Malaysian GP 2012 - Sepang International Circuit

[myurr]

BUT he will also wear through the tyres more quickly.

Will it though, in a full wet situation? In full wet I don't think we have ever seen any such thing.

No probably not which is why I'd back Hamilton in most wet conditions. In full wet then tyre wear doesn't tend to be as much of an issue so he'll have the edge. In damp and drying conditions then it depends on how quickly the track dries. If the circuit dries slowly then bet on Button to keep the tyres working for longer, either giving him a pace advantage over the stint or forcing Hamilton to make an extra stop before they can all switch to dry tyres. If it dries relatively quickly then Hamilton should hold the advantage but Button will sometimes make a better call on when to switch to dry tyres and gain advantage that way. If it stays damp then it'll come down to whether Hamilton can get away with an extra stop and/or if Button can get away with not stopping as much.

Either way I think that in changeable conditions those two are the best drivers on the grid, followed closely by Alonso. Vettel is harder to read, he's had some good and some bad races and last year I think the car had a general problem in full wet conditions.

[raymondu999]

In the wet I think sometimes Button can't find a good balance - which then makes him hurt the tyres more than even a normal driver would. Remember Korea? Or China 2009/2010. In 2010 Hamilton was fighting through the field; but at the end it was Button who finished his tyres so much he slid right off at the hairpin - though he rescued it.

That's interesting though. Why do you say the RB7 had wet problems? Vettel+RB7 were quick in Canada - and quick in Silverstone. It was in the dry or drying phases of the race that they lost out.

[myurr]

In the wet I think sometimes Button can't find a good balance - which then makes him hurt the tyres more than even a normal driver would. Remember Korea? Or China 2009/2010. In 2010 Hamilton was fighting through the field; but at the end it was Button who finished his tyres so much he slid right off at the hairpin - though he rescued it.

That's interesting though. Why do you say the RB7 had wet problems? Vettel+RB7 were quick in Canada - and quick in Silverstone. It was in the dry or drying phases of the race that they lost out.

Earlier in the year in China for example their pace relative to dry was much worse than the McLarens. I think they did recover it to a degree later in the year, but even in Canada they were ultimately beaten by Button in the McLaren.

Whilst Red Bull seem to have mastered matching good pace with good longevity in the tyres, for Vettel at least, McLaren seem to have mastered getting heat into the tyres quickly with good pace but without having too bad longevity. It's an interesting way to look at the cars relative strengths.

I still think F1 cars are too easy to drive these days (relatively), which is why I love a good wet race. It still properly sorts the men from the boys and I personally believe it paints a better picture of how quick each driver really is in terms of raw tallent. So I'd rather see harder less grippy tyres in F1 that make the cars slip around more and make them more difficult to drive in the dry. I'd rather see men battling with their cars knowing that I could never match that level of skill, rather than seeing most of the grid cruise around making it look so effortless.

[Hail22]

Forget a DSLR and camera, I want to know how to be one of Hail's clients!

Or at least work where hail is working.

LOL Raymondu knows who I work for however I like to keep that within private chats as I don't think this is the place to discuss work etc xD

On topic:

If we are going for a wet race which it seems Malaysia may be in the wet season? (not a local don't kill me!)

Wet Race:

1. Schumacher
2. Button
3. Vettel
4. Alonso
5. Hamilton


Intermediate race:

1. Button
2. Vettel
3. Webber
4. Hamilton
5. Schumacher

If it rains it will most certainly be a downpour which equates to a red flag.

A local told me when it rains find cover as it comes down hard! hahaha *hides under tree* lol

[raymondu999]

Earlier in the year in China for example their pace relative to dry was much worse than the McLarens. I think they did recover it to a degree later in the year, but even in Canada they were ultimately beaten by Button in the McLaren.

China 2011 was wet. I think you mean China 2010. Again though - in Canada it was only when the track was damp and drying that the McLaren was quicker. In the full wet portions Vettel was quick.

Whilst Red Bull seem to have mastered matching good pace with good longevity in the tyres, for Vettel at least, McLaren seem to have mastered getting heat into the tyres quickly with good pace but without having too bad longevity. It's an interesting way to look at the cars relative strengths.

It's been that way in the McLaren since 2010 I think. The McLaren is usually the earliest onto a drier tyre. I think because they're better at heating tyres - they have an advantage when the situation is borderline - and when the conditions are still a bit too cold for the other teams to move to the drier (be it inter or slick) tyre; the McLaren can get good heat into them. I remember how people were struggling to heat their slick tyres in Melbourne 2010; and it took the other teams 2 or 3 laps until they were posting green sectors - while Button did a purple S2 and S3 on his outlap, despite pitting a lap earlier. That's a 4-lap time gap before the other teams were able to switch on their tyres. Germany 2011 was a good example. In the cold the McLaren was just about the only team that could switch on the hards. Hamilton was neck and neck with Webber and Alonso; and when he bolted the hards he just streamed away at something like a second a lap.

[kiwibob]

Hail22 i agree with your picks except i would have kimi in the mix as well so am hoping for a wet race to sort the boys and there toys.

[Shrieker]

Be interesting to see whether the Mp4 27 remains the fastest car here. The RB8 might have a slight edge in both quali and the race. If you factor in Mercedes'DRS + long straights, we might see a 6 way shoot out for pole bar any cockups.

[raymondu999]

I'm not sure - but after Melbourne I'm not sure Red Bull can get pole position here - I don't think they have the pace in quali against the McLarens

[myurr]

I'm not sure - but after Melbourne I'm not sure Red Bull can get pole position here - I don't think they have the pace in quali against the McLarens

For me the McLaren has the better overall package. They have the downforce and they have the straight line speed. Red Bull and Mercedes only seem to have one or the other.

[raymondu999]

I don't think we even saw the traditional Adrian Newey buckets of downforce. They seemed to have less of it than the McLaren. The direction change, and commitment at Turns 11-12 of the McLaren were absolutely mega.

[Hail22]

I'm not sure - but after Melbourne I'm not sure Red Bull can get pole position here - I don't think they have the pace in quali against the McLarens

Well put it this way, i spoke to a mechanic at RB and he mentioned after Saturday FP3 (before qualifying) he was personally afraid of the cars balance and she kept slipping in turns 14, 15 and 16.

As well as we saw during the race in turn 1.

Now the only reason he said this to me was it was off the record so on this forum its considered to be hearsay/conjecture.

But if thats true, this car has a hidden Newey Gremlin and it can spell certain disaster we shall see Malaysia usually gives an indicator as does Catalunya.

[CHT]

I'm not sure - but after Melbourne I'm not sure Red Bull can get pole position here - I don't think they have the pace in quali against the McLarens

Well put it this way, i spoke to a mechanic at RB and he mentioned after Saturday FP3 (before qualifying) he was personally afraid of the cars balance and she kept slipping in turns 14, 15 and 16.

As well as we saw during the race in turn 1.

Now the only reason he said this to me was it was off the record so on this forum its considered to be hearsay/conjecture.

But if thats true, this car has a hidden Newey Gremlin and it can spell certain disaster we shall see Malaysia usually gives an indicator as does Catalunya.

Did you get to speak to the guys over at Ferrari?

[CHT]

I'm not sure - but after Melbourne I'm not sure Red Bull can get pole position here - I don't think they have the pace in quali against the McLarens

Having completed a proper race distance with the spec-b RB8, I am expecting RB8 race pace to be stronger at Sepang. And Mclaren might suffer slightly due to extra fuel they need to carry.

Should be exciting to see how the cars and tyres will perform under hot weather condition.

[Hail22]

Did you get to speak to the guys over at Ferrari?

Lets just say Body language was all i needed from Ferrari over the weekend, very grumpy bunch of people with their noses stuck up their you know what.

So lets not go there lol.

Apologies for leaving out Raikkonen!

He too could pull off an upset...unless its a red flag due to rain and having an ice cream haha jk!

But he may have a shot at the podium at Sepang.

[foxmulder_ms]

Hamilton for pole and race win will be my guesses. I am pretty confident for the pole but race is a different beast. If it rains, it is chaos