10/04/2011
NEWS STORY
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Mat Coch writes:
The Malaysian Grand Prix didn’t go quite the way many had predicted following the opening race of the season. The result may have been the same as in Australia, Sebastian Vettel winning ahead of a McLaren and a Renault, however there was much, much more to the story than the podium ceremony told.
McLaren for one was far closer to its Milton Keynes rivals throughout the weekend, evidenced by Lewis Hamilton joining Vettel on the front row with teammate Jenson Button fourth, just 0.3s off the pace of the pole sitter, with Mark Webber splitting the two silver cars in third. It looked as though the race would be decided among those four, however, when the lights went out so too, it seemed, did Webber’s chances.
A poor start saw the Australian plummet down the order, ending the first lap a distant ninth while teammate Vettel headed the field with a comfortable 1.9s margin. It soon became apparent however, that aside from a poor start Webber was also without the aid of KERS, having failed after qualifying.
While Webber was going backwards the two Renault’s had blistering starts, both Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld opting for the outside as the field ploughed into the first turn. Heidfeld muscled his way around the outside of the Ferraris before coming within inches of Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren, the German placing his car up the inside into turn two. It forced the former champion wide, Heidfeld squeezing underneath and into second from a sixth place grid slot. Petrov was similarly aggressive, getting ahead of Massa as the field entered the second corner to slot in fifth behind Jenson Button while Alonso was shuffled out and found himself seventh by turn three.
Like Webber, Nico Rosberg also had a poor start, dropping from ninth to thirteenth on the opening lap. It was the start of what would be a long day at the office for Rosberg, whose teammate Michael Schumacher also struggled throughout the race. The seven-time champion however, did enjoy a more positive start, moving to eighth from his eleventh spot on the grid.
Out in front Vettel built on his lead over second placed Heidfeld, the Red Bull driver extending the gap by about 0.5s per lap. Heidfeld proved to be a cork in a bottle, holding up Hamilton in the initial stages before the pair were joined by Button, Massa and Alonso.
Massa had got by Petrov as they entered turn one on lap four, the Ferrari driver using the drag reduction system to full advantage as Rubens Barrichello emerged from the pit lane. Having suffered a puncture just beyond the pit entry the Williams driver had to crawl around the 5.5km circuit with his left-rear tyre flat. While easily replaced it left the veteran at the back of the pack, his day not getting any better as he ultimately retired on lap twenty-five with gearbox problems.
Soon after Petrov finally succumbed to pressure from Alonso running wide and allowing the Spaniard through. The Russian rejoined without incident, making the most of the asphalt run off at turn fourteen.
Having dropped back to ninth at the start Mark Webber was soon embroiled in a battle with Kamui Kobayashi, the Japanese driver enjoying another eventful Grand Prix. The duo swapped places several times, the DRS featuring prominently while Kobayashi clearly enjoyed the benefit of KERS to stay ahead of Webber who was clearly faster if only he could break free of the Sauber’s clutches.
William’s difficult weekend continued when Pastor Maldonado retired, however that wasn’t before he made short work of fellow rookie Sergio Perez, the pair wheel banging through the first two corners as the Sauber driver defended his sixteenth place with vigour. It cost Maldonado part of his front wing, though the team opted to leave the Venezuelan on track until his retirement shortly after.
By lap ten a clear racing line had developed, marbles littering the circuit as the hotter temperature took its toll on the Pirelli rubber. Teams had predicted a mixture of three and four stop strategies as tyre performance deteriorated rapidly, Mark Webber being the first to stop. Pitting from tenth spot, Kobayashi, having got the better of the Australian once more, rejoined in seventeenth behind Jarno Trulli’s Lotus, making short work of the Italian as the field began to pit.
The leaders, having started on the soft tyres they’d qualified on, opted to stay on the softer yellow branded rubber. Felipe Massa dropped from fifth place to seventh after his first stop while Heidfeld too spent longer in his pit box than he’d have liked. It allowed Alonso to jump in to fourth place behind Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button however, the Spaniard was in an aggressive mood, passing Button on lap seventeen to move into third, lapping faster than both Hamilton and Vettel ahead. The Ferrari had already scythed its way by Kobayashi, who was briefly third, the Sauber driver opting for a two-stop strategy.
For a time it looked as though Button was nursing a problem as he lapped some two seconds slower than those around him, allowing Alonso to find his way by, however he was soon back up to the pace of the leaders, shadowed by Heidfeld who had Mark Webber for company. Heidfeld was a feature at the front end, battling with Hamilton before drifting backwards through the middle phase of the race only to reappear in the closing stages, despite bouncing through the gravel at turn eleven.
Sergio Perez and fellow rookie Paul Di Resta enjoyed a brief tussle, the Sauber driver gaining the upper hand by going around the outside in turn nine in a race punctuated by tight, close racing with plenty of passing thanks to a variety of pit strategies. Notable was the dice between Michael Schumacher and Kamui Kobayashi, the pair never far away from one another throughout the race, a side by side encounter through the opening three turns on lap twenty-eight gave Kobayashi the edge, Schumacher admitted defeat and headed to the pits for a fresh set of tyres.
While that exchange was going on Fernando Alonso suffered a DRS failure, the Ferrari’s rear wing remaining closed even when following within a second of another car. Vettel too had problems, the German having been told by his team in no uncertain terms not to use KERS, a message McLaren quickly relayed to the chasing Lewis Hamilton. It didn’t seem to matter, Vettel pulled away by a second a lap regardless, setting a new fastest lap just a handful of laps later.
Running down the order Jarno Trulli’s day finished early, the Italian pulling his Lotus into the garage and retirement after just thirty-one laps. He joined Perez on the sidelines, the Mexican retiring in unusual circumstances on lap twenty-five after debris hit his car and forced the Sauber into retirement, despite no visible signs of damage. Narain Karthikeyan too was an early retirement, the Indian driver pulled his car off the circuit in the second sector after fourteen laps, teammate Liuzzi lasted until lap forty-six.
At just over mid distance another round of stops saw Hamilton lose out, dropping to sixth place behind teammate Button. It was effectively the end of the day for Hamilton, who quickly fell back from the sister McLaren as he defended the advances of Webber. The Australian had an unusual day, his poor start leaving him on the back foot though he continually turned up at the front of the race, his four stop strategy yo-yoing him up and down the field.
Button’s stop from second, a lap after Hamilton’s, would be his final for the race and triggered an immediate reaction from Red Bull and Ferrari, who pitted Vettel and Alonso. Running faster than Vettel ahead, McLaren urged Button to conserve his tyres, a nineteen lap stint longer than anyone had managed on the harder compound Pirelli’s all weekend.
Schumacher and Kobayashi crossed paths again on lap forty-three when the German ran wide at turn eight, Kobayashi attacking the seven time champion before the Mercedes driver dived into the pits for yet another set of tyres. A lap later Webber stopped for the fourth and final time, followed by Petrov on lap forty-five.
On track Alonso had caught Hamilton, the pair locked in combat as the Ferrari clambered all over the back of the McLaren, looking for a way through. Some stern defending from Hamilton held off the Spaniard’s overtures until lap forty-six when a mistimed move left part of the Ferrari front wing on the circuit at turn three after contact with the Englishman’s rear wheel. Alonso headed back to the pits and out of serious contention.
In the other Ferrari Felipe Massa was engaged with Webber’s Red Bull, the pair battling for a number of laps before the Australian used his fresher tyres to steam around the outside of the Brazilian in turn one. Massa tried to fight back, pulling out to look at the Australian going in to turn four, but he couldn’t make it happen and fell back from the Red Bull.
All the while Hamilton was struggling, Heidfeld and Webber homing in on the 2008 world champion. By lap fifty-one the Renault driver was upon the McLaren, and promptly sailed by thanks to the DRS. Hamilton then ran wide at turn eight on the following lap allowing Webber an unobstructed path through. Clearly struggling Hamilton then pitted, with just three laps remaining, rejoining seventh behind Alonso.
There was more late drama as Vitaly Petrov ran wide at turn nine, bouncing across the grass before his Renault was launched into the air. With four wheels off the ground the Russian landed heavily, breaking his steering in the process and forcing the Renault out of the race in dramatic style.
At the front, Vettel had opened his lead, and while Button closed in the final laps it was a result of the German easing off. His countryman, Nick Heidfeld wasn’t afforded the same luxury, Webber closed to within a second in the final few laps, close enough to deploy his DRS, though he was ultimately unable to find a way by.
It meant Heidfeld crossed the line third, backing up the performance of his teammate in Australia and his own performance here in 2009. Ahead Button was second while Vettel enjoyed a relatively lonely race from mid-distance, Heidfeld having performed admirably as a shield in the early stages which ultimately helped the Red Bull driver win his second Grand Prix of the season.
Webber had to settle for fourth however, after a disastrous start it’s perhaps more than he could have hoped for. Further back Force India again scored points, Paul Di Resta in tenth ahead of teammate Sutil, who was anonymous throughout the race. Schumacher managed ninth, one spot below Kobayashi, while Nico Rosberg was able to race his way back to twelfth. Only one Virgin finished the race, Timo Glock in sixteenth and the last classified runner, Petrov, despite having stopped on track as a result of his off. Toro Rosso got both cars home, though without the pace they’d shown in Melbourne two weeks ago.
After the race Alonso and Hamilton were both handed twenty second penalties for being too robust in their battle, the Englishman moving multiple times and the Spaniard causing a collision. Ultimately it made no difference for the Ferrari driver, while Hamilton fell behind Kobayashi to eighth in the official results.
With maximum points it’s a perfect start for Sebastian Vettel, his main rivals all having endured less than sparkling starts to the season. With seventeen races still to go, assuming Bahrain fails to reappear on the calendar, the German has set himself up nicely to retain his title. Though with McLaren looking feisty he’ll have to be on his game, while Mark Webber needs to find his form quickly if he has any hope of fighting for the championship.
For a full blow by blow report, click here
To check out our Malaysia GP gallery, click here.