2013 Malaysian GP - Sepang

[JamtriX]

my first prediction

Top 5 would be a mix of

2 Lotus, 2 Ferrari, 1 Redbull.

position 6th-10th would be a mix of

2 Mercedes, 1 Redbull, 1 Force India and 1 Mclaren.

[-o<

Another Podium for Kimi and Alonso. 3rd place perhaps Massa, Grosjean and/or Vettel again.

But I really like to see Massa win this one with Alonso 2nd. Ferrari 1-2 pls!!!!

[bono59495]

My first post !
Quali:
1. Vettel
2. Webber
3. Massa
4. Grosjean
5. Alonso
6. Kimi
7. Rosberg
8. Hamilton
9. Hulkenberg
10. Sutil

Race:
1. Massa
2. Grosjean
3. Hamilton
4. Vettel
5. Alonso
6. Raikkonen
7. Webber
8. Hulkenberg
9. Rosberg
10. Button

[charleshmlee]

Quali Vettel & Win Alonso!!

[korzeniow]

Colder condition in Australian qualifying flattered Mercedes, I don't expect them being so high up in Malaysia unless the qualifying session will be wet

If anything, the colder conditions in the race were a bad thing for Mercedes, I expect them to be even quicker in the warmer conditions.

I was talking about quiali and not the race.

There is nothing that would suggest Mercedes being more competitive in warmer (hot?) conditions. But there are proofs that they do better in colder (wet).

It's no secret that Mercedes is good in wet as Rosberg was very outspoken about it.

[beelsebob]

I was talking about quiali and not the race.

There is nothing that would suggest Mercedes being more competitive in warmer (hot?) conditions. But there are proofs that they do better in colder (wet).

It's no secret that Mercedes is good in wet as Rosberg was very outspoken about it.

It's no secret that Mercedes was clearly better in the dry, and Hamilton was very clear about it... That is, the Merc performing well in the wet was purely because Rosberg had a wet setup on.

Merc have already stated that they expect hotter temperatures to suit their car better, and that they know why they weren't getting the car working perfectly in the race at Australia. They've also stated they have upgrades for Malaysia.

My Bet is:
Q: VET HAM WEB ALO ROS
R: RAI ALO HAM VET ROS

[FoxHound]

Yet if Red Bull where suffering similar cold grain issues, there pace was better than Mercedes in Oz.
Add in to the mix that Malaysia is an aero track, and I see VET ahead of HAM/ROS all day long.

My opinion here. I think Oz was a peculiar one off, no one is really the wiser after it. Testing results showed up that Lotus had some very good tyre characteristics if not outright pace. This was replicated in Oz, in similar temperatures. However the track surface in oz is unlike any F1 will go to this year, particularly in combination with the temperatures.

Malaysia will throw up vastly different challenges as to how the teams will negotiate a) getting heat into the tyre b) managing the tyre temp and deg.

I'm optimistic for Mercedes, but it's not going to be the paradigm shift alot of us want to see. 5th last time out, I reckon an improvement on this will be a bonus. I see Vettel stomping off into the distance with this one, followed by the Ferrari's and Raikkonen. Hamilton will be doing fantastically well to be ahead of any of these.

[Blackout]

Mercdes communication strategy since 2011 atleast:
"Everything is fine. we found the problems and neutralised them. next time we'll be much stronger"

[motobaleno]

well, we have by far not enough information to say anything robust about real car performance but my feeling is that lotus will not win in malaysia... maybe not even the podium...

[Cocles]

Mercdes communication strategy since 2011 atleast:
"Everything is fine. we found the problems and neutralised them. next time we'll be much stronger"

Of course they always say they're working on it. They ARE always working on it like any F1 team. It's a non-statement.

So far, everything with the W04 and Hamilton has been very positive.

[oT v1]

Alonso DNF

1. Goujon
2. Vettel
3. Kimi

[motorloon1993]

Massa is back on form but I can't see him out pacing Alonso here, he is mighty around Malaysia I can see him winning.
in fact..
I'll have a quick prediction

Q
1 Web
2 Alo
3 Vet
4 Rai
5 Ham

Race
1 Alonso
2 Raikkonen
3 Massa
4 Vettel
5 Hamilton
6 Grosjean
7 Rosberg
8 Di Resta
9 Perez
10 Sutil

Webber DNF after KERS problem

[Nomore]

If it's dry that's a high possibility to see a 1-2 finish for Ferrari...with Alonso outpacing Massa.
If it's wet anything can happen, but i see Mercedes as favorite in wet.

[Phil]

I actually would love to see the look on Alonsos face if he finishes and Massa snatches a win before him.

BTW: Something I noticed, but the BBC didn't seem to cover the race live in Melbourne. Any ideas if they will this weekend? I'm already dreading watching this on RTL...

My predictions:

QF:
- Vettel
- Alonso
- Webber
- Ham
- Massa

Race:
- Alonso
- Vettel
- Massa
- Hamilton
- Rosberg

(For Webbers sake, I so hope I'm wrong)

[simieski]

BTW: Something I noticed, but the BBC didn't seem to cover the race live in Melbourne. Any ideas if they will this weekend? I'm already dreading watching this on RTL...

BBC 2013 live coverage is for :

China, 14 April
Spain, 12 May
Canada, 9 June
Silverstone, 30 June
Belgium, 25 August
Italy, 8 September
Japan, 13 October
India, 27 October
Brazil, 24 November

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21682493

[raymondu999]

Not sure if this has been posted already:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvzWdx_OOY8[/youtube]

IMO, this weekend we'll see oPP or oOPP as possible strategies.