Malaysian GP 2008

[antrock]

[FLC]

If thats on a quick lap I think Alonso has a better case than Heidfeld .

I guess the stewards agree... Hamilton and Kovalainen have been demoted 5 places each.

[modbaraban]

[Rob W]

I have a question, I might be wrong, I'm not sure. Kimi scored points in previous race so how come he doesn't get the engine change penalty?

2008 Rule - First engine change is Not Penalty

Kimi got his free change because he didn't actually finish the race. It doesn't matter that he scored points.

R

[bhall]

This is just going to be one of those things that can happen with the new qualifying rules. Cars finished with their fast laps in Q3 aren't going to be hustling back to the pitlane, as they will be trying to save fuel which they can no longer replace prior to Sunday. And it can present a very dangerous situation when there are other cars trying to complete fast timed laps while at the same time weaving through much slower cars who have already finished theirs.

This seems to be what happened with Hamilton and Kovalainen.

It's clear they weren't deliberately trying to impede other drivers. But they were going so slowly on the absolute worst part of the track to be on if one is trying to stay out of the way. So I can understand the stewards' decision, on pure safety grounds.

I guess thems the breaks.

Perhaps the rules should be changed so that drivers are forced to leave the track after they've completed their qualifying laps as quickly as possible, something similar to the 110% rule used last year for Q3 fuel replacement.

[modbaraban]

Perhaps the rules should be changed so that drivers are forced to leave the track after they've completed their qualifying laps as quickly as possible, something similar to the 110% rule used last year for Q3 fuel replacement.

Yes, that's quite obvious. I can clearly imagine someone crashing into the back a rolling car exiting an unsighted corner. [-X

Perhaps cars should just park at the pit exit to be pulled in?

[manchild]

Perhaps cars should just park at the pit exit to be pulled in?

Impossible. It would not be just dangerous to break hard on straight after the finish line but also dreadful for brakes and engine cooling. Imagine the car crossing the finish line at 300 kph than braking to stop in next few hundreds of meters. Engine would boil and the brakes would burn up. Another thing, pulling in backwards from circuit normal direction is highly prohibited as well as any such motion by any vehicle (medical, SC, firefighters etc).

[P_O_L]

Im still laughing all the way Hamilton owned by heikki, unable to fix his set-up after 9 years of grooming by mclaren. Both mclarens put back 5 places because they blocked other drivers. I have 2 words for mclaren and their drivers and it aint gonna be merry xmass: MARK WEBBER!!!! Oh, and what about Trulli ey.
Lets hope tomorow wel have an interesting race.

[FLC]

I'm not a fan of this ridiculous qualifying system, but I don't think there's a big problem with cars slowing down anymore than previous years. You are forggeting that most of the teams finished their running early because they were expecting rain, and LH and HK, or McLaren as a team, were pretty much driving as if it was their own private track. They had no business driving on that line. Webber and Kubica did it pretty good, no reason for others to fail.

[vyselegend]

Just woke up, I'm glad about the steward decision, and I strongly agree with bhallg2k, there should be an adaptation of the 110% rule in Q3 to avoid drivers going that slow.

I also think Massa was just lucky not to impede anyone, because he did most of his slow lap on the trajectory as well. You cannot argue that you'll move when you see someone comming in the mirrors, you just have to keep away from the main trajectory...

Before falling asleep I managed to see the GP2 feature race. It started raining just at the start (like the Nurburgring F1 race last year, but whith less rain), and it lead to a pretty eventfull race, ending on a quickly drying track.

It gave a good hint of what a wet race would look like tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to it!

[Jersey Tom]

Even if there was a minimum time you had to hit.. you still won't be running full out after your quali run. Even if you're only 20mph slower than normal, if you're on the race line you're gonna really blow it for someone who's on a flying lap.

Guys just gotta be off the line and aware of drivers on hot laps behind them. Wasn't an issue for the other cars out there. Wasn't intention on McLaren's part I'm sure.. but no reason for it.

[bar555]

I think Malaysian Qualify gave us misleading data .

Rain is expecting during race , so there are 2 options
1. To choose a rain set up for the car . This set up can cost you a few grid positions during dry qualifing conditions but can give you a boost during the rainy race
2. A low fuel car can challenge for a better grid position .That's because a car can save fuel in a rainy race and gain a few more laps before refueling

Ferrari i think chose 2nd option , but Mc Laren the 1st
I do not know if i am correct or not , there are only some hours left to find out

PS The real surprise would be if Ferrari chose both 1st and 2nd option

[Project Four]

Proper penalty and agree with it, both McLaren’s blocked Heidfeld, did not see the Alonso block but the previous post looks like he was blocked or forced him off-line or may be based on past ruling’s (Monza 2006) the McLaren’s aero wake was effecting him.

We just need to see this rule applied consistently and across the board, at Melbourne Timo Glock got punished, but I did not see Raikkonen get punished when he blocked Kubica when he was on a hot lap.

[bhall]

Great race from Raikkonen and Ferrari. It's heartening to see them get their act together after such as dismal start to the season. The team had an excellent strategy, and Raikkonen drove a flawless race.

Disheartening though is Massa's continued inability to come to grips with driving without traction control. He'll need to elevate his game fast if he wants to prove he still belongs at Ferrari.

Under the circumstances, I think Hamilton and Kovalainen both put in admirable drives. It's difficult to start from mid-field, and they did well to earn good points from a race where they were clearly outclassed by the Red Team. It seemed like Hamilton was never able to get the car set up the way he wanted, and his strategy seemed counterproductive. The McLarens were faster on the harder compound tires; they probably should have used them twice rather than the options.

It looks like we could be in for a repeat of last year where Ferrari and McLaren traded dominance, depending on the track.

BMW is showing great consistency so far. They may in fact be the most consistent team on the grid, able to be quick on a variety of different track configurations. And Kubica has really come into his own. They can also be content with collecting the fastest lap of the race with Heidfeld. It won't be long before BMW are fighting for wins.

Congratulations are also due to Toyota and Trulli. It definitely appears they've turned the corner and are on their way up.

I wonder how much longer Alonso can keep his cool driving for a team that is conceivably headed in the wrong direction. Alonso to Toyota in 2009 anyone?

[Saribro]

Disheartening though is Massa's continued inability to come to grips with driving without traction control.

I could understand last week's booboo, fighting for position in a crowded corner. But today... free road, enough car-dominance to not have to go nuts, plain under power mid-corner... It's just weird.

Good to see Toyota having a good day indeed. Somewhat confused by the state of Williams though.