Malaysian GP 2009 - Sepang

[ben_watkins]

It is con trails - condensation in the very fast moving air, under high humidity

[Giblet]

No it's not.

Con trails are produced from aircraft exhaust, not the wingtip vortices.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingtip_vortices

If they were contrails there would be a long cloud that would remain floating above the track long after the cars are gone.

That would be pretty cool though.

[nudger]

Everyone who thinks otherwise: How exactly should they have proceeded today, keeping in mind that safety is the first concern, and following the rules of racing is not up for debate?

i think the point some people were making was that the timing of the race was asking for trouble.
now, you cant blame the fia for that...i dont think they did anything wrong. The problem was Bernie trying to squeeze every last penny from the event.
Its mush like when they moved the british grand prix to april, and Bernie got all upset because everyone got stuck in the northamptonshire mud ... common sense said it was asking for trouble...just like all the locals had been telling us that the race wouldnt run its course...they were right.

[The FOZ]

Everyone who thinks otherwise: How exactly should they have proceeded today, keeping in mind that safety is the first concern, and following the rules of racing is not up for debate?

i think the point some people were making was that the timing of the race was asking for trouble.
now, you cant blame the fia for that...i dont think they did anything wrong. The problem was Bernie trying to squeeze every last penny from the event.
Its mush like when they moved the british grand prix to april, and Bernie got all upset because everyone got stuck in the northamptonshire mud ... common sense said it was asking for trouble...just like all the locals had been telling us that the race wouldnt run its course...they were right.

Fair enough, but at the end of they day, Formula 1 exists as a business. The fans are the customers.

If you selling oranges, you open your orange stand when the crowds are going to be largest.

On the flip side, though, your oranges won't die if you're selling 'em at night...if the GPDA and FOTA are that concerned about timing of races, they should be uniting and pushing harder for more appropriate race times.

It's times like this that I like having a PVR. This race happened at 2:30 in the morning here. I watched it at 9:30 in the morning, along with my morning cup of coffee. Maybe the answer is, we run the races at prime local time, and people can record the damned things wherever they're watching from.

I don't know, there doesn't seem to be a right answer that satisfies all parties.

[donskar]

For me, this race was like having dinner at an top quality restaurant:

The appetizer (Rosberg in the opening laps) was excellent
The side dishes (mid-field racing) was excellent
The main course (racing for the win) was a disappointment

I think we can now say that the Brawn is dominant in both dry and wet.

And KERS is NOT a "game changer," nor even a significant element in winning podiums or crowd interest.

We now have a rigidly structured classification system within F1, almost an open-wheeled LeMans, with cars of distinctly different performance racing together (but not each other) at the same time

F1: the "diffuser" cars - roughly Brawn, Toyota, and Williams
F2: RBR and whoever manages to "get it" for that particular race
F3: McL, BMW, Ferrari, Renault, Toro Rosso (roughly that order)
F4: FI

Either the diffuser regs are changed, or Brawn runs away from the field until they can (too late) get their own diffusers.

[tahadar]

Does anyone know what the white-things coming off the rear wing of the car were when they were coming down the back-straight when the rain started coming down?
I was thinking it may have been St Elmo's fire but I'm not sure. I saw it a few times in the race. Struggling to find a photo though.

not st. elmo's fire! its the air being compressed to the point where it condensates and starts for form water droplets.

[The FOZ]

This race reminded me very much of the Brazilian GP last season...waiting for the rain, figuring out who would get caught and who was on the right tire for the moment added to the experience, I'd say. So your main course was switched from what you had expected, but it was still satisfying for me.

KERS isn't changing the big picture, but it is coming into play during the little duels for position that are happening. Here's what I would like to see: Since KERS usage is already displayed for everyone viewing at home anyhow, there should be a light somewhere on the car, that when KERS is being used, lights up. I think it would be neat.

As for the classes of team..that will all change on the 14th...

1. The diffuser teams
2. The teams scrambling to get their own diffusers working
3. Force India.

[The FOZ]

Does anyone know what the white-things coming off the rear wing of the car were when they were coming down the back-straight when the rain started coming down?
I was thinking it may have been St Elmo's fire but I'm not sure. I saw it a few times in the race. Struggling to find a photo though.

not st. elmo's fire! its the air being compressed to the point where it condensates and starts for form water droplets.

Or just a pressure differential - high pressure air in low pressure surroundings. Light refracts differently, making it appear opaque. Like a tire blowout. It appears white in contrast to the STP air around it.

Have I mentioned I like this sort of technical discussion? After all, this is F1Technical, not F1Emotional

[Giblet]

If KERS gets ramped up in power over years to come, which it is supposed to do, it will become much more noticeable to the fans at trackside.

Oh yeah... anyone got an answer as to what is making the odd engine pitches yet? I never noticed if that got resolved.

The BRAWN cars don't have KERS, but the in-car there was a definite sharp drop then rise in RPM on the straight.

[meexi]

Who sung the acoustic version of Umbrella at the end of BBC`s coverage?

[roost89]

Does anyone know what the white-things coming off the rear wing of the car were when they were coming down the back-straight when the rain started coming down?
I was thinking it may have been St Elmo's fire but I'm not sure. I saw it a few times in the race. Struggling to find a photo though.

not st. elmo's fire! its the air being compressed to the point where it condensates and starts for form water droplets.

Or just a pressure differential - high pressure air in low pressure surroundings. Light refracts differently, making it appear opaque. Like a tire blowout. It appears white in contrast to the STP air around it.

Have I mentioned I like this sort of technical discussion? After all, this is F1Technical, not F1Emotional

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AhGej_qlfI 35ish seconds in, when Webber, Hamilton and Heidfeld are going along the back-straight.
I agree with previous comments that they're vortices.

[MattF1]

If KERS gets ramped up in power over years to come, which it is supposed to do, it will become much more noticeable to the fans at trackside.

Oh yeah... anyone got an answer as to what is making the odd engine pitches yet? I never noticed if that got resolved.

The BRAWN cars don't have KERS, but the in-car there was a definite sharp drop then rise in RPM on the straight.

Broadcast glitch apparently.

[timbo]

The BRAWN cars don't have KERS, but the in-car there was a definite sharp drop then rise in RPM on the straight.

I noticed that effect with several reportedly non-KERS cars. I believe there's probably new audio/video system implemented this year, and honestly I think it sucks - much part of Saturday footage was made with delayed audio.

[hulmerist]

Who sung the acoustic version of Umbrella at the end of BBC`s coverage?

biffy clyro

[kilcoo316]

People. If you don't have a grasp on the sport, much less reality, please consider investing some time rectifying the matter.

This wasn't a case of a few guys sitting around a table with a bottle of scotch, making --- up as they went along today.

Maybe if you jumped off your soapbox for a minute, you'd see people are unhappy at the poison dwarf staging the race at the stupid time of day.


The locals say "Don't start it at 5, because the evening rains will affect the race, and will kill the light".

But dickhead Bernie sees $$$$ and ignores them. Cue today's farce.


Charlie Whiting was not to blame, neither were the drivers, the teams, or Bridgestone.

FOM are entirely at fault here.