Malaysian GP 2009 - Sepang

[xpensive]

Staff will all have fluorescent yellow hair to match car and principal of sponsor.

[imightbewrong]

Alonso said to Kubica, Kubicas race engineer and Antonio Lobato that he expects Renault to be quicker than BMW in Sepang. Apparently the Renault was highly unsuited for Australia (bad in wind and bumpy tracks). I doubt they can make such a huge step forwards just because of track characteristics, but we'll see.

[shir0]

What compounds are they bringing to Malasia?

Are super softs on the menu there?

I think I remember a list somewhere stating all the compounds for each race planned for 2009. At least I'm sure it's not a secret.

Here's a partial list from Bridgestone for the first 5 races of the season:

Tyre compounds for the 2009 season:
ING Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne): Super Soft, Medium
Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix (Sepang): Soft, Hard
Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai): Super Soft, Medium
Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix (Sakhir): Super Soft, Medium
Gran Premio de España Telefónica (Barcelona): Soft, Hard

[ben_watkins]

Staff will all have fluorescent yellow hair to match car and principal of sponsor.

[alelanza]

So yes no doubt the season's opener was very promising. On the negative side looking at this one from 08, is anyone else missing the noise of those 1000 revs? i am....

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl4LDGOXMLs[/youtube]

[i70q7m7ghw]

So yes no doubt the season's opener was very promising. On the negative side looking at this one from 08, is anyone else missing the noise of those 1000 revs? i am....

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl4LDGOXMLs[/youtube]

WOW, I can't wait for this year, I really enjoy Malaysia, those straights are great, 3 way dual coming up to the final corner!!!

[donskar]

If it is wet though I wouldn't want KERS. Not for safety, but for weight and practicality. Who is going to be able to use 80 more HP in the wet?

It can be used after initial acceleration when exiting corners. Especially down a straight. As long as the steering is at zero degrees traction shouldn't be a problem.

All of that wet specialist stuff is nonsense, it mostly depends on the chassis and the setup.

Good points: F1 drivers are great in all conditions. Even Massa (!) did well in the wet after GB.

With downforce being important in the wet, Brawn has to be in good shape.

That 80 HP from KERS . . . does it all come in with a bang (and therefore promote wheelspin -- and broken CV joints, half shafts and gear teeth -- or does it have the equivalent of a power curve?

[ESPImperium]

Sepang will be a great equlibrium track. The "Diffuser 3s" cars will be flat out thru T5/6 and T12/13, the KERS cars will have 3 straights to overtake, the lead to T1, T4 and T15 all being the places im expecting to see overtaking, but non KERS and Diffuser 3 cars i think will be set up in a way that gives the best of both worlds.

Jenson will be good in either wet or dry conditions, and his confedence is high.
Rubens will be wanting to try and show what he was going to in Oz.
Vettel will be wanting to show he is fast and clean, one to watch as he has something to prove.
Kubica will want so show what he could have shown at Oz.
Hamilton will probably be where he was in Oz, donw on the grid, but high at the end.
Kimi & Massa will probably want to show that the Ferarri has no relyability problems.
Truli will probably like to show that he can do what he was going to do pre saftey car debacle.
Rossberg will be fast, another one to watch, id recon a solid 3rd or 4th.

Pit strategy will be like this i can see, all drivers will start on the softs, pit between (as early as) lap 6 and lap 11, with a second stop at arround lap 35 to 42 ish for 2 stoppers, and one stoppers using the option tyre for arround 20 laps, then filling right up and trying to do a Kubica. One other option i can see is a 3 stopper, keeping the car light thru the race, stopping on lap 6, then 25 and then 44, that would be my wild card tho.. Vettel may try this one to get pole, start from P11, the try and work his way thru the feild to a strong finish.

Wet or dry, im expecting a awsome race, another early start for me as i have work after the race.

[vasia]

Alonso said to Kubica, Kubicas race engineer and Antonio Lobato that he expects Renault to be quicker than BMW in Sepang. Apparently the Renault was highly unsuited for Australia (bad in wind and bumpy tracks). I doubt they can make such a huge step forwards just because of track characteristics, but we'll see.

BMW wasn't exactly very quick in Australia, despite what BMW has said. The multiple safety cars helped close the gaps in the field, which is why you saw Vettel and Kubica running fairly close to Button. That and Button was going slower to manage his tires.

Also the wind during the race in Australia was not very high. Let's see how well (or bad) the Renault and BMW do in an actual high wind race.

Alonso also said that Sepang will be the real test for Renault, which it is since Sepang tends to be fairly accurate in terms of showing the pecking order of the season. If Renault struggles at Sepang after struggling in Australia then they will have a tough season ahead of them.

[WhiteBlue]

We will have wet qualifying and thunderstorms for the race if the weather predictions are anything to go by. Combined with another thwighlight race we will see a great number of cockups again I would think. So the result is highly unpredictable and there should be much entertainment. I am a bit concerned about safety and t-boning cars at speed if it comes to very bad visibility in the race as it is entirely possible though.

[jddh1]

Vettel may try this one to get pole, start from P11, the try and work his way thru the feild to a strong finish.

I like your analysis. Quite detailed and yet concise.

But I disagree that Vettel will try to get pole so he can start 11th. I think they'll just start dead last, then load up the car with fuel and hard tires, avoid all the crashes (Mark Webber) in turn one and go from there. If it's gonna be wet, he'll definitely do that.

[PlatinumZealot]

Which portion of the race is the rain expected; the starting, the middle or the end?

[andartop]

Which portion of the race is the rain expected; the starting, the middle or the end?

You must be joking, right?

[PlatinumZealot]

Nope.. If you were from Malaysia you could make a good prediction.

I was hoping to get an answer from the Malaysian on the site.

[axle]

Nope.. If you were from Malaysia you could make a good prediction.

I was hoping to get an answer from the Malaysian on the site.

From what I've read it tends to rain in the afternoon - just when Bernie has decided to run the quali and race, so expect it to be 100% wet.