COOPER: Team-By-Team 2012 Malaysian GP

Formula 1

COOPER: Team-By-Team 2012 Malaysian GP

A team-by-team breakdown of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend at Sepang International Circuit...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted March 26, 2012 Sepang (MAS)

The Malaysian GP was a truly astonishing race, one that saw the guys who qualified ninth and 10th finish first and second on merit by outperforming the rest of the field. Meanwhile, title contenders Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel both finished out of the points after contact with the same car – the HRT of Narain Karthikeyan – which had in turn been as high as 10th after a clever strategy call.

It was certainly a race to remember!

Here’s how things panned out for the 12 teams:

Red Bull
Once again, Red Bull struggled for one lap pace. Mark Webber could not better fourth, while Sebastian Vettel took a strategic gamble on the hard tire, and was only sixth in qualifying – although he was gifted a place by Kimi Raikkonen’s grid penalty. The rain ensured that his gamble meant nothing, and he had a difficult day. Hampered by lack of a radio, he was heading for fourth when he had a rear puncture after contact with Narain Karthikeyan. After an extra stop, he overcame overheating brakes to finish 11th. Webber, meanwhile, struggled on inters but had a relatively trouble-free run to claim fourth. The only good news for RBR was that McLaren did not score too many points.

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton was fastest in both Friday sessions and backed up his Melbourne form with a second successive pole, again set on his first run. Jenson Button was 0.149s behind in second place. Hamilton and Button held position until the red flag. Button was among the first to stop for intermediates after the safety car, but shortly afterward, he damaged his nose on Narain Karthikeyan. He eventually finished 14th. Hamilton lost time in the pits at that round of stops and dropped to third. Unable to catch Sergio Perez ahead, he was still there at the flag, relieved that Button and Sebastian Vettel had not added to their totals.

Ferrari
Ferrari continued to struggle with the F2012, and a KERS issue in qualifying didn’t help Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard earned ninth and moved up to eighth after Kimi Raikkonen’s penalty. Felipe Massa, who had a new chassis, started 12th. Alonso was up to fifth by the red flag and then after the restart he jumped into the lead during the stops for intermediates. He pulled away from Sergio Perez, but was later reeled in. However, he resisted the pressure from the youngster to score a surprise win. Massa, meanwhile, struggled for pace, and after an extra stop for inters, he finished only 15th. It’s not getting any better...

Michael Schumacher's plans for 2013 are unknown. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Mercedes
The long straights of Sepang favored the Mercedes F-duct, and Nico Rosberg was an encouraging fastest in FP3. Michael Schumacher put in the best performance of his comeback to start third, while a scrappy lap from Rosberg saw him only eighth, although he gained a place from Kimi Raikkonen’s penalty. Schumacher’s day was ruined by a first-lap spin after contact with Romain Grosjean, and despite tire problems, he had managed to recover to 10th by the flag. Rosberg had the same issues and, after an extra stop for new inters, he could not better 13th. Clearly, the team has a lot of homework to do.

Lotus
Kimi Raikkonen’s weekend got off to a bad start when he forced to take a gearbox change and a five-place penalty. He did a good job to qualify fifth, and was duly demoted to 10th. Romain Grosjean was 0.2s slower in seventh and gained a spot from his teammate’s misfortune. The Frenchman spun after hitting Michael Schumacher on the first lap, and then slid into the gravel on the fourth lap. Raikkonen lost out just before the red flag and was 14th at the restart, but he did a solid job to haul himself back up to fifth – his original grid position – by the end, having also set fastest lap. Had he started fifth and had a clean run, it might have looked a lot better than that.

Force India
Force India is clearly still missing a little qualifying pace, and in the closely packed midfield, that’s costly. Paul Di Resta took 14th, while Nico Hulkenberg was 16th but only 0.13s slower. The Scot was one of the first to pit for wets but was then knocked into a spin by Pastor Maldonado. After the restart, he had a strong race, getting ahead of the likes of Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg to claim seventh. Hulkenberg was never very far away from his teammate, and in his first full race since 2010, he had worked his way up to ninth by the flag.

Sergio Perez is not a big fan of the media. (Photo: Getty Images)

Sauber
After starting at the back with an engine-change penalty in Australia, Sergio Perez had a much better Saturday in Sepang, making it into Q3 and taking ninth after Kimi Raikkonen’s penalty. Both drivers struggled to get the most out of the medium tires, and Kamui Kobayashi had to settle for 17th. Perez made a great early call for wets, and was fourth at the red flag. After the stops for slicks, he was second, and despite a fabulous effort, he just failed to dislodge Fernando Alonso from the lead. Kobayashi stopped with brake problems after 46 laps.

Toro Rosso
STR had a disappointing qualifying relative to Australia as Daniel Ricciardo could not better 15th. Meanwhile, in Q1, Jean-Eric Vergne locked up at the first corner and the subsequent flat spot ruined his lap and meant that he was squeezed down to 18th. Vergne made the brave decision to stay on intermediates in the downpour, and was up to seventh at the red flag. He changed to wets on the grid with a ‘free’ stop and thereafter had a good run to eighth, on the heels of Paul Di Resta. Ricciardo struggled in the wet and could only recover to 12th.

Williams
Pastor Maldonado was a promising seventh in FP3 but the Venezuelan ran into the gravel in Q2. Although he got going again, he had damaged the car, and ultimately slipped back to ninth. Bruno Senna, who gave up his car to Valterri Bottas for FP1, was two places behind in 13th. It was the Brazilian who had the stronger race, working his way up to a fine sixth at the end and rewarding the team after its Melbourne disappointment. Maldonado collided with Paul Di Resta early on and lost time when he missed his pit box when stopping for slicks. He was 10th when he was stopped by engine failure.

Caterham
Caterham continues to make steady progress, and in Malaysia the green cars were in sight of the teams ahead. In Q1, Heikki Kovalainen was just 0.3s off Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso in 19th, although a five-place penalty for an offense behind the safety car in Australia put him to last. It also moved his teammate Vitaly Petrov up from 20th to 19th. In the race, both drivers showed respectable pace at times, although they could not convert that into results. Petrov ultimately earned 16th while Kovalainen took 18th after an extra stop caused by nose damage after an excursion.

Marussia
With a race behind it, Marussia was much happier with the MR01, although the team remained some way off Caterham’s pace. Timo Glock struggled with the medium tire in Q1, but still beat track newcomer Charles Pic to 21st position, both men then gaining a spot from Heikki Kovalainen’s penalty. Both drivers enjoyed solid races, occasionally gaining places from good strategy. The cars showed good reliability as Glock finished 17th while Pic, who had little experience in the wet, overcame the tricky conditions to secure 20th spot.

HRT
HRT made good progress in Malaysia, helped by the fact that its DRS system was working, which generated some speed. Pedro de la Rosa beat Narain Karthikeyan to 23rd, and both were within the 107 percent margin. Heikki Kovalainen’s penalty gifted them both a starting spot. Karthikeyan started on wets and, with no need to stop, was 10th at the red flag. After contact with Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel and picking up a 20s penalty, he was classified 22nd. De la Rosa did not get away on the formation lap and earned a drive-through as his mechanics were too late leaving the car. Starting from the pits, he finished 22nd but gained a spot from his teammate’s penalty.

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED