Wont be going to the race, but if I watch it at home, will update you guys about the weather before the race... If I am not watching it at home, then i cant...
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Wont be going to the race, but if I watch it at home, will update you guys about the weather before the race... If I am not watching it at home, then i cant...
Practice 1 times:
Vettel spun off after a brake failure, Webber's car blew up, Sutil's engine blew up, Coulthard's car fell to bits after an off.Code:Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:35.392 20
2. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:36.459 + 1.067 8
3. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.556 + 1.164 21
4. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.578 + 1.186 23
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.626 + 1.234 17
6. Alonso Renault (B) 1:37.022 + 1.630 18
7. Piquet Renault (B) 1:37.034 + 1.642 28
8. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:37.218 + 1.826 9
9. Button Honda (B) 1:37.282 + 1.890 17
10. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:37.540 + 2.148 24
11. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:37.649 + 2.257 17
12. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:37.649 + 2.257 18
13. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:37.776 + 2.384 20
14. Glock Toyota (B) 1:37.782 + 2.390 27
15. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:38.219 + 2.827 26
16. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:38.232 + 2.840 7
17. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:38.707 + 3.315 12
18. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:38.798 + 3.406 25
19. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:39.046 + 3.654 21
20. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:40.178 + 4.786 11
21. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:40.351 + 4.959 14
22. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:41.269 + 5.877 5
Felipe Massa dominated the opening practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix, lapping just over a second clear of the rest of the field.
The Brazilian led a Ferrari one-two ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen - despite the latter stopping with a mechanical problem just after the halfway point.
The Ferrari was retrieved under the red flag that was caused almost simultaneously when Sponge Bob thrashed another Red Bull
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/65929
Sponge Bob now that is funny as hell
I can't take credit for it however!Quote:
Originally Posted by fousto
The Scot appeared to run wide across the asphalt run-off on the exit of the 160mph turn 12, but the real damage was done as he attempted to rejoin the circuit and was launched into the air by a lethal kerb on the inside of turn 13.
HMMMMMMMM! Rejoining at 160mph over a turn kerb? Can't waite to see that one! I'm glad the lad is Ok!
You would think they would go over things like "how, and how not to use a "lethal" turn kerbs in safety meetings ;)
I can't take credit for it however!Quote:
Originally Posted by fousto
The Scot appeared to run wide across the asphalt run-off on the exit of the 160mph turn 12, but the real damage was done as he attempted to rejoin the circuit and was launched into the air by a lethal kerb on the inside of turn 13.
HMMMMMMMM! Rejoining at 160mph over a turn kerb? Can't waite to see that one! I'm glad the lad is Ok!
You would think they would go over things like "how, and how not to use a "lethal" turn kerb in safety meetings ;)
;)
Before this GP starts, let me say that Sepang has some incredibly technical places where you are either trailbraking into decreasing radius corners or making hard fast left-right transitions. Absent T/C, there could be alot of spinouts with or without rain.
.02
30min left of 2nd practice and Kimi fastest followed by Lewis, Massa and Vettel :eek:
practice are over and Lewis was the quickest, Massa 2nd, Kimi 3rd...can't wait for tomorrow's Pole :D btw Renault's are only 14th and 15th :s
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/65940
Red Bull Racing have been summoned to see the race stewards at the Malaysian Grand Prix following David Coulthard's incident in this morning's free practice session.
Coulthard suffered a spectacular accident when his car ran off the track at Turn 13 in first practice. The front suspension broke apart as it clouted a kerb, and he was pitched into the gravel trap on the outside of the corner.
A statement issued by the race stewards said: "Following a verbal report from the Race Director, the Team Principal and the Technical Representative are required to report to the Stewards of the Meeting to discuss the incident involving Car no. 9 during practice session 1 as soon as possible, after the end of practice session 2."
oh crud :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Malllen
Did mark cross 1000 black cats or somthing -jeeze! :(
2nd practice :
1. Hamilton (GB, McLaren) 1'35"055,
2. Massa (Bra, Ferrari) 1'35"206
3. Raikkonen (Fin, Ferrari) 1'35"428
4. Button (GB, Honda) 1'36"037
5. Vettel (Ger, Toro Rosso) 1'36"474
6. Trulli (Ita, Toyota) 1'36"493
7. Kovalainen (Fin, McLaren) 1'36"512
8. Kubica (Pol, Bmw Sauber) 1'36"671
9. Fisichella (Ita, Force India) 1'36"756
10. Nakajima (Gia, Williams) 1'36"838
11. Barrichello (Bra, Honda) 1'36"879
12. Rosberg (Ger, Williams) 1'36"908
13. Heidfeld (Ger, Bmw Sauber) 1'37"106
14. Alonso (Spa, Renault) 1'37"328
15. Piquet (Bra, Renault) 1'37"331
16. Webber (Aus, Red Bull) 1'37"7346
17. Glock (Ger, Toyota) 1'37"512
18. Sutil (Ger, Force India) 1'37"614
19. Sato (Gia, Super Aguri) 1'39"021
20. Davidson (GB, Super Aguri) 1'39"361
Bourdais (Fra, Toro Rosso), Coulthard (GB, Red Bull) no time
1st practice :
1. Massa (Bra, Ferrari) in 1'35"392
2. Raikkonen (Fin, Ferrari) 1'36"459
3. Kovalainen (Fin, McLaren) 1'36"556
4. Rosberg (Ger, Williams) 1'36"578
5. Hamilton (GB, McLaren) 1'36"626
6. Alonso (Spa, Renault) 1'37"022
7. Piquet (Bra, Renault) 1'37"034
8. Kubica (Pol, Bmw Sauber) 1'37"218
9. Button (GB, Honda) 1'37"282
10. Trulli (Ita, Toyota) 1'37"540
11. Heidfeld (Ger, Bmw Sauber) 1'37"649
12. Nakajima (Gia, Williams) 1'37"649
13. Barrichello (Bra, Honda) 1'37"776
14. Glock (Ger, Toyota) 1'37"782
15. Vettel (Ger, Toro Rosso) 1'38"219
16. Coulthard (GB, Red Bull) 1'38"232
17. Webber (Aus, Red Bull) 1'38"707
18. Bourdais (Fra, Toro Rosso) 1'38"798
19. Fisichella (Ita, Force India) 1'39"046
20. Sato (Gia, Super Aguri) 1'40"178
21. Davidson (GB, Super Aguri) 1'40"351
22. Sutil (Ger, Force India) 1'41"269
If it is a wet race, I'd put money on Button at least getting a podium in the Honda, just remember how fast he went in that barge of a car he had last year. In fact, I'm surprised I'm the first person to mention him in regards to wet weather racing in this thread.
Sleeper - no one has mentioned button in the wet because in the wet GP last year at mt fuji there where more impressive performances then buttons, the performance of webber and vettel spring to mind (before vettel screwed up obviously)
Drivers in the wet is a bit of a myth...it depends on the cars set up, castor mainly from my experience, and tyre condition and effectiveness, if good, gives the driver great confidence.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sleeper
e.g. 1995 I ran Ant in a round of the British kart champs in Northern Ireland after mediocre heats in the dry, It rained very heavily for the finals, he stormed thru from grid 18 to win the race by heroic proportions, by half a lap over the best drivers in the top junior(JICA) championship...it was pure set up, castor angles.tyre pressures etc that gave the driver great feel and confidence.
Sorry to spoil the myth of heroic Regenmeisters, there's no such thing, only good cars with the best set up, racing is luck and circumstance! Luck to be in the right place at the right time, that includes the car and it's position on the track.
If it's going to be a wet Malaysian Grand Prix, then I'm not trying to think, how many drivers will finish the race after having seen a dry Australian GP. :D
The probability of a safety car's appearance is probably smaller as the run-off areas are bigger. At Sepang it has rained only in 2001 and when it started raining, then quite a lot of drivers spun off immediately (some of them managed to continue though), so now with the loss of TC and the increase of drivers errors we might see something like that again (something like at the Nürburgring last year? :p : ). Watch out for Force India - one of their drivers might snatch a point in such conditions. :p :
Spot on! :up: I think right decisions are more important in the wet than pure driving skills. With good driving one might gain a couple of tenths per lap, but with the perfect setup one might gain a second or more per lap. I think a great result due to right strategical thinking should be rated higher than it's done (the credit is often given racing ability). For example Winkelhock made the right decision last year at the Nürburgring, which made him look good, although by pure driving speed he could have not been quick at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Schnell
Brains are the key for success in the wet, not exactly so-called driving skills. Several Schumacher's wet weather wins have been the result of correct decisions (like Esp'96, Mon'97, Bel'97, Mal'01). Also it can be said that Senna's wet weather racing is overrated. Besides a few races, where he had the best setup that made him look like a god, there were several wet races, where he did absolutely nothing remarkable (Snm'91, Esp 91 & 92 etc).
Surely there are some differences (probably bigger than in the dry) between drivers in driving in the wet, but they are not as big as one might suggest and it's often hard to say that who is exactly superior to another.
Who wants more specific analysis of today's tests, might look at here:
http://www.fia.com/resources/documen..._Lap_Times.pdf
Toyota's pace makes optimistic. The laptimes of Trulli's long stint were high 1:36's and it can be said that only two top teams (Fer & McL) were looking better at that area. If only that car stays in one piece during the race...
I agree too. Very often, a more detailed look at the results of supposed 'Regenmeister' in all wet races, rather than just the ones they did well in, shows that there's not much truth in the assertion. I mean, while you mention Schumacher's wet weather successes, one can't help but recall him sliding off at Monaco in 1996. All of this goes for other racing formulae, too.Quote:
Originally Posted by jens
Thanks for the info.Quote:
Originally Posted by jens
Also interesting is that the Ferrari drivers posted their best times at the end of 10+ laps stints, on the other hand Lewy's best time was set on the first lap of a 4 laps stint aka Qualifying simulation!
Kubica's gearbox was changed in FP1, but I can't find anywhere to say he is being penalised 5 places on the grid? Can anyone confirm this? It would be a real blow to him. He is starting to have some real bad luck so hopefully he doesn't get penalised.
Nick didn't show up too badly, would be nice if he got pole this arvo!Code:Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:35.019 18
2. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:35.262 + 0.243 17
3. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:35.388 + 0.369 17
4. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:35.389 + 0.370 20
5. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:35.437 + 0.418 16
6. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:35.653 + 0.634 17
7. Piquet Renault (B) 1:35.768 + 0.749 15
8. Button Honda (B) 1:35.781 + 0.762 19
9. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:35.827 + 0.808 16
10. Glock Toyota (B) 1:35.911 + 0.892 21
11. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:35.927 + 0.908 13
12. Alonso Renault (B) 1:36.068 + 1.049 14
13. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.183 + 1.164 14
14. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:36.229 + 1.210 21
15. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.490 + 1.471 7
16. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.529 + 1.510 16
17. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:36.618 + 1.599 19
18. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:36.668 + 1.649 15
19. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:36.908 + 1.889 14
20. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:36.939 + 1.920 21
21. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:37.140 + 2.121 12
22. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:37.703 + 2.684 6
Also, the rain is still expected (50% chance for Sunday), but only for late in the afternoon, meaning it may not have any influence over Quali or the race, although it was raining heavily from 5pm and through the night on Friday...
Given that top 10............ i'd love to see quali mixed up like that... would make for an interesting race, thats for sure.
Why are Toyotas so high after Q2? :p :
Don't know, but Pino is going to be happy that Trulli made 5th.Quote:
Originally Posted by janneppi
Massa must be running a short stint tomorrow, given the gap back to Raikkonen.
Huge from Trulli, can he translate that into a result tomorrow?
Sadly, no. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by osg
Massa and Kimi are probably on slightly different strategies!Quote:
Originally Posted by osg
I think everyone is running a little light with the threat of rain, and changing conditions.
I guess we'll see!
Indeed I am :D and I hope in the race bad luck won't hit him again :mad:Quote:
Originally Posted by gloomyDAY
Because finally Toyota's engineeres are listen to Jarno's advices :p :Quote:
Originally Posted by janneppi
Forza Jarno!! It was an awesome sight to see him taking P1 in Q1.
Toyota is very quick if anyone doubted about that before, but... there won't be much use of it if the car breaks down again. :rolleyes:
And also Felipe Massa - that was an incredible lap, half a second advantage. :eek: Where did that one come from? Such gap is big even for a few laps lighter fuel load. Hopefully he can keep it together tomorrow and respond to his critics. Ferrari is expected to be more competitive over race distance, so will the Reds have an untouchable race if it's dry?
BMW not so spectacular as at Melbourne - wonder, how competitive will they be over race distance, where they have had more struggle? Piquet seemed a lot better than at Melbourne.
Williams on the other hand was a bitter blow (16th and 18th?? :o ). Toro Rosso not that great either. It looks like such performances they showed at Melbourne, are rare occurances this season.
Surely if the car is reliable. Sepang is one of the favourite circuits for Jarno. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by osg
It will be interesting to see the fuel differenes between Macs and Ferraris, I suspect Massa might be sligtly lighter than Kimi, but not as much as the time difference in Q3 would indicate.
turns out Kimi couldn't quite get the feel for the F2008 on that last set of tyres.......... i still think Felipe is a slightly lighter than the Iceman.Quote:
Originally Posted by jens
I think the Ferrari really took to the new smoother surface of the track!Quote:
Originally Posted by osg
Heidfeld was held up by both McLarens on his flyer and was quite annoyed afterwards. He may have been higher up the grid if not for this:Quote:
Originally Posted by jens
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/4...0823552lm2.jpg
I'd like to see footage, but you can clearly see Heidfeld has to move off and back onto the racing line to take the corner because both McLaren's are cruising at 60mph on their in-laps on the racing line whilst Heidfeld is still on his flying lap.
Considering Glock was penalised in Oz for impeding someone in Q1, I think penalties are in order here.
And, voila...
Alonso and Heidfeld complain to stewards
Quote:
Fernando Alonso and Nick Heidfeld have complained to the stewards after they encountered slowing cars on their final qualifying attempts.
What I would also note that despite quite a challenging track for drivers we saw less mistakes than in Australia - probably the Oz GP was just an 'adaption weekend' for drivers. ;)
Laptimes from qualifying tell that while Ferrari was clearly fastest, then behind them both in Q2 and Q3 McLaren, Trulli and BMWs were within two tenths. Jarno has said that Toyota's race pace is even better than qualifying pace (and we saw that in Australia - he wasn't running too far behind Rosberg-Heidfeld duo before retirement) - it would be incredible if he could keep the pace of McLarens in the race!
The qualifying comparison between McLaren and BMW is quite similar to what we saw in Oz (if we conclude from here that the race pace is similar too, then McLaren should run away from the Beemers). But Ferrari is a lot better this weekend and has made McL-BMW duo look quite ordinary.
Expect to rise Williams in the race - hard to score any points though (in "normal conditions" without rain and Safety car mess of course). And maybe we'll finally get a proper comparison between STR drivers.
Both Heikki and Hamilton were on the wrong side of the track at that point. Did they forgot someone was still trying to get a lap. I'm not sure how much they slowed down others, but a 5 place grid position move downwards isn't too far fetched.Quote:
Originally Posted by Malllen
I agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by janneppi
But because Alonso AND Heidfeld were blocked....
10 places each? :D Would be interesting come Sunday. :p :
Fred wouldn't lodge a complaint against his old "con pinchy's" ;)