Malaysia Grand Prix 2009

[KSaiyu]

I just wish they weren't so....clinical. It's not a fault of one designer I expect, since most modern tracks seem to be that way.

 

[zujo 19]

There will be thunderstorms in Malaysia

 

[Hun200kmh]

Nice ... a wet race! It's always a good chance for skilled drivers without the best cars. I predict a strong showing from Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel (maybe Kubica, I'm not sure how he is in the rain).

We will also see who's the best Brawn driver under wet conditions. I think Rubens and Button are pretty evenly matched in a dry track, but I don't know/remember how good they are in a wet one.

Can't wait ...

 

[livemusic]

Rubinho is pretty good at wet races. I'm betting on him to win this one.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Well considering Button's only previous win was a wet race...

 

[Alex.]

The drivers are bricking it, regarding a possible wet thundery evening race.

 

[GTP_ENERGIYA]

I would not count Hamilton out after his 18th to 3rd effort.

 

[Ardius]

I would not count Hamilton out after his 18th to 3rd effort.

No, but then it was with the aid of 2 safety cars and Rosberg, Vettel, Kubica, Massa, Raikkonen and Trulli all being taken out/penalised.
Definitely watch out for him taking advantage of any problems for the better cars, but otherwise I don't expect many points finishes from him again this year for a while.

 

[Peter]

Ferrari, after their little problem with Massa's car at melbourne, is definitely going to get rid of kers. And they will get a much better diffuser too, in time.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

No, but then it was with the aid of 2 safety cars and Rosberg, Vettel, Kubica, Massa, Raikkonen and Trulli all being taken out/penalised.
Definitely watch out for him taking advantage of any problems for the better cars, but otherwise I don't expect many points finishes from him again this year for a while.

Hamilton has admitted that while Australia was a great race for him, finishes like that are probably going to be the exception and not the rule. Those weren't his exact words, but you get my meaning: he thinks it's going to be tough from here on in.

Ferrari, after their little problem with Massa's car at melbourne, is definitely going to get rid of kers. And they will get a much better diffuser too, in time.

Uh, no. Massa's problem was with the suspension, not KERS. While four of the drivers running with KERS at Melbourne retired, none of them retired with KERS-related problems. There's no reason to get rid of the system for Sepang, especially considering that the circuit is probably going to be more suited to it with the long straights and all.

 

[Ardius]

Ferrari, after their little problem with Massa's car at melbourne, is definitely going to get rid of kers. And they will get a much better diffuser too, in time.

I think you need to read up on those two subjects a bit more.

As Do You Race has stated, there is not problem with the KERS sytem.
And secondly, they can't just throw a new diffuser on the car just like that, they have said themselves they will need to re-design the whole of the rear end, which will take a while...even longer now we don't have in season-testing.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Actually, I'm pretty sure they're already working on the new diffuser so that they'll be ready as soon as possible if the appeal (hopefully) fails. They just won't run it in Sepang, because it would be pretty hypocritical of them to do so.

But I also think a bit too much emphasis is being placed on the part. Barrichello says his diffuser was damaged in the first-corner game of dominoes with Kovalainen, and look how competitive he was. Banning the diffuser will hurt the likes of Brawn, Williams and Toyota, but it's not going to be a silver bullet. There are too many other factors - like tyre wear - that come into play.

 

[Ardius]

I think Metar has been the one stressing the point that its not the diffuser itself, but rather the design of the rest of the car around those diffusers which gives the advantage.
Of course it isn't just a case of one single part doing everything, its the whole package, but still, the whole package was designed by each team with different parts in mind (notably whether they are using KERS or not, different diffusers, different noses, etc).

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Well, yeah, that's kind of what I was plaing up to: the triopoly could re-design their diffusers with a simpler shape to them but still have all the benefits of the current design - like the way te rest of the car is shaped around it - without hurting their speed too much.

My reason for saying there was too much emphasis on the diffuser was that you couldn't work one into, say, a Honda RA107 and expect it would be competitive. It's not the Achilles Heel of the cars and by removing it, it's not as if the Brawn, Williams and Toyota drivers will go from setting the pace to fighting among themselves to see who avoids the Q2 cut every weekend.

 

[SUPER NUMBBER]

No, but then it was with the aid of 2 safety cars and Rosberg, Vettel, Kubica, Massa, Raikkonen and Trulli all being taken out/penalised.
Definitely watch out for him taking advantage of any problems for the better cars, but otherwise I don't expect many points finishes from him again this year for a while.

Well there are many factors that influence the outcome of a race and are not as obvious or upsetting as a safety car. How do you tell which driver took advantage of someone's tire wearing too fast, or decreased visibility in someone's helmet. We can sit here and consider all what ifs and spend an eternity. Great drivers are not always the fastest ones, sometimes all it takes is to seize the opportunity that a certain situation creates.

 

[mPWRD]

In an attempt to start a new discussion: After the powerful showing by Brawn (with a little help from Vettel and Kubica), Rosberg's domination of practice, and the failure of both Ferraris and a McLaren, who do you think will win Malaysia?

 

[NapoleonMikey]

In an attempt to start a new discussion: After the powerful showing by Brawn (with a little help from Vettel and Kubica), Rosberg's domination of practice, and the failure of both Ferraris and a McLaren, who do you think will win Malaysia?

nakajima

i guarantee this guy will get his first GP win this season

 

[senamic]

Fact of the day Sebastian Bourdais and Buemi have the same middle name, Olivier.

Crazy. The conspiracy deepens.... Kidding! Still stick by my predictions, but expect "King" Lewis to be beaten by his team mate!

 

[prisonermonkeys]

In an attempt to start a new discussion: After the powerful showing by Brawn (with a little help from Vettel and Kubica), Rosberg's domination of practice, and the failure of both Ferraris and a McLaren, who do you think will win Malaysia?

I never call a Grand Prix, largely because I'm not a gambling man and the odds of picking a trifecta are roughly one in a very large number.

I will say this, though: oddly enough for me, I am looking forward to seeing how McLaren - especially Lewis Hamilton - fares this weekend. I believe the mark of a great driver is what he can do with a sub-standard car.

 

[Ardius]

Well there are many factors that influence the outcome of a race and are not as obvious or upsetting as a safety car. How do you tell which driver took advantage of someone's tire wearing too fast, or decreased visibility in someone's helmet. We can sit here and consider all what ifs and spend an eternity. Great drivers are not always the fastest ones, sometimes all it takes is to seize the opportunity that a certain situation creates.

Oh, I'm not questioning Hamilton's skill, sure, it was an amazing drive from the back of the grid. However, I was pointing out that it was with the aid of several rare occurences and do you really think there will be 2 safety cars every race and all the afforementioned drivers will be taken out every time? You can't deny that Hamilton is going to have a hard time getting into the points this year, regardless of how well McLaren develop their car.

 

[livemusic]

Crazy. The conspiracy deepens.... Kidding! Still stick by my predictions, but expect "King" Lewis to be beaten by his team mate!

Kovalainen beating Lewis? I can see that happening only if Hamilton retires from the race.

 

[mipuumal]

But I also think a bit too much emphasis is being placed on the part. Barrichello says his diffuser was damaged in the first-corner game of dominoes with Kovalainen, and look how competitive he was. Banning the diffuser will hurt the likes of Brawn, Williams and Toyota, but it's not going to be a silver bullet. There are too many other factors - like tyre wear - that come into play.

Actually while Rubens finished second eventually, his pace was nothing special.

In fact he only had the 14th fastest lap despite pitting for softs and taking on only 8 laps worth of fuel.

I'd say that's evidence that the diffuser does make a big difference in their pace.

 

[Ardius]

Actually while Rubens finished second eventually, his pace was nothing special.

In fact he only had the 14th fastest lap despite pitting for softs and taking on only 8 laps worth of fuel.

I'd say that's evidence that the diffuser does make a big difference in their pace.

Well, I kind of agree, but I think we should keep in mind that Brawn were clearly holding some pace back in this race for a number of reasons. Rubens was no where near Kubica so it made no sense for him to go charging for fastest laps in an attempt to catch them, both him and the team wanted to just finish with some points and bring the car home. Rubens because he'd started so badly that 4th was probably satisfying enough and the team because the car had done little testing and 5 points means more than 0.
Also - looking at the other teams struggle with their soft tyres, they didn't want to take chances and wear them out.

I also personally think they were holding back their pace because they didn't want to show they had too much of an advantage as they obviously don't want the diffusers being banned, which they probably would have been if Jenson had lapped the field.

 

[mu22stang]

I also personally think they were holding back their pace because they didn't want to show they had too much of an advantage as they obviously don't want the diffusers being banned, which they probably would have been if Jenson had lapped the field.

They did hold back, but I'm not sure it was for this reason. With their cars clearly faster, it may have been a strategy in itself. Having such a superior car, they could monitor lap times and maintain a comfortable and consistent lead, as they did, without pushing the tires, the drivers limits, or consuming unecessary amounts of fuel.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Did Rubens start out on the soft tires?

 

[Ardius]

They did hold back, but I'm not sure it was for this reason. With their cars clearly faster, it may have been a strategy in itself. Having such a superior car, they could monitor lap times and maintain a comfortable and consistent lead, as they did, without pushing the tires, the drivers limits, or consuming unecessary amounts of fuel.

Well I did say that earlier in the post....there are many reasons why they would hold off their pace. And with Ross Brawn, you can be certain he would be so strategic.
But a 4 second lead isn't completely comfortable, but I suppose thats a matter of opinion.

Did Rubens start out on the soft tires?

No, both Brawn's started on Mediums.

 

[Metar]

Actually while Rubens finished second eventually, his pace was nothing special.

In fact he only had the 14th fastest lap despite pitting for softs and taking on only 8 laps worth of fuel.

I'd say that's evidence that the diffuser does make a big difference in their pace.

Indeed, he finished 2nd due to luck and strategy alone. Like Hamilton, they weren't very fast cars, but they pitted at the right time to take advantage of certain incidents.

Well I did say that earlier in the post....there are many reasons why they would hold off their pace. And with Ross Brawn, you can be certain he would be so strategic.
But a 4 second lead isn't completely comfortable, but I suppose thats a matter of opinion.

Indeed the five seconds lead Jenson kept throughout the race wasn't a very comfortable one - but it was easy to keep. Whenever Vettel pulled a series of 1'28s, Jenson just one-upped him and in a single lap, gained an extra 0.7-0.8s on him. He could just as well have kept it at 20s, but risk a safety-car deleting all that. Remember, this engine has to last another two GP weekends.

 

[Tired Tyres]

The engine doesn't have to last three races in a row. You just have eight engines for the season.

I think Button was taking it easy because of the lack of testing the car has had.

 

[Metar]

Which ends up between two and three weekends per engine. If you have a reliable unit, why not use it for three races now, and keep the two-per-race engines for later on in the season?

 

[Tired Tyres]

If you use the same engine three times in a row it will lose more and more power. Both Hamilton and Massa had less than Stella races with engines in second races lat year.

If you use an engine once then rebuild it whilst using another engine there won't be a loss of power.

This is assuming they can't touch the engine unless they replace it which I think was the rule last year. I''m not sure about that one though.