F1-Round 2, 2007 Mayalasian GP [Archive]

OnTheGas

04-02-2007, 10:05 PM

I think we all still don't really know what is going on.Yeah, agreed.

Though it appears that Ferrari may have been as much as a second a lap faster than McLaren at Albert Park, we don't really know that because Ferrari and McLaren didn't really get a chance to run heads up against each other on race day. First the BMW was hanging up both McLarens, and then Alonso had to fight his way past Hamilton to get a clear run against the Ferrari. By then, Kimi had already pulled the gap needed for victory, and he had the luxury of turning down his motor, since it was running warm with a small water leak.

We might see a more true example of the race pace at Sepang... Though Sepang is weird... everyone's aero will be a little wacky, since they have to open out the bodywork to get enough cooling, so it may not be a true indicator of the rest season.

But I expect McLaren and Alonso will work Ferrari pretty hard this season... McLaren has much hunger, as they have been in the wilderness for a few seasons, and they know they are close now. And their driver line-up is outstanding. I think this could be a very entertaining season.

Dogbert2

04-02-2007, 10:36 PM

1. Massa
2. Alonso
3. Raikkonen (Only because of probable engine change, or else he'd be no.1)
4. Hamilton
5. Heidfeld
6. Rosberg
7. Fisichella
8. Schumacher

Ferg

04-03-2007, 12:17 AM

More fuel for the fires.

From the March 22 issue of Autosport.

McLaren is adamant that it is not missing much to the Ferrari on single-lap pace, but it's over a stint that the team loses out. An analysis of the second stint-when McLaren was not pegged behind Heidfeld and before both teams turned down the wick on the run to the flag-suggests that McLaren can't assert it's authority on new tyres.

While Raikkonen subsequently admitted that he was not pushing throughout the race, the stint analysis suggests that Ferrari is able to run faster on heavier tanks and still maintain a performance advantage to push on low fuel. It may be that the team opted to ease Raikkonen's pace in the middle of the stint. Either way, it does seem to show that Ferrari can turn the performance of the F2007 on and off at will and that McLaren has it's biggest performance disadvantage on new tyres.

I agree that's it's still too early to get a truly clear picture of how the season is going to pan out...I think by the time of the European round of updates things will be more or less settled...but if past history is anything to go by, whenever Ferrari start a season with a second or more of race pace in hand the writing is usually on the wall. Combine that with a very hungry Kimi and I tend to agree with Mr. Bell, it'll be a remarkable driver who beats him.

Can't wait to find out! :D

wvallwheeldrive

04-03-2007, 02:05 AM

alachua

04-03-2007, 06:13 AM

1: F.Alonso
2: F.Massa
3: K.Raikkonen
4: N.Heidfeld
5: L.Hamilton
6: G.Fisichella
7: N.Rosberg
8: R.Schumacher

I think the motor issue will cause a replacement penalty, and I'm curious to see what effect that Ferrari floor design had on the speed of the car. I'm not sure about Alonso to win, but I went with him based on nothing more than a fantasy sport gut feeling.

-Cliff

StuBeck

04-03-2007, 11:10 AM

i still think barring mechanical failures the red team will win 15 races this season. The other teams have too much change, and Ferrari already know most of the tires they will be using, while the other top teams adapt there cars to them allowing Ferrari to improve there car and not figure out the tires during the early part of the season. Giving the red team a huge advantage early in the season.

One race doesn't prove much though. Montoya almost lapped the field in Germany in 03 but still lost the championship. I think they will do well, but I don't think they have as big of an advantage as they did in 02 or 04.

The weather forecast is so off because they don't know anything past about 4 days. At the 5th day, they have about a 50% chance of being correct. Thursday will be a better day to figure out what the weather might be like.

BillT

04-04-2007, 12:36 PM

My picks:

Massa
KR
FA
Heidfeld
Hamilton
Kubica
Fisi
Webber

I'm counting on them not replacing KR's engine and the whole 'moveable floor' thing not being as big a deal as Ron Dennis think it is.

KAX

04-04-2007, 09:04 PM

Funny how most of us have Alonso in the top 3, but no one has picked him to win.

Even though I hate him (or as Stu would say, extremely dislike :p ) im picking him to win. Hopefully kimi gets an engine change, i dont want him blowing up.

1. F.Alonso
2. F.Massa
3. K.Raikkonen
4. L.Hamilton
5. N.Heidfeld
6. H.Kovalainen
7. J.Button
8. G.Fisichella

bitterWRX

04-04-2007, 10:40 PM

F.Massa
F.Alonso
K.Raikkonen
L.Hamilton
N.Heidfeld
R.Schumacher
N.Rosberg
T.Sato

RALFIE (6th) AND SATO (8th)! WOOT WOOT! :D

KAX

04-05-2007, 03:44 AM

RALFIE (6th) AND SATO (8th)! WOOT WOOT! :D

whatever you're on, I want some.

grandpa rex

04-05-2007, 08:32 AM

Here is the 80 point pick:

1. Alonso
2. Massa
3. Hamilton
4. Kubica
5. Raikkonen (after an engine change)
6. Heilfeld
7. Trulli
8. Webber

artkevin

04-05-2007, 02:03 PM

This could be big...

Stewards confiscate Toro Rosso parts
05 April 2007

Stewards of the Malaysian Grand Prix have confiscated parts of the Toro Rosso car following Spyker's protest that the car is illegal, Speed TV reports. Spyker made a protest against the team for supposedly using parts that were designed by Red Bull Racing.

Toro Rosso's technical director Giorgio Ascanelli, who has just been signed by the team, was seen handing over car parts to track officials in the Sepang paddock.

It would seem that Spyker's continued protest against Super Aguri and Toro Rosso over the customer car debate is having the desired effect as official action seems to have started. However, it is unlikely that any kind of ruling will be made in Malaysia.

TimStevens

04-05-2007, 02:09 PM

Ack...thpppppt.

StuBeck

04-05-2007, 02:16 PM

I would expect that if they're doing that there at the track it might be a good sign for STR. I wonder why the same stuff isn't happening to Super Aguri.

In other news, reading the thursday press conference someone brought up the idea of closed cockpits because of Wurz's accident. Stuff like that annoys me because of the stupidity involved. One incident where nothing happened doesnt mean that should happen. Yes, it was scary, but other drivers have had a car land on their head and been fine afterwards.

wvallwheeldrive

04-05-2007, 02:18 PM

could Toro Rosso just be merged into RBR and just run 4 identical cars ?

StuBeck

04-05-2007, 02:29 PM

No, there can only be two cars in a team.

bitterWRX

04-05-2007, 03:05 PM

I would expect that if they're doing that there at the track it might be a good sign for STR. I wonder why the same stuff isn't happening to Super Aguri.

The Spyker team already tried to attack Super Aguri during the Australian GP but the case was thrown out by the stewards based on a technicality. I'm not exactly sure what the technicality is though.

sirfrankwilliams

04-05-2007, 03:16 PM

someone brought up the idea of closed cockpits because of Wurz's accident.

http://perso.orange.fr/Jas-n-Geoff/Geoff/homer.jpg

StuBeck

04-05-2007, 04:11 PM

The Spyker team already tried to attack Super Aguri during the Australian GP but the case was thrown out by the stewards based on a technicality. I'm not exactly sure what the technicality is though.

Spyker did it too late in the weekend.

artkevin

04-05-2007, 04:40 PM

I can see the merits of a closed cockpit. Open wheeled cars have been amazingly well suited for keeping the drivers safe while insed the bubble over the last few decades from frontal attacks.

The thing that I was worried about was Wurz's hands. Since DC came over the side there was almost no protection for him. But that goes to the point that you can't protect the whole care. You have to pick the areas you want strengthen but there will always be weaknesses. Ask Zanardi.

StuBeck

04-05-2007, 05:06 PM

The thing is something like this happens once a year maybe. I'm all for driver safety, but at some point you have to realize when its getting a little out of control. I don't think a closed cockpit would help out much, and it would cause issues with getting out, they aren't going to be able to do the system that Prototypes use at all.

KAX

04-05-2007, 05:13 PM

it would cause issues with getting out

exactly. thats just aasking for the driver to get knocked out and the car on fire. It would take waaay to long to get out of the car in an emergency.

OnTheGas

04-05-2007, 05:19 PM

Racer Magazine has published an interesting article by Adam Cooper on SpeedTV.com about Spyker's protest...

In a nutshell, Stryker alleges that Red Bull factory drawings show the same parts being used on both the RedBull & Toro Rosso cars.

Adam Cooper For SpeedTV.com / Racer Magazine (http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/formulaone/36485/):

The thorny issue of customer cars has kicked off again in Malaysia after Spyker launched a protest against Scuderia Toro Rosso on the grounds that the car uses parts designed by another team.

This violates one of the cornerstones of the Concorde Agreement, which is in turn tied in to the FIA sporting regulations via the official entry form for the World Championship.

To back up its case Spyker has somehow obtained copies of factory drawings which clearly show that the parts were intended for use on both both RBR’s RB3 and Toro Rosso’s STR2. Significantly, the drawings are labeled with the logo “Red Bull Racing.”

Since the controversy erupted in December the teams concerned have insisted that their cars were both designed by Red Bull Technology, a third party which was in essence a rebadged RBR design department under the leadership of Adrian Newey. However, the fact that the new name does not figure on the drawings does not seem to lend much weight to that claim.

In Australia Spyker protested Super Aguri, but the protest was made too late in the weekend and was not accepted by the stewards. The team subsequently embarked on a process of arbitration against Super Aguri and STR.

STR’s lawyer is in Malaysia and the team was clearly anticipating problems. He apparently said that since the arbitration process had started, it was not correct to set another process in motion via FIA channels.

This time the stewards have looked more closely into the matter, and in essence have agreed to “preserve the evidence,” which can now also be used in the arbitration case.

In his first race weekend with the team new STR technical director Giorgio Ascanelli was therefore called upon to voluntarily hand over samples of the parts in question. This at least obviated the need for a garage “raid” by the scrutineers.

At around 7 p.m. on Thursday Ascanelli was spotted delivering a section of the underbody to race control. The stewards have held apparently held onto some parts but returned others, as the team claimed to be lacking in spares.

The most likely short-term scenario is that the stewards rule that they cannot make a judgment on the matter this weekend – the issue of intellectual property is a complex one – but the fact that they have seized parts and examined drawings can only lend weight to Spyker’s arbitration case.It is curious that Spyker was able to obtain Red Bull's factory drawings.

In the end, it's all about the money... I doubt that Toro Rosso team would be excluded from this weekend's racing. This is likely just legal maneuvering.

OnTheGas

04-05-2007, 05:36 PM

...reading the thursday press conference someone brought up the idea of closed cockpits...I think it is safe to ignore that idea because it was just some dumb journalist (there are plenty of them in F1) asking a stupid question. The FIA will not be enclosing F1 cockpits anytime soon.

OnTheGas

04-05-2007, 05:57 PM

It is interesting that BMW-Sauber (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/57818) have announced that they won't be making any changes to their cars to comply w/FIA's revised test for moving floor boards... And Ferrari (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/57814), if they made changes, made them prior to the Sepang tests. Kimi says they have no worries about their pace.

Formula1.com published a nice analysis of this issue yesterday (http://www.formula1.com/news/5879.html), which includes drawings of both Ferrari, and BMW's bib-stay.

So how much faster are the Ferraris?

Heidfeld estimates that Ferrari are 1.5 secs faster (he said faster than everyone, but I think faster than BMW is more accurate), and Alonso has estimated Ferrari are .7 or .8 secs faster.

Can't wait for Saturday, and Sunday to find out...

nick735

04-05-2007, 06:51 PM

1. raikkonen
2. massa
3. alonso
4.heidfeld
5. hamilton
6. fisichella
7. kubica
8. kovalainen

Ferrari will replace Kimi's engine prior to qualifying. He will start 11th and win the race :banana:

ArtGecko

04-05-2007, 07:34 PM

F.Massa
K.Raikkonen
F.Alonso
H.Kovalainen
N.Heidfeld
J.Button
R.Kubica
D.Coulthard

jpsimon

04-05-2007, 08:15 PM

1. kimi
2. massa
3. alonso
4. hamilton
5. fisi

Ferg

04-06-2007, 12:00 AM

Since the customer car debate seems centered around this weekend...

Ecclestone trying to end customer car row

By Jonathan Noble Friday, April 6th 2007, 02:26 GMT

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone is trying to organise a team principals' meeting this weekend in a bid to bring an end to the ongoing controversy over customer cars, autosport.com has learned.

Following Spyker's protest against Scuderia Toro Rosso's entry for this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, which the stewards have yet to rule on, sources have indicated that Ecclestone has stepped in to try and broker a deal to resolve the situation.

With several team bosses believed to be concerned about the customer car issue overshadowing the start of the season, and Ecclestone wanting the sport to focus on racing rather than off-track politics, all the principals are being urged to get together to talk about the issue.

It is hoped that a meeting can be called for as soon as this afternoon to try and find a compromise solution from Super Aguri and Toro Rosso that will head off continued action from Spyker.

Although it is not clear what a suitable solution would be, it is likely to revolve around agreements over the pooling of television rights money.

Only the top ten teams in the constructors' championship are awarded television and travel money, which means Spyker could lose several millions of dollars if Super Aguri and Toro Rosso beat them.

One idea that was floated before the start of the season was for Super Aguri and Toro Rosso to agree to share any money they earned this season with Spyker and Williams

Let's hope Bernie can work his magic and we all can move on to more important things, like finding out what sort of hair gel Lewis uses...*swoon*

:D

wvallwheeldrive

04-06-2007, 12:16 AM

i really think Spyker is trying to get free money out of someone knowing they can't keep pace on the track. SA and STR should fight this tooth and nail untill the arbetration(sp) is over.

Ferg

04-06-2007, 01:39 AM

Practice #1

Massa fastest in practice 1 - Malaysia

By Matt Beer Friday, April 6th 2007, 03:34 GMT

Felipe Massa made his intentions for this weekend clear when he topped the timesheet in opening practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver lapped the Sepang circuit in 1:34.972, beating nearest rival Fernando Alonso by a quarter of a second - and his own teammate Kimi Raikkonen by eight tenths of a second.

Massa wasted no time in getting to speed in today's session. The Brazilian went quickest on his very first flying lap, and his 1:35.265 effort after half an hour of the session immediately beat Raikkonen's fastest time by 0.5 seconds.

Next time around, Massa improved to the 1:34.972 that would stand as the best of the morning. Along the way, however, he collected a 4,800 EUR fine for pitlane speeding.

McLaren's Alonso and teammate Lewis Hamilton continued their intra-team battle, with the world champion setting the second fastest time ahead of Hamilton's third fastest.

Hamilton had been quickest early on, and when Alonso's opening offer proved 0.127 seconds slower, it seemed that the rookie would be pressuring the Spaniard yet again.

Alonso soon retaliated, however, and by the end of the session he was half a second ahead of Hamilton.

Raikkonen was only fourth fastest after an untidy final run. He also had a worrying moment in the first half hour when smoke appeared from the rear of his Ferrari.

However, as the Friday running no longer counts towards the two-race engine restrictions, the Finn was not using the engine that is already in questionable health after Melbourne.

Williams showed promising form, with Nico Rosberg fifth and test driver Kazuki Nakajima eighth despite spinning off at Turn 15.

Jarno Trulli, Mark Webber, Ralf Schumacher and Robert Kubica completed the top ten.

It was a less successful morning for Renault and Honda, whose cars were 14th and 15th, and 19th and 20th respectively.

Nakajima's error was the only major incident of the session, although both McLarens had a number of wild moments - with Alonso going off the road at Turn 4 after a major slide on the way into the corner, and Hamilton taking to the grass at the pitlane entry.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:34.972 17
2. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:35.220 + 0.248 24
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:35.712 + 0.740 22
4. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:35.779 + 0.807 20
5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.308 + 1.336 21
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:36.522 + 1.550 20
7. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:36.597 + 1.625 25
8. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.885 + 1.913 15
9. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:37.052 + 2.080 22
10. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:37.121 + 2.149 12
11. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:37.484 + 2.512 7
12. Vettel BMW Sauber (B) 1:37.837 + 2.865 39
13. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:37.882 + 2.910 20
14. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:38.143 + 3.171 24
15. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:38.300 + 3.328 26
16. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:38.720 + 3.748 29
17. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:38.966 + 3.994 10
18. Speed Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:39.130 + 4.158 9
19. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:39.234 + 4.262 21
20. Button Honda (B) 1:39.331 + 4.359 17
21. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:39.357 + 4.385 9
22. Albers Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:40.074 + 5.102 25

All timing unofficial

StuBeck

04-06-2007, 02:05 AM

Red Bull is doing pretty decent. Cool. I'm going to bed though, I'll catch qualifying live tomorrow though, dvring practice.

wvallwheeldrive

04-06-2007, 02:06 AM

Come on Scott Speed you have one job this year stay faster then Liuzzi.

bitterWRX

04-06-2007, 02:12 AM

Glad to see that Hamilton's speed is still pretty consistent.

The McLaren and Ferraris are pretty dominant so far this season.

OnTheGas

04-06-2007, 02:15 AM

i really think Spyker is trying to get free money out of someone knowing they can't keep pace on the track. SA and STR should fight this tooth and nail untill the arbetration(sp) is over.Umm... yeah, well you're right of course... that whole customer car controversy is exactly over the pot of money. So not only should SA and STR fight Spyker, but of course Spyker should fight SA and STR for that pot of money! And of course, they will!

But who really cares?

It's only a legal fight over money, and Bernie will ensure the show goes on either way. It's not like we have a safety situation like we had at Indy a few seasons ago where more than half of the teams could not race. Point being that all teams are likely to start, and race, so if you like legal soap operas, this may be entertaining, and those of us who are full of hatred can vent some hatred to one side, or the other... :rolleyes: But this is not directly related to what's happening on the track.

wvallwheeldrive

04-06-2007, 02:52 AM

i think it takes away from whats happening on the track. We could be on the brink of the next great set of drivers with Kovalaven(sp) and Hamilton. but no all they reprot on is are 2 back marker teams running legal cars and if Ferraris floor moves.

bitterWRX

04-06-2007, 04:51 AM

Instead of this law suit, I think Spyker should concentrate harder on just prepping their cars for Malaysia.

Ferg

04-06-2007, 11:05 AM

Practice #2

Massa again on top in practice 2 - Malaysia

By Matt Beer Friday, April 6th 2007, 07:34 GMT

Felipe Massa maintained his strong form in this afternoon's second practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix - although the Brazilian's benchmark 1:35.780 lap was 0.8 seconds slower than his fastest time from first practice.

The Renaults were Massa's nearest rivals on this occasion. Late fast laps from Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen brought the champion team from the midfield to second and third, with Fisichella 0.130 seconds slower than Massa.

Kimi Raikkonen was fourth again, just under 0.4 seconds from his teammate.

The McLarens were only ninth and 12th this time, with Lewis Hamilton 0.2 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso. They had set the initial pace, as Hamilton usurped initial pace-setter Jarno Trulli after seven minutes.

Hamilton's 1:37.323 was beaten almost immediately by his teammate Alonso, who lapped three tenths faster.

Alonso also became the second front-runner to be fined for pitlane speeding today - receiving a 600 Euro punishment after being caught at 63km/h in the pits.

Five minutes later, BMW's Robert Kubica moved ahead with a 1:36.717 lap, while the Ferraris initially kept a low profile, with Raikkonen only fourth quickest and Massa back in seventh.

But as the session neared its halfway point, the Ferraris returned to the track and took charge of the timesheets, with Raikkonen lapping in 1:36.669 before Massa produced his 1:35.780 a few moments later.

Williams showed promising speed again, with Nico Rosberg and Alex Wurz fifth and sixth fastest. Rosberg had shaken his first at Raikkonen in the middle of the session after feeling he had been baulked by the Ferrari.

The session was interrupted after an hour and a quarter when Christijan Albers' Spyker suffered a dramatic right-rear tyre blow-out under braking for Turn 1.

The Dutchman brought the car back under control and pulled off after Turn 2, but six minutes were lost to a red flag while the resultant debris was cleared.

Other drivers in trouble included Mark Webber, who stopped on track at Turn 9 immediately after the session was restarted, and Vitantonio Liuzzi, who took a trip through the gravel at Turn 8.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:35.780 34
2. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:35.910 + 0.130 36
3. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:36.106 + 0.326 37
4. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:36.160 + 0.380 33
5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.523 + 0.743 31
6. Wurz Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.621 + 0.841 21
7. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:36.717 + 0.937 18
8. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:36.760 + 0.980 28
9. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.797 + 1.017 30
10. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:36.862 + 1.082 25
11. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:36.906 + 1.126 18
12. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:37.041 + 1.261 26
13. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:37.203 + 1.423 25
14. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:37.282 + 1.502 30
15. Button Honda (B) 1:37.578 + 1.798 29
16. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:37.712 + 1.932 34
17. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:37.855 + 2.075 26
18. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:38.334 + 2.554 27
19. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:38.419 + 2.639 28
20. Speed Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:38.650 + 2.870 20
21. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:38.713 + 2.933 20
22. Albers Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:39.807 + 4.027 23

All timing unofficial

artkevin

04-06-2007, 11:10 AM

Red Bull got an aero update. Looks likes STR and Williams are the only ones without the per-sidepod wings. They also went back to a "normal" mirror set up.

http://images.gpupdate.net/large/71084.jpg

Trulli back to a chromed lid
http://images.gpupdate.net/large/71012.jpg

Love the curves of the Merc's nose
http://images.gpupdate.net/large/70908.jpg

Ferg

04-06-2007, 11:19 AM

Ferrari say no engine change for Kimi.

Ferrari won't change Raikkonen's engine

By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde Friday, April 6th 2007, 08:23 GMT

Ferrari have no plans to change Kimi Raikkonen's engine for the Malaysian Grand Prix following the completion of Friday's practice sessions.

"We are going to keep it, there is no reason to change it," said Raikkonen after practice. "That is the situation right now."

Raikkonen's engine had some problems during the final part of the Australian Grand Prix, a race dominated by the Finn from start to finish.

Team boss Jean Todt said however that talk about replacing the engine in Malaysia was only speculation.

"Rather than talking about technical issues, it is a sporting matter," said Todt. "Since last year it is one engine for two weekends, we just completed the first race in Australia and we are going to keep both engines for Malaysia.

"The rumours started from speculation. 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 and if it did not happen 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."

Raikkonen's teammate Felipe Massa dominated practice at Sepang today, setting the fastest time in both sessions. Raikkonen was fourth quickest.

Slick33

04-06-2007, 12:03 PM

No engine change = Raikkonen FTW!

1. K.Raikkonen
2. F.Massa
3. F.Alonso
4. L.Hamilton
5. N.Heidfeld
6. G.Fisichella
7. R.Kubica
8. N.Rosberg

tdm74

04-06-2007, 02:03 PM

well I made my picks when I still thought Kimi was getting an engine change :o

F.Massa
F.Alonso
K.Raikkonen
L.Hamilton
R.Kubica
N.Heidfeld
G.Fisichella
H.Kovalainen

Braz

04-06-2007, 03:22 PM

F. Massa
L. Hamilton
G. Fisi
F. Alonso
R. Kubica
N. rosberg

hope i'm wrong with my DNF feeling for Kimi.

KAX

04-06-2007, 03:32 PM

well crap, i really thought they would change his engine. I was hoping Kimi would have learned something from Nurburgring 05, being conservative isn't always bad.

OnTheGas

04-06-2007, 04:26 PM

Yeah, Ferrari surprised me also!

We'll have to wait and see what happens... Friday at the track is bit of a poker game... everyone is trying to guess what the other players are holding.

Still, even if they don't swap out Kimi's motor, Massa was on top of it today, and Kimi was hunting for a better set-up. Might be Massa's race come Sunday... he's no slow-poke.

Those of us who put a Williams in the points might have been smart... they looked good amongst the mid-fielders on Friday. It's funny, that if one excludes the fast four teams, (Ferrari, McLaren, BMW, & Renault), to look at the mid-fielders, the two leading mid-fielder teams are both Toyota powered, Toyota, and their customer, Williams. And Williams has a good shot of outperforming Toyota, though Toyota is financially speaking much more well endowed.

Ironically, the same situation may exist for Honda, and SA-Honda. Honda is surprising this season... I hope they, as a company, stay in the game.

To my mind, the wild-card team is Red Bull - Renault... One wonders if they will step up their pace and challenge the Toyota teams for points... All that money to buy Adrian Newey, plus a nice driver line-up of an excellent qualifying ace in Mr. Webber, and an ace racer in old-man Coulthard (driving over Wurz in OZ was hopefully an anomaly), they could be faster.

Change subjects again... I think tires (besides reliability) will play the critical role on Sunday. Most teams tested last week in Sepang, same tires, and track, and yet many of them were lost, chasing grip, on Friday. If a team can't get their car to work on the tires by Sunday, w/the high speed sweepers here, they will be punished w/long laptimes. And if they screw up their hard vs. medium tire strategy, they will be punished Sunday as well.

WRX 2002

04-06-2007, 04:58 PM

Probably a full wet race anyway.

Sunday
89°F (32°C) | 75°F (24°C) Thunder Storms

StuBeck

04-06-2007, 06:44 PM

Red Bull is still learning. They are faster than they were last year at this time, nd there engines aren't sucking like they were with Ferrari last year either. If they are still this slow half way through the season they have a problem, right now, not so much.

Kimi was testing out during the day about running down on rev's to keep the engine together. I don't think his times can be really brught in with too much credence.

Spykers protest was thrown out, so nothing will happen this weekend.

Matchett was saying the medium and hard tyres weren't that different. I don't think its going to really matter as much as you think.

OnTheGas

04-06-2007, 07:04 PM

Kimi was testing out during the day about running down on rev's to keep the engine together...That is first I've heard of that. What is the source of that info?

bemani

04-06-2007, 07:37 PM

That is first I've heard of that. What is the source of that info?

Everything Bob Vasha says is fact.:lol:

OnTheGas

04-06-2007, 09:35 PM

:lol:

OK, it's the Varsha factor... :lol:

Regarding Friday motors, this is from our friends at Formula1.com:
FIA Rules & Regulations Sporting Regulations 2007 - 2007 season changes (http://www.formula1.com/insight/rulesandregs/20/5257.html)
The two-race engine rule will no longer apply to Friday practice sessions. This means any driver starting a meeting with a fresh engine will not be penalised for an early failure. It also means drivers may opt to use alternative engines on Fridays and save their race engines for the remainder of the weekend.

And this is our friend, Jean Todt before the press, Friday afternoon at Spepang...Jean Todt in Friday Press Conference (http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=247854&FS=F1)
...Kimi had a problem with the pipe and he lost some water, very little water, so we did more checks than if it did not happen. Then Kimi simulated the problem during the free testing that we had in Malaysia (last week) and after all that, nothing demonstrates that we should change our programme which means we keep the same engine we had in Australia.I read elsewhere that they flew Kimi's OZ motor back to the factory to examine it, which enabled Ferrari to replicate the condition in the Sepang tests last week.

By Sunday afternoon in Sepang, we will know how good they were at replicating that problem. :)

So Kimi was doing basic set-up work Friday with a practice motor, and he didn't seem pleased with the handling.

Ferg

04-06-2007, 10:03 PM

I was half asleep during practice (trying to get used to a graveyard shift has much suck) but from what I recall Varsha stated something along the lines of Ferrari running Kimi at reduced revs to simulate what he might be forced to do during the race if his motor starts to go south. They wanted an idea of what sort of times he could run with a hobbled engine. Or whatever.

OnTheGas

04-06-2007, 10:25 PM

...Matchett was saying the medium and hard tyres weren't that different. I don't think its going to really matter as much as you think.Yes, I do hope you're right, and the tires aren't a big factor on race day.

The reason I suspect that they may be a deciding factor for some racers on Sunday is because of the variance in times we saw in Friday practice. To just look at the top 4 teams, Ferrari only had one driver fully working his tires, Massa, while Kimi was slower, and grumbling about having to chase the set-up again. Both McLarens were on top of their tires here, while both BMW's were chasing the set-ups. Meanwhile, Renault found how to work their tires in the 2nd session. So 3 of 8 top drivers for the top teams are chasing set-ups at a track that they practiced at last week, and on the same tires.

For the slower teams, that ratio may be worse.

At this track, w/the fast sweepers, the penalty is large if you miss it.

I think part of the problem is the rain here... The weather forecasts that I have been following for the last few days have it partly cloudy during the day, but chance of showers overnight all weekend long. Which means the track can go back to a green condition. So each morning, it is a little different, and changing through out the day as it rubbers in. But I don't know much... just thinking out loud here.

soldmyboxster

04-07-2007, 01:27 AM

Damn....Hamilton fastest in the Saturday practice!

KAX

04-07-2007, 03:08 AM

I wish when SPEED says they start coverage at 2:00, it actually started at 2. Q1 is going to be over by the time the SPEED coverage starts
but I dont think they can help it, just lag time from sending the signal from across the globe :(

wvallwheeldrive

04-07-2007, 03:23 AM

i'm watching it now

KAX

04-07-2007, 03:53 AM

as am I, but im watching the live timing as well. Q3 is almost done and it hasnt started yet on my tv

REX8

04-07-2007, 04:06 AM

My bets on Massa

bitterWRX

04-07-2007, 04:06 AM

Tomorrow is going to be a DAMN good race.

PS. I just finished watching Live Timing

KAX

04-07-2007, 04:16 AM

damn that was some crazy 2 minutes! trading fastest sectors for every single sector of the final laps. I can't wait for tomorrow morning :D

REX8

04-07-2007, 04:16 AM

I won!

Its a dream come true!

owace

04-07-2007, 04:17 AM

that was stupendous qualifying indeed.

KAX

04-07-2007, 04:22 AM

I won!

Its a dream come true!

My bets on Massa
Last edited by REX8 : Today at 03:20 AM.

cheater!

they need to do a pick6 for just qualifying. Im alot better at that then I am at the race results.

JoD

04-07-2007, 04:26 AM

I recorded qualifying, but woke up because my shoulder was giving me problems... saw the last part of qualifying.

What an exciting last lap!!! I just wish the two Ferrari's and McLarens were switched (i.e. Kimi, Lewis, Massa, Fred). Maybe that will happen during the race.

REX8

04-07-2007, 04:28 AM

cheater!

they need to do a pick6 for just qualifying. Im alot better at that then I am at the race results.

The edit was because I spelled Massa with one S, and I knew I'd hear about it!

I'd like to thank my sponsors...:lol:

I know Kimi will be a force...but I really think the little guy has a WDC in him. Call me crazy.

wvallwheeldrive

04-07-2007, 04:30 AM

that was an outstanding finish to qualifiying

wvallwheeldrive

04-07-2007, 04:32 AM

OK Rex your crazy lol

hybr1dmonk33

04-07-2007, 04:39 AM

Button :(

wvallwheeldrive

04-07-2007, 04:50 AM

maybe honda should tell everybody SA is the factory team

KAX

04-07-2007, 04:53 AM

The edit was because I spelled Massa with one S, and I knew I'd hear about it!

I'd like to thank my sponsors...:lol:

I know Kimi will be a force...but I really think the little guy has a WDC in him. Call me crazy.

lol, I know I saw it before you editted.

Looks like Massa is lighter on fuel then Alonso, he looks to be rather heavy, unless he was just held up a bit being behind Kimi on that last lap. His Q2/Q3 gap is over a second while Kimi's is 8 tenths and Massa's is 6 tenths. I'm hoping he was just held up a bit, but either way its a bad sign because it means he will be faster. Looks good for my pick6 though :)

hybr1dmonk33

04-07-2007, 05:28 AM

maybe honda should tell everybody SA is the factory team

Tell me about it, seeing Barichellos face after the first round of qualifying pretty much sums up Honda right now.

Jonathan

04-07-2007, 06:34 AM

Pos Driver Team
1. Massa Ferrari
2. Alonso McLaren
3. Raikkonen Ferrari
4. Hamilton McLaren
5. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
6. Rosberg Williams
7. Kubica BMW Sauber
8. Trulli Toyota
9. R.Schumacher Toyota
10. Webber Red Bull
11. Kovalainen Renault
12. Fisichella Renault
Both Kimi and Lewis Hamilton were on serious RACE fuel levels, whilst Massa and Fernando qualified with lighter fuel levels in anticipation of rain that never happened ? This could make the race strategies of the top teams very interesting, and lead to a fairly exciting race.

nick735

04-07-2007, 09:02 AM

Ferg

04-07-2007, 11:13 AM

Here's the write up for quali...

I was out drinking last night so I missed it.

Massa snatches Malaysian GP pole

By Matt Beer Saturday, April 7th 2007, 07:02 GMT

Felipe Massa snatched pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix from Fernando Alonso with the final lap of the qualifying session at Sepang.

Alonso had dominated the hour until that point - setting the fastest times in Q1 and Q2, and also going quickest with his first Q3 run.

But Massa improved to 1:35.043 on his last lap, which was sufficient to beat Alonso by three -tenths of a second.

Melbourne winner Kimi Raikkonen could only manage third place this time, alongside Lewis Hamilton, who was 0.7 seconds slower than Alonso.

With rain a possibility when Q3 began, the leading teams split their strategies and sent Alonso and Massa out on soft tyres immediately despite their heavy fuel loads, while Hamilton and Raikkonen followed a more conventional plan and remained on the harder compound until their cars were lighter.

In the event, the rain held off and the tactics made little difference.

Behind the top four, the BMW Saubers continued their competitive form, with Nick Heidfeld qualifying fifth and Robert Kubica in seventh.

They were split by Nico Rosberg, whose sixth place confirmed the promise that Williams had shown in the practice sessions.

Both Toyotas made it into the top ten, Jarno Trulli taking eighth and Ralf Schumacher ninth, ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber.

The threatening clouds had also caused panic in Q2, with all 16 participants taking to the track immediately and only those at risk of elimination returning for a second run at the end of the 15 minutes.

Renault - winners of the last two Malaysian GPs - will start from row six this year. Giancarlo Fisichella was only 12th fastest after the initial scramble in Q2 and failed to improve on his second run, while Heikki Kovalainen looked set to make the cut with 10th place until Webber jumped up the order on his final lap and edged the Finn down to 11th.

Super Aguri could not quite repeat their Melbourne form. Takuma Sato again beat both works Hondas by taking 14th, a place ahead of Jenson Button, but Anthony Davidson did not make it past Q1 and will start 18th.

He is still a place ahead of Rubens Barrichello, who missed the cut for the second successive race.

Barrichello had switched to Honda's spare chassis after gearbox problems earlier in the day. He abandoned his first attempt at a flying lap in the unfamiliar car, and only managed 19th place when he did set a time.

He will be joined on row ten by Williams' Alex Wurz, who was also stymied by a gearbox issue.

Despite hopes that a revised aerodynamic package would boost their form, Spyker bring up the rear of the grid again. Christijan Albers outqualified Adrian Sutil this time, but both drivers were two seconds slower than they needed to be to make the cut.

1 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.340 1:34.454 1:35.043

2 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.942 1:34.057 1:35.310

3 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.138 1:34.687 1:35.479

4 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:35.028 1:34.650 1:36.045

5 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:35.617 1:35.203 1:36.543

6 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:35.755 1:35.380 1:36.829

7 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:35.294 1:34.739 1:36.896

8 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:35.666 1:35.255 1:36.902

9 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:35.736 1:35.595 1:37.078

10 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:35.727 1:35.579 1:37.345

11 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:36.092 1:35.630

12 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:35.879 1:35.706

13 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:35.730 1:35.766

14 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:36.430 1:35.945

15 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:35.913 1:36.088

16 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:36.140 1:36.145

17 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 1:36.578

18 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:36.816

19 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:36.827

20 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:37.326

21 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 1:38.279

22 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:38.415

StuBeck

04-07-2007, 12:54 PM

Coulthard and Barrichello are changing engines.

Ferg

04-07-2007, 01:15 PM

Didn't the FIA release the declared fuel levels for final quali last year?

I'm so happy about Nico and Team Willy :D

wvallwheeldrive

04-07-2007, 01:25 PM

now do a rain dance to throw another variable into the race.

This could be a classic race.

OnTheGas

04-07-2007, 01:54 PM

Nico and Williams split the Beemers for 6th! Wow!

Renault fell down, but Toyota picked it up... Too bad for Ralfie that Jarno is ahead, because if he doesn't beat him in to the first corner, he'll suffer behind Jarno's notoriously slow race pace till the first stops.

Bad news for Williams though, w/Wurz' gearbox stuck in a gear, which prevented him from getting out of the 1st round... hope that problem does not occur again for either Williams.

Here is something interesting... All drivers set their fastest time on the medium compound, w/the exception of one, Heidfeld, and he qualified 5th!

BMW-Sauber still scares me w/their race tactics. At Australia, I agreed w/Ron Dennis' assessement that it was foolish to put Heidfeld out on the soft compound there, because they were slower over a full stint, and Kubica on the hard tires appeared to be able to launch as well as Heidfeld. And the proof was that Kubica passed Heidfeld during the first round of pit-stops, because Heidfeld was not able to finish his first stint with fast enough laps to maintain his position.

Today, Kubica was having a pretty good performance in qualifying... he was faster than his team-mate during q1 & q2 (I know, for the beemers, q1 & q2 don't really matter), but ended up 7th on 8 laps running in q3 vs. 5th on 10 laps running for Heidfeld. All the other drivers in the first 4 rows did 10 laps in q3. So what happened? Why was he 2 laps short?

Robert Kubica (http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=247913)
The car is as competitive as it was in Melbourne and I could have been in the top five, but we made a mistake. In the end we could have had a better result...Mario Theissen (http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=247913)
Due to lack of time, Robert was not able to do another fast lap, otherwise we would have seen him with a better grid position.Willy Rampf (http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=247913)Overall we are happy with the performance of the cars in today's qualifying, but certainly we are not enthusiastic. For Robert we were too late for his last outing, and if he had had the chance he would have improved at least one position.Kind of a painful mistake when they should have owned the 3rd row. In F1, pitwall leadership can be crucial to the results, as we saw, for example, so often w/the team of Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher. I wonder if BMW-Sauber might consider replacing Willy Rampf next season?

bemani

04-07-2007, 03:40 PM

Today, Kubica was having a pretty good performance in qualifying... he was faster than his team-mate during q1 & q2 (I know, for the beemers, q1 & q2 don't really matter), but ended up 7th on 8 laps running in q3 vs. 5th on 10 laps running for Heidfeld. All the other drivers in the first 4 rows did 10 laps in q3. So what happened? Why was he 2 laps short?

He didn't have gas for the 9th lap? :alien:

Ferg

04-07-2007, 04:05 PM

BMW-Sauber still scares me w/their race tactics. At Australia, I agreed w/Ron Dennis' assessement that it was foolish to put Heidfeld out on the soft compound there, because they were slower over a full stint...

I have a feeling that BMW took a gamble on there being an early SC in Melbourne which would have put Heidfeld in a great position later in the race. Going on how many races in Australia have an early SC period it was a reasonable gamble, unfortunately it never paid off...

I haven't found any official fuel allocation information...I didn't realize it wouldn't be released this year (at least not obviously...) but I did find the gaps between Q2 and Q3 times..anyone want to guess some fuel loads.

Differences (Q2 -> Q3)

Massa: 0.599
Alonso: 1.253
Raikkonen: 0.792
Hamilton: 1.395
Heidfeld: 1.340
Rosberg: 1.449
Kubica: 2.163
Trulli: 1.647
Ralf: 1.483
Webber: 1.766

KAX

04-07-2007, 05:28 PM

well like I said, Alonso's gap, i believe, is because Kimi was ahead of him at the end of Q3, probably holding him up a bit. Everyone elses I think seems to be a clear indication of fuel load;

StuBeck

04-07-2007, 05:33 PM

I don't think the FIA released the fuel levels last year.

Ferg

04-07-2007, 05:51 PM

Ah now I remember, it was only how much fuel each driver from Q3 could put back into the car... not much help really.

Oh well. :)

Ferg

04-07-2007, 10:46 PM

DC escapes penalty.

No engine penalty for Coulthard

By Jonathan Noble Sunday, April 8th 2007, 01:19 GMT

The FIA has confirmed that David Coulthard will not suffer a 10-place grid penalty in Malaysia this weekend, despite widespread belief that he would be moved towards the back of the grid for an engine change before qualifying.

A note issued by Formula One technical delegate Jo Bauer on Saturday evening stated that: "for the purposes of establishing the provisional starting grid I would like to inform you that engine changes were carried out on cars 8 (Rubens Barrichello) and 14 (Coulthard) prior to the qualifying practice session."

This was interpreted as both Barrichello and Coulthard having changed their engines after practice and before qualifying - although in fact Coulthard's engine change had taken place before the start of practice.

Therefore, Coulthard suffers no penalty for his engine change because he did not finish the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

nick735

04-07-2007, 11:17 PM

well like I said, Alonso's gap, i believe, is because Kimi was ahead of him at the end of Q3, probably holding him up a bit. Everyone elses I think seems to be a clear indication of fuel load;

Youre nuts, they werent even close :rolleyes:

StuBeck

04-07-2007, 11:17 PM

Sweet, that is good.

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 03:40 AM

Crap. I almost didn't wake up for the race, took a bit of a nap and my alarm went for 10 minutes before I finally woke up.

parker/slc/gc8fan

04-08-2007, 04:02 AM

Yeah west side, lol.

Frappucinno and I'm good to go.

I feel drawn to rooting for the rookie, but it's all about the competition. (which seems to be better).

KAX

04-08-2007, 04:06 AM

Youre nuts, they werent even close :rolleyes:

did you even watch the last lap of qualifying? they finished within a few tenths or each other.

Crap. I almost didn't wake up for the race, took a bit of a nap and my alarm went for 10 minutes before I finally woke up.
haha, i almost forgot about it. went to a party tonight and at 2:15 i was like "Sh**, F1 is almost on! I gotta go home!" and ran out the door.

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 04:11 AM

Hamilton and Massa in a battle royale!

*Yes, this is different from a "Royale w/Cheese".

KAX

04-08-2007, 04:13 AM

haha, i thought that was a Big Mac.

Massa loses out to Kimi and Heidfeld. Overdrove his car.

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 04:14 AM

Hamilton wins the fight!

parker/slc/gc8fan

04-08-2007, 04:15 AM

I'm glad I posted last before the race started.

I feel like Joey Lawrence.

WHOA!!!!

EDIT, Yeah, um, he's good.

and again the coverage misses it.

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 04:15 AM

haha, i thought that was a Big Mac.

Massa loses out to Kimi and Heidfeld. Overdrove his car.

No no, that's "Le Big Mac".

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 04:16 AM

My picks look horrible right now, haha.

teambadrun

04-08-2007, 04:19 AM

Was pretty good.. any more photos?

KAX

04-08-2007, 04:19 AM

My picks look horrible right now, haha.

so far it looks like Im going to get one right, alonso winning.

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 04:25 AM

I've got the top 5 in there...just in a completely different order. My bottom three don't look good though. Barrichelo in 7th.

OnTheGas

04-08-2007, 04:41 AM

After 1st stops, looks like a McLaren 1, 2... who would have thought?

OnTheGas

04-08-2007, 04:46 AM

That is pathetic... Massa did not pass Heidfeld during the 1st pitstops! Ferrari is missing Schumacher...

OnTheGas

04-08-2007, 04:48 AM

Hamilton is turning nice lap times after the front wing adjustment... faster than his team-mate by a couple of tenths...

OnTheGas

04-08-2007, 04:50 AM

Judging from lap-times, Alonso has already backed off...

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 04:53 AM

Why is Ralf so far down teh order compared to Trulli? Did I miss something while I was on my Le Classic Single run?

OnTheGas

04-08-2007, 04:53 AM

Amazing! Mac 1, 2! Can't get over that... They are on pace to take it to the checkers...

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 04:53 AM

I think Kimi has too. Its good to see that Ferrari isn't oging to run away with it this year.

OnTheGas

04-08-2007, 04:54 AM

Ralfie just pitted (2nd time), not sure why, though...

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 04:54 AM

Why is Ralf so far down teh order compared to Trulli? Did I miss something while I was on my Le Classic Single run?

Ralf is not a fast driver, that is why he is so far down.

I hate these stupid country music ad's. Idk even know what they're selling.

OnTheGas

04-08-2007, 04:57 AM

leaders should start pitting around lap 37, I would guess...

OnTheGas

04-08-2007, 05:00 AM

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 05:00 AM

They should all be taking the harder tire, no?

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 05:01 AM

Ralf and Kubica competing for who can suck the worst at this exact moment.

parker/slc/gc8fan

04-08-2007, 05:02 AM

Have you missed the rest of Ralph's carrer?

It could be down to tires or strategy too.

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 05:05 AM

Jeez, why wait till the 2nd pit-stops to go to bed... Both macs have backed off (per their laptimes)... Kimi doesn't have enough to catch them (should be interesting press conference), and the only question is will Massa pass Heidfeld (he's closing in), and who will break...

Whose going to bed?

Have you missed the rest of Ralph's carrer?

It could be down to tires or strategy too.

Nope, hence my statement. He's been fast in one lap, and thats about it. No where as good as people make him seem, or his pay check would describe.

parker/slc/gc8fan

04-08-2007, 05:08 AM

Dont get me wrong, I think he's been there one hundred million dollars too long.

But he does have a couple good tracks for him.

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 05:10 AM

He seems like Montoya but more. When he wants to go fast he can be, but most of the time he can't be bothered.

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 05:13 AM

Alonso's loving his hard tires....just set two race bests in sectors 2 and 3.

parker/slc/gc8fan

04-08-2007, 05:15 AM

Mclarens pace is alot better than last race compared to Ferrari . Almost Austrailia (98 I think) big.

I wonder if Ferrari had to change their barge boards after that rules clarification.

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 05:18 AM

I thought it was the floor support that was in question.

parker/slc/gc8fan

04-08-2007, 05:20 AM

I thought it was the floor support that was in question.

Maybe. :huh:

I keep seing that curb expeirience.

Hmm guess I missed the pit strategy.

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 05:21 AM

What the hell....Hamilton is losing almost a second per lap to Kimi.

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 05:23 AM

It was the floor support, Matchett said on Friday that it was worth almost half a second a lap.

Hamilton isn't having as big an issue as they are making it, he hsould haveit in hand easily.

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 05:24 AM

I'm hoping the race ends before Kimi catches up. Hal's losing about .2 per sector.

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 05:28 AM

As I said that Hamilton had put in a decent lap time. Now, not so mcuh.

parker/slc/gc8fan

04-08-2007, 05:28 AM

I like close racing. I think Lewis may have Kimi's number.

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 05:31 AM

Damn....1.7 second interval now.

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 05:33 AM

Now 1.2.

soldmyboxster

04-08-2007, 05:34 AM

Kimi just ran a personal-best second sector....

parker/slc/gc8fan

04-08-2007, 05:41 AM

hamilton fastest lap?

oh boy.

philswrx04

04-08-2007, 05:45 AM

.7 damn.

supermarkus

04-08-2007, 05:47 AM

couldn't tell if he was sandbagging for some reason or was Kimi's car just that much faster?

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 05:56 AM

He wasn't sandbagging, he just didn't really have a reason to push. Yes, .7 was close,, but he also had to pass him, which I don't think he could do.

As long as McLaren keeps it together, I could really see Hamy becoming champion next year, although Kimi could win it because of taking points away from each other. Its good to see someone really happy with finsihing well too. Although him apoligizing for Massa going off is sort of cute, haha.

Good to see Williams back up there.

supermarkus

04-08-2007, 05:59 AM

McLaren is scary now that they can keep a car under their drivers! :eek: Yeah, I looked at his last couple of laps and it was clear he was still racing. Man that kid can drive!

KAX

04-08-2007, 03:14 PM

Jeez, why wait till the 2nd pit-stops to go to bed... Both macs have backed off (per their laptimes)... Kimi doesn't have enough to catch them (should be interesting press conference), and the only question is will Massa pass Heidfeld (he's closing in), and who will break...
Whose going to bed?

unfortunately I did :o . fell asleep in the couch with my laptop on top of me.

just finished watching it on my DVR. It was an OK race. If Massa hadn't f-ed up the start it would have been a little more entertaining in the middle of the race.

I hope Hamilton wins next race, 3-2-1.

And my pick 6 is looking rather good. Looks like 51 points for me; got alot of drivers in the top 8, just kinda scrambled. no idea why I chose button in the points.

Ferg

04-08-2007, 03:27 PM

Good race, definitely worth staying up for.

Alonso showed his class with a beautifully controlled drive. Lewis showed an amazing cool under pressure. Kimi drove with the bigger picture in mind. Heidfeld made Dr. Mario wonder about 2008. Fellipe had a nice little regressive therapy session. Nico was robbed! Fissi and Heikki did what they could. Jarno and Wurz remembered how to race.

Great stuff from start to finish.

Although the Speed guys seemed to lament the absence of Schumacher I for one was pleased to see the lack of chopping at the start. For sure if Michael had been there the McLarens would never have gotten by. It's refreshing to see some fairness and respect again at the start.

This was definitely a race where Ferrari missed Ross more than anyone else. There seemed to be a real inability to think on their feet today.

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 03:46 PM

My top 5 were right, just in a completely different order. After that I was off.

I thought it was a great race. I'll watch it again after the ChampCar race.

JoD

04-08-2007, 03:56 PM

parker/slc/gc8fan

04-08-2007, 05:08 PM

After seeing the start again, I'm dissapointed as usual that the world feed for speed couldnt show turn 2-3 in the opening of the race, that was what I wanted to see from Hamilton.

KAX

04-08-2007, 05:25 PM

they showed it at least once. one of the replays later on the race was cut-off, but they showed it again right after it happened; Hamilton and Massa were side-by-side around turn 2 and then in turn 3 Hamilton had the inside and got around the corner a little quicker.

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 06:07 PM

Good race overall. It was great to see Lewis do so well.

I still have a really bad taste in my mouth for Alonso, but that is just my personal gripe.

Hopefully Kimi can get back up to that top step for the next race!

Kimi wasn't pushing at all throughout the race, so I think he still has half a second or so on the rest of the field.

polaris

04-08-2007, 06:24 PM

hmm I found the GP quite boring. Nothing was in doubt after Massa screwed up, and then McLaren controled the race well to their credit but it was hardly entertaining.

cdvma

04-08-2007, 06:34 PM

hmm I found the GP quite boring.

There was always action going on in the back and watching the Renault/Honda/Toyota boys get smashed was nice :lol:

polaris

04-08-2007, 06:42 PM

Well they were not even doing too much. Williams made a good showing.
Not much passing this round. Austrailia was more entertaining from what I remember. I'll watch this one again tho to make sure it wasnt just me being sleepy :D

StuBeck

04-08-2007, 08:02 PM

It was an interesting GP. Yes, there weren't many changes for position among the leaders, but the last part of the field was interesting. IF you find this boring, I think you'll find most GP's boring.

esteve

04-08-2007, 08:09 PM

Although the Speed guys seemed to lament the absence of Schumacher I for one was pleased to see the lack of chopping at the start. For sure if Michael had been there the McLarens would never have gotten by. It's refreshing to see some fairness and respect again at the start.

I missed the start, I guess that's what David Hobbs meant when he said Schumacher would've won today if he was still racing?

lil'redwagon

04-09-2007, 05:56 AM

imho, massa killed the chances for kimi when he braked [broke?] into turn 1 before everybody else, with kimi behind him. all of the laps of massa trying to get by hamilton gave alonso ehough time to build a huge, cushy lead. by the time massa slid off, kimi was in cruising mode.

sirfrankwilliams

04-09-2007, 01:37 PM

KAX

04-09-2007, 01:43 PM

well from last year, it looked like he matured a whole lot, and was very calm and collected. But this race, it appears you were right. He made a big mistake which he should not have done, and then he made it again.

wvallwheeldrive

04-09-2007, 01:52 PM

my question is why does P1 start on the outside line going into turn one

artkevin

04-09-2007, 02:01 PM

Yeah, so I'm still not sure why so many people here picked Massa to finish better than Kimi (even with the possibility of an engine change). He might be quick and a good qualifier, but he doesn't strike me as determined or as cool under pressure as Kimi- or Lewis for that matter.

After the 1st couple of races of last year Massa looked unflappable. Nothing at all like his 1st years at Sauber. He made 2 mistakes on Sunday and one of them was pretty bad but we all know he has the skill and the talent.

Like Lewis said, he tircked him into outbraking himself. Nice:)

KAX

04-09-2007, 03:33 PM

my question is why does P1 start on the outside line going into turn one

i was wondering the same thing actually.

StuBeck

04-09-2007, 03:39 PM

Its the clean line. The pole sitter does have the choice of sitting on the inside line if they so choose.

wvallwheeldrive

04-09-2007, 03:41 PM

I just google earthed the sepang curcuit and the first grid spot is on the outside and where it is at on the straight its in the dirty line.

StuBeck

04-09-2007, 03:46 PM

Well, its the cleaner line, sure, its not like Hungry or Bahrain, but there is more rubber there then the other side.

wvallwheeldrive

04-09-2007, 03:51 PM

where the grid is coming off of the final corner the inside is still the clean line

StuBeck

04-09-2007, 04:14 PM

It seemed to work pretty well for most years.

bemani

04-09-2007, 05:47 PM

After the 1st couple of races of last year Massa looked unflappable. Nothing at all like his 1st years at Sauber. He made 2 mistakes on Sunday and one of them was pretty bad but we all know he has the skill and the talent.

Like Lewis said, he tircked him into outbraking himself. Nice:)

I counted 4 mistakes ... losing the lead to Alonso, losing 2nd place to Hamilton, and then going off twice on turn 4.

Guess MS didn't teach him how to start from pole.

ptclaus98

04-10-2007, 08:46 AM

After the 1st couple of races of last year Massa looked unflappable...

And then they came to Europe.

OnTheGas

04-12-2007, 01:06 PM

F1P6 results are up (http://www.motorsport.com/compete/p6/groups.asp?S=F1), and check out our podium!
Overall
Rank | Score | Total | Name
4. | 64 | 99 | Matt Doyle
24. | 57 | 98 | Sergi Isasi
109. | 53 | 92 | Karl Greb

64 points is incredible!

Way to be!

KAX

04-12-2007, 01:44 PM

damn, I almost podiumed

artkevin

04-12-2007, 02:12 PM

my question is why does P1 start on the outside line going into turn one

Massa: Sepang pole on wrong side
Thursday, 12, April, 2007, 17:55

Felipe Massa believes that he might have fared better in the Malaysian Grand Prix if the pole position grid slot had been on the other side of the track.

The poleman started on the left hand side at Sepang, but the racing line on the front straight takes a diagonal course from right to left.

With the startline situated some distance from the first corner and at a point where cars exiting the final hairpin will still be closer to the right hand side of the track in racing conditions, Massa believes that his pole position did not actually offer an advantage over second place qualifier Fernando Alonso.

"In Malaysia, for sure it doesn't count so much because you look at the cars coming from the right and going to the left but going to the left more at the end of the straight," he said.

"So I think when you pass the grid, you are more on the right than on the left, or maybe you are in the middle, so the difference there is almost nothing from one side to the other."

Alonso got away from the line faster than Massa and was able to take the lead into the first corner.

"Fernando was completely beside me but he was inside," Massa said.

"I even tried to brake late but when you are inside it's much easier.

"I think the first part of the start was quite good, but as we were pulling up through the gears Fernando was getting closer and closer and then suddenly he was beside me."

Massa is confident that pole position will offer a clear advantage in Bahrain, where the racing line is on the left for the duration of the main straight.

"Here, for sure, the difference from the left to the right is a big difference because we know that here it's quite dirty off-line and the start here on the left is much better," he said.