Malaysian Grand Prix

[BradSpeedMan 6]

agreed. But it looks like the clouds are saving up for a full assault on rush hour traffic later at KL

lol

[LabradoRacer 2]

Nice to see Kimi up there. With RBR's continued tyre-munching issues, Kimi is a safe bet if he starts from the front row.

[freaky2 1]

If it's a wet race it won't matter much whether the Red Bull is hard on the tyres, it will only get interesting if it's in mixed conditions like FP2. And I always say that Button wins in mixed conditions (Well, the mantra probably won't work this year).

[JHS18 0]

It could potentially be worse if the start were pushed forward. It almost never rains in the morning over here in KL. If we were to start the race at 2pm instead of 4pm, we will probably start hot and dry, but as 3pm comes along (the average time rain starts here over the past 4 weeks) we would effectively have a red flag situation because in the first 15-20 minutes of rain, visibility will drop to about 30meters at best, and that is one major hazard to drivers and marshals that will even trouble the safety car, never mind the racing cars.

My guess is that by starting at 4pm, they hope to get the initial downpour out of the way and run a wet/inter/medium race to the flag. Of course I cannot be certain, all i can say is the teams better keep looking at the clouds northwest (the usual direction of wind in the afternoon)

In essence what I would say is that if you wanted to see the indications of who's who this season, look at the times in practice and qualifying. The race will probably be a lottery so it wouldn't really have too much bearing on which teams are going to be strong all season. But do look forward to good racecraft, strategy and timely calls for tyre changes.

But since they moved the start time later in 2009, two races have been red flagged, with one being called before they even completed the full race distance. It is completely pointless. It was never really an issue before then, aside from 2001, and if my memory doesn't fail me, that wasn't even red flagged either.

Oh well, that's the last I'll say on the matter, I won't spoil anyone else's fun. Just a bit bored of F1 at the minute, particularly with the ridiculous weather situation....but I'll have to watch this race this weekend because I'm writing a report on it for a website I work for, so...

[Massa 0]

I'm not sure if Jules Bianchi just looks better because his the other three Caterussia drivers are weak or if he's a real talent, but his practice times are matching his impressive Melbourne run. He wasn't too far out of Toro Rosso range, either. I know he has vague Ferrari ties, but I'm sure that won't be the only team to notice him if he can keep this up. A reasonable target could eventually (one full weekend and a pair of free practices is just not enough to be giving the guy a promotion) be a Sauber placement, with help from Ferrari, should Nico Hülkenberg graduate to one of the top teams, as some people believe he could.

I'm happy to see Lotus and Räikkönen still doing well because I like to see competition from every possible direction. I wonder why a lot of people seem to ignore Räikkönen when discussing the best drivers in the world (or at least in F1, if you prefer). I think he's on par with Vettel, Alonso, and Hamilton. I hope he and Lotus can stay amongst them this year to keep the championship as well-contested as possible. It's fantastic to see a Red Bull built for speed going up against a Lotus built for tire conservation (which seems to be a bit of a knock on the car's speed, though it's actually as fast as any, it seems) with a Ferrari and maybe even a Mercedes close by, all four of which are driven by World Champions. These different strengths and weaknesses just make F1 so compelling.

Race weekends are definitely the best kind. This is going to be a good one.

[Jean-Pierre 0]

I live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Great to have live coverage! I'll do the same in Montreal.

Massa is on fire. A win and the nice relaxed atmosphere at Ferrari will suddenly dissapear!

[Jean-Pierre 0]

If it's a wet race it won't matter much whether the Red Bull is hard on the tyres, it will only get interesting if it's in mixed conditions like FP2. And I always say that Button wins in mixed conditions (Well, the mantra probably won't work this year).

Perez is extremely strong on wet and it would be just fantastic to see him against JB in such conditions.

[freaky2 1]

Perez is extremely strong on wet and it would be just fantastic to see him against JB in such conditions.

Anything that helps us make the comparison is bound to be exciting! But I fear the McLaren isn't up to much this year so intra-team battles will be the best we get from them for a while. Nothing wrong with it, but fights for the lower positions must surely be frustrating, maybe more for JB than for Sergio.

[Quiet One 15]

Impressed by Bianchi's pace

[Quiet One 15]

Ferrari guys are so useless. Their only job is to ruin Massa's chances yet they keep allowing Massa to outqualify Alonso...tsk tsk....

[LabradoRacer 2]

Vettel, wow. Pole by almost a second over Massa. Nice to see Massa ahead of Alonso, though it remains to be seen if Ferrari allow him to fight. Hamilton & Webber seem set to slide back during the race. Wonder if any of you have bet all your money on Webber losing places at the start. A pity Lotus doesn't have quali pace. Still chances are, Kimi will be on podium.

[freaky2 1]

Kimi has been penalised for impeding Rosberg so now he'll be starting 10th.

On a completely unrelated note, I predict Alonso for the win

[Massa 0]

Nice to see Massa ahead of Alonso, though it remains to be seen if Ferrari allow him to fight.

I like Massa, obviously, but he usually takes care of himself. For as many times Ferrari didn't let him fight, there were two instances in which he just flat-out lost the fight. Still, I'm happy his qualifying pace has been strong relative to Alonso for a little while now. It keeps the WCC closer, and gives him a chance to go for a win should anything happen to Alonso.

Moreover, Massa really would do himself a lot of favors to get ahead of Vettel on the start so he can't open up his normal early lead. While that gap did vanish quickly in Melbourne, it'd still be a big advantage if he could help keep Vettel from escaping Alonso, who could then eventually overtake both if the Ferrari is as good as he indicates it is. I think it was in Monza where he last had a "get to P1" mission, and made a really aggressive start. It didn't quite work out, but I assume the idea is going to be the same tomorrow.

What were conditions like for qualifying? It looks like they were on intermediates for at least some of qualifying. Could that explain the Lotus being a little slower, and Button exceeding expectations? I didn't see the session, so I'm just throwing stuff out there. If the conditions were a bit wet, it's no surprise to see Sutil doing well again. Given what we've seen so far, which is admittedly not much, I'd offer that those who voted for Sutil and those who voted for Bianchi in that recent poll were both correct. I've already forgotten the name of the guy Bianchi replaced at Marussia.

I really hate to see Williams falling off after last year. They had a strong car that probably could have done a lot more with a calmer Maldonado and a less mediocre partner. They weren't able to make the most of that, outside of a great win in what was an excellent Spanish Grand Prix to watch, and now they really have nothing there. Bottas was very fast when he drove the car in free practices last year, and I think that's more indicative of what he's capable of doing. I hope they can make some progress there. It's as if they're back in the Cosworth era.

If the forecast is accurate (surely it isn't), I think the race will be able to run as scheduled without stoppages, which is nice. That doesn't mean it will be fully dry, though.

Very interesting grid. I look forward to seeing how this one goes.

[Quiet One 15]

- Alonso is happy for Massa too, so he says. Of course, we know better

- Conditions were dry for Q1 and almost all of Q2. Started to rain in the end of Q2 and Q3 started very wet, then started to dry. Very complex as it was hard to tell how much it would dry off by the end of the session (it wasn't that much)

- Button didn't exceed many expectations. Basically, McLaren was nowhere again. People that predicted the apocalypse for Hamilton must feel awkward now.

- Williams improvement obviously wasn't so. They are a midfield team. Like you said, pitty because this year they have quite an exciting lineup, but the car is crap and, unlike Force India, they never seem to improve much so they depend more on some freak alignment of the planets to make a decent (top 10) performance.

- Sutil is doing great. As I predicted the apocalypse for him, I feel awkward.

- Bianchi. Watch that kid.

- Webber was nowhere close to his teammate. I expect an apology from McLaren any minute now.

[pabloh20 1]

Ferrari guys are so useless. Their only job is to ruin Massa's chances yet they keep allowing Massa to outqualify Alonso...tsk tsk....

Oh, how the boot is on the other foot now....................

[pabloh20 1]

- Webber was nowhere close to his teammate. I expect an apology from McLaren any minute now.

I think they are working on one for their own cars first.

[Kati 0]

- Webber was nowhere close to his teammate. I expect an apology from McLaren any minute now.

in mark's own words, "unbelievable".

[Quiet One 15]

I think they are working on one for their own cars first.

in mark's own words, "unbelievable".

I think McLaren merely got carried away with their new design and perhaps missed a few key points.

"Ok, beautiful stepped nose with vanity panel?"

"Check"

" Revolutionary Pullrod suspension?"

"Check"

"Inspired wishbone system in the rear?

"Check"

"Gorgeous redesigned sidepods?"

"Check"

"Great speed and balance"

"Uh oh..."

[Quiet One 15]

Wow, I just read that Bianchi was the only driver that never drove around Sepang until this weekend. Yet he managed to be 1.5s ahead his team mate. Either Jules is that good, or Max Chilton is a cucumber.

[Massa 0]

Being nearly a full second ahead of Pic in the Caterham, and only being a few tenths of Bottas and Vergne, makes Bianchi most impressive to me. I have a hard time concluding anything from his performance relative to Chilton because I believe that Chilton is the worst driver to make it to F1 in a few years (and yet still much better than the Jean-Denis Délétraz types of drivers who used to fill his role. He's the worst driver in an incredibly strong grid, which doesn't necessarily make him all that bad. I think it just proves how high the quality of "pay drivers" has become. Our expectations for who should be in a back-marking team are so high now that we think someone like Chilton has no right being there. In reality, the fact that guys like Chilton and perhaps van der Garde are all we have to complain about, two professional drivers who have won races in the top junior series, is just a hugely positive reflection on how much better "the rest" really are than they used to be).

I hope he can keep it up. I never expected this from him, and it's always exciting to see someone like that develop into a talented driver. I think some might appreciate someone coming up from a team like Marussia and going on to be successful, too, if Bianchi can do that.

[Guest]

Either Jules is that good, or Max Chilton is a cucumber

Bianchi is doing what all great drivers in the past have done - looking good in a crap car! It's not just the speed advantage over his team-mate, but his lines look very accomplished.

Seriously, Lopes and Lotus may want to consider poaching the kid, as RG has lost his mojo big style since he had the "chat" with the team during the winter.

Kimi will still be a good bet for the podium tomorrow and a good chance at WDC come the end of the year, but a better rear-gunner would help.

On a side note - today, they showed the 2003 Sepang GP on SKY F1HD and was soooooooooo dull. So please keep the tyres just the way they are - I love 'em!!!

[Quiet One 15]

I agree with both of you. One thing that was strating to become slightly worrying was that for as many drivers coming from inferior series as they were, none of them moved up in the F1 echelons. There have been many good drivers but many of them either went towards the back of the field or they languished a couple of years before disappearing. Guys making it to the top from the very back like Webber, Alonso and Raikkonen seemed like endangered species, and these guys are not getting any younger.

In that sense, the "promotion" of Perez was an encouraging sign. I hope Bianchi follows the same path.

[Ikyrotz 0]

I agree, Bianchi has been very good so far, I'm quite surprised really, since he was having such a hard time getting a break in F1. He had been talked about for quite some time now, but no team appeared to want to take him in. I guess there is the possibility that Marussia managed to build a very good car this year and that Chilton just is so much worse than Bianchi. The fact that Bianchi is a second per lap faster than Pic in Caterham, given that Pic was quite good last year, seems to indicate that Marussia really is faster than Caterham this season. Nevertheless, I do think that Bianchi is really flattering the car, and it's a real pleasure to see that.

[The Shadow 0]

Something few have mentioned before, is the performance of the Saubers. The team with that innovative sidepod design which i thought were going to be the dog's 'proverbial, has gone from challenger to backmarker. Doesn't matter if it is kind on its tyres and able to climb up the grid come sunday, but I thought that design would have serious pace. I thought the same as well for McLaren, so I guess with that sort of winner picking credentials, I should work for the Weather Channel.

Or inversely, look for my picks and bet on them to fail miserably, that would be safer

[BradSpeedMan 6]

Dry race for gp2, it'll probably rain for the main race, there's clouds above