The Formula One circus makes the annual trip from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur this weekend, as we head into the second round of the 2014 Formula One world championship.
This race can throw up many curveballs at the start of the campaign for the drivers and teams, so let’s look at what they all face at Sepang over the coming days, and some questions ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Weather
Since 2009, this has been one of the biggest issues for the Malaysian GP. Like the Australian GP in the same year, the race was moved to 5pm local time, and since then the weather has wreaked havoc on the field.
Moving to 5pm meant moving into a time-slot where the chance of rain is higher, and since 2009, every race weekend (only counting the all-important qualifying and race sessions) has been affected by rain in some form, except for 2011.
This included a red flag before 75 per cent race distance in 2009, which meant only half points were awarded, a delayed qualifying session in 2010, and a 51 minute red-flag period during 2012 edition.
In Melbourne, we saw our first glimpse of competitive wet-weather action during qualifying, where Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull racing showed his form, but how this can relate to race-pace in the wet remains to be seen this season.
On top of this, teams have to deal with increased humidity in Malaysia, so the drivers face battling both extremes over this tough race weekend.
How strong will Mercedes be?
Mercedes was strong in Melbourne, there’s no doubting that. And this isn’t just about the works team, who could have quite easily locked out the two top steps on the podium if they didn’t have reliability problems with Lewis Hamilton during the race.
Mercedes power had the majority of points finishes in Melbourne, as well as a very high percentage of classified finishers throughout the grid (Renault – 37.5per cent, Ferrari – 83per cent, Mercedes – 75per cent, including Ricciardo as a finish), and considering one of those retirements was from a collision, this shows that both the reliability and the power of the engines can have a huge effect on who finishes where in the race, not just at Sepang, but for the season ahead.
How will Red Bull react to the fuel-flow controversy?
In the wake of the Australian GP, and Ricciardo’s disqualification from second place, it will be interesting to see how Red Bull would react if in the same situation this weekend in Malaysia, given their appeal date has been set between Rounds 3 and 4 in China and Bahrain.
Last week, media outlets became aware that Mercedes actually received the same warnings that Red Bull received from the FIA in regards to Nico Rosberg’s fuel flow, and adjusted their fuel flow settings accordingly.
With so many points at stake in the Malaysian and Chinese Grands Prix, would Red Bull run the risk again if in the same position they were in Melbourne?
On top of this, Red Bull return to the circuit where the Multi-21 debacle unfolded, so it will be interesting to see what reception they receive from the Malaysian crowd.
Track configuration
The new cars are handling like, well, new cars, so it will be interesting to see how the drivers negotiate Sepang’s difficult corners.
The first two corners, as well as turns 11 and 14, look to be where drivers may face difficulty, be it with traction on the exit, due to the tight exits leading onto quick straights, or the quick hairpin after the ‘snail’ right-hander, similar to those found in Beijing.
The drivers will also look to make the most of the double DRS zones, on the long back straight, followed up on the pit straight.
With many variables thrown up in the air, the Malaysian Grand Prix looks like it will be an exciting second round of the season, with the race coverage starting on ONE from 6:30pm.
Looking for great odds on racing and sport? Get into the action with PlayUp today. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Team Penske is under the same umbrella of ownership as the IndyCar Series itself, so it was imperative for to drop the hammer and protect their integrity—which, thankfully, they did.
Red Bull can’t rest on its laurels and if Perez can’t provide them with cover on the rare days that Verstappen is having trouble, it's time to look elsewhere.
The absolute vitriol against the Canadian that has come from the incident is beyond reprehensible.
The Long Beach Grand Prix is the Monaco of American motorsport, and this past weekend, the IndyCar Series reminded everyone exactly why. We witnessed…
New Zealand made a triumphant return to the Supercars championship calendar since the demise of the much-loved Pukekohe Park Raceway – as Taupō delivered…
It’s time that serious questions are asked of his Lance Stroll and his future in the team.
