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Apexhead's 2012 F1 Malaysian Gp Preview - Thoughts & Questions Heading Into Malaysia
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Jack Acid
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F1 2012 Season,
F1 Commentary
23 April 2012
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Formula One Formula 1 F1 Preview Malaysian GP
Melbourne proved to be an opener with plenty of surprises to start the 2012 season. Some questions that there were raised for me, heading into Round 2 in Malaysia:
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1. Will the pace of Lotus hold?
I did not expect the pace that Romaine Grojean brought into Melbourne qualifying, starting 3rd. Unfortunately on race day, an incident with Maldanado on Lap 1 ensured Grojean’s afternoon ended in disappointment. Meanwhile, Kimi struggled in qualifying 19th, but had a strong race day and ended up finishing 7th (helped by Nico faltering late after taking minor damage from a late crash).
Both Kimi and Grojean had strong qualifying showings for Malaysia, with Kimi starting 5th and Grojean starting 7th.
Let’s see if Lotus can exploit on race day but one thing is clear — once Kimi has the rust brushed off, this team could be competing all season long.
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2. Will the real Mercedes please stand up?
Both Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg had outstanding qualifying sessions in Melbourne, but race day ended in bitter disappointment. Michael started 4th, but had a minor off but it was enough to ruin his gearbox and he was out after lap 10. Nico, who started 7th, fell behind on the final laps after picking up some debris from a hard crash by Maldanado.
Once again, Mercedes showed well in qualifying in Malaysia, but will that translate on race day?
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3. Sauber, Williams and Force India, oh my!
Just asking, but where was Force India? I expected Di Resta and Hulklenberg to edging into a Tier 2 team this year, but that may be premature, especially with such young talent behind the wheel.
Despite the bottom line results, Williams had to feel good about their potential this year, at least in the hands of Pastor Maldanado. He was holding a surprising 6th with only a couple laps to go, but got caught out pushing for Alonso’s 5th and a hard crash into the wall brought his ambitions to screeching halt. Senna, who survived significant contact early on in the race, was at least able to finish the race, despite a meager 16th place.
I was very taken with Sauber’s pace. Kobayashi finished a strong 6th and the young Mexican Sergio Perez manged to only pit once and finished a decent 8th. Very curious how this team will progress as the season goes on.
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4. Massa’s seat just got to boiling temperatures. It’s no secret that Ferrari’s F2012 has been a complete disaster. Both Massa and Alonso had horrible practice and qualifying sessions in Melbourne, needing to go to the option tires in Q1 just to make Q2. But Alonso ensured a decent point result for Ferrari, coming in 5th while Massa was retired after lap 46 after a bizarre collision with Bruno Senna.
Massa has been handed a brand new chassis for Malaysia and it’s time to see how much is the car, and how much is the driver.
Another poor showing in Malaysia could have people asking not IF Massa is replaced, but rather, WHEN and with WHO?
Can’t wait for the lights to go out.
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1. Will the pace of Lotus hold?
I did not expect the pace that Romaine Grojean brought into Melbourne qualifying, starting 3rd. Unfortunately on race day, an incident with Maldanado on Lap 1 ensured Grojean’s afternoon ended in disappointment. Meanwhile, Kimi struggled in qualifying 19th, but had a strong race day and ended up finishing 7th (helped by Nico faltering late after taking minor damage from a late crash).
Both Kimi and Grojean had strong qualifying showings for Malaysia, with Kimi starting 5th and Grojean starting 7th.
Let’s see if Lotus can exploit on race day but one thing is clear — once Kimi has the rust brushed off, this team could be competing all season long.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Will the real Mercedes please stand up?
Both Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg had outstanding qualifying sessions in Melbourne, but race day ended in bitter disappointment. Michael started 4th, but had a minor off but it was enough to ruin his gearbox and he was out after lap 10. Nico, who started 7th, fell behind on the final laps after picking up some debris from a hard crash by Maldanado.
Once again, Mercedes showed well in qualifying in Malaysia, but will that translate on race day?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Sauber, Williams and Force India, oh my!
Just asking, but where was Force India? I expected Di Resta and Hulklenberg to edging into a Tier 2 team this year, but that may be premature, especially with such young talent behind the wheel.
Despite the bottom line results, Williams had to feel good about their potential this year, at least in the hands of Pastor Maldanado. He was holding a surprising 6th with only a couple laps to go, but got caught out pushing for Alonso’s 5th and a hard crash into the wall brought his ambitions to screeching halt. Senna, who survived significant contact early on in the race, was at least able to finish the race, despite a meager 16th place.
I was very taken with Sauber’s pace. Kobayashi finished a strong 6th and the young Mexican Sergio Perez manged to only pit once and finished a decent 8th. Very curious how this team will progress as the season goes on.
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4. Massa’s seat just got to boiling temperatures. It’s no secret that Ferrari’s F2012 has been a complete disaster. Both Massa and Alonso had horrible practice and qualifying sessions in Melbourne, needing to go to the option tires in Q1 just to make Q2. But Alonso ensured a decent point result for Ferrari, coming in 5th while Massa was retired after lap 46 after a bizarre collision with Bruno Senna.
Massa has been handed a brand new chassis for Malaysia and it’s time to see how much is the car, and how much is the driver.
Another poor showing in Malaysia could have people asking not IF Massa is replaced, but rather, WHEN and with WHO?
Can’t wait for the lights to go out.
