Welcome to a lap in Malaysia with Sahara Force India Driver Nico Hülkenberg. It’s a demanding track as you have to find the fine balance between high speed on the straights and not losing too much speed in the corners. In addition it’s perhaps one of the hottest races in the season. So you better don’t forget to drink enough.
Tag: malaysian grand prix
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Broadcast Times for the 2015 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix
Nearly a fortnight ago the world of Formula 1 was given a little shake up by Ferrari. People who were jeering Vettel at Red Bull were cheering him on after he won the Malaysian Grand Prix. The dominant Mercedes F1 Team were, for the first time in 20 races, a bit shaky and uncertain at times.
Things have calmed down since then and both Mercedes and Ferrari have had time to calm down and digest the data from Malaysia. Mercedes are certain that they can raise their game and have even brought a few updates forward to take the challenge to Ferrari. They are talking up their chances ahead of this weekends Chinese Grand Prix saying things like the Shanghai track is front limited and that the temperatures will be vastly different to the scorching temperatures they experienced in Sepang.
Ferrari on the other hand say that they will not get ahead of themselves and they’ll keep their heads down and continue to work at it. There seems to be a quiet confidence coming out of Maranello at the moment which has caught everyone in the paddock off guard. Ferrari have played down their chances for this weekend saying that they do not expect to be as strong as they were in Malaysia due to the cooler temperatures. Kimi Raikkonen has come out and said that the SF15-T is competitive in any type of track conditions. What ever it may be, we are in for an interesting weekend.
After both their cars retired from the race in Malaysia despite showing some good pace, McLaren are not expecting to show the same pace as in China. “I don’t think our car package will be as well suited here as it was in Malaysia, especially if the weather is as cold and windy as it usually is in early springtime in Shanghai,” said Fernando Alonso.
The battle of the Red Bull teams will continue this weekend with the sister Toro Rosso team looking keep up their very good early form. Red Bull who have been very vocal about their Renault power unit are looking to put in a good performance this weekend but with a track that favors engine power, things may be a bit tough for the Milton Keynes based team. It does seem that Red Bull and Renault have put their differences aside and are not working together to get their engine up to the level of Mercedes.
However the weekend may go, we go into this F1 weekend uncertain as to who will win and that is not a bad thing at all.
Below are your broadcast times for the 2015 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix. All times are GMT+2
Free Practice 1: Friday 04:00
Free Practice 2: Friday 08:00
Free Practice 3: Saturday 06:00
Qualifying: Saturday 09:00
Race: Sunday 08:00
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Mercedes ready to up their game for China
Following their defeat in Sepang, Mercedes says it has assessed every aspect of the Malaysian Grand Prix in order to ensure that the team overcomes the threat posed by Ferrari.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says that the team left Sepang with a whole lot to think about and saw Mercedes realise that Ferrari can indeed pose a threat for the entire 2015 F1 season. They are however ready to up the stakes and raise their game. According to Wolff, Mercedes are ready to bounce back and look forward to reclaiming the top step of the podium at the Chinese Grand Prix this coming weekend.
“We left Malaysia with plenty to think about,” Wolff said. “It may have been a good result for the sport – but for us, it was a wake-up call. This is something you cannot afford to happen often and, although we had two cars on the podium, we have been looking very carefully at every area where we could have performed better.“Our opposition has raised its game and we must now raise ours even further; as we have said since Melbourne, we expect a season-long battle for both world championships and we must maximise every opportunity. China is the next chance to do that – a circuit which has been a good hunting ground for the team.
“Lewis [Hamilton] has a great record here and for Nico [Rosberg], it’s where he made his first step into the winners circle. We have the weapons at our disposal – and we need to make the most of them this weekend.”
Defending F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton also said that Mercedes have been working hard on analysing the Malaysian defeat in order to best prepare for the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix. While there is room for improvement, Hamilton is confident in targeting the front of the pack again.“Malaysia was a tough weekend. It always is with the heat – but with car problems on Friday, rain during qualifying on Saturday and a race which didn’t go to plan on Sunday, this one was particularly challenging,” Hamilton said. “I think ultimately we made the best choices we could – but there is always room for improvement and we’ve been working hard to analyse everything for the next race in China.
“The circuit itself is a different challenge to Albert Park and Sepang – but it’s one I really enjoy and it suits my driving style quite well. I won the race last year and have only finished outside of the podium places twice, so the target is definitely to build on that and get back to the front.”
Team mate Nico Rosberg is also eyeing the top step of the podium and fancies his chances on Sunday, especially considering his special history at the circuit.Shanghai is a great circuit for me. It’s where I got my first pole and my first win back in 2012 – my third season with the Silver Arrows. It’s not been a perfect start to my sixth year with the team and I’m determined to turn that around this weekend. Of course, my team-mate will have other ideas – and so will my compatriot in the red car, I’m sure. But this is a track that has always suited me well, so I’m aiming to put in a strong weekend.”
Technical chief Paddy Lowe pointed out theat tyre management was a major concern for Mercedes following the Malaysian Grand Prix, where Mercedes were unable to match Vettel’s two-stop strategy. He also confirmed that Mercedes have a number of new aero developments for Shangai which the team expect will make a big difference to their performance.
“The most significant weakness was our tyre management during long runs,” Lowe said. “Exceptionally high track temperatures – even by Malaysian standards – contributed to this, however it is essential to have a car which performs at all circuits and in all conditions, so there is work to be done on that front.“China presents a different challenge. Temperatures can vary dramatically year-on-year, but are generally quite low. It’s also a front-limited circuit – the opposite of Sepang – with a good mix of corners and a long straight, so it will be interesting to see how the different cars perform at yet another circuit characteristic for this new season. It is now clearer than ever that there is serious competition for this world championship, so we will continue to work flat out for performance gains. We have a range of new aerodynamic developments for Shanghai and are targeting an improved performance from Malaysia.”
Photo credits: All photos credited to Mercedes AMG F1
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Manor F1 team denies not being able to run two cars simultaneously
The revived Marussia, now Manor F1 team, has denied rumours that it cannot run both cars simulataneously, insisting that this is “complete, utter nonsense”.
Manor F1 were unable to take part in the season opening Australian Grand Prix but after solving software problems preventing them from being there, headed on to the track for the first time in Sepang.
Speculation started however, when Manor F1 only sent Roberto Merhi out for qualifying and the race after Will Stevens’ car was suffering what Manor F1 described as a “complex fuel system problem” during the final third pratice on Saturday.
The Manor F1 team said that it did not run both cars simultaneously during practice in order to minimise the risk of making operational misatakes but when Stevens – who seemed to be faster than his team mate – did not appear for qualifying or the race, rumours started doing the rounds that the Manor F1 team were not capable of running both their cars at the same time.Manor F1’s sporting director Graeme Lowdon told Autosport that this was “complete, utter nonsense” and added his guarantee that “if that car could have moved, it would have raced.”
“There is absolutely no question about it. And it would have qualified,” he added.
“The systems and the people were perfectly happy with the results of everything in [practice] one, two and three from that point of view, and if you look at the run plans we weren’t going round and round and round in one, two and three because we had very specific tasks in ticking things off.
“Quali we had very clear run planning for both cars, and we would have definitely raced with two cars.”
According to Lowden, Manor F1 is doing everything it can to get both cars into every race as there were big opportunities for even just finishing. He seemed rather annoyed by the fingers pointed at the Manor F1 team saying that, “You would drag
the car kicking and screaming. It’s complete utter nonsense. Elvis is not alive on Mars and all the rest of it.”Photo Credits:
Featured image: Manor F1 Team
Roberto Merhi: Twitter @robertomerhi
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F1 Video: 2015 Malaysian GP Lewis Hamilton post race interview
Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver Lewis Hamilton’s Malaysian GP post race interview with SkySportsF1 after being beaten to the finish line by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton talks about coming second to the Ferrari driver and how this is actually really good for the sport. He also talks about the strategy differences and is surprised to find out that Vettel is only three points behind him in the F1 World Championship. Watch this interesting post race interview and let us know your thoughts!
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F1 Video: 2015 Malaysian GP Sebastian Vettel post race interview
Sebastian Vettel post race interview – 2015 Malaysian GP
Sebastian Vettel talks to SkySports F1 after his emotional Malaysian GP win in this post race interview. He talks about his feelings while standing on the podium, his reaction to Niki Lauda’s comments, Mercedes’ advantage and the work that lies ahead for the Ferrari team. Watch the post race interview for his full reaction to winning the race.
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Q&A with Sebastian Vettel on one of his “best wins yet”
Sebastian Vettel oozed emotion on the podium following his win at the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix. The tear-filled eyes of the Ferrari driver and his entire crew made it easy to see how much the win meant to both Vettel and his Italian team. Despite being a four-time World Champion, Vettel spoke of his first victory for the team as one of his best wins yet. Here’s what he had to say to the media after his emotional first victory for the Ferrari team.
Q: Congratulations Sebastian, it is not only Ferrari’s first win since Spain 2013 but also your first win since Brazil 2013. How would you rate the importance of this victory?
Sebastian Vettel: I think it has to be one of my best wins, as I did not swap teams that much in the past, and winning for a new team is definitely a great relief. And in my case it is for sure a dream come true, since there is so much more to it in the background. Since I joined the team they have been phenomenal welcoming me, and since then we have worked incredibly hard together trying to improve a lot of things. On the way there I said many times that the potential is huge, and it is great to see that we were able to do such a great step over the winter. For sure there are a lot of changes happening in the background, which is never easy to accomplish, but everyone saw the positives of those very changes. I am just happy to go to work, and very passionate just to work for Ferrari. So I am sharing that passion now as well, and seeing all the guys from up on the podium gave me goosebumps.
Q: Last year you were not happy with your own performance, how would you explain this?
Sebastian Vettel: I was not able to get on top of the car, which was a good car. This year it is a different game, and not only a new team but also a new car. This time I had a good feeling right from the start. I was able to work right away with this new car, and there is a lot that we are trying to build together with the team. So it is very pleasant to have a start like that. For the next races we need to make sure that we are able to keep these good results and that we keep up the pace as well. Today is a very special day, as it was the first time that Mercedes got beaten fair and square since the introduction of the new rules, and they were not suffering from any special problems. So for sure this means a lot to us, as a proper win was quite some time ago for Ferrari, and also for myself.
Q: How high are your hopes that you can be a championship contender alongside Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg this year?
Sebastian Vettel: In general it is very simple, as Mercedes have a great package. Maybe here in Malaysia they were struggling a bit more, and also we were doing exceptionally well. For sure we would like to be in that situation for every race to come from now on, which is also our target. On the other side we have to be realistic as well, as they had a very big gap in winter testing and in the first race, which does not just evaporate. Our target has to be that the gap between them and us keeps getting smaller, as the gap will still be there. Also, we need to underline that it is us that is the team right behind them.
Q: How important is it to get such an amazing result this early in the season?
Sebastian Vettel: It is a great boost for the entire team. Ferrari had a horrible year last season, and they got criticised a lot from all sides. A lot of things have changed already, including one driver (laughs). And I do hope for the better, and I am very happy to join Ferrari. For sure this is a great day for the team and for myself, and it makes me very proud.
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Toto Wolff thinks Ferrari’s victory is “good for Formula One”
The Mercedes team did not stand a chance at stopping four-time Forumula One champion, Sebastian Vettel, from cruising to his first Ferrari victory at this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
Vettel won the race on a two-stop strategy, while his Mercedes rivals opted for three stops. Mercedes Head of Motorsport Toto Wolff however, in an interview with Formula One’s official website, insisted that Ferrari’s unstoppable pace was not to be credited to strategy. While it was a bad day for Mercedes, Wolff thinks it was a good day for Formula One.Here’s what he had to say in his interview with F1’s official website:
Q: Toto, did Ferrari win the race or did Mercedes lose it?
Toto Wolff: Well, Ferrari deserved to win today. So they’ve won the race! Sebastian did a fantastic job and they executed the strategy in the right way – and it is fantastic for Formula One after all the talk about a boring race in Melbourne, and that Mercedes would run away with the championship. Here you had a sizzling race! We saw on Friday that Kimi’s long runs were impressive, which makes me believe that it was the best long run on the weekend up until the race. My guess is that we couldn’t have matched the long run pace of Ferrari today on the option tyres. Lewis’ tyres were finished after 14 or 15 laps – they were able to do much more. So we were pretty sure that a three-stop strategy was the right call and I doubt that we could have pulled it off with only two stops.
Q: Does Ferrari’s pace worry you for the races ahead?
Toto Wolff: Yes, that is worrying. Especially if you have the kind of track temperatures that we had today. They have been able to go faster than us over the long runs, so we need to analyse why that was the case. It clearly shows that this year is not going to be an easy one for us – gone are the illusions of a walk in the park!
Q: Why is it that in Melbourne you looked unbeatable, and yet here you were suddenly second fastest?
Toto Wolff: The conditions here were completely different. Remember, last year in Malaysia we also struggled against Daniel Ricciardo in the race, so these are not our conditions – this extremely high tarmac and ambient temperature. Probably we were a bit too aggressive on set-ups that pushed us into the direction of three stops – all the algorithms showed that this was the right way to go. But we got stuck in traffic and damaged the tyres following cars, and there you have it.
Q: You had a very early first stop after five laps – is that a regret in hindsight?
Toto Wolff: Afterwards you are always smarter! But we took this decision all together. We haven’t made any strategic mistakes in the last one and a half to two years, so it doesn’t make sense to point a finger at a single event. We need to find out why we’ve been struggling on the long runs in these hot conditions. This is the main thing we have to look at in my viewpoint.
Q: Did you expect Ferrari to catch up so massively in these last couple of weeks?
Toto Wolff: No, we definitely did not expect it to happen at that pace. We were pretty dominant in Melbourne. We are always a bit sceptical about our own advantage – that’s why we believe that you always have to keep sharp and keep developing in order not to be caught up – and then in two weeks you are actually caught up by a Ferrari. We lost the race fair and square! Yes, it was a surprise, but it was also a wake-up call. Which is good!
Q: What do you expect then for China?
Toto Wolff: If I was to be optimistic I would say that Malaysia was difficult last year and it continued to be this year as the temperatures are the same. We suffered from these temperatures, so there you have your result. But that would be pretty naive: Ferrari have done a good job. They have a good engine, a good car and great drivers, so we will have to sit down in the next days to analyse the situation and see where we have to improve and probably take some developments forward. We need to increase the pace of our development.
Q: At mid-distance the team told both drivers that they were on target for a one-two victory. That was all gone in the second part of the race. Where did the confidence for such a message come from?
Toto Wolff: Today strategies are no longer gut decisions but algorithm and scientific research. We have the best guy in the paddock in terms of strategy, and today we relied on the information we collected over the weekend. So we were right about our own pace – just not about the pace of the Ferrari.
Q: When he realised what the outcome of the race would likely be, Lewis got a bit bugged out in his radio conversations telling his engineer: ‘don’t talk to me in the corner’…
Toto Wolff: Lewis was not bugged out. This race was very difficult to read from a driver’s perspective with so many stops and then realising that your main competitor was on a completely different strategy that seemed to pan out – that is of course an irritation. And we weren’t really good on radio messaging today! (laughs) There were a couple of wired calls!
Q: Bernie Ecclestone said yesterday that he is certain that Lewis will win his third title. But now everything has been blown wide open, and Ferrari don’t look like one-hit wonders…
Toto Wolff: That is Formula One at it’s best: the speed of development is amazing. Now we have to work to turn things around again. It was always clear that the winning streak wasn’t going on forever! We have been beaten fair and square today!
Toto Wolff Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG F1
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F1 Video: Malaysian Grand Prix highlights: Chaos in Sepang
The Malaysian Grand Prix is famous for its unpredictable weather and torrential monsoons. When the heavens open at Sepang, chaos ensues. The 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix was one of the most memorable races with chaos from the first lap, all the way to the end. Cars on fire, plenty of bumping and shoving and the tandem spin off by Ferrari team-mates Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello are but a few of the highlights from this crazy race. Watch this awesome 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix highlights video and enjoy the epicness of it all!
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Broadcast Times for the 2015 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix
Formula 1 heads to Malaysia this week for round 2 of the Formula 1 World Championship to one of two home races for the Mercedes F1 Team.
The Malaysian Grand Prix always throws up a curve ball or two we can always depend on its unpredictability. The tropical weather may have a surprise or two for us this weekend.
With the first race out of the way the pecking order of the field is starting to take shape although we wont get a true sense of it until a few more races. From what we can tell, all the fun and action is happening behind Mercedes who are well and truly ahead of everyone. Ferrari have emerged as best of the rest for now and there has been a considerable amount of talk about the improvement that they have made. The truth of the matter is that it was just one race and one race does not a season make. If Ferrari can maintain and improve this level of performance then we can call them the best of the rest.
Williams, on pace, is not that far off from Ferrari. Technical Head at Williams Pat Simmonds has said that he feels that Ferrari are faster than them. This week however, Williams say that they should be much stronger on a purpose built track.
Red Bull are struggling with their power unit and have made their feelings very clear about how what they think about the Renault power unit. McLaren on the other hand show some encouraging signs and its been a week of good news for the team with Alonso poised to return to racing once again after his concussion ruled him out for the first race of the season.
The mid-field battle is heating up rather nicely with Toro Rosso showing some very good pace early on and with Sauber coming back into the mix. It does make things tough for Force India who seem to be on the back foot at the moment.
After software issues dented Manor’s chances of turning a wheel in Australia, they will want to come out fighting in Malaysia. This will be the first time their car has turned a wheel this season and it will be interesting to see just how they fair.
Although the race is in Malaysia the times this weekend are slightly more favorable.
Free Practice 1: Friday 04:00
Free Practice 2: Friday 08:00
Free Practice 3: Saturday 08:00
Qualifying: Saturday 11:00
Race: Sunday 09:00
