Grand Prix 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Typical F1.
You wait months for a race and then 2 come along in the space of a few weeks.

This weekend will see the 13th race at the Sepang circuit; will it be unlucky for some?
For a most excellent circuit write-up, see Galahad's musings here, along with enough stat's and data to satisfy the most ardent of nerds: Sepang International Circuit

2009 is remembered for the later start and torrential rain which resulted in the race being red flagged after 33 laps; making it only the fifth race in F1 history to be stopped before 75% of the distance had been completed.

Ferrari and McLaren will no doubt be aiming to make it into Q2 after their amateurish mistakes last year.
With rain forecast for the weekend though, the chances of one or more of the top drivers making a mistake is fairly high.

This race is probably make or break for HRT.
If they don't manage to qualify within 107% of the fastest time in Q1 and are once again stopped from participating in the Grand Prix, then you have to assume it's all over for them.

So, lots to look forward to. Let's hope it's not a Red Bull walkover and qualifying is a lot closer than Australia.

 

[Incubus]

Hispania close to 107% in FP3

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Well, they're on course now

 

[johnnoble1990]

Wow. What a Quali. Think Lewis was supreme there. Had he left the pits later he might've just pipped it. Seb is going to have his mirrors full of Hamilton on the first lap. Rain or no rain, Lewis is going to have him tomorrow.

 

[MCLS]

Mclarens pace is genuine and somehow have managed to catch up pretty much all the gap to Red Bull while Ferrari have fallen to pieces. One of the best quali sessions in quite a while

 

[johnnoble1990]

Wonder if Red Bull should've left the KERS off? Mclaren running extra downforce seems to have worked. Red Bull will struggle to defend against Mclaren in the race if the are matching them on lap time, but having far more speed on the straights.

 

[MCLS]

The Mercedes engine is better than the 'Infiniti' Red Bull are using which allows Mclaren to run more front wing while still having strong straight line speed. Also i think Hamilton is the only person I've seen to deploy the DRS in the middle of a corner.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Seb is going to have his mirrors full of Hamilton on the first lap.

Not necessarily, given the comment by MB during Q3 that 3 of the last 4 pole sitters at Sepang didn't reach the first corner first and didn't win the race. I'm hoping that trend will continue tomorrow.

 

[Incubus]

Of course if the heavens open tomorrow it'll be real interesting to see who come up trumps with how they handle their tyres.

 

[Speshal]

To me it seemed that Seb had to wring the neck of the RB to get that quali time, whereas Lewis looked quite comfy setting his time, should be a great race, and now I don't want it to rain.

 

[johnnoble1990]

Also i think Hamilton is the only person I've seen to deploy the DRS in the middle of a corner.

I remember talking about this before the season started. I think the DRS gives an advantage to the stronger drivers.

 

[Incubus]

I remember talking about this before the season started. I think the DRS gives an advantage to the stronger drivers.

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Possibly but in McLaren's case it could also mean that the car is naturally well-balanced, if Hamilton feels confident enough to deploy it before the car's finished steering. Not many people would have said that after the winter's testing sessions would they?

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Also i think Hamilton is the only person I've seen to deploy the DRS in the middle of a corner.

Didn't Sutil have a go at that at Melbourne?

 

[Hamberg]

DRS is where I think is where Shumacher is falling down, I don't believe he is as comfortable using it as some. Given Mercedes have the best system this could go a long way in explaining the difference between him and Rosberg.

Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso have all been seen using DRS coming out of the corners.

Tyres are going to be very interesting and McLaren seem to have the upper hand here - Webber was complaining again in P3 about the rear tyres going and this of course is where Hamilton's style of driving benefits him with tyre wear. McLaren were also able to last a bit longer than Red Bull in Melbourne (only reacting to their stops) so we could potentially see different pit stop strategies. Also lets not forget McLaren have an extra set of options to play with. I think Red bull and Ferrari are on their last set.

Let's hope it stays dry, this track doesn't need the rain.

 

[Incubus]

Didn't Sutil have a go at that at Melbourne?

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Different track, different corner, different set-up...

 

[teabagyokel]

DRS is where I think is where Shumacher is falling down, I don't believe he is as comfortable using it as some.

I disagree, I think he's too old. He didn't have DRS last year and he was still shellacked by Rosberg every week!

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Let's give a big hand for Hispania!

Here's hoping they have a good race and maybe get at least one car to the finish.

 

[Hamberg]

I disagree, I think he's too old. He didn't have DRS last year and he was still shellacked by Rosberg every week!

Well yeah that as well (I was trying to be diplomatic). His age could be the reason for him not able to multitask as well as the younger ones.
The gap seems to be getting bigger that's all.

 

[teabagyokel]

Oh, I agree, but I think it is time that the excuses stopped from the Schumacher camp!

Let's give a big hand for Hispania!

Here's hoping they have a good race and maybe get at least one car to the finish.

Yeah, they've proved themselves to be less of a laughing stock than we all thought!

 

[Incubus]

And now for a potentially interesting question: will there be teams who turn out to have gambled on a totally wet set-up and could it pay very rich dividends indeed tomorrow?

 

[Brogan]

The qualifying stat's have been updated: http://cliptheapex.com/threads/2011-relative-qualifying-pace.2411/

It makes for interesting reading - all of the teams gained on Red Bull.

Some good performances today:
Lewis split the Red Bulls
Nick split the Ferraris
Kamui split the Mercedes

And Paul once again out-qualified his more experienced team-mate.

 

[snowy]

It is very surprising indeed that the Red Bull hasn't stretched its lead considering the nature of the circuit. Perhaps the effect and nature of turns 11 and 12 at Albert Park have been underestimated.

What we saw on Friday was the Red Bull conserving its tyres and McLaren shredding them, the opposite of Melbourne. McLaren didn't like the new diffuser they used yesterday, perhaps the change back to the interim titanium diffuser will also help with tyre wear...

RBR and McLaren have certainly done an excellent of tantalising us with a competitive and scintillating race tomorrow. I can't wait.