Malaysian GP week end

[ioan]

Given that no one did it I thought I'll start a thread for this week end's GP.

After 1st Friday practice session Ferrari and McLaren were showing good speed.
After the 2nd one Renault managed to beat Raikkonen's time and also the Mclaren's, now that's hardly surprising given that Renault were always fast at this circuit.
Massa managed to be fastest again.

[waitey]

im not worried to much about renault, both their times were right at the end of the session and i believe they were just low fuel quick laps whereas during the 2nd session i believe most teams were testing the car on longer runs, so i don't think renault's 2nd and 3rd placing is a key indicator of where they are really at at all. I still expect ferrari closely followed by mclaren then probably bmw just over renault or vice versa. bmw didn't do many laps compared to the others yet were still relatively on the pace, and as they are emerging as my equal favourite team with kubica my favourite driver i wish them a good weekend.

williams look to have had a good day too.

Any news on mark webber, from one source i read it was an engine failure and another source claimed they thought it was a gearbox failure?

and what about spyker and especially albers, the news just keeps getting worse for them.

practise session 1:
Friday, first free practice
Pos. Driver Team Tires Time Laps
1 F. Massa Ferrari 1:34.972 17
2 F. Alonso McLaren 1:35.220 24
3 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:35.712 22
4 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.779 20
5 N. Rosberg Williams 1:36.308 21
6 M. Webber Red Bull 1:36.522 20
7 J. Trulli Toyota 1:36.597 25
8 K. Nakajima Williams 1:36.885 15
9 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:37.052 22
10 R. Kubica BMW 1:37.121 12
11 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:37.484 7
12 S. Vettel BMW 1:37.837 39
13 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.882 20
14 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:38.143 24
15 G. Fisichella Renault 1:38.300 26
16 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:38.720 29
17 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:38.966 10
18 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.130 9
19 R. Barrichello Honda 1:39.234 21
20 J. Button Honda 1:39.331 17
21 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:39.357 9
22 C. Albers Spyker F1 1:40.074 25

practise session 2:
Friday, second free practice
Pos. Driver Team Tires Time Laps
1 F. Massa Ferrari 1:35.780 34
2 G. Fisichella Renault 1:35.910 36
3 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:36.106 37
4 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:36.160 33
5 N. Rosberg Williams 1:36.523 31
6 A. Wurz Williams 1:36.621 21
7 R. Kubica BMW 1:36.717 18
8 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:36.760 28
9 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:36.797 30
10 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:36.862 25
11 M. Webber Red Bull 1:36.906 18
12 F. Alonso McLaren 1:37.041 26
13 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:37.203 25
14 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:37.282 30
15 J. Button Honda 1:37.578 29
16 J. Trulli Toyota 1:37.712 34
17 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.855 26
18 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:38.334 27
19 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:38.419 28
20 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:38.650 20
21 R. Barrichello Honda 1:38.713 20
22 C. Albers Spyker F1 1:39.807 23

[janneppi]

According Finnish tv, Räikkönen wont need an engine change, today he drove with limited revs to get a feel for how the car needs to be driven if there is a problem with the engine.

[ioan]

According Finnish tv, Räikkönen wont need an engine change, today he drove with limited revs to get a feel for how the car needs to be driven if there is a problem with the engine.

Thanks for the info, glad to hear that!

[DimitraF1]

kimi with minimum revs?:P thats one i want to see

[Ian McC]

Super Aguri seem off the pace this weeked

[jens]

Seems that there aren't too dramatical changes compared to Australian GP. Renault is a question-mark, but probably the best they can achieve, is to match BMW.


Super Aguri seem off the pace this weeked

But still better than Honda though!

[BeansBeansBeans]

Super Aguri seem off the pace this weeked

Well, many people from SA (including Ant) have admitted that they hit the sweet spot in Melbourne, and probably over-performed, giving an innaccurate representation of their true pace.

They have obviously massively improved since 2006, but I can't see them regularly qualifying in the top 10 again this season.

[jens]

There were some causes for BMW's comparatively slow pace: Kubica had a gearbox failure and Heidfeld struggled with handling. So everything does not seem brilliant there. Btw, Renault has already downplayed it's fast times in session 2. At the same time Trulli was "mystified" by his slow pace in session 2.

[Ian McC]

But still better than Honda though!


Indeed, horrible performance from them :mark:

[stevie_gerrard]

oh :( its hard being a honda fan :p :

[N. Jones]

Renault is a question-mark, but probably the best they can achieve, is to match BMW.

The Renault has always been a pretty good car at Sepang and I think the practice times reflect that. I don't think we can look into it anymore than that.

[ShiftingGears]

Predictions!

Ferrari one-two led by Raikkonen, Alonso finishing third. Malaysian heat causes both RBRs to overheat and retire.

[PSfan]

Wow, Hamilton fastest in 3rd practice

1) L. Hamilton 1:34.811
2) F. Massa 1:34.953
3) F. Alonso 1:35.311
4) R. Kubica 1:35.385
5) K. Raikkonen 1:35.498
6) N. Rosberg 1:35.770
7) N. Heidfeld 1:36.160
8) A. Davidson 1:36.195
9) R. Schumacher 1:36.245
10) M. Webber 1:36.257
11) D. Coulthard 1:36.273
12) V. Liuzzi 1:36.297
13) G. Fisichella 1:36.434
14) A. Wurz 1:36.473
15) S. Speed 1:36.501
16) T. Sato 1:36.545
17) J. Button 1:36.658
18) H. Kovalainen 1:36.876
19) R. Barrichello 1:36.972
20) J. Trulli 1:37.473
21) A. Sutil 1:38.018
22) C. Albers 1:38.225

[Ranger]

Massa on Pole:



Pos No Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3

1 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.340 1:34.454 1:35.043

2 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.942 1:34.057 1:35.310

3 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.138 1:34.687 1:35.479

4 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:35.028 1:34.650 1:36.045

5 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:35.617 1:35.203 1:36.543

6 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:35.755 1:35.380 1:36.829

7 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:35.294 1:34.739 1:36.896

8 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:35.666 1:35.255 1:36.902

9 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:35.736 1:35.595 1:37.078

10 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:35.727 1:35.579 1:37.345

11 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:36.092 1:35.630

12 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:35.879 1:35.706

13 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:35.730 1:35.766

14 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:36.430 1:35.945

15 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:35.913 1:36.088

16 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:36.140 1:36.145

17 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 1:36.578

18 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:36.816

19 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:36.827

20 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:37.326

21 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 1:38.279

22 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:38.415

[Tazio]

Great finnish to the Quali.
Smokin' lap by FM!!

[jens]

Renault is really in a deep trouble. They got beaten even by three Toyota-engined cars and - even worse - by another Renault'-powered car!

The sudden downfall of Renault reminds me a bit of what happened to Ferrari from 2004 to 2005. How can a reigning World Champion get it so awfully wrong?

[Ian McC]

The Renault has always been a pretty good car at Sepang and I think the practice times reflect that. I don't think we can look into it anymore than that.


Well I guess we can now, not what was expected, at least from Kovalainens point of view he beat his team mate.

[andreag]

How can a reigning World Champion get it so awfully wrong?
Simple; the driver who made it possible is now on another team.

[Big Ben]

Indeed, horrible performance from them :mark:

Actually it´s just part of their new environmental policy. They refuse to waste fuel and pollute the air in Q3.

[F1boat]

Interesting qualy, McLaren seemed very close to Ferrari in qualifying.

[Garry Walker]

Simple; the driver who made it possible is now on another team.

Silly. Renault lost their co-operation with Michelin and are struggling with BS tyres. Alonso has nothing to do with it. Put him in the Renault at the moment and he would look like **** aswell.

Ferrari is just as quick as McLaren here, the people who were going into frenzy with Ferraris "superiority" need to understand only circumstances made Ferrari look so much better at Oz, in reality they only had 2-3 tenths there over McLaren on race pace.

[jens]

Simple; the driver who made it possible is now on another team.

Actually that can't explain everything. If Renault had dropped from 1st to 2nd or 3rd, then we might say that it's the result of the loss of Alonso. But from first to what? Sixth? No-no, it can't be purely Alonso's "fault".

[Erki]

I read that towards the quali, it started to drizzle. What's the forecast for the race?

[andreag]

Actually that can't explain everything. If Renault had dropped from 1st to 2nd or 3rd, then we might say that it's the result of the loss of Alonso. But from first to what? Sixth? No-no, it can't be purely Alonso's "fault".
Fisichella's times on Q1 and Q2 were 0.5 and 1.2 seconds slower than Massa; exactly the same he achieved last season on Turkey, Italy, Japan and Brazil. He's doing as he finished last year.

There's no improvement on his pace compared to Massa's, and Heikki is around that (adding some rookie mistakes). So Renault hasn't shown a better form than it would be without Alonso.

On the other side, McLaren times are closer to Ferrari than there were on the end of last season. The car has adapted better than Renault to BS, and to do this is neccesary a great feedback from the drivers, and McLaren has an advantage having a good test driver (PDLR) and having Fernando, who's very good explaining the car's behaviour to the engineers (apart from being faster than Fisi).

[ioan]

Fisichella's times on Q1 and Q2 were 0.5 and 1.2 seconds slower than Massa; exactly the same he achieved last season on Turkey, Italy, Japan and Brazil. He's doing as he finished last year.

There's no improvement on his pace compared to Massa's, and Heikki is around that (adding some rookie mistakes). So Renault hasn't shown a better form than it would be without Alonso.

On the other side, McLaren times are closer to Ferrari than there were on the end of last season. The car has adapted better than Renault to BS, and to do this is neccesary a great feedback from the drivers, and McLaren has an advantage having a good test driver (PDLR) and having Fernando, who's very good explaining the car's behaviour to the engineers (apart from being faster than Fisi).

Your logics are flawed. You can't compare last year's gaps wit this year's gaps without taking into account that the cars are very different this year (one tires supplier and different tires).

Renault simply have a flawed chassis, it happened to Ferrari too, in 2005, with or without MS, it happens to Renault now, with or without FA.

[ioan]

Fisichella's times on Q1 and Q2 were 0.5 and 1.2 seconds slower than Massa; exactly the same he achieved last season on Turkey, Italy, Japan and Brazil. He's doing as he finished last year.

BTW I forgot to ask, if you are already doing it what about comparing the gaps with the ones they got last season in Sepang?

[donKey jote]

I like your glasses andrea :cool:

[andreag]

BTW I forgot to ask, if you are already doing it what about comparing the gaps with the ones they got last season in Sepang?
I really beleive there're more differences in a car between Malaysia 06 and Brazil 06, than between Brazil 06 and Malaysia 07.

That's why I don't compare them from season to season. Everybody knew Renault was superior at the begining of last season, but not at the end, and the relative pace of both teams (Ferrari and Renault) is now similar to what it was at the end of last season, and completely different as what it was one year ago.

Of course tyres had an influence, but is not only Renault the team who has to change tyres; some teams have changed with a good result, and other teams were on BS but are lost this year.

The fact is that for two consecutive years Renault started the seasons on a superior pace, but its improvement through the season was poor (compared to other teams). McLaren started worst, but its improvement were clearly better.

This scenary has changed, and tyres is not the big difference, as both teams had to move to BS. So there's another reason.

And according to Campoamor (thanks Donkey jote):

"And it is that in the treasonous world
nothing is truth or lie:
everything is according to the color
of the crystal through which it is seen."

[Ranger]

Coulthard and Barrichello starting from the back of the grid:

http://www.formula1.com/race/news/5905/771.html

...Which makes the starting grid:

1. Felipe Massa
2. Fernando Alonso
3. Kimi Räikkönen
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Nick Heidfeld
6. Nico Rosberg
7. Robert Kubica
8. Jarno Trulli
9. Ralf Schumacher
10. Mark Webber
11. Heikki Kovalainen
12. Giancarlo Fisichella
13. Takuma Sato
14. Jenson Button
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi
16. Scott Speed
17. Anthony Davidson
18. Alexander Wurz
19. Christijan Albers
20. Adrian Sutil
21. David Coulthard
22. Rubens Barrichello

Noteworthy is that this is the first time Renault have not qualified in the top 10 since late 2002.

[RaikkonenRules]

Alonso wins from Hamilton and Raikkonen

1. Fernando Alonso
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Kimi Raikkonen
4. Nick Heidfeld
5. Felipe Massa
6. Giancarlo Fisichella
7. Jarno Trulli
8. Heikki Kovalainen
9. Alex Wurz
10. Mark Webber
11. Jenson Button
12. Rubens Barrichello
13. Takuma Sato
14. Scott Speed
15. Ralf Schumacher
16. Anthony Davidson
17. Vitantonio Luizzi
18. Robert Kubica
Ret Nico Rosberg
Ret David Coulthard
Ret Christijan Albers
Ret Adrtian Sutil

[RaikkonenRules]

Championship Standings using Moto GP System

Driver
1 Fernando Alonso 45
2 Kimi Raikkonen 41
3 Lewis Hamilton* 36
4 Nick Heidfeld 26
5 Felipe Massa 21
6 Giancarlo Fisichella 21
7 Jarno Trulli 16
8 Heikki Kovalainen* 14
9 Nico Rosberg 9
10 Ralf Schumacher 9
11 Mark Webber 9
12 Rubens Barrichello 9
13 Alex Wurz 7
14 Takuma Sato 7
15 Jenson Button 6
16 Scott Speed 2
17 Vitantonio Luizzi 2
18 Anthony Davidson* 0
19 Adrian Sutil* 0
20 Robert Kubica* 0
21 David Coulthard 0
22 Christijan Albers 0

Team
1 McLaren 81
2 Ferrari 62
3 Renault 35
4 Toyota 27
5 BMW Sauber 26
6 Williams 16
7 Honda 15
8 Red Bull 9
9 Super Aguri 7
10 Torro Rosso 4
11 Spyker 0