**** 2007 Malaysian GP ****

[blue8]

Finally, after 3 LONG weeks, the second round of the 2007 F1 season is on this weekend: :D

Here are a couple of updates on the testing done on the Sepang Circuit prior to the race (first time this has happened):

http://www.f1-live.com/f1/img/circuit/circuit_sepang.jpg

1 - Lap Times
Day 1
Sepang* - 27/03/2007
1 . R. Kubica - BMW Sauber F1.07 - 1:36.187 (+ 0.000 ) - 92 laps
2 . K. Raikkonen - Ferrari F2007 - 1:36.309 (+ 0.122 ) - 54 laps
3 . A. Wurz - Williams Toyota FW29 - 1:36.612 (+ 0.425 ) - 89 laps
4 . R. Barrichello - Honda RA107 - 1:36.826 (+ 0.639 ) - 82 laps
5 . P. de la Rosa - McLaren Mercedes MP4-22 - 1:37.106 (+ 0.919 ) - 60 laps
6 . F. Montagny - Toyota TF107 - 1:37.267 (+ 1.080 ) - 73 laps
7 . T. Sato - Super Aguri Honda SA07 - 1:37.389 (+ 1.202 ) - 72 laps
8 . D. Coulthard - Red Bull Renault RB3 - 1:37.609 (+ 1.422 ) - 83 laps
9 . N. Piquet - Renault R27 - 1:38.199 (+ 2.012 ) - 32 laps
10 . S. Speed - Toro Rosso Ferrari STR2 - 1:38.503 (+ 2.316 ) - 69 laps.

Day 2
Sepang* - 28/03/2007
1 . K. Raikkonen - Ferrari F2007 - 1:35.268 (+ 0.000 ) - 55 laps
2 . A. Wurz - Williams Toyota FW29 - 1:35.702 (+ 0.434 ) - 108 laps
3 . D. Coulthard - Red Bull Renault RB3 - 1:35.712 (+ 0.444 ) - 82 laps
4 . R. Schumacher - Toyota TF107 - 1:35.751 (+ 0.483 ) - 79 laps
5 . R. Kubica - BMW Sauber F1.07 - 1:35.887 (+ 0.619 ) - 108 laps
6 . L. Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes MP4-22 - 1:36.115 (+ 0.847 ) - 65 laps
7 . T. Sato - Super Aguri Honda SA07 - 1:36.306 (+ 1.038 ) - 63 laps
8 . R. Barrichello - Honda RA107 - 1:36.563 (+ 1.295 ) - 36 laps
9 . H. Kovalainen - Renault R27 - 1:36.578 (+ 1.310 ) - 81 laps
10 . J. Button - Honda RA107 - 1:36.617 (+ 1.349 ) - 24 laps
11 . A. Davidson - Super Aguri Honda SA07 - 1:37.876 (+ 2.608 ) - 36 laps
12 . S. Speed - Toro Rosso Ferrari STR2 - 1:37.910 (+ 2.642 ) - 36 laps
13 . V. Liuzzi - Toro Rosso Ferrari STR2 - 1:37.971 (+ 2.703 ) - 27 laps.


Day 3
Sepang* - 29/03/2007 ('Overnight rain and then a shower in the afternoon session')
1 . L. Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes MP4-22 - 1:35.918 (+ 0.000 ) - 57 laps
2 . M. Webber - Red Bull Renault RB3 - 1:36.138 (+ 0.220 ) - 62 laps
3 . R. Schumacher - Toyota TF107 - 1:36.700 (+ 0.782 ) - 69 laps
4 . V. Liuzzi - Toro Rosso Ferrari STR2 - 1:36.712 (+ 0.794 ) - 56 laps
5 . F. Massa - Ferrari F2007 - 1:36.947 (+ 1.029 ) - 65 laps
6 . N. Rosberg - Williams Toyota FW29 - 1:37.070 (+ 1.152 ) - 71 laps
7 . J. Button - Honda RA107 - 1:37.472 (+ 1.554 ) - 93 laps
8 . A. Davidson - Super Aguri Honda SA07 - 1:37.606 (+ 1.688 ) - 44 laps
9 . N. Heidfeld - BMW Sauber F1.07 - 1:38.551 (+ 2.633 ) - 35 laps
10 . H. Kovalainen - Renault R27 - 1:39.654 (+ 3.736 ) - 20 laps.

Day 4
Sepang* - 30/03/2007
1 . H. Kovalainen - Renault R27 - 1:35.757 (+ 0.000 ) - 55 laps
2 . F. Massa - Ferrari F2007 - 1:35.808 (+ 0.051 ) - 71 laps
3 . A. Davidson - Super Aguri Honda SA07 - 1:36.787 (+ 1.030 ) - 68 laps
4 . N. Rosberg - Williams Toyota FW29 - 1:37.002 (+ 1.245 ) - 103 laps
5 . F. Montagny - Toyota TF107 - 1:37.206 (+ 1.449 ) - 77 laps
6 . N. Heidfeld - BMW Sauber F1.07 - 1:37.318 (+ 1.561 ) - 69 laps
7 . J. Button - Honda RA107 - 1:37.326 (+ 1.569 ) - 37 laps
8 . M. Webber - Red Bull Renault RB3 - 1:37.338 (+ 1.581 ) - 43 laps
9 . L. Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes MP4-22 - 1:37.708 (+ 1.951 ) - 42 laps
10 . V. Liuzzi - Toro Rosso Ferrari STR2 - 1:38.542 (+ 2.785 ) - 55 laps
11 . C. Klien - Honda RA107 - 1:39.175 (+ 3.418 ) - 23 laps
12 . P. de la Rosa - McLaren Mercedes MP4-22 - 1:39.303 (+ 3.546 ) - 24 laps.

2 - Rain expected this weekend
From F1 Live:
Teams are bracing for a rain affected Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend. After the Sepang test was hit by rain last week, the south east Asian country's Meteorological Department now predicts that more showers and thunderstorms will coincide with round two of the world championship near Kuala Lumpur.

Interestingly, the bad weather is tipped to strike Sepang on the afternoon of all three days of official F1 action, with the mornings expected to be fine. The worst weather is forecast for Saturday, but Sunday is likely to also be affected by rain. Michael Schumacher won a wet Malaysian GP in 2001.

"We have to see how the field adapts to wet conditions," said Sepang boss Datuk Azmi Murad.

"I've experienced some incredible downpours before in Sepang," BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld commented last week. “Here, the rain is far from normal. When the heavens open, everything disappears under water in no time."

[acmarttin]

1 . K. Raikkonen - Ferrari F2007 - 1:35.268 (+ 0.000 ) - 55 laps

Fastest lap overall. Ferrari fanboys unite!!!!

[TopGearNL]

^^ Forza Ferrari! :D

Interesting to see some names so high in the list and others so low :shock:

[ZfrkS62]

looking forward to this. seeing them handle the rain here should give us a good idea as to how Brazil will end up since it usually rains there as well

[5vz-fe]

Yep, I have my rain god ready just incase :mrgreen:

[sameerrao]

Friday free practice 1 times from Sepang


1. MASSA Ferrari 1m34.972s
2. ALONSO McLaren 1m35.220s
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1m35.712s
4. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m35.779s
5. ROSBERG Williams 1m36.308s
6. WEBBER Red Bull 1m36.522s
7. TRULLI Toyota 1m36.597s
8. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m36.885s
9. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m37.052s
10. KUBICA BMW 1m37.121s
11. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m37.484s
12. VETTEL BMW 1m37.837s
13. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m37.882s
14. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m38.143s
15. FISICHELLA Renault 1m38.300s
16. SUTIL Spyker 1m38.720s
17. SATO Super Aguri 1m38.966s
18. SPEED Toro Rosso 1m39.130s
19. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m39.234s
20. BUTTON Honda 1m39.331s
21. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1m39.357s
22. ALBERS Spyker 1m40.074s

[yg60m]

The first real occasion to see Raikkonen vs Massa except if they change Raikkonen's engine as the rumour say ...

[sameerrao]

^ I think Raikonnen must be taking it easy on the engine during practice

[TopGearNL]

The first real occasion to see Raikkonen vs Massa except if they change Raikkonen's engine as the rumour say ...

Don't hope so..

Anyway hope that it rains! :D

[sameerrao]

Good news for Raikonnen

No engine change for Kimi
Friday, 06, April, 2007, 10:13


Ferrari has decided not to change Kimi Raikkonen's engine before qualifying.

The Finn had suffered a small water leak in the closing stages of the Australian Grand Prix, and suggested earlier in the week that he might have to accept a 10-place grid penalty if the team felt that a new engine was required.

But Ferrari boss Jean Todt told reporters at Sepang that this would not be necessary, and that the story had become over-hyped.

"The rumours started from speculation," said Todt.

"It is true in the last laps of the Australian Grand Prix, Kimi had a problem with a pipe and he lost some water - very little water.

"We did some more checks, then Kimi simulated the problems during the free testing here in Malaysia and nothing demonstrated that we should change our programme - which is to keep the same engine for Malaysia."

While Ferrari has acknowledged that not changing the engine is a slight risk given the Melbourne problem, the team thinks that a precautionary change - and the midfield start that would guarantee - would be a greater gamble.

[saadie]

Anyway hope that it rains! :D

hahaha .. thats gonna eff massa for sure :lol: ...


good to see the doing better 8)

[TopGearNL]

^^ Yep :wink:

[saadie]

:lol:

i dont like him either ;) :mrgreen:

[5vz-fe]

Too bad Rubens no longer with Ferrari, he's always good in the rain.

[sameerrao]

I think Rubinho is over the hill. I think he peaked in 2004 flattered by a dominant car. Since then he has done squat.

[saadie]

^^ true ....
well 1 hour to go ....

these damn gf's are annoying ... i didnt sleep all night :| .. its 7 am right now ... :|

[saadie]

Hamilton did great ... i doubt he'd be able to keep the ferrari's behind him in qualificaion ;)

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/2105/ltqt0.gif

[5vz-fe]

^^Wow, saadie, nice timing post you got there

[saadie]

so the time chart facinates you more then hamiltons laptime ? :lol: :mrgreen:

thank you :D

[5vz-fe]

I wouldn't worry about it, it means nothing much at this point. only 20 mins to go, we'll find out then.

[5vz-fe]

Very exciting last 1 minute of qualifying. Looks like Mclaren has upped their performance since Australian GP.

[saadie]

^^ owh yes big times ..... lets see if they can mintain the pace ..... i hope they dont haha ... but anyway .. heres another fancy laptime chart 8)

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/7286/image1dw9.gif

[sameerrao]

^^
Fancy - Yes
Readable - No :lol: :wink:

[ZfrkS62]

the final 1:36 of Q3 was better than most of the races last year :D With Alonso matching Kimi almost down to the thousandth of a second in every sector and then to have Massa clip them both...AWESOME!

Let's hope that they can keep up the pace in 14 hours :D

[sameerrao]

Fernando was mentioning that the Ferrari long run pace is stronger than McLaren. So hopefully Kimi will be able to leapfrog the McLaren in the pitstops if he doesnt do so into Turn 1 on the first lap :)

I dont think Kimi can beat Massa this weekend if he is planning to nurse his engine.

[5vz-fe]

I just hope Kimi is going for long fuel runs.

[5vz-fe]

Ferrari's car looks very stable, there's very little steering correction thru complex section of the course

[sameerrao]

^ Massa is very smooth! A Schumi like lap if I can say so. Its nice to see both Kimi and Massa playing with the brake balance thru the corners. I used to see adjustments only mady bythe one and only Schu.

[SFDMALEX]

now who and why deleted my post?

[5vz-fe]

^ Massa is very smooth! A Schumi like lap if I can say so. Its nice to see both Kimi and Massa playing with the brake balance thru the corners. I used to see adjustments only mady bythe one and only Schu.

Yeah, I still remember Schumi requesting all kinda controls on his steering wheel in the earlier days (Starting to increase from 99~00). Ferrari's steering always have the most buttons and knobs.

[saadie]

^^
Fancy - Yes
Readable - No :lol: :wink:

you must have the F1 subice theme :lol: ... well i donno im sorry? :P change to cobalt or subblack :prr:

6 hours 45 mins to go :D :?

[sameerrao]

That explains why no one else complained :)

[saadie]

yep ... i tried adding a black shadow so you could see it on white but it didnt really work out :?

anyway .. the race is at 12 am my time ... i got up super extra early at 5 am lol :? im soo frigging bored :lol:

[5vz-fe]

Massa f**ked up bad...... :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[bultaco_metralla]

07:05 OMG what a start!!! Go A.lonso GO!!! AWESOME HAMILTON!!!
LOL %vz-fe LOL!!XDXDXD

07:08What a first laps!!!! OMG Hamilton... LOL Massa!!!

07:10 What a fu***** idiot Gonzalo Serrano about his doubt of Hamilton.... Have you heard it Dani ??

07:12 LOL Massa EAT GRASS Great Hamilton!!

1º Alonso 2º Hamilton 3º Raikkonen Lets see Lewis with Kimmi

07:25 A spyker burning oin pits ... BBQ !!!

07:36 16 laps, pits dancings coming soon!!

07:39 lap 17 Alonso and kimmi pitstop

07:43 Hamilton over Kimmi affter pitstop :D :D :twisted:

07:48 Heidfield on pits----> Over Massa XD !! Massa's NIghtmare

im going to live timing ---> see you after 35 laps!!!

[5vz-fe]

Ferrari's worst choice....Massa for sure, he sucked!!

[nthfinity]

Massa f**ked up bad...... :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

no kidding

[bultaco_metralla]

XD 14 laps to go!! Go A.lonso Go!!!! And lewis on second place :twisted:

what happens with ferrari you fan boys???? :D :D

Kimmi is now chasing Hamilton, hes a sec faster than the bignigga on each lap... Come on Hamilton YOU CAN DO IT!

5 laps to go!!! Alonso 1º, Hamilton 2º and Kimmi 3º.... Kimmi just behind of Hamilton.... i dont think he will overtake Lewis!! Just one second and 2 laps to go !!!

[bultaco_metralla]

Awesome Race !! GREAT VICTORY for Fernando A.lonso and 2º Place for Hamilton.... Kimmi 3rd XD !! Poor Massa... this wasnt his race!!!

Go A.lonso Go !!!

[saadie]

damn those mclarens had a good start .....
oh well ....

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4401/f1malaysiaresulthq1.gif

soo alonso is at 18 points and raikonen at 16 .. hmm

[Max Power]

worthless assa is useless at passing... :o

[saadie]

^^ lol .. yeh he showed alot of immaturity .....

[yg60m]

I was surprised by the (relatively) poor performances of the Ferraris :| I think that the change of flat undertrays had a more important impact than awaited ...

It seems that having Alonso in a team has a strong impact on performances too :wink: Look where Renault is now ...

[blue8]

The McLaren team was VERY impressive today but I'm not giving up on Ferrari!

[Everlasting]

fuck!

[5vz-fe]

Massa is completely useless....that's one point well proven today.

His start is poor, then the attempt to pass Lewis is just pure laughable. I bet Lewis is laughing the whole flight home.

Anther thing is, Mclaren is reliable this year.......so not good for Ferrari. :cry:

[sameerrao]

Disappointing race from a Ferrari standpoint. Kimi did an okay job though with a crippled engine. Massa sucked big time.

Got to hand it to Lewis. What a drive - drove like a champion today. Very good job at keeping the Ferraris behind. Entertaining first few laps and last few laps as well. Good start by Alonso and thereafter he was cruising out there on his own. Good job!

Heidfeld did well too.

[TopGearNL]

As said dissapointing race byMass and Ferrari.

Alonso did quite well but his win was due to Hamilton holding up the Ferrari's IMO. Lewis Hamilton was already my favourite even before driving so well as he does!

I loved the way he talked on the radio after the race:
Ron Dennis: ''Are you allright?''
Lewis Hamilton: ''Yeah Im allright, its just that I want to win! But don't worry Ill win a race somewhere during this season!''

What a champ! 8) :D

[bmagni]

lol @ massa at the start and the passing attempts... anyways its still the second race and we just have to wait 7 days for another one


Ron Dennis: ''Are you allright?''
Lewis Hamilton: ''Yeah Im allright, its just that I want to win! But don't worry Ill win a race somewhere during this season!''

that was nice

[ae86_16v]

You can't blame me for trying, insists Massa.
Sun 08 Apr, 01:53 PM

Felipe Massa has defended his botched overtaking manoeuvre on Lewis Hamilton, a move that saw the Brazilian slip to an eventual fifth place at the end of a Malaysian Grand Prix that he was tipped to dominate.

Massa had started from pole position but a tardy getaway and loose first few corners saw him tumble to third, by which he spent the next few laps crawling over the back of Hamilton in a bid to regain the position.

However, having seemingly found a way up the inside at turn four on lap four, Hamilton duly countered the move by cutting back up on the inside. When Massa attempted the same pass a lap later though, the Brazilian got out of shape and slid wide, falling behind team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and Nick Heidfeld into fifth.

Nonetheless, Massa claims he cannot be blamed for at least trying to pass Hamilton, even if the method did not necessarily match the vision.

"It was a very tough race in which we suffered a lot. It was almost impossible to overtake. I tried to attack Lewis, but I made a mistake and ended up off the track. I cannot blame myself for trying and next time things will go better.

Still, Massa was disappointed his Ferrari's pace regardless and as such was never able to get back on terms with Heidfeld ahead of him, whose longer fuel strategy helped the German stay ahead.

"The race we did not go the way we had expected and our pace was slower than we had expected. Now, we have to find out why and work to improve the situation in the coming races. But it was still important to have got the car to the flag as it is vital to always score points."

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/08042007/23/t-blame-trying-insists-massa.html

[blue8]

Ferrari Leave Sepang Disappointed (F1 Live):

Ferrari started the Malaysian Grand Prix in first and third position and leave Sepang disappointed with third and fifth positions for Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.

Raikkonen loses his championship lead to Fernando Alonso while Massa's fifth pace gives him the same position in the overall standings. Ferrari trail rivals McLaren Mercedes by nine points in the constructors' championship.

Kimi Raikkonen
"A day of mixed feelings. On the one hand I am happy to have picked up six points, on the other, I am disappointed that the race did not live up to my expectations. This weekend we had to make some compromises on the car and that meant we were unable to exploit its full potential. Today we lacked a bit of speed when up against our main rivals. I repeat that I'm a bit disappointed but I am also aware this is just the beginning of the season and that these points will definitely be important for the championship as it evolves. The team did a good job, given all the uncertainties we had. We have to try and improve to get one hundred percent out of all the elements of the package. The first corner? Fernando and Lewis were just better than us."

Felipe Massa
"It was a very tough race in which we suffered a lot. It was almost impossible to overtake. I tried to attack Lewis, but I made a mistake and ended up off the track. I cannot blame myself for trying and next time things will go better. The race we did not go the way we had expected and our pace was slower than we had expected.
Now, we have to find out why and work to improve the situation in the coming races. But it was still important to have got the car to the flag as it is vital to always score points."

Jean Todt
"This is definitely a disappointing result. After a great qualifying yesterday, with Felipe on pole and Kimi third, we certainly expected better. Unfortunately, we have had to settle for a third and a fifth place from Kimi and Felipe respectively. The crucial points for getting a race win are grid position, the start, the strategy, reliability and obviously, the performance of the cars. Today, we did not manage a good start with Felipe, who later, in an effort to catch up, went off track and dropped to fifth place, thus compromising his race. Kimi was also overtaken at the start and from then on was unable to do anything about it. In the end, we got both cars home but the ten points we got are definitely cause for satisfaction. We know we are up against a very strong and battle ready opponent who did a better job than us today. Fortunately, in just one week's time we get the chance to make up for it at Sakhir. We will do all we can there to get the best possible result."

Luca Baldisserri
"There is no point in denying that we are disappointed. Our performance level was definitely lower than expected and lower than what we had seen in testing last week as well as on Friday and Saturday. We will have to take a very close look at what happened. Of course the start played a big part in the way the race evolved. Felipe did not make the most of pole and then he was unlucky when trying to pass Hamilton, going off the track, but more critically, losing vital position. The fact that the performance gap between the cars in the race was not as great as we had expected made the situation more complicated, also when taking into account our strategies. Both Kimi and Felipe spent a lot of time in traffic and were thus unable to get the most out of their cars. But we can be pleased about getting both cars to the finish, given the uncertainties the day before. But we now have to work on ensuring that all elements of the package are operating at their maximum."