***Malaysian Grand Prix 2006*** - 17-19 Mar

[Toronto]

Friday 17 Mar 2006
Practice 1 11:00 - 12:00
Practice 2 14:00 - 15:00

Saturday 18 Mar 2006
Practice 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying 14:00

Sunday 19 Mar 2006
Race 15:00

Creation date
1999

First F1 GP
17/10/1999

Grand Prix held
7

Spectactor capacity
around 130000

Track length
5.543 km

Number of laps
56 (310.408 Km)

Number of corners
15 (left:5) (right:10)

Top speed
330 Km/h
Start line offset
0 m

Downforce setup
medium

Best lap
J. Montoya - 1'34''223
(2004, Williams)

Record Pole
M. Schumacher - 1'33''074
(2004, Ferrari)

Pole 2005
F. Alonso - 1'35''090
(Renault)

Podium 2005
1. F. Alonso
2. J. Trulli
3. N. Heidfeld

Web: http://www.malaysiangp.com.my
In the mid 1990s, Malaysia was undergoing a huge change. Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's Prime Minister was determined that by 2020, the country would be a fully industrialised nation. The best way to do this, it was thought, was through the auto trade.

The nation's number one oil company, Petronas, began investing heavily in Formula One with Sauber, and Malaysia's national car company, Proton, bought Lotus Engineering. The most extravagant part of the plan however was the building of a multimedia 'supercorridor', linking Kuala Lumpur's new international airport with the capital city itself. Mahathir ordered that a Grand Prix track be constructed too, and not just any track. He wanted to create a track that would be the envy of the world in terms of its facilities and technology. What he got was the Sepang International Circuit, and it did not disappoint.

Designed by Hermann Tilke, Sepang is one of the most technical circuits in Formula One. The combination of long high-speed straights, and tight twisting complexes make the track very complicated, but also perfect for overtaking as the track itself is very wide. The drivers love it and, along with Malaysia's distinct atmosphere, it makes for an experience unique in Formula One.
The circuit is 3.5km away from the New Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The North-South Central Link Expressway will get you from KL itself to the circuit in about an hour. Turn off at the Elite expressway for circuit access.

From the airport, the circuit is only a 10 minute drive away. If you don't have a hire car, regular shuttle services are laid on from the airport to the circuit.

Numerous rail services run out of KL, Seremban and Nilai to the Sepang circuit and will take between 20 and 40 minutes.

Qaul
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid
1 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:33.840
2 12 Jenson Button Honda 1:33.986
3 10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 1:34.626
4 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:34.668
5 9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 1:34.672
6 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.916
7 3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.983
8 1 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:35.747
9 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 1:38.715
10 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:34.586*
11 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 1:34.614*
12 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:34.683*
13 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:34.702*
14 17 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 1:34.752*
15 16 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 1:34.783*
16 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.091*
17 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 1:36.297**
18 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 1:36.581**
19 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 1:37.426**
20 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 1:37.819**
21 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:39.011**
22 23 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 1:40.720**
Notes: * time set in second 15-minute period ** time set in first 15-minute period

RACE
1 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 58 Winner 1 10
2 1 Fernando Alonso Renault 58 +4.5 secs 7 8
3 12 Jenson Button Honda 58 +9.6 secs 2 6
4 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 58 +39.3 secs 5 5
5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 58 +43.2 secs 21 4
6 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 58 +43.8 secs 14 3
7 17 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 58 +80.4 secs 10 2
8 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 58 +81.2 secs 22 1
9 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 57 +1 Lap 9
10 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 57 +1 Lap 20
11 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 56 +2 Laps 13
12 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 56 +2 Laps 15
13 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 56 +2 Laps 16
14 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 55 +3 Laps 17
Ret 16 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 50 +8 Laps 11
Ret 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 43 +15 Laps 12
Ret 23 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 35 +23 Laps 18
Ret 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 28 +30 Laps 8
Ret 9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 17 +41 Laps 4
Ret 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 12 +46 Laps 19
Ret 10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 8 +50 Laps 3
Ret 3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 0 Accident 6

[zondamaniac]

hopefully i can get a ticket by today,i've been there for 2 seasons, don't wanna miss this one :P

[blinkmeat]

BMW needs more pace good god

[nthfinity]

15. 20 LIUZZI Toro Rosso Cosw. M 1'37"590 + 0'02"549
16. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Ferrari M 1'37"603 + 0'02"562

lol... we all know its because of 2 things... lack of winter testing, and the restricted V10... but still; if Torro Rossa out qualifies the V8.... and has a better race pace... do we thnk the V10 would be further restricted?

id guess no; as long as it doesn't encroach the top 4 teams :lol:

[Wielblad]

F1 Malaysia: Friday's Free Practice Kimi Raikkonen & Juan Pablo Montoya

http://images4.fotosik.pl/1/sfx19tcdyrb3cdhpm.jpg (http://www.fotosik.pl/pokaz_obrazek/sfx19tcdyrb3cdhp.html) http://images4.fotosik.pl/1/8bpoinptnnafys9tm.jpg (http://www.fotosik.pl/pokaz_obrazek/8bpoinptnnafys9t.html)

[sameerrao]

15. 20 LIUZZI Toro Rosso Cosw. M 1'37"590 + 0'02"549
16. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Ferrari M 1'37"603 + 0'02"562

lol... we all know its because of 2 things... lack of winter testing, and the restricted V10... but still; if Torro Rossa out qualifies the V8.... and has a better race pace... do we thnk the V10 would be further restricted?

id guess no; as long as it doesn't encroach the top 4 teams :lol:

It is embarassing for Red Bull to see their junior team doing better than their senior team. I think the FIA will take action only if the Toro Rosso wins a race or dominates otherwise. Finishing in 13th or 14th shouldnt dictate a penalty.

[nejcdolinsek]

Thats insane... the V8s are on par with last years pole position... IN THE PRACTICE SESSION!! :shock: :o

[Cockrocket]

That is fantastic as far as im concerned! Just as high speed but cheaper..means more battles...which means F1 is finally a great spectator spprt agen! A think a pole shoukd be opened on who we think will win the malaysian grad prix!!

[McLaren4eVa]

Can,t wait for this one im just absolutely hoping and praying that raikkonens car doesnt fail so he can really show the true pace of The McLaren MP4-21 and blitz everyone. Has anyone noticed how complaicent montoyas being just because his top speeds wer 4ks down on raikkonens with a different setup. Now he wants an engine change. I know for sure theres nothing wrong with it.

[5vz-fe]

Schumi suffers engine change :(

[ZfrkS62]

15. 20 LIUZZI Toro Rosso Cosw. M 1'37"590 + 0'02"549
16. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Ferrari M 1'37"603 + 0'02"562

lol... we all know its because of 2 things... lack of winter testing, and the restricted V10... but still; if Torro Rossa out qualifies the V8.... and has a better race pace... do we thnk the V10 would be further restricted?

id guess no; as long as it doesn't encroach the top 4 teams :lol:

It is embarassing for Red Bull to see their junior team doing better than their senior team. I think the FIA will take action only if the Toro Rosso wins a race or dominates otherwise. Finishing in 13th or 14th shouldnt dictate a penalty.

Bah, the senior team is the F1 retirement home. hy else do you think DC is there? :lol:

[Mattk]

This is just the practice session. Nothing really matters.

[5vz-fe]

Buttons time in the second Quali section almost matches MS's 2004 pole time :shock:

Looks like Alonso is running heavy....and Fisi's pole is very impressive.

[saadie]

feck i missed the quali .... i came back home after 3 hours of qualification with my fingers crossed that it would still be on :lol:

the results of qualiare really interesting ..
fisi on pole rosber did really cool for a rookie :lol: ...
i bet kimi and alonso will start the race like blood hounds :)

[McLaren4eVa]

Yeh im sure he'll have a chance for victory he's heavy on fuel as is montoya and alonso raikkonen won his first grand prix here on a two stop and won so he shoulb be able to fight for victory. Things aint going well for ferrari at the moment 4 engines needing to be replaced and people were speculating that mercedes would be the first to blow up(me included but im really confident in them now).

[SFDMALEX]

3 engine changes for Ferriar eh..............well and I thought they get their act back together :? oh well, now that they suck that hard maybe they will be hard pressed to imporve......

[Cockrocket]

Rosberg has again acheived more than could have been expected. His second grand prix...first time at this circuit and he bets the Master Schumi and gets 3rd position. The Williams and Rosberg are actualy looking like championship contenders figures crossed!!

[sameerrao]

I am sure that this will be an awesome race with Kimi in sixth and Alonso seventh with Michael about 7 places behind. Or it could be Button's first win.

Rosberg was splendid. He was super articulate in the press conference unlike the mumbling Fisi :). It'll be nice if he can finish on the podium tomorrow.

I am glad to see a smile back on Frank Williams face. For such a competitive man used to winning championships, it must have been really painful being in the mid-pack. Now FW needs to do the one thing he has always lacked - retain the talent - being tightfisted, he has found young chargers but they have left him for better opportunities elsewhere.

The prospect of rain is good - it will make things more exciting for sure....

[Wielblad]

F1 Malaysia, Qualifying

http://images3.fotosik.pl/37/wcrolflgtbdq3p1vm.jpg (http://www.fotosik.pl/pokaz_obrazek/wcrolflgtbdq3p1v.html) http://images1.fotosik.pl/38/ynehlwb4bka7euuxm.jpg (http://www.fotosik.pl/pokaz_obrazek/ynehlwb4bka7euux.html)

“I am happy with our qualifying result today, and we will see tomorrow with the different fuel loads just how well we have done. Hopefully the Michelin tyres will continue to perform, so far they have been good, but it is a very long and hot race. We have worked intensively on the set-up of the car and I am much happier with it. I am looking forward to a good race tomorrow where we can hopefully be challenging at the front."


“I had a little bit of traffic on my out lap at the end of the session which disrupted my flying lap. As a result I didn't do as well as I could have, but I am pretty happy with the result. The car could still be better but I think that we have a competitive strategy and we will still be strong in the race tomorrow.”

[Max Power]

starting grid, from F1-live

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/1091/startinggrid7tz.th.jpg (http://img378.imageshack.us/my.php?image=startinggrid7tz.jpg)

[SFDMALEX]

Too bad Massa sucks balls from the back like last race. :? Thats why I want Rubens back on the team. He would have been in top 8 by lap 10. :wink:

[mindgam3]

What did I tell you all before the season started - Williams are this seasons dark horse ;)

Gonna be a great race tomorrow. I think the McLarens are carrying a lot more fuel. Fisi thought that Alonso had a bad run rather than running heavy but that could all be an act of innocence.

Gonna make a brave prediction of:

1. Kimi
2. Button
3. Rosberg

[sameerrao]

Too bad Massa sucks balls from the back like last race. :? Thats why I want Rubens back on the team. He would have been in top 8 by lap 10. :wink:

Hope you know that the reason he didnt qualify so well is because he got a 10 grid spot penalty for an engine change and he did just enough to make it into Qlf session 2 but didnt really put a fast lap to get into the top 10 qualifying - he wanted to save his engine and tires for the race as he was going to get docked 10 spots anyway.

[bmagni]

this engine change is making things intresting... i know Ferrari will do well

[SFDMALEX]

Too bad Massa sucks balls from the back like last race. :? Thats why I want Rubens back on the team. He would have been in top 8 by lap 10. :wink:

Hope you know that the reason he didnt qualify so well is because he got a 10 grid spot penalty for an engine change and he did just enough to make it into Qlf session 2 but didnt really put a fast lap to get into the top 10 qualifying - he wanted to save his engine and tires for the race as he was going to get docked 10 spots anyway.

I know I know, he got a 20 place penalty, but I still think the guy wont even make it into the top 10.

[sameerrao]

I heard that Massa changed his engine... twice!!! So he got a 20 grid spot penaly :shock:

One more engine change and they will make him start from Italy. :lol:

[Toronto]

even with starting in italy, when the light goes green he will be 10 car lengths in front of Super Aguri!!! :P

[Toronto]

ferrari cheating? no way
http://www.speedtv.com/articles/formulaone/auto/22628/

[SFDMALEX]

bloody hell this sucks................why do the hold races in countries with tottaly screwed up times zones?


There is no way I can stay awake for 3 more hours.......................blah going to sleep

[Toronto]

^^^ wimp, what do you have to do on a sunday?

[bmagni]

ferrari cheating? no way
http://www.speedtv.com/articles/formulaone/auto/22628/

pretty intresting, it would be kinda the same things as the michelins getting wider during race...

[5vz-fe]

Thanks to Klien :twisted:

[5vz-fe]

Yeah, I am surprise Cosworth saying they didn't cap the rev limit for their engines. I guess 100 degrees are too hot for the engine to survive. Pls...Kaboom for Renault pls :mrgreen:

[5vz-fe]

Damn, Michael pitted.....I guess Alonso really have tons for fuel on board

[5vz-fe]

Alonso Fastest Lap.......<sigh>..........<5vz-fe doing voodoo dance> 0X hai ya ya ya hai ya ya ya

[5vz-fe]

Freaking traffic holding up jenson too .....those Midland and SA cars are pure crap :fist:

[5vz-fe]

MS also behind Massa after 2nd pitstop....:(

[5vz-fe]

1 more point for MS....Heifield just blow his engine

[5vz-fe]

I guess on the bright side, the only problem Ferrari is having is the reliablilty of its engine. The chassis seems fine and w/ similar pace of the Renault. Afterall Malaysian GP suits the Renaults better, I guess there's still hope.

[tanelvali]

shitty result overall.

[Toronto]

what is with the 2 pages of play by play? frist GP you guys watched :P (take it your not morning people...

[saadie]

it really sucked for kimi and rosberg :( .....
well one this is for sure ..... cossworth engines cant last more then one weekend ...

im happy for renault fisi did really good .... so did alonso 8) 8)

[taygunho]

Official Result of 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points

1 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 56 1:30:40.529 1 10

2 1 Fernando Alonso Renault 56 +4.5 secs 7 8

3 12 Jenson Button Honda 56 +9.6 secs 2 6

4 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 56 +39.3 secs 5 5

5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 56 +43.2 secs 21 4

6 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 56 +43.8 secs 14 3

7 17 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 56 +80.4 secs 10 2

8 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 56 +81.2 secs 22 1

9 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 55 +1 Lap 9

10 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 55 +1 Lap 20

11 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 54 +2 Laps 13

12 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 54 +2 Laps 15

13 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 54 +2 Laps 16

14 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 53 +3 Laps 17

Ret 16 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 48 Engine 11

Ret 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 41 Clutch 12

Ret 23 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 33 Mechanical 18

Ret 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 26 Hydraulics 8

Ret 9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 15 Hydraulics 4

Ret 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 10 Hydraulics 19

Ret 10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 6 Engine 3

Ret 3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 0 Accident 6

Fastest Lap: Fernando Alonso 1:34.803

[Max Power]

buuuuuuuuuuurns......dammit schumi, damn renault to hell...damn damn damn, stayed up to watch that crap.... :x

[taygunho]

I went to bad last night about 03.00 (local time) and woke up at 08.30. I was expecting that schumi will be fast and will pass everybody and will wait for a chance to pass renaults but it didn't happened. Williams are started fast but it didn't contunied good for them. Can't wait to see next race what will both team do

[sameerrao]

Well that wasnt a very exciting race was it? Not too much overtaking with drivers worried about their engines and not pushing too hard.

Kimi's accident and the two Williams ka-blam-o meant that there was less on-track excitement.

Alonso's dragster like start and jump into third into the first corner was awesome to watch ... kinda like Indianapolis 2003.

I think Webber should have concentrated more on his line than trying to intimidate young Rosberg in to the first corner - I guess he was miffed that all the attention was on his younger teammate and wanted to put a point across. If he hadn't tried to swerve into Rosberg, he might have been able to block Alonso in turn 1.

Pretty lacklustre drive by MS this weekend - he was mid-pack for a really long while and I guess he was not pushing the engine all the way in fear of blowing it up. Good job by Massa to come all the way from dead last. This is more in line with what I expect from him.

Montoya is looking really slow this season for some reason. He was pretty heavy with fuel but was unremarkable at any point in the race. If Kimi was not tagged by Klien, I am sure he would have fought Alonso for second. I dont know why Monty is so inconsistent in his performance, when he was at Williams, I thought he was generally the more consistently fast performed - particularly in 2003 and 2004. With McLaren, he seems to be doing a Ralf - get a few great performances and then wallow in indifferent drives for the rest of the year.

Good job by Fisi. A win under similar circumstances like last year where Alonso's qualifying was compromised. But can he repeat this when Alonso qualifies well? I doubt it. During the press conference, when Alonso was being interviewed he said that he was really pleased to get 18 points in the first two races and he gave a glance at Fisi after he said this as if to say .. you may have won this race, but I will crush you over the season

[antonioledesma]

so the race was boring? I only saw a couple of laps. Hmmm. might not watch the repetion in 10 minutes

[5vz-fe]

Let's hope it's just the circuit........if Renault is as dominant as last season, I guess I will stop watching GP in the middle of the nite

[bmagni]

It was an ok race, as long as Alonso doesn't win i'm ok with it...
His start was nothing impressive, he had all the way cleared up with no one in front... yeah he had extra tration but all was too easy.

massa from last to 5th was pretty good, and schumi with 2 pit stops and 6th is pretty acceptable.

Buttons performance wasn't all too good, he could have done way better.

Kimi, well, pure bad luck, seems it was a problem with the suspension, like in bahrain, poor guy...

[nthfinity]

not a great race

seemed that there was only passing in the first lap; and MS' spectacular pass of JV :-D beyond that; not really much of anything happend

glad to see Fisi win, and Button get his first podium since 2004 :)

could it have been the heat that destroyed so many engines?

pitty the rain didn't really pour; that would've made the remainder of the race much more interesting

[ZfrkS62]

Bad luck for Kimi, great.

Bad luck for BMW, shit.

Bad luck for Rosberg, shit.

Bad luck for Scott Speed, shit.

anyone see a pattern here? Rosberg's failure, while spectacular, was disappointing. I wanted to see him continue his impressive performance. Speed was doing alright i guess, right up until his clutch said fuck off.

other than that, i don't really think wasting the space on my DVR's hard drive was worth it :?

[sameerrao]

Bad luck for Kimi, great.

Bad luck for BMW, shit.

Bad luck for Rosberg, shit.

Bad luck for Scott Speed, shit.

anyone see a pattern here?

(I'm going on a limb here) ... Shit??

[SFDMALEX]

F1 sucks.

[Mattk]

Then why are you here?

I saw the beginning and a few more laps, but thought it was getting boring. plus, I had an early lecture today, so I went to bed.

Disappointing performance from Michael Schumacher, but well done to Massa, for fighting back. Looks like another Renault year, though.

[ZfrkS62]

Bad luck for Kimi, great.

Bad luck for BMW, shit.

Bad luck for Rosberg, shit.

Bad luck for Scott Speed, shit.

anyone see a pattern here?

(I'm going on a limb here) ... Shit??

must be a pretty thick limb :lol:

[sameerrao]

Fisi, may have won but it was given to him. with his friend passing away last week and Fisi saying this race was for him i think Renauly felt bad about the last race also and pretty much said "we'll let Fisi win this race".

Renault is simply toying with Fisi!!
No personal offense, but that is an incredibly stupid statement. You seem to be reading conspiracies into everything :lol: Why on earth would Renault delibrately hobble their best driver? They are there to win the WDC and prepare their cars equally as has been clearly attested by both drivers and Pat Symmonds.

The start from 7th to 3rd from Alonso was impressive... especially considering he had "twice the fuel planned" :? makes me wonder if they're using a sort of launch control or something... :hmm: Anyway - if Webber would have kept the line instead of trying to block Nico, things could have been different.

Alonso didnt start with all that fuel or he could have nearly one stopped thru the race. The qualifying rules state that you start with minimum of what you have in the tank and a maximum that includes in addition a calculated fuel credit - fuel for every lap run within 110% of your best lap.

So Alonso must have got some of the fuel credit but not all of it. He still went longer into the first stint than his immediate rivals

[SFDMALEX]

Then why are you here?


Man shut the fuck up :roll:

[McLaren4eVa]

i stayed up an entire day no sleep to see kimi exit the race on the first lap what a fuking disappointment that kimi couldn't find luck if it came and smashed him in the face i mena he's a quick driver but it's just sad to see he has the speed but montoya has the reliability bullshit really well being the die hard F1 fan that i am i'm going to stay up all night for the Oz GP aswel but since McLaren have chassis and engine upgrades for the grand prox it should be something to look forward to. And as for the extreme bodywork cooling on the MP4-21 which alledgedly lost alot of downforce could it really have made it that slow or was it montoya's lack of speed.

[5vz-fe]

Each driver has different driving style (Button vs Rubens shows that clearly) and it seems Kimi's driving style is much harsher on the car than Montoya's thus the reliability difference. That sad, getting knocked out like that is clearly related to luck.

[sameerrao]

Each driver has different driving style (Button vs Rubens shows that clearly) and it seems Kimi's driving style is much harsher on the car than Montoya's thus the reliability difference. That sad, getting knocked out like that is clearly related to luck.

When Massa and Schumi were running in close formation in the end, they showed the brake, throttle bar graphs of both drivers - it was interesting to see that Michael and Felipe were almost identical - both had some throttle overlap during braking and were teasing the throttle on entry and apex before nailing it.

By contrast, in Bahrain they showed Michael and Alonso and we could see that Alonso was not overlapping brake and throttle like Michael.

Really cool to watch for us nutcases :)

[bmagni]

Each driver has different driving style (Button vs Rubens shows that clearly) and it seems Kimi's driving style is much harsher on the car than Montoya's thus the reliability difference. That sad, getting knocked out like that is clearly related to luck.

When Massa and Schumi were running in close formation in the end, they showed the brake, throttle bar graphs of both drivers - it was interesting to see that Michael and Felipe were almost identical - both had some throttle overlap during braking and were teasing the throttle on entry and apex before nailing it.

By contrast, in Bahrain they showed Michael and Alonso and we could see that Alonso was not overlapping brake and throttle like Michael.

Really cool to watch for us nutcases :)

true, I actually like that a lot, specially when they compare the drivers, and as you say MS and Massa have very similar styles, unlike MS and the stupid renault driver.

[McLaren4eVa]

Each driver has different driving style (Button vs Rubens shows that clearly) and it seems Kimi's driving style is much harsher on the car than Montoya's thus the reliability difference. That sad, getting knocked out like that is clearly related to luck.

When Massa and Schumi were running in close formation in the end, they showed the brake, throttle bar graphs of both drivers - it was interesting to see that Michael and Felipe were almost identical - both had some throttle overlap during braking and were teasing the throttle on entry and apex before nailing it.

By contrast, in Bahrain they showed Michael and Alonso and we could see that Alonso was not overlapping brake and throttle like Michael.

Really cool to watch for us nutcases :)

true, I actually like that a lot, specially when they compare the drivers, and as you say MS and Massa have very similar styles, unlike MS and the stupid renault driver.

True indeed but Massa has definately changed his driving style maybe because of the ca or maybe he just thought it was quicker but last year in the sauber he used to stab the throttle and gun it.

[SFDMALEX]

The whole discussion of driving style is pretty much useless in this day in age to be honest.

It will go as far as left or right foot braking.


There is only one fastest line, and there is only one way to drive that line in order to get everything out of it. Period. So if you watch the top 4 qual spots they all drive identicaly. The only difference is how well each drive exploints his brakes and his grip. And that is simply how late they brake, and how early and how hard they get on the throttle. And we are talking thousands of a second difference here.

This only applies to qual however.


Driving style today can only be discussed in terms of racing. That is how each drive goes about passing, protecting the line etc.
So in that respect Kimi is fairly clean and safe.

[5vz-fe]

The whole discussion of driving style is pretty much useless in this day in age to be honest.

It will go as far as left or right foot braking.


There is only one fastest line, and there is only one way to drive that line in order to get everything out of it. Period. So if you watch the top 4 qual spots they all drive identicaly. The only difference is how well each drive exploints his brakes and his grip. And that is simply how late they brake, and how early and how hard they get on the throttle. And we are talking thousands of a second difference here.

This only applies to qual however.


Driving style today can only be discussed in terms of racing. That is how each drive goes about passing, protecting the line etc.
So in that respect Kimi is fairly clean and safe.

u sure make left-foot braking sounds easy :roll:
TC in F1 is not perfect, throttle and brake modulation is important too (not that I drive a F1 car or anything close but tractions do varies in time and place.)

[sameerrao]

The whole discussion of driving style is pretty much useless in this day in age to be honest.

It will go as far as left or right foot braking.


There is only one fastest line, and there is only one way to drive that line in order to get everything out of it. Period. So if you watch the top 4 qual spots they all drive identicaly. The only difference is how well each drive exploints his brakes and his grip. And that is simply how late they brake, and how early and how hard they get on the throttle. And we are talking thousands of a second difference here.

This only applies to qual however.


Driving style today can only be discussed in terms of racing. That is how each drive goes about passing, protecting the line etc.
So in that respect Kimi is fairly clean and safe.

I disagree.

First of all there is no such thing as only one line on every track and every circumstance. There is a fastest line but that changes based on circumstance - is it raining, is there dust on track, is the car loose, is the car understeering, etc. What is the driver behind trying to do. All these factors make you adopt a different line.

After qualifying, Rosberg made a comment that the difference between Sepang and Bahrain was that Sepang offered a lot more lines to experiment with.

If you read couple of Peter Windsor's articles in F1 racing, he's spends quite some time talking about driver styles. There was an awesome article a couple years back where Peter compared all the drivers on the grid during testing in Barcelona for a couple corners. There was a huge difference between how the drivers approached the corner. Some turned in early while on the brakes (like Schumacher and Coulthard) and others braked in a straight line and then turned in hard (like Villeneuve and Hakkinen). I think Peter rated the drivers on visual speed, accuracy (did he hit the corner the same way every time) and so on.

Left or right foot braking is normally a matter of driver preference but left foot braking certainly helps in that it allows simultaneous application of both pedals to subtly rotate the car in the corner. This is of great help in fast corners. I remember a good example of this in the comparison between Michael and Rubens at Turn 1 in Suzuka and the Maggots/Becketts complex in Silverstone. Michael made up about 0.2-0.3 seconds over Rubens thru left foot braking - he carried more speed into the corner.

I think DC and Jenson are perhaps the smoothest drivers on the grid today. Compared to them drivers like Kimi and Montoya are more on the edge - their cars are always dancing about on the corners.

If there was no such difference in driving style why would a car be good to one driver and not his teammate but after a couple fundamental changes it would suit the other guy more. A case in point was Toyota in 2005 - Ralf kept complaining that the car was not giving him enough confidence in braking so he kept a margin and was slower than Trulli. But then when the revised car came out, it suited Ralf's driving style better and he did a better job.

[McLaren4eVa]

The whole discussion of driving style is pretty much useless in this day in age to be honest.

It will go as far as left or right foot braking.


There is only one fastest line, and there is only one way to drive that line in order to get everything out of it. Period. So if you watch the top 4 qual spots they all drive identicaly. The only difference is how well each drive exploints his brakes and his grip. And that is simply how late they brake, and how early and how hard they get on the throttle. And we are talking thousands of a second difference here.

This only applies to qual however.

Driving style today can only be discussed in terms of racing. That is how each drive goes about passing, protecting the line etc.
So in that respect Kimi is fairly clean and safe.

I disagree.

First of all there is no such thing as only one line on every track and every circumstance. There is a fastest line but that changes based on circumstance - is it raining, is there dust on track, is the car loose, is the car understeering, etc. What is the driver behind trying to do. All these factors make you adopt a different line.

After qualifying, Rosberg made a comment that the difference between Sepang and Bahrain was that Sepang offered a lot more lines to experiment with.

If you read couple of Peter Windsor's articles in F1 racing, he's spends quite some time talking about driver styles. There was an awesome article a couple years back where Peter compared all the drivers on the grid during testing in Barcelona for a couple corners. There was a huge difference between how the drivers approached the corner. Some turned in early while on the brakes (like Schumacher and Coulthard) and others braked in a straight line and then turned in hard (like Villeneuve and Hakkinen). I think Peter rated the drivers on visual speed, accuracy (did he hit the corner the same way every time) and so on.

Left or right foot braking is normally a matter of driver preference but left foot braking certainly helps in that it allows simultaneous application of both pedals to subtly rotate the car in the corner. This is of great help in fast corners. I remember a good example of this in the comparison between Michael and Rubens at Turn 1 in Suzuka and the Maggots/Becketts complex in Silverstone. Michael made up about 0.2-0.3 seconds over Rubens thru left foot braking - he carried more speed into the corner.

I think DC and Jenson are perhaps the smoothest drivers on the grid today. Compared to them drivers like Kimi and Montoya are more on the edge - their cars are always dancing about on the corners.

If there was no such difference in driving style why would a car be good to one driver and not his teammate but after a couple fundamental changes it would suit the other guy more. A case in point was Toyota in 2005 - Ralf kept complaining that the car was not giving him enough confidence in braking so he kept a margin and was slower than Trulli. But then when the revised car came out, it suited Ralf's driving style better and he did a better job.


So very true different driving styles are what give drivers those milliseconds that they need to gain advantages over their opponents, martin brundle pointed out a couple of times last year about alonso's car and how alonso prefers to have more understeer unlike others where they tend to have a more neutral to rearward biased car. Also i can remember i think in hungary last year montoya was talking about a different line through one of the corners which he found quicker. Also jensen button has a great driving style he somehoe manages to use as little traction control as possible and still manages to keep up with the rest, whereas in malaysia this past week where they show the revs and speed fisichella's car on accelaration the traction control cut in a heck of alot.

[SFDMALEX]

The whole discussion of driving style is pretty much useless in this day in age to be honest.

It will go as far as left or right foot braking.


There is only one fastest line, and there is only one way to drive that line in order to get everything out of it. Period. So if you watch the top 4 qual spots they all drive identicaly. The only difference is how well each drive exploints his brakes and his grip. And that is simply how late they brake, and how early and how hard they get on the throttle. And we are talking thousands of a second difference here.

This only applies to qual however.


Driving style today can only be discussed in terms of racing. That is how each drive goes about passing, protecting the line etc.
So in that respect Kimi is fairly clean and safe.

I disagree.

First of all there is no such thing as only one line on every track and every circumstance. There is a fastest line but that changes based on circumstance - is it raining, is there dust on track, is the car loose, is the car understeering, etc. What is the driver behind trying to do. All these factors make you adopt a different line.

After qualifying, Rosberg made a comment that the difference between Sepang and Bahrain was that Sepang offered a lot more lines to experiment with.

If you read couple of Peter Windsor's articles in F1 racing, he's spends quite some time talking about driver styles. There was an awesome article a couple years back where Peter compared all the drivers on the grid during testing in Barcelona for a couple corners. There was a huge difference between how the drivers approached the corner. Some turned in early while on the brakes (like Schumacher and Coulthard) and others braked in a straight line and then turned in hard (like Villeneuve and Hakkinen). I think Peter rated the drivers on visual speed, accuracy (did he hit the corner the same way every time) and so on.

Left or right foot braking is normally a matter of driver preference but left foot braking certainly helps in that it allows simultaneous application of both pedals to subtly rotate the car in the corner. This is of great help in fast corners. I remember a good example of this in the comparison between Michael and Rubens at Turn 1 in Suzuka and the Maggots/Becketts complex in Silverstone. Michael made up about 0.2-0.3 seconds over Rubens thru left foot braking - he carried more speed into the corner.

I think DC and Jenson are perhaps the smoothest drivers on the grid today. Compared to them drivers like Kimi and Montoya are more on the edge - their cars are always dancing about on the corners.

If there was no such difference in driving style why would a car be good to one driver and not his teammate but after a couple fundamental changes it would suit the other guy more. A case in point was Toyota in 2005 - Ralf kept complaining that the car was not giving him enough confidence in braking so he kept a margin and was slower than Trulli. But then when the revised car came out, it suited Ralf's driving style better and he did a better job.

Mate there is only one line around the track that is the fastest. Tracks dont change their geometric shape now do they? Drivers take different lines depnding on the equipment they are given and how it works with that particular corner. But it doesnt change the fact that only one line provides the shortest possible distance from point A to point B. And of course it changes depending on the circumstance and the level of grip each part of the track offers. Thats common sense.

However take track "x" freeze the moment and there is one single line that offers the fastest time. There is only one true line.


And I think you misunderstood my point.

Yes there are different driving styles but F1 of today doesnt offer the variety of back then.

Cars are much stiffer so you dont see drives swing weight around under power(slide around when fighting understeer). Nor do you see the different approaches of low speed throttle modulation.

What I mean to say is that modern F1s are very specific and stiff cars which do not allow for much improvisation.

With the endles setup possibilities of a modern F1 car its safe to say that each Sunday each car on the grid is pretty much custom tailord (sp?) for that particular track.


Back in the day with H sticks and soft suspensions bad tires drives showed a lot of their own individual style in how they drove.


Today the times changed and F1 doesnt allow for all the different ways that you can shift a gear, slide around a bend, and fight the lack of grip on corner exits.


Nowadays you move peddals to shift gear, to are not allowed to slide around cause your tires will melt, and TC takes out half the work normaly a driver would put into modulating the throttle. The hardest part of controlling the throttle is in the low end at slow speeds getting the right exit...........Today TC takes over the low end and cuts off at the top.....


So sure there still is plenty of style in modern F1, however its nothing like back in the day, and us the fans cant see any of it from outside.

[McLaren4eVa]

The whole discussion of driving style is pretty much useless in this day in age to be honest.

It will go as far as left or right foot braking.


There is only one fastest line, and there is only one way to drive that line in order to get everything out of it. Period. So if you watch the top 4 qual spots they all drive identicaly. The only difference is how well each drive exploints his brakes and his grip. And that is simply how late they brake, and how early and how hard they get on the throttle. And we are talking thousands of a second difference here.

This only applies to qual however.


Driving style today can only be discussed in terms of racing. That is how each drive goes about passing, protecting the line etc.
So in that respect Kimi is fairly clean and safe.

I disagree.

First of all there is no such thing as only one line on every track and every circumstance. There is a fastest line but that changes based on circumstance - is it raining, is there dust on track, is the car loose, is the car understeering, etc. What is the driver behind trying to do. All these factors make you adopt a different line.

After qualifying, Rosberg made a comment that the difference between Sepang and Bahrain was that Sepang offered a lot more lines to experiment with.

If you read couple of Peter Windsor's articles in F1 racing, he's spends quite some time talking about driver styles. There was an awesome article a couple years back where Peter compared all the drivers on the grid during testing in Barcelona for a couple corners. There was a huge difference between how the drivers approached the corner. Some turned in early while on the brakes (like Schumacher and Coulthard) and others braked in a straight line and then turned in hard (like Villeneuve and Hakkinen). I think Peter rated the drivers on visual speed, accuracy (did he hit the corner the same way every time) and so on.

Left or right foot braking is normally a matter of driver preference but left foot braking certainly helps in that it allows simultaneous application of both pedals to subtly rotate the car in the corner. This is of great help in fast corners. I remember a good example of this in the comparison between Michael and Rubens at Turn 1 in Suzuka and the Maggots/Becketts complex in Silverstone. Michael made up about 0.2-0.3 seconds over Rubens thru left foot braking - he carried more speed into the corner.

I think DC and Jenson are perhaps the smoothest drivers on the grid today. Compared to them drivers like Kimi and Montoya are more on the edge - their cars are always dancing about on the corners.

If there was no such difference in driving style why would a car be good to one driver and not his teammate but after a couple fundamental changes it would suit the other guy more. A case in point was Toyota in 2005 - Ralf kept complaining that the car was not giving him enough confidence in braking so he kept a margin and was slower than Trulli. But then when the revised car came out, it suited Ralf's driving style better and he did a better job.

Mate there is only one line around the track that is the fastest. Tracks dont change their geometric shape now do they? Drivers take different lines depnding on the equipment they are given and how it works with that particular corner. But it doesnt change the fact that only one line provides the shortest possible distance from point A to point B. And of course it changes depending on the circumstance and the level of grip each part of the track offers. Thats common sense.

However take track "x" freeze the moment and there is one single line that offers the fastest time. There is only one true line.


And I think you misunderstood my point.

Yes there are different driving styles but F1 of today doesnt offer the variety of back then.

Cars are much stiffer so you dont see drives swing weight around under power(slide around when fighting understeer). Nor do you see the different approaches of low speed throttle modulation.

What I mean to say is that modern F1s are very specific and stiff cars which do not allow for much improvisation.

With the endles setup possibilities of a modern F1 car its safe to say that each Sunday each car on the grid is pretty much custom tailord (sp?) for that particular track.


Back in the day with H sticks and soft suspensions bad tires drives showed a lot of their own individual style in how they drove.


Today the times changed and F1 doesnt allow for all the different ways that you can shift a gear, slide around a bend, and fight the lack of grip on corner exits.


Nowadays you move peddals to shift gear, to are not allowed to slide around cause your tires will melt, and TC takes out half the work normaly a driver would put into modulating the throttle. The hardest part of controlling the throttle is in the low end at slow speeds getting the right exit...........Today TC takes over the low end and cuts off at the top.....


So sure there still is plenty of style in modern F1, however its nothing like back in the day, and us the fans cant see any of it from outside.


Ok i see your point but just to point out i've only been watching formula 1 for about 5 years so i never really got to see the sliding of the past days but with traction control and electronic aids about to exit F1 in 08 along with slick tyres and some freaky looking wing hopefully we should see the sliding under power etc etc.

[SFDMALEX]

Ok i see your point but just to point out i've only been watching formula 1 for about 5 years so i never really got to see the sliding of the past days but with traction control and electronic aids about to exit F1 in 08 along with slick tyres and some freaky looking wing hopefully we should see the sliding under power etc etc.


Its not just that mate......its just that the game changed completly. And the old game involvded more driver improv then the new game :wink:

Kinda like the stock market. Its not the mad place of the 80s anymore. Its all done over computers these days hehe.

[McLaren4eVa]

Ok i see your point but just to point out i've only been watching formula 1 for about 5 years so i never really got to see the sliding of the past days but with traction control and electronic aids about to exit F1 in 08 along with slick tyres and some freaky looking wing hopefully we should see the sliding under power etc etc.


Its not just that mate......its just that the game changed completly. And the old game involvded more driver improv then the new game :wink:

Kinda like the stock market. Its not the mad place of the 80s anymore. Its all done over computers these days hehe.

Guess you're right but thats technology for you, can remember buying a really expensive phone and had the best camera around 1.3m but then less than a month later a 2megapixel camera phone cameout but what can you do, there was even a topic on jw about that merc that could park itself i mean come on what next a fully automatic car steering accelaration braking etc, it seems that car manufacturers are finding ways to make us more lazy behind the wheel.

[5vz-fe]

I agree to the fact that there's only 1 fastest line (entry, coner, exit speed) for a particular car.

When tires are fresh, track grip level is good, it is relatively easy for a driver to steer the car along that line. However, as the race goes on, wind direction, tire / track grip varies, following that ideal like becomes much harder and this is where drivers' style in brake, steering and throttle modulation comes into play. Also, don't forget the brake balance and many other adjustments the driver plays wtih during the race.

I don't agree that drivers back in the days are more skillful, I just think that their skill sets shifts into different areas as technology progresses over time.

[SFDMALEX]

I don't agree that drivers back in the days are more skillful, I just think that their skill sets shifts into different areas as technology progresses over time.

Not buy any means. As I said this is just a different game now.

There is no denying however that drives back in the day were much more involved with the driving aspect, and that all that involvment resulted in very differnt styles.