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2008 Formula One - Round 2, Malaysian Grand Prix

M

Midnight Rambler

Diamond Member
I'll start this round out with some P1 thoughts/observations ...

1.) The Red Bull cars (team & "customer") are looking even more fragile, if that's possible. Actually, downright scary. Another brake failure. And a steering column failure too ? After Senna, I thought we'd never see one of those again ! Possible common link here ? ie. Designed by Adrian Newey. Perhaps he just pushes the limit too far ? Or maybe he's lost his touch and should just move on to something else, like America's Cup (as he's always threatened/aspired to do) ? Definitely not to vintage car racing though ... 😉

2.) More Ferrari engine problems (mainly "customers" at this point though). Steve Matchett's explanation makes sense, more and more (ie. it's at least partly due to infamiliarity with the new common ECU). In the case of Team Ferrari last week, lack of fuel pressure, and thus supply to the engine, may have led to the "expiration" of intake valve(s).

3.) Is BMW sandbagging again, or is the car really just good for one hot lap before it "fades". Also, still much speculation that the car is very difficult to set up.

4.) Williams resurgence does not appear to be a fluke, Nico still looking strong, even 'Kaz had respectable performance. Good for them, nice to see a privateer still in the mix !

5.) Drivers still making LOTS of mistakes.

6.) We found out why Heikki got re-passed by Alonso in Oz, just after he had passed him on the straight. Bet he keeps his finger off the limiter from now on ...
 
i think Newey is trying to make a (relatively) slow car faster by shaving off too much structure.

"4.) Williams resurgence does not appear to be a fluke, Nico still looking strong, even 'Kaz had respectable performance. Good for them, nice to see a privateer still in the mix !"

time will tell, but i'd love to see Williams score a victory.
 
I watched the practice session a few hours ago.

It looks like Red Bull/Torro Rosso are having some reliability issues. All 4 cars had something go wrong.

The Ferraris look strong, assuming the cars don't break they should take 2 of the top 4 spots in qualifying, and probably the race also. But the McLarens will probably be right next to them, again.

I would say that the BMWs are still likely to be around the next 2 spots after that in qualifying and the race. With maybe a podium finish through attrition.

But the results in Australia were crazy. Look at this:

1 22 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 58 1:34:50.616 1 10
2 3 Germany Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 58 +5.478 5 8
3 7 Germany Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 58 +8.163 7 6
4 5 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault 58 +17.181 11 5
5 23 Finland Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 58 +18.014 3 4
6 8 Japan Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 57 +1 Lap 13 3
7 14 France Sébastien Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 55 Engine 17 2
8 1 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 53 Engine 15 1
Ret 4 Poland Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 47 Collision 2
Ret 12 Germany Timo Glock Toyota 43 Accident 18
Ret 18 Japan Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 32 Transmission 19
Ret 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault 30 Clutch 20
Ret 2 Brazil Felipe Massa Ferrari 29 Engine 4
Ret 9 United Kingdom David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 25 Collision 8
Ret 11 Italy Jarno Trulli Toyota 19 Electrical 6
Ret 20 Germany Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 8 Hydraulics 22
Ret 10 Australia Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 0[11] Collision 14
Ret 16 United Kingdom Jenson Button Honda 0[11] Collision 12
Ret 19 United Kingdom Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 0 Collision 21
Ret 15 Germany Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0 Collision 9
Ret 21 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 0 Collision 16
DSQ 17 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Honda 58 Disqualified 10

That's an ugly race. With a little luck this week, maybe more than 5 cars can cross the finish line.

 
i think Newey is trying to make a (relatively) slow car faster by shaving off too much structure
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I agree. His design "philosophy" has almost always been to go as light as possible. Good comment from a McLaren engineer on this (from when Newey worked there ...) - "We always took what Adrian gave us and added another 25%". Looks like it could "bite" RBR though, as the FIA is considering a review of their design due to safety concerns.

Anyways, 'quali is over and it appears that "order" has been restored, ie. Ferrari back at the top of the ladder, P1 & P2 on the grid. Though I was a bit surprised Massa pipped Kimi by nearly 0.5 sec. Kimi had the fastest time of the weekend in Q2 (bettering Massa's pole time by almost 0.4 sec.), but said he had probs with his soft tires in Q3. Me, I think he's running heavy on fuel again. Pretty much his M.O.

Big surprise (for some ...), Heikki out-qualified Lewis. I really think Heikki will win a race or two this year. Finns+McLaren = Success, Ron loves his Finns.

Speaking of Finns, didn't both Kimi and Heikki look extremely bored in the post-quali conference ? I think Mika started this. 😀 Sure as heck wasn't Keke ! 😀😀

Majorly disappointed to see Nico and Williams fall off so much from last week. He had run quite well through the first day of practice. Hopefully 'Oz wasn't just a fluke.

Also a little bit surprised to see Vettel not perform as well as last week.

Something HAS to be done about drivers slowing down after their last "flying" lap in Q3 in order to save fuel. Lewis was especially bad about this, probably because he's running light. Killed Heidfeld's "flyer" and could have caused a "big one". IMHO, a penalty would not be inappropriate. Not this weekend, as there's no regulation(s) yet, but I predict we will have one from the FIA sooner than later.

And we finally got our first good "Hobbsism" of the season - "In 2006, he (Button) started from the front of the rear." Wonder how many gin & tonics he had before 'quali, he had plenty of time considering the 2:00am ET start.

I'm still waiting for him to say "clag" for the first time this season. 😉


The race should be good, need to get to the store to get my Fosters ...
 
Penalty happened and was 100% appropriate.
It wasn't the going slowly on its own, it was the fact that both McLarens were going slowly on the racing line. Most of the other cars were fine in terms of their positioning (although it's still very bad practice).
Not only was it dangerous, but it also clearly cost Heidfeld (unless you think he would normally run wide in a corner where his approach has been horribly compromised). And with times that tight (0.050s would have got him an extra 3 grid slots, 0.150 would have been 4), they were always going to get penalised.
Penalty was 100% deserved. They were penalised for impeding cars in qualifying.

A revision will definitely be needed before the next race.
 
agreed, lonyo.

i wonder why hamilton was satisfied with the second row, when he had the option of another hot lap. was it because he didn't think he could improve his position, or did he want an extra lap of fuel for the race?

since when does toyota qualify 2 cars in the top 10? that takes more than light fuel and a dry setup.

 
It should be interesting to see what happens with a Toyota starting in 3rd. A little luck could put him on the podium, but the BMWs will be all over him for the whole race.

Apparently the McLarens have a bit of an advantage from a standing start, according to some comments made in the practice session. So, they may be able to launch up a few spots from the start.

 
It wasn't the going slowly on its own, it was the fact that both McLarens were going slowly on the racing line.
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Yes indeed, I miffed that part, re: the racing line. Did you happen to see Heidfeld's "in-car" camera view of the incident ? Nasty ! Although the audio wasn't great, it didn't seem like he lifted much/if at all, and just barely altered his own line. As Hobbs would say, he has "large attachments". 😀😀😀


i wonder why hamilton was satisfied with the second row, when he had the option of another hot lap. was it because he didn't think he could improve his position, or did he want an extra lap of fuel for the race?
Click to expand...

From interviews I've read, he basically just had a bad day, took full blame for it himself. Of course, that could just be "tactics" too ... the mind games between Ferrari and McLaren are already in full swing. Just another part of F1 though.


since when does toyota qualify 2 cars in the top 10? that takes more than light fuel and a dry setup
Click to expand...

Trulli has always been a mad qualifier, but usually drifts back/astray in the race. I really like the guy, one of the few enjoyable personalities in F1. Too bad he has spent most of his career in only so-so cars, I think he could have won quite a few times (at least as many as Coulthard, for example).


Sounds like it's gonna be a wet race, could get real interesting.


Turn up the volume .....
 
Big Red is back in form. Kimi walked away with the race, while Massa costs himself, and his team, dearly by beaching the car. BMW and Kubica is to be taken seriously this year, and Toyota makes some significant progress.

What the Hell happened to Lewis? Despite having a couple laps of fuel in hand, a poorly handling car, a botched pit stop, and possibly failing to manage tires and brakes conspired to make a relatively poor showing. The slow-mo replay of the left front locking up was pretty impressive, with slabs of rubber peeling off.

Webber drove that POS like he stole it. His own rear light couldn't keep up. Newey, you suck.

STR is up for sale, likely their best move.
 
Argh, BD, you beat me with an excellent summary. Too many Foster's, I had a bit of a "lapse" after the race. 😀 Not sure why I'm still drinking that brand, they're no longer the "Official Beer of F1" (yet another long-standing relationship Bernie has kicked to the curb).

Clearly Kimi and the Ferrari are a force to be reckoned with. The only "race" was between he and Massa. Methinks Massa is on his way out after '08, esp. since Jean Todt is no longer team principal. I just hope that the rumors of cry-baby/back-stabber Alonso going to Ferrari are not true. That POS doesn't even deserve a seat in a Super Aguri ...

I think you are right about BMW, and esp. Kubica. He was a bit lost for the last half of '07 after his big shunt, but seems to be totally back in form this year.

As for Lewis, I predict he will become more of an "Alonso", ie. demand #1 status in the team or threaten to take his ball elsewhere, as Heikki is putting serious pressure on him already. Lewis is a good driver, no doubt, but he is also a bit overrated as well. A lot of it is because the British have been longing for another great driver for some time. Some of his issues in the race were of his own doing ... he rubbished his brakes (and tires), and I think that huge cloud of carbon brake dust at least somewhat contributed to the problem on his first pit stop (ie. got in the face/eyes of the mechanics and distracted them). Heikki's car didn't "puke" a carbon dust cloud. And Lewis called for the wing adjust too, so he was at least partly to blame for the handling probs he had.

My "drive of the race" vote goes to Trulli. He finally had a "race" car that backed up his 'quali speed.


STR is up for sale, likely their best move.
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Good. Much as I loved Berger during his driving days (he was a "throwback" and a real joker too ...), he's been an ass as an (part) owner. He really screwed over Scott Speed, who IMHO is as good a driver as Bourdais. Sure, Bourdais won (4) Champ Car titles ... in a car that was vastly superior to any other in the series, and against little to no competion.

Finally, was it just me or was there hardly anyone at the race ? Lots of empty seats/space. Another big thankewe to Bernie, guess Petronas is more important to him than fans. Screw over the #1 race in terms of attendance (USGP at Indy) and keep a bunch of races that nobody goes to. Before somebody notes that half the seats at Indy were always empty, the place holds 400K. Not only was it a great race in terms of attendance, it was a truly an International event. Large numbers of foreign fans always attended, esp. because it was more affordable than attending their own home Grands Prix. Most of the drivers loved it, and all the manufacturers wanted to be here.

Next up we get to see the cars race on a dusty track for a couple dozen sheiks. How fan-tastic ... NOT ! Bring back the USGP, and Imola too !

Rant mode off ...
 
Just watched some of the pre-race interviews and noticed that Heikki accepted responsibility for his penalty like a man while Lewis seemed to be blaming his team and the weather. It's good to see Heikki get some recognition for his driving - I think Flavio was wrong to discard him in favor of Piquet.
 
last year, david hobbs said: "if you think getting rid of scott speed is going to fix all that is wrong with the team, it ain't." they never should have been allowed to enter. bernie refused to allow spyker to compete with customer cars, but when red bull and honda wanted "sister" teams (they can't all be last), no problem. i'm surprised spyker hasn't sued either FOM or FIA, considering they were forced to spend tens of millions building a car when 2 other teams operated as if the rule didn't exist. maybe bernie resolved that issue quietly, to roll out the welcome mat for that indian steel tycoon, and the 2010 indian gp.

best picture of a spyker car, NSFW-ish
http://wallpaper.skins.be/gemm...kinson/26559/1024x768/

alonso's contract with renault is worth about $40 million, and he can bail out if the car is too shitty. i can't see massa driving a ferrari next year. but, with a long and unashamed history of team orders, i don't think ferrari wants 2 #1 drivers.

races are held in the god-forsaken corners of the planet now because china, bahrain, singapore, malaysia et cetera don't hesitate to drop over $300 million to hold an F1 race. they hope to get most of that back through ticket sales, tourism and promotion of their country. i think the sheiks do it just to spend money. despite lots of local support, the austrailian race is under fire: bernie demands the race be held at night to accommodate the european tv audience, and local officials want to dump the race because they have lost (public) money on it for a couple years now. screw indianapolis, i want to see an F1 race on the streets of las vegas!
 
Originally posted by: GoatMonkey
Originally posted by: potato28
I really wish I could find a feed to watch the F1, but no channels carry it around me 🙁 :|
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You can't get the Speed Channel?
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Can't get it with my provider without a bunch of other worthless channels... Damn you Bell ExpressVu! :|
 
screw indianapolis, i want to see an F1 race on the streets of las vegas!
Click to expand...

Sorry, must disagree with you there. For starters, basically "been there and done that", albeit years ago at Caesar's Palace. I went and it sucked.

More reasons why NOT to have a race there :

1.) Ticket prices will be obscenely high. Indy had the cheapest ticket prices on the F1 calendar, a major reason why so many International fans came. As one of my seat "neighbors" from Germany commented, it was cheaper for them to travel here and attend the race than it was to just buy a pr. of tickets for one of their GP's.

2.) As it would be a temporary circuit, they would not be able to do the "Pit Walkabout" on Thurs., like Indy does. IMHO, the walkabout is maybe even better than the actual race, esp. since it's free for ticket holders. No where else can you get a driver autograph, watch the teams build the cars up close, etc. It's freaking awesome !!!

3.) Historical factor. The Indy museum is a must-stop for any fan.


But hey, good news tonight, via Robin Miller on Speed's "Wind Tunnel" show.

It appears there is a very good chance of F1 returning for the USGP at Indy in 2009 !!!

The Speedway, and esp. the city leaders and business community, never wanted the GP to leave in the first place, it was always down to the obscene amount of $ Bernie wanted from Tony G.

Now, they are seriously recruiting major corporate sponsor(s) for the GP to help offset the cost. Despite having sponsors in the past, they never had any big $'s flowing in via that avenue. Now that may soon change.

And before someone writes off Miller as a "hack", the guy knows his stuff and has MAJOR connections. He's broken so many big stories, so far in advance, that often people don't believe him, until they later come true. CRAPCAR still hates him for breaking the news that Winston was leaving, months and months before anyone else even had an inkling. Especially funny (and embarrassing to CRAPCAR), since Robin only covers open-wheel.
 
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