2012 Malaysian Grand Prix

prisonermonkeys

prisonermonkeys

Be Fearless
Premium
33,155
Peru
Hammerhead Garage
Now that we've all had a chance to catch out breath after Australia, it's time to start all over again. The championship now moves on to Sepang, for one of the most physically-demanding races of the season.

Round II of the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship is the ...

XIV Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix
from the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Selangor

Sepang-Grand-Prix-Circuit.jpg


One lap of Sepang with Sebastian Vettel:


Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Suaber's Head of Track Engineering, explains the challenges of the Sepang circuit:
“The circuit in Sepang is a technical one, but also a modern and wide one which therefore allows for more lines. In terms of set-up you have to take into account that it is demanding for the tyres. The tarmac is rather on the rough side and you have high speed corners and changes of direction which put stress on the tyres. Therefore the hardest and the medium tyre compounds from Pirelli are allocated for this race. The car configuration will be almost the same as in Melbourne. It is a back to back race anyway and the downforce level isn’t much different to Melbourne. Drag matters mostly in the first sector and, to a certain extent, also in sector three. Traction is important although a bit less crucial compared to the street circuit we have been racing on in Australia. Braking stability fairly much affects the lap time, so we have to keep an eye on that. In terms of cooling for the engine and gearbox, you normally run the maximum available configuration in Sepang. Last, but not least, there you sometimes have to deal with changing weather conditions at very short notice. It will be another challenging race weekend and we are looking forward to it.”
Click to expand...

Seven-day forecast:
Intermitted showers all week, clearing on Sunday.
Moderate, stable temperatures (22-24°C) predicted for the rest of the week.

Lap Record ~ 1:34.223
(Juan Pablo Montoya, Williams-BMW, 2004)

2011 Results:
1st ~ Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault)
2nd ~ Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes)
3rd ~ Nick Heidfeld (Renault)

2012 standings (after one race):
1st ~ Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) ~ 25 points
2nd ~ Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) ~ 18 points
3rd ~ Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) ~ 15 points
4th ~ Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) ~ 12 points
5th ~ Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) ~ 10 points
6th ~ Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber-Ferrari) ~ 8 points
7th ~ Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus-Renault) ~ 6 points
8th ~ Sergio Pérez (Sauber-Ferrari) ~ 4 points
9th ~ Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) ~ 2 points
10th ~ Paul di Resta (Force India-Mercedes) ~ 1 point

One down, nineteen to go. The Australian Grand Prix demonstrated that Red Bull can be caught, but there will be plenty of attention up and down the grid as no clear running order has been established. The big questions for this weekend are:​

  • Will Red Bull bounce back, or will McLaren keep them honest?
  • Can Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean repeat their Melbourne performances?
  • Will Mercedes' rear wing be declared legal? And can they get over their tyre degradation problems?
  • What can Kimi Räikkönen do in the race with a proper qualifying lap?
  • Is the Ferrari really as undrivable as it seems, or is it just Felipe Massa's problem?
  • Which of the midfield teams has genuine top-six pace?
  • When will Caterham (and Marussia) make it to Q2 on merit?
  • Can HRT qualify for the race this time? And if not, when will they?
Whatever the case, the 2012 season is shaping up for some fascinating battles as we're witnessing one of the most competitive midfields in years. Even if one driver runs away with it, there's still a lot of wrestling over the minor places that made for some great racing in Australia.​
​
 
Last edited:
That's some real butchering of Kamui's name there :P :P
It's probably too early to start calling how the season turns out, but if Button runs away with the whole thing I'll be happy as a McLaren fan. Hopefully Hamilton can get a string of very solid results to get his confidence back.

As for the Malaysia race inparticular, hopefully some rain. Not enough to call it off though, just enough to make it interesting.
 
I would have thought the biggest question is who out of the midfield teams has genuine top 6-running pace? People have been talking about Sauber being the danger team and it seems Williams have decent car too. But as ever, Melbourne was a topsy-turvy weekend with several teams suffering bad luck. Malaysia tends to be a calmer race though the weather may change that again.

So the biggest answer we're looking for is who is really looking good and who has been flattered with luck?
 
Whatever settings Ferrari bring, I hope they sprinkle the car with magic powder. White powder would be nice.

I think McLaren should be able to keep their advantage over the Red Bulls with a McLaren 1-2 in the race.
 
Maldonado's Williams obviously looked legitimately fast at Melbourne. I see no reason why he could not stand a chance to repeat that pace at Sepang, although the track is a different beast really.
 
Sach
Maldonado's Williams obviously looked legitimately fast at Melbourne. I see no reason why he could not stand a chance to repeat that pace at Sepang, although the track is a different beast really.
Click to expand...
The real question is what Bruno Senna is going to do. He really was the Felipe Massa of Williams in Melbourne.
 
prisonermonkeys
The real question is what Bruno Senna is going to do. He really was the Felipe Massa of Williams in Melbourne.
Click to expand...



Yeah, I realized I'd tuned him out for some time at one point during the race... :odd: TBF, he was hindered at the start, and when I had last checked I believe he was 12th. Was really surprised though to see Pastor's pace so much stronger than his.
 
I want to see Merc and Lotus step it up a bit more. And I'd love to see Force India back where they were last year. A bit sad to see 2 great drivers messing around at the back end of the field
 
HRT, Virgin, sorry... Marussia, and Lotus, sorry again... Caterham are all going to be on the podium. :lol:

On a more realistic note, I do hope the Mercedes rear wing stays legal, and that Schumacher and Rosberg do a LOT better. And I want to see what Grosjean and Kimster can do with with a good quali and a completed race.
 
If you read between the lines you can see that the Lotus can clearly get on the podium. Fortunately the bookmakers aren't so good at this, and due to Grosjean's fumbling and Raikkonen's non-star studded finish, have put up ridiculous odds on him (Raikkonen) for Malaysia, I myself have absolute confidence he can get pole and/or win the race. Nobody hit him please :lol:
It may actually be the fastest car at the moment, I'm glad I don't have to wait an extra week to find out.
 
Me three. If they had the fastest car, Raikkonen should have made up it further up in Australia. If I had to bet podium or not, I would go non-podium easy.
 
Sach
Yeah, I realized I'd tuned him out for some time at one point during the race... :odd: TBF, he was hindered at the start, and when I had last checked I believe he was 12th. Was really surprised though to see Pastor's pace so much stronger than his.
Click to expand...
Maldonado didn't become GP2 champion by idly coasting by. He did, after all, beat Sergio Perez to the title, and Perez is highly-rated. Now, we've seen GP2 front-runners falter in Formula 1, and GP2 backmarkers thrive, but I think Maldonado might be one of the most under-rated drivers the sport has seen in a long time, probably because the FW33 was pathetic. As bad as it was, it's worth noting that when Maldonado wasn't out-qualifying or out-racing Rubens Barrichello, he was very close behind.
 
ROAD_DOGG33J
Me three. If they had the fastest car, Raikkonen should have made up it further up in Australia. If I had to bet podium or not, I would go non-podium easy.
Click to expand...

Pole, maybe not. Win? There's an outside chance.

Remember. We don't know the true race pace of the Lotus. Kimi didn't make Q2 because the team released him too late on his "hot" lap for Q3. Grosjean qualified 3rd. If Kimi can match or exceed Grosjean for pace, then he could have qualified in that third spot. It could have very well been fifth or sixth if Rosberg, Vettel and Webber hadn't had their issues, but the possibility was there.

Kimi went from 18th to 7th in the race. If he hadn't been caught cold by Kobayashi on that safety car restart, he could have been 6th. He had overtaken Kamui on-track before the safety car and his run up the field was as impressive as Alonso's.

Given Sunday's race, I'd peg the Lotus as being possibly Mercedes GP level or higher. Possibly Sepang will show us which it is.
 
I'm very much looking forward to this race. After Sunday's events I think we'll be in for another good race, with all the cars being fairly evenly matched (at the front of the pack, and in the midfield). Also, Malaysia is one of my favourite races, mainly because of the changing weather conditions. I can't wait until the weekend now...
 
prisonermonkeys
A win? No. The Lotus would, at the very least, need to get through the McLarens, the Red Bulls and probably Alonso. That's a tall order.
Click to expand...

Didn't say how far outside...

Granted... the Lotus is not on McLaren pace, but there's a chance it is bang on Mercedes GP pace, which, depending on how Red Bull fare in this second race (does glitchy KERS like tropical heat?), could put them on the second or third row.
 
Sach
Grosjean qualified 3rd...
Click to expand...

And he didn't get a good start and then got passed by Maldonado.

niky

Remember. We don't know the true race pace of the Lotus. Kimi didn't make Q2 because the team released him too late on his "hot" lap for Q3. Grosjean qualified 3rd. If Kimi can match or exceed Grosjean for pace, then he could have qualified in that third spot. It could have very well been fifth or sixth if Rosberg, Vettel and Webber hadn't had their issues, but the possibility was there.

Kimi went from 18th to 7th in the race. If he hadn't been caught cold by Kobayashi on that safety car restart, he could have been 6th. He had overtaken Kamui on-track before the safety car and his run up the field was as impressive as Alonso's.
Click to expand...

I wasn't that impressed by their pace. It probably does better on lighter loads. Raikkonen was up to 12th on lap 3. Schumacher and Pastor went out of the race. Massa was pretty slow. So he took his sweet time getting to 7th with this allegedly fast car. Granted passing isn't easy, but why not higher? Alonso did 24 to 6 in Monaco.

But Sepang should tell all if there is no rain or weird incidents.
 
ROAD_DOGG33J
Granted passing isn't easy, but why not higher? Alonso did 24 to 6 in Monaco.
Click to expand...

Alonso's 24th to 6th at Monaco was flattered by being the first person to pit under the safety car. I seem to remember him spending several laps stuck behind Di Grassi.
 
Remember, this is still the Renault engine, so they will have trouble overtaking due to the lack of power... but the car is obviously quick enough.

I agree, though... won't know till we see them in Sepang...
 
niky
Remember, this is still the Renault engine, so they will have trouble overtaking due to the lack of power... but the car is obviously quick enough.
Click to expand...

I agree. A lot of people seem to disregard the fact that the cars with Renault engines are so down on power, it makes overtaking very hard.
 

Latest Posts

Back