Malaysian GP Thread - Contains results of all session..Although no one needs to read to know Mercedes have won....

by Guest Wed 25 Mar 2015, 3:14 pm

Be good to see some rain to spice the show up, but then would also be good to be dry, which on a proper race track, will tell us what the real order behind Mercedes is.

by dyrewolfe Thu 26 Mar 2015, 1:01 pm

Looks like we'll get some rain...which will no doubt mean at least 1 Safety Car. The only way things will be "spiced up" though are if Lewis and/or Nico have problems, make a mistake in qualifying, or during the race.

Think what I'm hoping for most is that Honda feel confident enough in the engine to run it somewhere near full power, so we get to see something like the full potential of the McLaren. Probably take another couple of races before they do that though.

Would also be nice to see Alonso get through the weekend without any issues.

by Fernando Thu 26 Mar 2015, 4:38 pm

Williams sign Adrian Sutil as reserve driver.

Guessing Valteri not as fit as they say....

by Guest Thu 26 Mar 2015, 6:17 pm

They say Bottas is 100%. Think Sutil has his eyes on Massa's seat in 2016.

Interesting the Alonso interview, conflicting stories again.

by Guest Fri 27 Mar 2015, 10:15 am

Although they lose about three tenths a lap at the beginning, Ferrari look good on the race tyre & can go longer in the stint than Mercedes.

by Guest Fri 27 Mar 2015, 11:43 am

Would appear the Ferrari has leapfrogged the Williams. The straight line speed advantage Williams had last year, masked over aero issues & with Ferrari improving their PU & all round package, it's clear to see they are the most competitive behind Mercedes, this year. I still don't see Ferrari matching Mercedes this weekend, even though they appear easier on the tyre & can go slightly longer. Should be dry on Sunday too, I believe..

by GSC Fri 27 Mar 2015, 11:53 am

Ferrari usually run low fuel loads on Friday

by Fernando Fri 27 Mar 2015, 2:49 pm

The Engine limit is going back up to 5 & Parliment has changed the laws on closed road motorsport opening a chance for a London GP

by GSC Sat 28 Mar 2015, 9:37 am

Chucking it down during Q2. Full wets if they start Q3

by GSC Sat 28 Mar 2015, 9:39 am

Be surprised if they let them out at this point.

by GSC Sat 28 Mar 2015, 9:42 am

Q3 delayed by at least 15 mins. Kimi out in Q2

by Guest Sat 28 Mar 2015, 10:30 am

Rosberg 'can you help me with what lines to take'
Engineer ' I can't help you drive, nico'

Lol, embarrassing

Hamilton pole, Vettel second & Rosberg four tenths behind in third

by mystiroakey Sat 28 Mar 2015, 10:33 am

Strange last run from merc. Rosberg comprimised Lewis. In the end he got beat by vettel.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Sat 28 Mar 2015, 10:50 am

There's a 17 year old starting 6th in a grand prix tomorrow.

This makes me feel rather useless

by mystiroakey Sat 28 Mar 2015, 10:52 am

You are 19 lad.. The world is your oyster.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Sat 28 Mar 2015, 10:58 am

mystiroakey wrote:You are 19 lad.. The world is your oyster.

Tbf I did get a new job yesterday - I'll soon be overtaking you Verstappen

by mystiroakey Sat 28 Mar 2015, 10:59 am

Well done...

by Guest Sat 28 Mar 2015, 11:17 am

John wrote:Rosberg 'can you help me with what lines to take'
Engineer ' I can't help you drive, nico'

Lol, embarrassing

as brundle stated, that's why this was introduced, to separate the men from the boys. rosbergs reliance upon his team & the tutoring to get him out of trouble/issues was so evident throughout last year, whereas hamilton would just drive it, like he stole it.

hamilton will be very pleased vettel has squeezed in between them, now he just needs him to take points off nico. rosberg is mentally beat from last year, i actually thought he was a decent driver but this year he's looking like a webber clone.

by GSC Sat 28 Mar 2015, 11:18 am

Great effort by Vettel. Probably be meaningless tomorrow but hey

by Guest Sat 28 Mar 2015, 11:22 am

not necessarily, you don't know what might happen at the start + the Ferrari is quickest in the first sector & quick down the back straight with it's improved PU. Rosberg will be quicker in the mid sector but you can't really overtake there. Ferrari goes longer too on it's tyres, so Rosberg could get stuck behind him for a period of time. disappointed that Kimi wasnt there to put even more pressure on nico.

by Guest Sat 28 Mar 2015, 5:48 pm

Anyone see Bernie's interview, up to his old tricks.

For 2016, he wants double points for the final three races.

"Last year we didn't know who the world champion was until the last corner of the last race. It was exciting," he said defending his double points idea, an idea that was almost universally criticised. "I'd like to see it extended to the last three races. Why not?
"I also suggested that we give 20 away points over a weekend. Ten points for pole and ten for winning the race. Then the one on 'pole' starts twelfth on the grid, so you're going to get a whole bunch of decent guys starting in the middle of the field and needing to overtake to win."

picard

by GSC Sat 28 Mar 2015, 6:04 pm

Told you what was coming.

by wheelchair1991 Sat 28 Mar 2015, 8:21 pm

I actually thought i had misheard Bernie when he said that

by Jermaine2015 Sat 28 Mar 2015, 9:53 pm

Right I'm not going to beat around the bush, I follow F1 merely because of primarily Michael Schumacher then his heir apparent Sebastian Vettel, so it's great to see Sebastian re-find the spark which was missing in 2014. Really wished Nico Hulkenberg was in the second Mercedes rather than Nico Rosberg...

by GSC Sat 28 Mar 2015, 9:56 pm

Id love to see a matured Alonso in the 2nd Merc.

by GSC Sat 28 Mar 2015, 10:00 pm

Probably sums up this season that the media is clinging to any Rosberg/Hamilton controversy.

by Guest Sun 29 Mar 2015, 8:16 am

Early safety car has spiced this up. Vettel leads, Hamilton & Rosberg 6th & 9th

by Guest Sun 29 Mar 2015, 8:41 am

Vettel fans are going to cream themselves at this

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Sun 29 Mar 2015, 8:49 am

This is a strange race because I thought Vettel only does well when he has the best car

by Guest Sun 29 Mar 2015, 9:04 am

Circumstances helped with the SC & that 10 second lead Vettel gained + we knew the Ferrari was best on its tyres in these hot conditions. Still looks good though for Hamilton for an overtake on Vettel at the end.

by Guest Sun 29 Mar 2015, 9:15 am

Stint was not long enough for Lewis, Mercedes struggled all day on these tyres. Vettel could do this now

by sportform Sun 29 Mar 2015, 9:20 am

Hamilton is not a happy bunny.

by sportform Sun 29 Mar 2015, 9:22 am

I felt Mercedes made a mistake pitting with the safety car. 6 laps was too early. They probably then should have coverage Vettel's pits stops rather than stopping out.

by Guest Sun 29 Mar 2015, 9:29 am

I think the 'finger' will be making a reappearance on the top step of the podium. Mercedes have been tyre limited all day in these conditions.

by GSC Sun 29 Mar 2015, 9:47 am

*drops mic*

by bogbrush Sun 29 Mar 2015, 9:50 am

This race shows how useless Rosberg is.

by mystiroakey Sun 29 Mar 2015, 9:56 am

Haha.. Did I say it was over last week... No it's not..

Great stuff

by GSC Sun 29 Mar 2015, 10:07 am

Hopefully its more than a flash in the pan. But what a drive that was.

by sportform Sun 29 Mar 2015, 10:11 am

Have Ferrari caught up with Mercedes? Or was it just down to tyres and strategy?

by GSC Sun 29 Mar 2015, 10:13 am

I'd edge tyre life in hot weather which allowed them a stronger strategy. Much like Lotus 2 years ago who had superb tyre life in hot weather but struggled to get heat in colder races. But that should take little away from today. There is a chink in the Mercedes armour after all.

by mystiroakey Sun 29 Mar 2015, 10:16 am

sportform wrote:Have Ferrari caught up with Mercedes? Or was it just down to tyres and strategy?

The cars seemed almost bang on even today. The strategy was the 10'secs difference.

by Guest Sun 29 Mar 2015, 10:18 am

China is much cooler & different conditions altogether, so this will probably be a flash in the pan. No doubt, Ferrari have great pace in certain conditions & Vettel's advantage was exacerbated by the SC & Mercedes pit strategy of both cars simultaneously.

by bogbrush Sun 29 Mar 2015, 10:32 am

Mercedes is still far clear unless it's very hot. Still, progress for Ferarri and Vettel.

It didn't take much for the love-in at Hamilton / Mercedes to disintegrate over the radio.

by banbrotam Sun 29 Mar 2015, 10:45 am

bogbrush wrote:Mercedes is still far clear unless it's very hot. Still, progress for Ferarri and Vettel.

It didn't take much for the love-in at Hamilton / Mercedes to disintegrate over the radio.

If you bothered watching last season, then you'll remember that Hamilton had far worse spats than what happened today

And of course Seb is always compliant, obedient and never questions anything. We heard nothing over the radio last season about his frustrations with RB

I'm sure you say these things, because you're bored Wink

by mystiroakey Sun 29 Mar 2015, 10:50 am

every winner has a pop when things arnt going right. Mercs strategy cost Lewis the chance. He isn't a Yes man.

by banbrotam Sun 29 Mar 2015, 10:52 am

Despite not been a fan, I'm more than happy with a competitive Ferrari they'd merely come in between the two Mercedes as clearly Rosberg hasn't a clue unless he's on the front row

The time he took to get through the midfield after his first pit stop was laughable

Almost as funny was his failure to make any real headway on Hamilton, despite having the better tyre for the last few laps

by dyrewolfe Sun 29 Mar 2015, 11:10 am

Well that was interesting...and frankly just what this season needed.

Clever bit of strategy by Ferrari and Vettel drove it to perfection - ended up cruising to victory. Obviously Ferrari have made some major strides in their car and engine design. Also noteworthy that the car is very easy on its tyres, even in harsh conditions like Malaysia. If not for yet more bad luck for Kimi, they could have had 2 drivers on the podium.

Of course the big question is: was this just a case of circumstances favouring Ferrari or is the prancing horse really back in business?

They were also helped by Mercedes shooting themselves in the foot - using more option tyres in quali and leaving themselves short for the race. The car also seemed to be eating its tyres - reminiscent of previous seasons. Again, was this a one-off or symptomatic of some design issues with this season's model?

Other than that the Silver Arrows had a decent race but were caught napping a bit by Ferrari today. They now need to push on with development as they no longer have the straight line speed advantage they once enjoyed.

Similar story for Williams who have dropped to 3rd in the pecking order with Ferrari's resurgence. A decent double points finish for them but they'd probably have hoped for better.

Great race for Toro Rosso with both drivers in the points and Verstappen scoring his first points. Some great moves by both drivers, showing these rookies aren't afraid to tackle anyone.

More doom and gloom for Red Bull, most notably for being beaten and outscored by their "junior" sister team. Seemed to suffer major brake issues...probably just due to the track conditions, but their overall performance still needs to improve pretty drastically.

Same can be said for McLaren with first Alonso being told to retire about halfway through the race, with Button following him towards the end. I'm just praying Honda can sort out their engine woes in the next couple of races. Seeing this once-mighty team in such reduced circumstances is so bad its not even funny. Just tragic really. Only good point was that Nando came through the weekend without any issues.

Overall a very entertaining race with lots of action. Think the stewards were a bit harsh with some of the penalty decisions. There was nothing blatantly reckless or dangerous IMO - more clumsy and impetuous. The last thing we want is for drivers to be put off going for overtakes.

@Fernando: you might want to think about changing the thread title now. Wink

by GSC Sun 29 Mar 2015, 11:13 am

Eh, its not a particularly big thing tbh. Hes better than he was, could do with being a bit more level headed over a race weekend

by mystiroakey Sun 29 Mar 2015, 11:13 am

Last year they were very easy on 'racing incidents'

Strange as you point out they got tough today.

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