Malaysian GP 2010 - Sepang

[Poleman]

To everyone conserned with the rainy conditions, you have to understand, this is the tropical region; in these regions it is hot and humid during day, invariably

followed by heavy torrential rain late in the afternoon, and it isn't so just during this time,but for almost the whole year long.
So, to hold a race at 4 or 5 pm, ..., well, that is like trying to force a wet race, and what we got last year was even better, a desaster!!!
I don't like to say this, but I won't be surprised if something very similer happens tomorrow.

I am sure the F1 organisers and "administration" (you know who I mean) understand this scenario, but it seems they prefer to be oblivious to it. All they want is to

somehow get ever-higher TRP ratings and TV viewership, let the "RACING" take care of itself. What a SHAME!!!

Agreed and as well im quoting myself...

I would say that the race in Malaysia at this time of year and this thime of day is "ridiculous" [-X

[vall]

I never liked those wet race. True, sometimes there are fun, but most of the time is a battle for survival, not racing. And obviously, if you are not P1 you are completely screwed up because it may be close to impossible to see anything.

Anyway, I could not see the quali and I am curious to know what happen to the guy some call the Rainmaster?

[djones]

Pretty sure they said Rosberg was on inters not full wet??

[ArchAngel]

...Anyway, I could not see the quali and I am curious to know what happen to the guy some call the Rainmaster?

Mysteriously enough, he didn't show up. Hopefully he'll make an appearance tomorrow.

[Raftaar]

First of all, let me say well done to Mark Webber, what a fantastic drive in such tough conditions. Credits should also go to Adrian Sutil to have done so well in the car he is in, his qualifying performances this year have been very good.

And, special credits to debutant Nico Hulkenberg, not only for qualifying 5th, but also beating his teammate Barrichello in the process.
=D> =D> =D>

[WhiteBlue]

Pretty sure they said Rosberg was on inters not full wet??

No, all Q3 were on full wet except Webber.

...I am curious to know what happen to the guy some call the Rainmaster?

In Q1 they made it by the skin of their teeth almost making the same mistake as Ferrari and McLaren.

Then in Q2 Schumacher was leading most of the time on P1 but went in to get new inters when the track was at his best. He fell to P10 and that was hair raising.

In Q3 he went out in full wets as all others except Webber and made the same mistake as in Q1, he did not go to the top of the queue. He had traffic, never got his wets on temperature and ended on P8. Pretty miserable in terms of result considering he drove some beautiful laps in Q2 when it didn't count.

[WhiteBlue]

Hi WhiteBlue,

Where do you follow the livestream?

Are Ferrari and Red Bull on the primes? Maybe they will start the race on the harder compound?

I am subscribed to Sky Sport HD Germany. They bring all F1 sessions live without add breaks. It's 44€ per month but in my view it's worth the money as I also get a lot of movies.

[djos]

Sometimes i wonder if Vettel is really that much faster than Webber. Webber can match him some of the times, but he just can't hook up the qualifying.

You where saying?

[Poleman]

Ringo is true though...If Vettel was on intermidiates as well i doubt that Webber would have clamed pole position and if he did it would be by a tiny margin not the 1.3 secs it is now.But if's doesnt change anything,he got pole so congrats to him for a nice lap.

[WhiteBlue]

Well done Ferrari & McLaren. =D>

Makes for an interesting race, though.

Sometimes i just wonder why are they acting like complete idiots...Is it a bad thing to go out and give it a shot as soon as the session begins like the other teams?No, they just want to play cool and gamble and head for disaster...Congrats =D> =D>

It is indeed unbelievable how Ferrari, McLaren and almost Mercedes threw it away in Q1 by not going out immediately. They know that you can easily loose 20 or 30 seconds by not being on track at the wrong time. So really your only proper strategy is going out immediately and set sefety times. This is even more astounding as they have performance in hand over the other teams so their drivers should have no need to push and get themselves into the gravel as Button did. That was particularly lame. Watching Alonso do a 720° turn certainly had some entertainment value.

[djos]

Ringo is true though...If Vettel was on intermidiates as well i doubt that Webber would have clamed pole position and if he did it would be by a tiny margin not the 1.3 secs it is now.But if's doesnt change anything,he got pole so congrats to him for a nice lap.

Well this time Webbo made the right call and reaped the rewards - Vettel is usually quite superb in the wet but even he lacked the balls to go for the inters.

It's reminiscent of Jenson opting for slicks in Melbourne and winning the race as a result.

[multisync]

Sutil did well but I worry Liuzzi is not getting the best out of the car and is consistantly behind in qually.That's a shame as the car is I feel better than both of them at the moment..

Still, the start conditions will prove vital for all as depending upon the rain Webber will either run and hide out front get or get left behind

I don't think I'd be sleeping too easily if I was him Pole or no pole!

[TheMinister]

WTF?! It rains, drivers are in wet tyres and stay on the track steadily, so why in the world is there a necessity to Red Flag the session?!

Sorry but it's really gayish decision from whoever took it.

At least they're supposed to ask the drivers what they feel about the track before deciding to spoil them.

Now, what will happen if Q3 couldn't start again? Would Q2 times determines the top 10 starting positions?

I can kind of understand the timing of the red flag in this instance; Charlie was putting it out before anybody had finished a hotlap, so as not to advantage any drivers.

But I agree that it was probably unnecessary to red flag the session, and red flag is brought out far too often in rainy conditions. Drivers should be capable of making an informed decision on how fast they can safely drive, rather than going really fast and acting all upset when they end up in the gravel trap. I mean, this is exactly how it works in the real world when it rains, so why not in F1 land?

Given the much lower speeds the cars have to go at when it gets really wet, there are no major safety concerns with driving in monsoon conditions. It simply adds on an extra layer of difficulty.

I race sailing boats, and sometimes conditions get, to use Vettel's words, "ridiculous". But often the racing continues- and it is simply up to each competitor to assess whether they and their boat can safely compete in the conditions. A sailor can de-power his boat, making it slower but easier to handle in the conditions- and the winner is generally the person who can walk the finest line between speed and staying upright/not breaking anything. This generally makes for by far the most exciting races the sport can produce; so F1 should do exactly the same.

For a perfect example of what I am saying, see this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5G3N66j ... re=related

The 49er medal race at the beijing olympics. The boats were capsizing and breaking all over the place, and it produced one of the most dramatic races I have ever seen. The conditions were completely insane- winds far in excess of anything the boats had been designed to handle. But still the competitors raced, and it produced some extremely worthy winners.
(sorry about the commentary being in hoighity-schmoighity language, couldn't find an english version)

[WhiteBlue]

I think the red flag was justified as most cars were already aquaplaning on the wettest parts of the track. This is no sailboat or surfboard contest. Good call from Charlie and Johnny Herbert I say.

[Raftaar]

It was a very eventfull qualifying session. But to be honest, I just can't believe what all happened in Q1!! It was a farse!!!

What were Ferrari and McLaren doing??!
I accept, it was a tricky situation, but they should atleast have set a time at the start of Q1.

I remember, just before Q1 got underway, Hulkenberg got a message on the team radio, that "the whethermen say that the worst is over as far as the rain is conserned, the conditions will get better, so we will wait a bit before we go out". I didn't see when he got out, but it is evident he didn't leave it till the very end, like Ferrari and McLaren did, and suffered for it.

When Q1 started, and a queue of cars exited the pitlane, after seeing the cars in it, I had contrasting thoughts; What would the "weaker" teams be thinking, to get out early, get as many laps as possible to access the conditions and get a good lap, even if it took several tries; and what the "stronger" teams were thinking, to wait for the conditions to get better, let the "other" cars "sweep" the surface, and they would definitely get a top time in one attempt.
The rain that came then, really turned the predictions on it's head.

This was a big mistake by both Ferrari and McLaren, whatever the weatherman said, they should have at least got out at the start, and set a time. All four cars were clearly struggling, all had big spins when on a fast lap. Button was lucky that he came out a little early, he had time to set one laptime before it started pouring again (ended up in the gravel after that). Alonso was maybe the only one who looked a little likely to save the day, but he spun on his first run and narrowly missed out in the final one.
This is a day to forget for the Scuderia.