[954Stealth]

This Year


Last year's KL GP



FIA preview @ fia.com

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix - Preview
.FIA preview of the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix.
.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

.Wed 26.03.14, 9:09AM
..
Race
Preview
2014 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX
28-30 MARCH 2014

After a short break Formula One returns this week, the teams assembling at Sepang for the Malaysian Grand Prix, the second round of the 2014 F1 World Championship.
The Australian Grand Prix provided an excellent appetiser for the season ahead, promoting new stars of the sport while suggesting the form guide shaped by winter testing was not entirely to be relied upon. Equatorial Sepang, however, provides a very different environment to Albert Park and is liable to see a very different race as machinery and drivers are pushed to their limits.

While Australia provided a relatively gentle introduction for the new power units, Sepang will take them to extremes. The Malaysian Grand Prix has the potential to be the hottest race of the year and with around two-thirds of the lap conducted at full throttle cooling performance is expected to play a big part this weekend.

Added to that are the traditional challenges of racing at Sepang. While visually dominated by the long pit and back straights, Sepang has great variety, with a twisting middle sector and several high-speed corners requiring a relatively high level of downforce. It also demands excellent traction, with speed onto the straights being a key factor in setting a good lap time.

It is tyres, however, that have a tendency to dictate performance at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Pirelli, as is now customary, will bring its two hardest compounds to the circuit but wear rates are still expected to be high. Of course in Malaysia the ever-present threat of rain means the Intermediate and Wet tyres could also see some use. The forecast is for thunderstorms across all three days, though recent history suggests the rain is as likely to bracket the sessions as it is to fall during them.


CIRCUIT DATA

ALBERT PARK CIRCUIT

Length of lap:
5.543km
Lap record -- 1:34.223 (Juan-Pablo Montoya, BMW-Williams, 2004)
Start line/finish line offset
0.000km
Total number of race laps
56
Total race distance
310.408km
Pitlane speed limits
80km/h in practice, qualifying and the race

CIRCUIT NOTES

► The kerb on the exit of Turn Five has been extended further towards the apex of Turn Six.
► Artificial grass has been removed from areas around the outside of Turns One, Five, Seven, Eight and 12.
► A new kerb has been installed on the Turn 15 entry.
► Attention has been paid to levelling the grass verges as bumps were noted during December’s inspection.

DRS ZONES

► The DRS sectors will be between Turns 14 and 15 and Turns 15 and One. The first zone has detection 54m after Turn 12 and activation 104m after Turn 14. Zone two has detection 16m after the Turn 15 apex followed by activation 28m after Turn 15




Malaysian GP
Fast Facts
► Michael Schumacher ((2000, ’01, ’04), Fernando Alonso (2005, ’07, ’12) and Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’13), each have three victories at Sepang. From 15 Malaysian Grands Prix the other winners are Eddie Irvine (1999), Ralf Schumacher (2002), Kimi Räikkönen (2003, ’08), Giancarlo Fisichella (2006) and Jenson Button (2009). Alonso has the distinction of taking his three victories with three different teams.
► Button’s win in 2009 was the last Formula One race in which half points were awarded. Due to torrential rain, the race was red flagged after 31 laps and a restart was not possible. Button was awarded the victory and the five points that went with it.
► Eight of the 15 grands prix at Sepang have been won from pole. The race has been won from as far down as eighth (Alonso 2012), while podium finishers have come from as far down as tenth (Nick Heidfeld 2005, ’09). ► Of the three 2014 F1 rookie drivers, only Kevin Magnussen lacks significant experience at Sepang. Marcus Ericsson raced in 2012 and 2013, appearing in the GP2 Series on the grand prix undercard. He has two retirements and two 13th place finishes. Daniil Kvyat has raced at Sepang on six occasions across two events in Formula BMW Pacific. He has two victories at the circuit.
► Magnussen’s elevation to second place at the Australia Grand Prix makes his the most successful F1 World Championship debut since Jacques Villeneuve finished second at Albert Park in 1996 (Villeneuve started the race from pole). The only drivers to better this are Giancarlo Baghetti, who won the 1961 French Grand Prix on debut and (statistically) Nino Farina and Johnnie Parson, who won respectively the 1950 British Grand Prix and the 1950 Indy 500 in the first year of the Formula One World Championship. ► With a ninth-place finish in Australia, Toro Rosso’s Kvyat, aged 19 years and 324 days, became Formula One’s youngest points scorer. The record had previously been held by Sebastian Vettel, who was 19 years and 349 days when he finished seventh in his mid-season debut at the 2007 United States Grand Prix, driving for BMW-Sauber.
► After much speculation regarding the reliability of F1’s new hybrid power units, 15 cars took the chequered flag in the season-opener. Of the seven that failed to finish in Albert Park, two went out in a first lap, first corner collision. Only five cars retired with issues related to the power unit.
► Following the disqualification of Daniel Ricciardo, the revised Australian Grand Prix podium was a clean sweep for Mercedes-powered cars, with Nico Rosberg in the works team car leading home the McLaren-Mercedes of Magnussen and Button. The last Mercedes clean sweep was at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix where Rosberg took his debut victory ahead of McLaren’s Button and Lewis Hamilton.








Malaysian GP
Formula One Timetable
& FIA Media Schedule

THURSDAY
Press Conference 15.00

FRIDAY
Practice Session 1 10.00-11.30
Practice Session 2 14.00-15.30
Press Conference 16.00

SATURDAY
Practice Session 3 13.00-14.00
Qualifying 16.00-17.00
Followed by unilateral and
press conference

SUNDAY
Drivers' Parade 14.30
Race 16.00-18.00
Followed by unilateral and
press conference


ADDITIONAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES

QUALIFYING
All drivers eliminated in Q1 or Q2 are available for media interviews immediately after the end of each session, as are drivers who participated in Q3, but who are not required for the post-qualifying press conference. The TV Pen is located in front of the entrance to race control.

RACE
Any driver retiring before the end of the race will be made available at his team’s garage/hospitality.
In addition, during the race every team will make available at least one senior spokesperson for interview by officially accredited TV crews. A list of those nominated will be made available in the media centre

[superpenguin]

LETS DO THIS!!!

Predictions:
Massive lulz from Kobayashi
Only one of the Red Bull cars finish
Toro Rosso top 10 again

[Exist]

Pulling for a Ferrari podium spot. It seems like the forecast for the race is rain, how do you think that will play a factor?

[solstice]

Originally Posted by Exist

Pulling for a Ferrari podium spot. It seems like the forecast for the race is rain, how do you think that will play a factor?

It's usually a positive for weaker teams and stronger drivers. It will also have a cooling effect on the power units. Rain the big equipment equalizer. Button is usually good in the rain and it could remove Benz ( and possibly Williams ) speed advantage over McLaren. I'm sure RBR also welcomes some rain and Ferrari has very strong experienced drivers and a weak-ish car. I'd like to see some rain but currently a dry race should be interesting as well. It's a win every way

[Exist]

Coming from NASCAR, and no races in the rain, it will be very interesting!

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by Exist

Pulling for a Ferrari podium spot. It seems like the forecast for the race is rain, how do you think that will play a factor?

The problem in SE Asia, is that everytime it rains, it will be torrential monsoon! Like 2009, which suspended the race for hours, and by the time the monsoon patch was gone, it will be too dark to race. Don't forget the race time is 16:00 local time.

[E90SLAM]

Mercedes Event in KL

[E90SLAM]

.

[E90SLAM]

.

[E90SLAM]

..

[E90SLAM]

...

[E90SLAM]

http://en.espnf1.com/malaysia/motors...ry/150917.html

The Formula One grid will hold a minute's silence before the beginning of the race on Sunday in memory of the passengers of missing flight MH370.

There is a tragic backdrop to this year's race, with an international search effort still ongoing to find any trace of the plane which went missing after departing Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8, which is now thought to have crashed in the Indian Ocean. There were 239 people on board.

Though the Malaysian Grand Prix is one of the high points of the country's sporting calendar, this year preparations have been significantly toned down, with a planned Christina Aguilera and Rain concert cancelled. All of the drivers and teams are expected to run messages of support fo Mercedes will have #PrayforMH370 on their sidepod this weekend.


Read more at http://en.espnf1.com/malaysia/motors...MxgtqFvvAzA.99

[solstice]

Is that Robby Naish hanging with the Red Bull boys?

[TSM330i]

I couldn't resist

[954Stealth]

^ lol nice someone has too much time on their hands


World champion Sebastian Vettel has waded into the debate on Formula One’s new engine noise, bluntly concluding: “It is s***.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mot...ines-is-s.html

[E9TOU]

Originally Posted by TSM330i

I couldn't resist

LOL! good one.

So which fuel sensor is RB using for Malaysia?

[ptack]

So why do some teams (like Mercedes) have 2 different nose configurations? Are they allowed to switch between races?

[spencers]

Aw man that loud V8 in one of those videos got my hopes up

[superpenguin]

Originally Posted by ptack

So why do some teams (like Mercedes) have 2 different nose configurations? Are they allowed to switch between races?

As far as I know they can change whatever they want (within regulations) between grands prix, but once Parc Ferme applies its pretty restricted what they can change.

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by ptack

So why do some teams (like Mercedes) have 2 different nose configurations? Are they allowed to switch between races?

Team do bring different design front/rear wings to GP weekends from time to time. Remember RBR where Vettel took Webber's front wing a few years ago? We also heard many times that team stated the "parts" they've brought and test on Friday didn't workout as well as they thought based on CFD or wind tunnel.

Objective is to test new parts in real life, and/or determine which design works better (in harmony) with different circuit and set up.

If I can recall, there are no restriction in terms of wing changes.

Sporting Regulation 34.6 only restricts suspension change once the car has sent to parc ferme. Front wing change is allowed.

34.6 A competitor may not modify any part on the car or make changes to the set-up of the suspension whilst the car is being held under parc fermé conditions. In the case of a breach of this Article the relevant driver must start the race from the pit lane and follow the procedures laid out in Article 38.2.

In order that the scrutineers may be completely satisfied that no alterations have been made to the suspension systems or aerodynamic configuration of the car (with the exception of the front wing) whilst in post-qualifying parc fermé, it must be clear from physical inspection that changes cannot be made without the use of tools.

Of course, given all the front wing that installed meet all technical regulation. (e.g. front nose height, width, etc.)

[954Stealth]

Wet Track

Maybe another Multi-12 (not 21) race




McLaren's looking a little different...

[gary88]

Watching FP1 now.