F1 2010 Malaysian GP

[SKY]

I feel particulary sorry for Schumi, who has not driven in any race at the moment at the same level he did in the past, and I see him frustrated. Maybe he thought that Mercedes would be at the levle of Brawn last year.

That´s another interesting point btw. Why MGP is not at the same level as the Branw GP was last year?, aymbe the difusor war was the very only reason they did such a great job last year. Anyway, I think Brawn should try a different way to beat the RBs than copying the front or that thing we see in the Mercedes this year.

 

[Centurion]

I feel particulary sorry for Schumi, who has not driven in any race at the moment at the same level he did in the past, and I see him frustrated. Maybe he thought that Mercedes would be at the levle of Brawn last year.

That´s another interesting point btw. Why MGP is not at the same level as the Branw GP was last year?

Last year, Brawn had the Bugatti of motorsport. A car developed for 18 month receiving undivided attention from Honda engineers, supported by a backbone of €300-400 million budget. Honda had hired some of the best engineers on the planet and had plenty of months to explore vaiour technical solutions such as double diffuser, but also find the right set-up for various tracks.

All that ocntributed to the team dominating the first 7 races. Button was winning races without trying. It was as if the car was on rails. So last year was very much a one hit wonder for the team which is now called Mercedes. They are on the sameplaying field as everyone else, operating under similar budgets and with similar time constraints.

There isa learning curve for Schumi but also for other drivers such as Kubayashi who was astonishing at Toyota last year, but is struggling with Sauber. Fissi faced the same fate last year when he was comfortable in his Force India, but failed to make a strong impression in the Ferrari.

But the season has just begun and perhaps Schumi might be better during the second half of the season, or maybe we'll have to wait until next year to see him established in the top three.

 

[SKY]

Maybe we don´t see him racing the next year, I take it as a possibility, maybe you do it too. I also wonder if Mercedes will continue on F1 is the results remain as the current ones, or if Vettle would like to go to Ferrari having in mind how RB is nowadays.

I find in you a good F1 conversationalist Centirion, what do you think about this?.

 

[Remy Zero]

Just to point out, MS mentioned that he targeted an 8th title within this 3 years he's with Merc. Not 3 title in 3 years.

Don't forget, MS took 7 races to win in a Ferrari. Look how long Hamilton took last year to win his first race of the season.

This, and also the fact that Brawn didn't really have the resources like Mclaren and Ferrari and RedBull, which is to race the 2009 car, at the same time to develop the 2010 car.

The Merc backing came a bit too late, IMO. Michael has mentioned pre season, that it's gonna be difficult, even to get on the podium, the first flyaway races. It's quite clear he's struggling with the car, and he's relying a lot on the Spanish GP upgrade.

 

[Remy Zero]

Some pics from Friday practice..

 

[Remy Zero]

 

[Remy Zero]

 

[Remy Zero]

Then the rain came...4/05 pm sharp. I got soaked running back to the car, eventually i hitched a ride on a scooter. So we had 3 fellas on a scooter!

 

[Remy Zero]

SOme pics from Wednesday's F1 demo. I took all of the pics with my brother's Canon Ixus. MS really thrilled the crowd. He even took an official for a ride with a scooter. In the demo circuit, there's also a really tight 180 corner. Rosberg and Heidi could not squeeze thru, had to be pushed back, before continuing. MS was having none of this. 6 times, he drifted the Merc perfectly, missing the safety fence by millimetres i think. Much to the crowd delight.

 

[Remy Zero]

Lucky chap!

 

[Remy Zero]

 

[Centurion]

Welcome to the 2010 season. The top 7 are within 9 points of each other and are pretty much level headed. Now they have all have a taste of how the tires behave. One thing is sure though, winning means everything and collecting points accounts for little.

What needs to be broken now is Red Bull's qualification voes. Because if they remain on the first row after every saturday then they will be collecting some major points. In China Mercedes, Mclaren and Ferrari must introduce their own ride height systems to combat the RB6. The driver to win most races this year will bound to be the one winning the WDC.

Kudos for Rosberg for collecting points in such a calm and well composed manner.

 

[Imhotep Evil]

At this point Red bull clearly have the best car while Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Renault and Force India are pretty close.


I don't believe the ride height system will have that much of an impact by itself; to be fully exploited new under-bodies and front wings and diffusers will likely needed, just like with the DD/TD last year.

 

[Centurion]

At this point Red bull clearly have the best car while Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Renault and Force India are pretty close.


I don't believe the ride height system will have that much of an impact by itself; to be fully exploited new under-bodies and front wings and diffusers will likely needed, just like with the DD/TD last year.

The ride-height system wouldn't be taking the cars anywhere they haven't been before. What it will do is simply bring lower the cars during qualification to the same level that the cars are at when the race starts. It will have no implications on aero dynamic parts of the car unlike the double diffusers which had to have air channeled to it.

10-30mm lower ride height might not sound like much but in F1 small changes can make a huge difference. Every tenth you can squeeze out of the car contributes to a better grid position and now when victory is worth 25 points, everything is worth copying.

Overall the RB6 is currently the best package but it is not the fastest car. Both this weekend and last week the MP-25 has more than matched the Red Bull during the races themselves, and Massa has been able to comfortably close 9 seconds gaps. Check the time sheets, Hamilton and Massa were matching and surpassing the sector times of Vettel with ease. The benefit Vettel and Webber have out in front is clean air so they are cruising nicely while the mid-field is an elbo fight.

But the Mclaren has astonishing grip in the corner and blistering speed on the straights for overtaking. The only weakness is qualifying pace, and once the team and Ferrari have sorted that out -- Red Bull will no longer be the team to beat, and Webber's championship hopes will diminish.

 

[Bartek S.]

The Malaysian Grand Prix
Sepang F1 Circuit, Malaysia;
56 laps; 310.408km;
Weather: Sunny.

Pos Driver Team Gap
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 4.8s
3. Rosberg Mercedes + 13.5s
4. Kubica Renault + 18.5s
5. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 21.0s
6. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 23.4s
7. Massa Ferrari + 27.0s
8. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 37.9s
9. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1m10.6s
10. Hulkenberg Williams + 1m13.3s
11. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1m18.9s
12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
13. Alonso Ferrari + 2 laps
14. Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps
15. Chandhok Hispania-Cosworth + 3 laps
16. Senna Hispania-Cosworth + 4 laps
17. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth + 5 laps

Not classified/retirements:

Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 46 laps
Petrov Renault 32 laps
Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 12 laps
Schumacher Mercedes 9 laps
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 8 laps
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 2 laps
De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 0 laps

Fastest lap: Webber 1m37.054s

 

[Bartek S.]

World Championship standings, round 3:

Drivers:
1. Massa 39
2. Vettel 37
3. Alonso 37
4. Button 35
5. Rosberg 35
6. Hamilton 31
7. Kubica 30
8. Webber 24
9. Sutil 10
10. Schumacher 9
11. Liuzzi 8
12. Barrichello 5
13. Alguersuari 2
14. Hulkenberg 1

Constructors:
1. Ferrari 76
2. McLaren-Mercedes 66
3. Red Bull-Renault 61
4. Mercedes 44
5. Renault 30
6. Force India-Mercedes 18
7. Williams-Cosworth 6
8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2

 

[Monster]

The ride-height system wouldn't be taking the cars anywhere they haven't been before. What it will do is simply bring lower the cars during qualification to the same level that the cars are at when the race starts. It will have no implications on aero dynamic parts of the car unlike the double diffusers which had to have air channeled to it.

Please, before making such statements, do a little bit of background research. The ride height is the most important aerodynamic adjustment you can have. As you lower the ride height, the velocity of the air passing under the car increases, thus increasing the down force generated by the front wing and the rear diffuser. Another benefit of running a lower ride height is that the lift/drag ratio of the wings will improve. I quote from James Allen's blog "1 mm of ride height you move is worth 5 kilos of downforce, which in turn is worth 0.05 seconds per lap" and if I can remember correctly, Sam Michael said a 1mm ride height reduction can reduce the lap time by as much as 0.25 sec when all things are considered.

The Redbulls aren't showing these kind of speed advantage because their Renault engine is the least powerful unit on the entire grid, but with this ride height adjustment system, and their economical fuel consumption, they just manage to stay ahead of the pack.

 

[Deleted member 25]

The most Aero importants with the biggest gain potential this year and also last year are the ultra complex FWEP, i suggest you to read this
Sepang – Special Technical Update // F1 News // James Allen on F1 - The official website

 

[Remy Zero]

Boring race. I was really hoping for rain.

 

[zegerman]

I was expecting the Ferraris and McLarens to climb a few more positions more.

Red Bull may be fast but they sure aren't reliable, though this time Vettel finally got the points. I'm a little afraid if that car is going to last the next race