26/09/2016
NEWS STORY
Fernando Alonso: "I'm looking forward to heading back to Malaysia after 18 months since the last race there. It'll be interesting to see how the cars cope on the newly-resurfaced track, and I imagine the weather conditions will be different from our last visit. Still, we expect it to be a tough race in the heat and humidity, but there's a good combination of slow and high-speed corners and fast straights, so it has a little bit of everything. It tests every part of the package, and the driver too, so hopefully there'll be some close racing and an entertaining weekend for the fans."
"The Malaysian Grand Prix is always a fun event and among the drivers' favourites on the calendar. There's great food, lively fans and good racing so I hope we can put up a strong fight there. I've won this race three times before so I have happy memories, and we'll be aiming to continue the momentum from the past couple of races and get a strong result there again this year."
Jenson Button: "Sepang is becoming a modern classic - although it's a relatively new circuit, it's one of those tracks that drivers enjoy going back to. The conditions are like nothing else we experience, the circuit is quite technical and fun to drive, and the atmosphere is always great. Although it's traditionally seen as a high-speed circuit which isn't usually something that our package favours, we do have a good car under braking which is necessary to handle the tight corners after the long, fast straights."
"We always think of Singapore being tough because it's the longest race of the year, but Malaysia will almost certainly be the hottest race on the calendar. Not only that, but the humidity is immense and the cockpit reaches very high temperatures. As drivers, we're all well equipped for these conditions as part of our training, but it does take its toll by the end of the weekend. You definitely need to be in peak physical fitness to cope with the heat. I'm ready and excited to get out there and start my 300th grand prix, and hopefully have better luck than I did in Singapore."
Eric Boullier, Racing Director: "The challenge at this circuit is to maintain good balance throughout the long straights, big stops and sweeping corners, all while taking the tough and often changeable conditions into account. After a recent run of mixed fortunes on one side of the garage, our aim for the remaining races has to be to iron out reliability niggles and finish with both cars.
"Since the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix at this circuit in 1999, Sepang has become a popular venue for drivers and fans alike. There have been a number of memorable races there and thanks to the climate and the nature of the technical layout, it often produces unpredictable results. There are good overtaking opportunities to be had and ample run-off, which once again promises interesting racing.
"The Sepang circuit poses a tough technical challenge for our mechanics and engineers, who have to strike a delicate compromise between efficient cooling, aerodynamic performance and balance, so Friday running will be important initially in order to assess the impact of the new track surface on the car and the re-profiling of some corners - particularly Turn 15. If we can achieve reliability on both sides of the garage, I'm hopeful for a positive weekend. We've proved recently that our package is a firm contender in the midfield pack and we have the potential to finish ahead of some strong teams, so we'll keep fighting to maintain our position and move closer to the front of the grid.
"Finally, I'd like to congratulate Jenson on his 300th grand prix start - a spectacular achievement for a great world champion, and we look forward to celebrating this incredible milestone with him and the team this weekend."
Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda R&D Co Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer: "The Malaysian Grand Prix will no doubt be another hot and humid battle to be fought amongst the drivers. The changeable conditions mean it will be tricky to find a good balance with the car, and the rain can of course give us an added challenge. The circuit in Sepang is an undulating mix of long straights and sweeping corners, which all make for an exciting race with lots of good overtaking battles. We are not 100 per cent certain if we will install any power unit updates for this race, but we'll look to make our final decision at the track based on the balance of performance and reliability.
"More importantly, this will be a race to celebrate as Jenson makes his 300th grand prix start, which is an incredible milestone and achievement in such a demanding sport. We're lucky to have two world champion drivers in the team with such experience, and hope that we can finish with a strong result for everyone in the team."
Sepang International Circuit
First race: 1999
Circuit length: 5.543km/3.444 miles (8th longest of the season)
Distance to Turn One: 600m/0.373 miles (longest of season: Barcelona 730m/0.454 miles)
Longest straight: 920m/0.572 miles, on the approach to Turn 15
Top speed: 330km/h/205mph, on the approach to Turn 15
Pitlane length: 420m/0.261 miles, estimated time loss 24s (longest of season: Silverstone, 489m/0.304 miles)
Full throttle: 65 per cent, with the longest period of full throttle being 12s
DRS zones: Two, on the approaches to Turns One and 15
Key corner: Turn 14, a tightening, understeer-inducing right-hander that loads up the outside tyres. It's important to get the car into the apex and get the power down early because the longest straight on the lap follows, along which there is the second DRS zone
Fastest corner: 260km/h (162mph), Turn Five
Slowest corner: 70km/h (43mph), Turn Two
Major changes for 2016: The circuit has been re-surfaced since last year and more than half of the corners have new kerbs and improved drainage. The camber at Turn Nine has been altered, and, most significantly, Turn 15 has been re-profiled to make it slower, in an effort to encourage overtaking
Fuel consumption: 1.79 per lap, which is average
ERS demands: Low. There are several slow corners, out of which electrical power has an impact on acceleration, but there are eight significant braking events around the lap where energy can be recovered
Brake wear: Medium. Only 15 per cent of the lap is spent braking
Gear changes: 57 per lap/3,192 per race
Sepang was the first F1 track to be designed by Hermann Tilke, whose company has helped to design 11 of the 21 circuits on this year's calendar. Sepang was opened in March 1999 and it hosted its first grand prix later that year, since when it has been a permanent fixture in F1. This year the race is taking place in October, for the first time since 2000.
What makes it unique: It has an interesting mix of medium and high-speed corners, but the biggest single challenge for the teams is cooling. The ambient temperature rarely drops below 30 degrees at this time of year, which places added pressure on the cooling of the power unit in particular.
Grip levels: Medium. The circuit has been re-surfaced this year, so grip levels will depend on how the asphalt has cured since it was laid six months ago. The fast corners have high levels of grip due to the aerodynamic downforce created by the cars, but the new surface will be the biggest single factor influencing grip levels.
Run-off: Good. This is a modern racetrack, with excellent run-off areas. There are more gravel traps than asphalt run-off areas because they are the preferred safety option for bike racing, which also takes place at Sepang.
Watch out for: The rain - and when it rains in this part of the world, it usually pours. In 2009 the race had to be stopped after 31 laps due to a flooded racetrack and the later-than-normal start time of 3pm leaves the race vulnerable to a late-afternoon thunderstorm.
Race distance 56 laps (full world championship points will be awarded after 75 per cent distance/42 laps)
Safety Car likelihood Low. There is only a 20 per cent chance of a Safety Car
When to press record The start. It's a long drag to the first corner, which is a slow 180-degree right-hander, immediately followed by a left-hander. There's always a good scrap through this section on lap one, with the outside line through Turn One sometimes proving to be the more successful
Don't put the kettle on: Vettel won last year's race on a two-stop strategy, while Hamilton and Rosberg stopped three times en route to second and third places. The addition of the Soft tyre to this year's compound list is likely to increase the number of stops, with most drivers trying to complete the race distance on three stops. Expect pitlane action on or around laps 10, 25 and 40
Weather conditions: Race forecast 31 degrees
Tyre choices Soft/Medium/Hard, a combination that has only been used twice before this year, at Barcelona and Silverstone.