E-Mail Article
Rate this article:
SPEED Men's Color Block Jacket - Iron/Black
100% micro fiber polyester wind and water resistant hip length jacket.
Our Price: $85.00
Women's SPEED Performance Pique Polo - Black/Gray/White
60% Cotton/40% polyester H2O Moisture Wicking short sleeve performance pique.
Our Price: $50.00
SPEED Black W/Red Sandwich Bill Cap
Washed chino twill, constructed mid crown w/ pre-curved sandwich visor.
Our Price: $20.00
F1: Malaysian GP Team by Team Analysis
Written by:
Adam Cooper
RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com/speedtv
RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com/speedtv
03/23/2008 - 08:55 AM
Sepang, Malaysia
Massa's spin marred what was set to be a dominating weekend for Ferrari. (LAT Photo) » More Photos
After the amazing race in Australia Malaysia was rather more sedate, but it was not without its moments as the Ferraris exchanged the lead at the pit stops, Felipe Massa spun off, and Lewis Hamilton fought his way back to fifth after various setbacks. Here’s how the teams fared.
Ferrari
Ferrari bounced back from the Australian setback in style as the red cars set the pace from the start of the Malaysian weekend. Felipe Massa ultimately just pipped Kimi Raikkonen to pole. Kimi made a good start and Massa only just managed to keep his teammate behind. The pair ran together at the front until the first stops, with the Brazilian coming in first. Kimi stayed out for one more lap and that was enough to jump him ahead. Massa then retired on lap 31 when he spun off one corner after hitting the curbs, which made him suspect some kind of failure. Thereafter Raikkonen had an untroubled run to victory.
BMW
There was disappointment for BMW in qualifying when Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld qualified sixth and seventh in a closely bunched field, especially as Nick claimed he had been blocked, but both men gained two spots when the McLarens were shuffled down the order. Heidfeld has less luck at the start, getting involved with Jarno Trulli and slipping down to 10th. Kubica ran third behind the Ferraris, and was their nearest challenger throughout. He moved up to second when Massa retired. It was a tougher race for his teammate who had to work hard to recover to sixth.
A pit stop problem prevented a likely podium finish for Hamilton. (LAT Photo) » More Photos
Renault
Fernando Alonso had a frustrating gearbox failure on Friday, and having qualified ninth moved up two places when the McLarens were penalized. Nelson Piquet knew Malaysia from 2007 testing, and after a trouble-free couple of days qualified 13th. Alonso had a poor first lap and dropped back to ninth. He then passed David Coulthard but lost a spot to Nick Heidfeld. Later Massa’s retirement allowed him to claim a point for eighth. Piquet didn’t make much progress on his way to 11th, but the rookie learned a lot by running the distance, and at the flag was only 22s behind his teammate.
Williams
After the joy of Australia Williams endured a nightmare weekend in Malaysia. Kazuki Nakajima arrived knowing that he faced a10-place grid penalty after his crash with Robert Kubica in the opening race. He could qualify only 18th, which put him to the back of the grid. It was a bad Saturday for Nico Rosberg, who struggled for grip and finished at the bottom in Q2 and started 16th. Nico lost his front wing in a clash with Timo Glock on the first lap and after a stop had a lonely race to 14th. Following a puncture and then a spin Nakajima eventually finished 17th.
Red Bull
Red Bull’s weekend got off to a bad start on Friday when a steering failure caused Coulthard to go off, and the car then broke its suspension when it hit the curbs. There followed a debate with the FIA about the strength of the car, and a modification was made for Saturday. Mark Webber qualified eighth but was promoted to sixth by McLaren’s problems, while DC started 12th. Despite a problem that forced him to carry extra fuel in the second and third stints the Aussie scored a solid seventh, while Coulthard finished just outside the points in ninth.
Toyota
Toyota again looked promising as Jarno Trulli qualified an encouraging fifth and Timo Glock 10th, the Italian then
Toro Rosso
Toro Rosso had a busy few days in Malaysia. Sebastian Vettel had a brake failure on Friday, and qualified 15th. Track rookie Sebastien Bourdais had a gearbox problem on Friday – the team got third and fourth the wrong way round – which led to a blown engine. He had another engine failure on Saturday morning, and thus played his “joker,” and then had a brake failure in qualifying! He had to settle for 18th. Alas he spun off on the first lap. Vettel had an unspectacular run until a hydraulic failure put him out of the race on lap 40.
Trulli: a solid if unspectactular run to fourth for Toyota. (LAT Photo) » More Photos
Honda
Honda’s improved form was underlined when Jenson Button qualified 11th, and indeed the Briton was disappointed not to make Q3. Rubens Barrichello had a gearbox problem in the morning and did few laps, and eventually qualified 14th. Like so many others Button found it hard to make much progress, but he had a reliable run to 10th place. Barrichello struggled with understeer which he blamed on the lack of track time. After his red light problems in Australia the frustrated Brazilian had a pit speeding drive through penalty, which cost him a place and dropped him to 13th.
Super Aguri
Once again Super Aguri struggled to get on the pace as the team paid the price for its lack of preparation for this season. However it was a relatively trouble-free build-up to the race as Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson qualified 20th and 22nd, both men gaining a further place from Nakajima’s demotion. However the Williams man immediately passed both the Super Aguris, leaving them running at the back for much of the race. Davidson got ahead of his team mate after the Japanese driver ran wide through the gravel, and they finished 15th and 16th.
Force India
Giancarlo Fisichella again shone in qualifying, taking 17th overall and missing out on Q2 by just five hundredths. Adrian Sutil was not happy with the balance of his car, and started 20th, having benefited from Nakajima’s penalty. The German made a great start, and helped by the Rosberg/Glock clash he was up to 15th by the end of the lap, gaining another spot when Rosberg pitted. However after just seven laps he had a hydraulic failure and retired while stuck in third gear. After a bad start Fisichella gave the team its first finish under its new name in 12th place.
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton was fastest on Friday afternoon but it was clear that Ferrari had the faster package in Malaysia. Heikki Kovalainen qualified third with Lewis just behind him, but both men then received five place grid penalties for impeding, and thus dropped to eighth and ninth. Lewis had a god first lap and was immediately up to fifth, but a 10sec delay with a wheel change dropped him back. He fought back to reclaim fifth, just failing to catch Trulli at the flag. Seventh on the first lap, Kovalainen didn’t put a wheel wrong on his way to third and his first podium with McLaren.
Commenting is not allowed in this article.
- Press Releases | Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | FOXReality | National Geographic - © Copyright 2008 Speed Channel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
