Malaysian GP: Race - Re-Cap & Results

The Malaysian GP is now finished and done for the year. Thousands of people showed up despite the sadness looming over the country due to the recent Malaysian Airlines missing plane, which had hundreds of people aboard. May I just start by saying my thoughts and prayers are with the people affected by the situation. It is a true tragedy and I'm hoping they will soon recover the plane.

So, now, where shall I begin? Before the race even started there was problems. The Force India of Sergio Perez was having problems and then it was said he'd start from the pit lane. However, as things were about to get underway, Sergio climbed out the car, stuck in 4th gear and having no way to fix the problem, he was forced to retire before he'd even begun. People, (Including me) were absolutely shocked and saddened by this. One of the most disappointing things is when a driver can't even start the race and this unfortunately does happen.

The lights then went out and at the first turn, Kevin Magnussen tried to pass Kimi Raikkonen and in result, ended up hitting the World Champion Fin, damaging his car and his own McLaren as well. Around the same time, Jules Bianchi made contact with Pastor Maldonado and they both did a little spin. Luckily, both were able to continue for a bit, but after awhile, Maldonado had to retire as did Bianchi.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, who started on pole, was now leading, with Vettel, Rosberg, Hulkenberg and Alonso all somewhere close behind him. The biggest battle during the whole race was that of Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg. It was really quite the show.

Later on it was Jean-Eric Vergne who had issues with the Turbo and was forced to retire from the race, while his team-mate, 19-Year-Old Daniil Kvyat was in the top 10 and gaining on the Williams' drivers. Both Saubers had to retire as well a bit later on, the first double retirement for the Sauber team in years. 

Daniel Ricciardo, who was called in for a pit-stop, had horrible luck when one of the mechanics was not done fastening his front-left tyre, and the crew released him, not noticing what was going on. Daniel had to be pushed back to get the wheel fastened before he could head back out, but due to all the commotion, when the Aussie got back out on the circuit, his front wing came loose and fell in a slanted position, cutting into his front-right tyre, making a deep cut, all around. He was called back into the pit-lane and had things fixed, but retired only a few laps later.

On the last few laps, there was BIG drama between the two Williams' drivers, when the team radioed Massa, telling him that Bottas was faster and to not hold him up. He was told multiple times to let Bottas pass, but did not obey orders. Something identical to what happened between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber last year. Another case of Multi-21 disobeyed.

It was Lewis Hamilton who brought home the win of the Malaysian GP and dedicated his win to everyone affected by the flight MH370 tragedy. His Team-Mate, Nico Rosberg finished in Second while Defending-4-Time-World-Champion, Sebastian Vettel, came in Third. Here are the rest of the results.

RACE RESULTS:

1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes / Great Britain - +25 Points
2. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes / Germany - +18 Points
3. Sebastian Vettel / Redbull / Germany - +15 Points
4. Fernando Alonso / Ferrari / Spain / - +12 Points
5. Nico Hulkenberg / Force India / Germany - +10 Points
6. Jenson Button / McLaren / Great Britain - +8 Points
7. Felipe Massa / Williams / Brazil -  +6 Points
8. Valtteri Bottas / Williams / Finland - +4 Points
9. Kevin Magnussen / McLaren / Denmark - +2 Points
10. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso / Russia - +1 Point
11. Romain Grosjean / Lotus / France - +0 Points
12. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari / Finland - +0 Points
13. Kamui Kobayashi / Caterham / Japan - +0 Points
14. Marcus Ericsson / Caterham / Sweden - +0 Points
15. Max Chilton / Marussia / Great Britain - +0 Points
16. Daniel Ricciardo / Redbull / Australia / RETIRED - Multiple Problems - =0 Points
17. Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber / Mexico / RETIRED - Gearbox - +0 Points
18. Adrian Sutil / Sauber / Germany / RETIRED - Power Unit -+ 0 Points
19. Jean-Eric Vergne / Toro Rosso / France / RETIRED - Engine - +0 Points
20. Jules Bianchi / Marussia / France / RETIRED - Collision - +0 Points
21. Pastor Maldonado / Lotus / Venezuela / RETIRED - Power Unit - +0 Points
22. Sergio Perez / Force India / Mexico / DID NOT START - Gearbox - +0 Points

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No Copyright Infringement Intended.

Malaysian GP: Qualifying - Re-Cap & Results

When Qualifying got underway, so did the rain! Originally scheduled for 11 PM my time, it did not actually start for around 45 minutes as the rain was coming down pretty hard and there was a lot of sitting water on the track that had to be cleared before the cars could come out and set times.

So, for those of you who are not familiar with how Qualifying works, let me take you through it! There is 3 rounds of Qualifying and they're all done within an hour or so. The first round, all 22 cars go out and set lap times, the 6 slowest are knocked out and start the race on their grid positions according to the speed of their times. In round 2, the rest of the cars go out and another 6 get knocked out, and they'll start where there times put them as well. That leaves the last 10 cars to go around for Round 3, those ten battle for pole position, which is the very front of the Grid. It's the starting position everyone wants. So, here's how it played out.

Round 1: Knocked out -Marcu Ericsson (Caterham), Max Chilton (Marussia), Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham), Jules Bianchi (Marussia), Adrian Sutil (Sauber) & Pastor Maldonado (Lotus).

Round 2: Knocked out - Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Sergio Perez (Force India), Felipe Massa (Williams), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), & Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso)

Results After Round 3:

1. (Pole Position) - Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes / Great Britain
2. Sebastian Vettel / Redbull / Germany
3. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes / Germany
4. Fernando Alonso / Ferrari / Spain
5. Daniel Ricciardo / Redbull / Australia
6. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari / Finland
7. Nico Hulkenberg / Force India / Germany
8. Kevin Magnussen / McLaren / Denmark 
9. Jean-Eric Vergne / Toro Rosso / France
10. Jenson Button / McLaren / Great Britain
11. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso / Russia
12. Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber / Mexico
13. Felipe Massa / Williams / Brazil
14. Sergio Perez / Force India / Mexico
15. Valtteri Bottas / Williams / Finland
16. Romain Grosjean / Lotus / France
17. Pastor Maldonado / Lotus / Venezuela 
18. Adrian Sutil / Sauber / Germany
19. Jules Bianchi / Marussia / France
20. Kamui Kobayashi / Caterham / Japan
21. Max Chilton / Marussia / Great Britain
22. Marcus Ericsson / Caterham / Sweden

After qualifying, Valtteri Bottas was given a 3-Place-Grid-Penalty for impeding Daniel Ricciardo during Qualifying, in turn Bottas was demoted to 18th, moving Grosjean, Maldonado and Sutil each up a spot on the grid.

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No Copyright Infringement Intended. 

Malaysian GP: Free Practice 3 - Re-Cap & Results

So, during Free Practice 3, we saw The Mclaren-Mercedes team have issues with their Power Units and Kevin Magnussen was unable to set a time, meanwhile the Mercedes AMG Petronas team managed to get the top 2 spots on the times sheets. Not too much action going on in this round, as it's usually when teams make final set-up changes and make sure things are running smoothly. There's not too much want to go crazy and accidently mess up the car before Qualifying, so teams try to keep things calm. Here are the times from Session #3.

TIMES:
 
1. Nico Rosberg - 1:39.008 / Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton - 1:39.240 / Mercedes
3. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:40.156 / Ferrari
4. Sebastian Vettel - 1:40.387 / Redbull
5. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:40.523 / Force India
6. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:40.686 / Redbull
7. Fernando Alonso - 1:40.736 / Ferrari
8. Felipe Massa - 1:40.781 / Williams
9. Valtteri Bottas - 1:40.891 / Williams
10. Sergio Perez - 1:41.029 / Force India
11. Daniil Kvyat - 1:41.182 / Toro Rosso
12. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:41.441 / Toro Rosso
13. Adrian Sutil - 1:41.552 / Sauber
14. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:42.041 / Sauber
15. Romain Grosjean - 1:42.749 / Lotus
16. Pastor Maldonado - 1:43.539 / Lotus
17. Max Chilton - 1:43.977 / Marussia
18. Jules Bianchi - 1:44.170 / Marussia
19. Marcus Ericsson - 1:44.457 / Caterham
20. Kamui Kobayashi - 1:46.015 / Caterham
21. Jenson Button - 2:05.555 / McLaren
22. Kevin Magnussen - No Time Set / McLaren

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Malaysian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Williams

Here are the quotes from the Williams F1 Team.

Felipe Massa - “Malaysia is a nice place to race, it’s a hot and humid race which makes it a physically tough one for the drivers. The heat also has a big effect on the tyres and how quickly degradation happens. These extreme temperatures means Malaysia is less like any other circuit we will race at. When you go to Malaysia you can never count out the weather either, there is always the chance of rain, its heavy rain too, and this can happen at the end of nearly every day. All of these factors mean the race is always exciting from a fans point of view but these changes are tough for the drivers. I’m looking forward to having a good race there.”

Valtteri Bottas - “Malaysia will be a real challenge for us, but also something the other teams will have to deal with too. Cooling will be a major factor as the temperatures are so high, there is also still a lot to learn about the new power units, so this heat adds to this learning curve. It could be the hottest race this season and having it at the start of the season when people are trying to develop what they have isn’t the easiest of tasks. Physically for the drivers it isn’t easy; we have to work hard in the off-season so we are ready for times like this. The track itself is very nice; it has some great high speed sections which are my favourite parts of the circuit.”

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No Copyright Infringement Intended.
Quotes made by Drivers. 

Malaysian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Mercedes

Here are the Preview Quotes from the Mercedes F1 team.

Lewis Hamilton - “Malaysia is a stunning country and I always enjoy coming here. The fans are fantastic and it also forms one of three home races for the team alongside Germany and Great Britain. We have some exciting events planned with Petronas during the days building up to the race weekend so it will be a busy week but a lot of fun. I finished second on my Formula One debut here in 2007 and have been on the podium at the last two Malaysian Grands Prix but I've yet to win here. It would be amazing to stand on the top step at one of our home races and I'm looking forward to bouncing back after a tough weekend in Australia. Although it was not the result we were hoping for, every setback is a chance to learn more about this new car, which is important as they're incredibly complex machines. I know the team at Brackley and Brixworth is pushing harder than ever and I'll be doing the same.”

Nico Rosberg - “The Malaysian Grand Prix is the home race for Petronas so it's always a busy and exciting weekend. Sepang holds some great memories for me too as I achieved my first podium for Mercedes here at the start of the 2010 season. Normally the weather is seen as the biggest challenge here but this season is different, with reliability the focus of everyone's attention. Of course, it will still be hot, humid and probably wet at some stage too, so it should be a fascinating weekend. Australia was the perfect start to my season, but it also highlighted that we're not 100 percent there yet in terms of reliability. We've had two weeks before this race to identify all the things that we can do better, so hopefully we can bring both cars home for a good result this weekend and continue our strong start to the year.”

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No Copyright Infringement Intended.
Quotes made by Drivers.

Malaysian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India

Next quotes from Sahara Force India's driver duo.

Nico Hulkenberg - “Malaysia is going to be a tough challenge with totally different track characteristics and higher temperatures, which always leads to higher tyre degradation. It should be a good test of the new cars because it’s much more open than Melbourne with a nice variation of high and low-speed corners, plus two long straights.”

Sergio Perez - “I think as a team we are moving in the right direction and there were lots of positives to take away from Australia. It was the first race and we, as everyone else on the grid, are still learning a lot about the new car. We have seen some encouraging signs and collected a lot of data that can be put to use for the next few races, starting in Sepang. “I believe Malaysia can be a very good race for us. Let's see how we can perform there. I think Melbourne was a more difficult one for us and with a hotter track and more rear tyre degradation for everyone we can be stronger. I'm counting the days to Malaysia to recover what we couldn't achieve in Australia. I have good memories of this track and I want to build on my previous results there.”

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No Copyright Infringement Intended.
Quotes made by Drivers.

Malaysian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Toro Rosso

 
Next quotes come from the Toro Rosso drivers!

Jean-Eric Vergne - “It’s not one of my favourite tracks to be honest, as I don’t feel it has any particularly challenging characteristics. The best thing about this race is its unpredictable nature, because of the weather: you can start on slicks and within a few laps, you need extreme wets because of a heavy storm and that can be fun for a driver. The fans are very enthusiastic when we meet them at the autograph sessions and that is a nice feeling to realise there is so much support there. I have a happy memory of Sepang as it was here that I scored my first Formula One points.”

Daniil Kvyat - “The second race of the season is also the first track that I have visited before. I took my first ever single-seater win here for BMW in 2010 and actually this is also where I drove my very first single-seater race, so I have plenty of memories of this circuit. It’s going to seem very different this time, because there’s a huge step from Formula BMW to Formula One. The track itself is quite interesting, while the heat and humidity make it unique in that respect. I am sure I can be more confident this weekend, after experiencing my first race weekend in Melbourne combined with the fact I know the track. I like Malaysia and did some touristy things when I was there, like going up the Petronas towers and going to some beach resorts.”

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No Copyright Infringement Intended
Quotes made by Drivers.

Malaysian GP: Circuit Preview

Welcome to my 2nd Circuit Preview of the year. The Second round is taking place in the beautiful Country of Malaysia and we're looking to see dry, hot weather this year.

Last year's race was rainy and cloudy. Sebastian Vettel took pole while Sergio Perez had the fastest timed lap. The podium? Vettel in First, while Webber finished Second and Hamilton in Third. It was a very controversial race when Vettel disobeyed team orders to not pass Webber. Webber was said to have won if it weren't for the events that took place between Vettel and the Redbull Team.

On to this year! The Sepang International Circuit is located in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia and was opened in 1999. It draws in a crowd, as it's Maximum Capacity is 80,000! 

The circuit is 3.444 Miles in length and has a total of 15 turns. The drivers have a total of 56 laps to cover before a winner is announced. This year, with the Turbos, we could see a lot of people dropping out if it's a hot one. Last year, with the rain, it was slippery, but they didn't have to worry about overheating Turbo Engines. The circuit also runs Clockwise.

I have already posted the Schedule if you want to take a look at when the events take place.

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No Copyright Infringement Intended.  
(Photo Credit Belongs To Owner: www.wemotor.com)

Malaysian GP: Schedule

The second round of the 2014 season is almost here and I have the weekend schedule! Hope you all enjoy watching. All the times are in Malaysian Local Time, if you want it converted, just let me know!

March 27th - Thursday

15:00 - Press Conference (Located In Press Room.)

March 28th - Friday

10:00 - 11:30 - Free Practice 1
12:30 - 13:45 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
14:00 - 15:30 - Free Practice 2
16:00 - 17:00 - Press Conference (Located In Press Room.)

March 29th - Saturday

10:35 - 11:20 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
10:35 - 11:20 - Pit Stop Practice
13:00 - 14:00 - Free Practice 3
16:00 - Qualifying

March 30th - Sunday

12:00 - 13:00 - Formula 1 Drivers Autograph Signing
14:05 - 15:10 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
14:30 - Drivers Track Parade
14:45 - 15:15 - Starting Grid Presentation
15:46 - National Anthem
16:00 - Race 

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No Copyright Infringement Intended.