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