F1
RACE REPORT: FERRARI STUNS OPPOSITION IN SENSATIONAL SELANGOR
GRAND PRIX!
THIS
F1 RACE REPORT IS PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY: F. I. A. Formula 1 World Championship – Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix Race Report.
The main grand stand, situated at Turn 15, is a striking architectural feature of the track, an image that is instantly synonymous with the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
This circuit is a very technically demanding track. The teams will be using the medium “option” (white writing) and hard (orange writing) compound Pirelli tyres. Softer compounds simply would not last long enough on this fast and abrasive track. There is also a good chance that the intermediate and full wet tyres will be used. It
is a fast track for the drivers, picture this sequence: though
Turns 11 – 14, the speed varies from 170km/h – 225km/h;
with an average G-force (the force of gravity that is exerted
on the body of the driver) of between 2,5 – 3,5 “G’s”
during this section. One should note that after this section,
the drivers enter the back straight – one of the fastest
sections of the course – before rapidly reducing speed to
75km/h for Turn 15 (a mere 1 “G” in comparison). The
above should give you a clear indication of exactly why Formula
1 drivers are some of the fittest men on the planet. Under these
hot and humid race conditions, they will lose a few kilograms
in body weight through perspiration alone.
Lap
1 There is a large crowd in attendance: motorsport is well-liked and supported in Malaysia. The track and surrounding facilities are in pristine condition; the relevant authorities have really worked hard to accommodate this F1 showpiece. In seemingly effortless c-ordination, the mechanics are making last-minute adjustments: a bit of dry ice here and there, checking car settings, asking the drivers if they’re satisfied etc. The top 10 drivers have all elected to start the race on the medium compound (“option”) tyre. The installation lap has been completed, and the cars are back in their grid positions. A solitary red light signals the start of the warm-up lap... 5 Red lights
are on – engines revolutions are high – steady –
go! It is a good clean start with no major incidents. Hamilton gets away well and leads into Turn 1. Behind him, Vettel has a slowish start and moves across to cover the threat from Rosberg, just edging out the Mercedes driver into Turn 1. Bottas has a poor start and loses several positions. Further back the cars pouring into the tight chicane that is Turn 1 cause slight contacts: Maldonado suffers a right rear puncture after being hit from behind. Raikkonen has a left rear puncture after Nasr clips the rear of the Ferrari. There is extremely close racing throughout the field as drivers try to establish an advantage in these crucial opening corners of the first few laps. DRS is not yet enabled, yet there is no need as the fast-paced action is cut and thrust. The Order
on Lap 1 is as follows: Maldonado pits – to replace the punctured right rear tyre.
Lap
3 Nasr pits – for a new nose cone. Raikkonen
pits – from 18th. Lap
4
Lap
5 Hamilton pits – from 1st – re-joins 6th. Rosberg pits
– from 3rd – re-joins 9th. Massa pits – from 5th – re-joins 8th. Kvyat pits – from 6th – re-joins 11th. Alonso pits –re-joins 14th. Bottas pits
–re-joins 12th.
Lap
7 A great start from Vettel as he gets the jump on the field. Rosberg is battling Massa. Hamilton takes Perez for 5th position. Ricciardo takes Perez for 6th position. Massa takes Perez for 7th position. There is plenty of good racing action throughout the field. Lap
8 Verstappen takes Kvyat for 9th position – good move from the young Dutch driver. Lap
10 Hamilton takes Sainz for 4th position. The Order
on Lap 10 is as follows: At this stage, the top 10 is not a true reflection of the race, as there are a number of cars that are yet to pit. Hamilton takes
Grosjean for 3rd position – Grosjean’s tyres are getting
tired… Lap
11 Bottas takes Verstappen for 9th position. Grosjean goes wide in Turn 14 – his tyres are really letting go now. Lap
12 Vettel’s Ferrari is showing good race pace. Lap
13 Raikkonen is charging through the field from the back. Rosberg takes Grosjean for 4th position – as Grosjean locks his brakes under pressure – good move. Lap
14 Rosberg takes Hulkenberg for 3rd position. Massa is closing in on Ricciardo – and takes him for 7th position. Lap
15 Sainz pits – from 6th – re-joins 16th. Raikkonen pits – re-joins 17th. The Vettel / Hamilton gap is holding steady @9,228s. Lap
16 Grosjean pits
– re-joins 17th. Hulkenberg
pits – from 9th - re-joins 16th. Lap
17 Button takes Perez for 10th position – Perez promptly retakes the position. Raikkonen takes Maldonado. Raikkonen sets the fastest lap: 1:45:956 Nasr is putting pressure on Perez. Vettel pits
– from 1st - re-joins 3rd. Lap
18 Raikkonen
sets the fastest lap: 1:45:372 Lap
19 Maldonado pits. Lap
20 Raikkonen takes Alonso for 8th position – the Finn is flying. The Order
on Lap 20 is as follows: Lap
21 Lap
22 The Hamilton / Vettel gap is now @7,1s. Kvyat pits
–re-joins 12th. Button pits – re-joins 15th. Alonso pits – and retires the car. Lap
23 Verstappen takes Ricciardo for 10th position – another good move! The Red Bulls are struggling with their brakes: the brakes are close to overheating, and plumes of brake dust are visible in certain corners. Button is also suffering from high tyre degradation. Lap
24 Verstappen takes Hulkenberg for 9th position. Hamilton pits
– from 1st - re-joins 3rd. After starting near the back of the grid, Raikkonen has now moved up to 6th position. Lap
25 Lap
26 Ricciardo is ordered by his team to let Kvyat pass him, and he duly obliges. Hulkenberg hits Kvyat, as the the latter attempts to pass him – resulting in a spin.
Hamilton sets the fastest lap: 1:44:017 Lap
28 Lap
29 Hamilton sets the fastest lap: 1:43:976 The incident between Hulkenberg and Kvyat is under investigation by the race stewards. Rosberg takes Raikkonen for 3rd position. Massa takes Sainz for 5th position. Lap
30 The Order
on Lap 30 is as follows: Hulkenberg, in 10th position, is holding up a long train of cars behind him. Lap
31 Grosjean and Perez make contact and Grosjean spins off the track – he recovers the car, and the venerable Frenchman mutters his displeasure over the team radio – as only he can. Lap
32 At this stage of the race, the race leaders will need to pit again. The Grosjean / Perez incident is under investigation by the race stewards: causing a collision. Lap
33 Sainz pits
– from 8th - re-joins 13th. Hulkenberg
is given a 10 second penalty for causing a collision. Lap
34 Bottas takes Verstappen for 6th position – a great duel between these two young guns. Lap
35 Ricciardo
pits – from 9th - re-joins 12th. Lap
36 Button pits
– from 11th - re-joins 14th. Perez pits–
from 10th - re-joins 16th. Lap
37
Lap
38 Lap
39 Lap
40 Vettel sets
the fastest lap: 1:43:732 Lap
41 Bottas pits – from 4th - re-joins 6th. Verstappen
pits – from 6th - re-joins 8th. Lap
42 Button is cruising: he appears to have some mechanical issue with his car. Lap
43 Button pits – and retires his car. Lap
44 Rosberg sets the fastest lap: 1:42:062 Lap
45 The Vettel / Hamilton gap is now @11,535s. Hulkenberg pits. Lap
47 Lap
48 Lap
49 Maldonado pits – and retires his car. Lap
50 Bottas is steadily catching Massa. Lap
51 Lap
53 Bottas is edging closer to Massa. Lap
54 Lap
55 Bottas and Massa make slight contact going into Turn 1! Lap
56 Vettel
takes the win! Retired: 15/19 starters finished the race. Maldonado retired after an incident at the start. Ericsson crashed out. The McLaren-Honda duo of Alonso and Button retired their cars after mechanical issues.
The podium ceremony is an extremely festive one! The Ferrari crew are overjoyed! If you ever doubted their commitment during their “lean patch”, you just had to see how emotional the entire Ferrari crew were during the podium ceremony. It means that much to them. Massive. The champagne flies as pure joy is in the air - this is Formula 1!
Hamilton appears somewhat subdued during his interview. I think he was still shell-shocked with the raw pace of the Ferrari. Team mate Rosberg is comical in parts. During the Melbourne interviews he mentioned something along the lines of that Ferrari should challenge for a victory (this remark was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, Mercedes were in such a dominant position that they did not expect anybody to challenge them anytime soon). Be careful what you wish for… There were rumours flying around during the testing season that Ferrari had upped their game. Rivals teams said that they had noticed an improvement. One never knows how much to read into these rumours, whether the teams are being patronising or genuine. During the Melbourne F1 GP this was not evident. Then again Melbourne is a street circuit, and traditionally Ferrari has never excelled at street circuits. Their cars prefer fast tracks, where they can utilise all that power.
Williams had
a steady if unspectacular race. A great move from Bottas to snatch
5th position from his teammate Barichello on the last lap! Force-India was steady but off the pace: they seem to be going for reliability as opposed to a fast race strategy – keeping their cars out for longer between stops. This doesn’t really help when your drivers are battling to maintain their positions as their tyres are worn. Lotus had another disappointing race. Maldonado had to retire after his car was damaged at the start. Grosjean battled gamely, but appeared off the pace and got involved in a few racing incidents. McLaren-Honda, while they had to retire both cars with mechanical issues, keeps on improving. Their speed was better this race. They are still completely off the pace of the race leaders, but if they continue improving like this, then they should be able to challenge for positions in the mid-field soon. It is very pleasing to see that despite their current tribulations, Jenson Button maintains an upbeat and positive attitude. This was a sensational race. There was action aplenty, some great overtaking manoeuvres. The circuit looked stunning, even the weather played ball: the threatened rain never materialised. Ferrari showed Mercedes that they will not have it all their own way this season. I expect Williams and one or two other teams to improve too. This all augurs well for F1: close, hotly contested racing is exactly what the millions of motorsport fans around the world want to see. NEXT
STOP: Written
by Mark Batchelder, Road and Race’s F1 Connoisseur 2015
– F1 CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER STANDINGS: 2015
– F1 CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS:
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