximising car reliability in the high temperatures and humidity usually encountered in Malaysia, the KERS systems will not actually use the recovered energy to boost engine power in the usual fashion. Instead, the teams plan to use KERS as a sophisticated DCA (Driver Cooling Aid.) "We are indebted to Professor Hugh Masterby-Jerrkin of Imperial College, London for his department's assistance in moving this project forward so quickly," commented Wayne Kerr, Toro Rosso's Head of KERS. "While the team was racing in Melbourne, we came directly to Kuala Lumpur to evaluate the system in real conditions and for this we were given invaluable help by the Thermal Energy faculty of the Kuala Lumpur Polytechnic, particularly the head of department, Doctor Ku Lin `Ng Phaan. Energy recovered under braking is used to drive a refrigeration unit to chill down the cool store. This is connected into a special driver suit, so when the driver presses the KERS button (for a maximum of 6 seconds per lap) cold liquid is circulated around his suit reducing his body temperature. Studies have shown that an increase in core body temperature of just 1 degree can reduce driver performance by as much as 23%, and so while this system does not give any actual power gains, it should still be a significant performance advantage. |
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Formula 1's governing body the FIA has published the radio communication between reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton and his McLaren-Mercedes team that led to the British star being disqualified from third place in last weekend's 2009 curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. The transcript reads as follows... McLaren: OK Lewis, you should need to make sure your delta is positive over the safety car line. After the safety car line the delta doesn't matter, but no overtaking. No overtaking. Lewis Hamilton: The Toyota went off in a line at the second corner...is this OK? McLaren: Understood, Lewis. We'll confirm and get back to you. LH: He was off the track. He went wide. McLaren: Lewis, you need to allow the Toyota through. Allow the Toyota through now. LH: OK. LH: He's slowed right down in front of me. McLaren: OK, Lewis. Stay ahead for the time being. Stay ahead. We will get back to you. We are talking to Charlie [Whiting – FIA race director]. LH: I let him past already. McLaren: OK, Lewis. That's fine. That's fine. Hold position. Hold position. LH: Tell Charlie I already overtook him. I just let him past. McLaren: I understand Lewis. We are checking. Now can we go to yellow G 5, yellow Golf 5. LH: I don't have to let him past. I should be able to take that position back, if he made a mistake. McLaren: Yes, we understand Lewis. Let's just do it by the book. We are asking Charlie now. You are in P4 if you hold this position. Just keep it together. McLaren: OK Lewis, your KERS is full, your KERS is full. Just be aware. You can go back to black F2, black Foxtrott 2. LH: Any news from Charlie whether I can take it back or not? McLaren: Still waiting on a response Lewis, still waiting. McLaren: Lewis, work on your brakes please. Front brakes are cold. McLaren: If we are able to use one KERS that would be good. If you deploy KERS please do so now. McLaren: OK, Lewis, this is the last lap of the race. At the end of the lap the safety car will come in; you just proceed over the line without overtaking, without overtaking. We are looking into the Trulli thing, but just hold position. |