Malaysia 2010

PROBABLY THE MOST EXCITING PART OF THIS FORMULA ONE WEEKEND WAS SATURDAY QUALIFYING. THE RAIN CAME DOWN WITH ONLY A FEW MINUTES TO GO TO THE 20-MINUTE Q1 SESSION AND WAS FORECAST TO LAST FOR ONLY 8-10 MINUTES. MOST OF THE TEAMS CAME OUT OF THE PITS STRAIGHT AWAY TO PUT IN AT LEAST ONE BANKER LAP BUT FERRARI AND MCLAREN PREFERRED TO PLAY POKER WITH THE RAIN GODS AND STAYED IN THEIR GARAGES WAITING FOR THE RAIN TO STOP.

LOGICAL IN ONE SENSE BUT THAT ASSUMES IT IS GOING TO STOP ON SCHEDULE. BUT IT DIDN'T! THE FIRST RUNNERS WERE ABLE TO PUT LAPS IN ON INTERMEDIATE TYRES BUT AS THE RAIN CONTINUED, AND GOT WORSE, THEN FULL WET TYRES WERE GOING TO BE THE ORDER OF THE DAY. IF INTERMEDIATE TYRES CAN BE USED IN THEIR OPTIMUM OPERATING CONDITIONS THEN THEY WILL ALWAYS BE FASTER THAN FULL WETS.

CONSEQUENTLY, WHEN THE TOP TEAMS FINALLY EMERGED, THEY WERE MAINLY ON INTERMEDIATES BUT OUTSIDE THE OPTIMUM CONDITIONS FOR THOSE TYRES AND THEY HAD TO RESORT TO FULL WETS. THEY NEVER STOOD A CHANCE OF ESCAPING INTO Q2. OF THIS GROUP OF DRIVERS, ONLY JENSON BUTTON MADE IT TO Q2 IN 12TH BUT THEN HE AQUAPLANED OFF ON HIS NEXT LAP AND GOT BEACHED IN THE GRAVEL. THUS HE COULD NOT PARTICIPATE IN Q2 AND QUALIFIED 17TH.

JENSON AND FERNANDO ALONSO, 19TH, LEWIS HAMILTON, 20TH, AND FELIPE MASSA, 21ST WERE AT THE BACK OF THE GRID, WHICH PROMISED EXCITEMENT ON SUNDAY ESPECIALLY IF, AS HAD HAPPENED EVERY OTHER DAY, THE RAIN CAME DOWN ON SCHEDULE ONCE AGAIN.

NOT ONLY DID IT NOT COME DOWN ON SCHEDULE, IT NEVER CAME AT ALL AND, DESPITE SOME ENTHUSIASTIC OVERTAKING IN THE EARLY LAPS BY LEWIS HAMILTON, THE TWO RED BULL CARS WERE NEVER CHALLENGED. THEY FINISHED FIRST AND SECOND WITH VICTORY GOING TO SEBASTIEN VETTEL WHO OVERTOOK POLE-SITTER MARK WEBBER AT TURN 1 AFTER THE START. COMPENSATION FOR VETTEL, IN PARTICULAR, WHO HAD LOOKED ODDS-ON TO WIN BOTH THE PREVIOUS RACES BEFORE GREMLINS ATTACKED HIS CAR.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER RETIRED WITH REAR SUSPENSION PROBLEMS, EITHER A LOOSE WHEEL NUT OR FAILED SUSPENSION MEMBER - NO ONE SEEMS SURE, BUT NICO ROSBERG CONTINUED HIS DOMINANCE OVER THE 7-TIMES FORMER CHAMPION AND TEAM-MATE WITH A FINE 3RD PLACE FROM 2ND ON THE GRID.

THIS TOPSY-TURVY RESULT HAS CERTAINLY SPICED UP BOTH CHAMPIONSHIPS - 7 DRIVERS WITHIN 9 POINTS OF EACH OTHER AND 3 TEAMS SEPARATED BY ONLY 15 POINTS. WHAT IT HASN'T DONE IS TO DISPEL THE FEELING THAT THE SEASON WILL NOT SHOW US CLOSE CONTESTS WITH PLENTY OF OVERTAKING.

CONFIRMATION OF THIS COULD BE SEEN WITH LEWIS HAMILTON. AFTER A CRACKING GET-AWAY, HE WAS ABLE TO CHOSE THE BEST LINE THROUGH THE FIRST CORNER, MAKING UP A FEW PLACES THERE, AND WITHIN A FEW LAPS HE WAS INTO THE POINTS. BUT EACH ADVANCE UP THE FIELD FROM THEN ON BECAME PROGRESSIVELY HARDER UNTIL, EVENTUALLY, HE REACHED ADRIAN SUTIL IN 5TH. THE FORCE INDIA CAR HAS THE SAME MERCEDES ENGINE AND SOME MCLAREN PARTS AND SUTIL WAS EASILY ABLE TO KEEP LEWIS BEHIND HIM UNTIL THE END OF THE RACE BECAUSE THE MCLAREN COULD NOT FOLLOW CLOSELY ENOUGH TO GAIN THE ADVANTAGE OF SLIP-STREAMING.

HIS TEAM-MATE, JENSON BUTTON, HAD CHOSEN THE WRONG TYRES TO START OFF ON AND QUICKLY CAME IN TO CHANGE TO THE HARDER COMPOUND. FROM THEN ON HE FLEW UP THE ORDER BUT, BY THE LATTER PART OF THE RACE, HIS TYRES HAD GIVEN UP AND HE COULD NOT FEND OFF FELIPE MASSA. WHEN FERNANDO ALSO TRIED TO COME BY HIM, FERNANDO'S ENGINE BLEW. THIS MADE IT AT LEAST THE THIRD FERRARI ENGINE NOT TO SURVIVE THE WEEKEND - BOTH FERRARI-ENGINED BMW SAUBER CARS RETIRED DUE TO THEIR FERRARI ENGINES NOT LASTING THE RACE.

I SUSPECT THAT THE NEXT TRACK, IN CHINA, WILL NOT BE MUCH DIFFERENT AND WILL ADD FURTHER FUEL TO THE OVERTAKING FIRE.

Race Results posted by
David Little
5th April 2010

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