2013 Malaysian Grand Prix (Mar 22 - 24)

Webber paces P1:

[QUOTE]Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps
1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m36.935s 15
2. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m37.003s + 0.068s 15
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m37.104s + 0.169s 21
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.319s + 0.384s 13
5. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m37.588s + 0.653s 19
6. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m37.769s + 0.834s 17
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m37.771s + 0.836s 15
8. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m37.773s + 0.838s 15
9. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m37.840s + 0.905s 18
10. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m37.915s + 0.980s 17
11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.173s + 1.238s 16
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m38.673s + 1.738s 16
13. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.830s + 1.895s 17
14. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.054s + 2.119s 17
15. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.204s + 2.269s 16
16. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m39.208s + 2.273s 19
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.284s + 2.349s 17
18. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.567s + 2.632s 16
19. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m40.728s + 3.793s 17
20. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m40.996s + 4.061s 14
21. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m41.163s + 4.228s 18
22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.513s + 4.578s 14

[url="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106227"]Malaysian GP: Mark Webber fastest in first practice - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com[/url][/QUOTE]

Raikkonen continued his great form with the fastest time in the wet second practice:

[quote]Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m36.569 28
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m36.588s + 0.019s 27
3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m36.661s + 0.092s 33
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m36.985s + 0.416s 23
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m37.026s + 0.457s 29
6. Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault 1m37.206s + 0.637s 26
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m37.448s + 0.879s 32
8. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m37.571s + 1.002s 30
9. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m37.574s + 1.005s 32
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m37.788s + 1.219s 10
11. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.838s + 1.269s 21
12. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.865s + 1.296s 29
13. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.068s + 1.499s 31
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.645s + 2.076s 23
15. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.738s + 2.169s 31
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m38.801s + 2.232s 27
17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.904s + 2.335s 31
18. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m39.508s + 2.939s 30
19. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m39.660s + 3.091s 28
20. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m40.757s + 4.188s 29
21. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m40.768s + 4.199s 32
22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.438s + 4.869s 23

[url="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106232"]Malaysian GP: Raikkonen quickest in rain-hit second practice - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com[/url][/quote]

Bianchi was faster than Bottas. Now that's interesting. After his 1:30.454 in Australia during the race he sure seems like a fast man even in Marussia.

Vettel topped the charts in practice 3:

[quote]Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m36.435 20
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m36.568s + 0.133s 17
3. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m36.588s + 0.153s 19
4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m36.613s + 0.178s 20
5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m36.806s + 0.371s 19
6. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m36.807s + 0.372s 18
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m36.822s + 0.387s 16
8. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m36.946s + 0.511s 14
9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m36.949s + 0.514s 24
10. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.302s + 0.867s 14
11. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m37.359s + 0.924s 11
12. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.538s + 1.103s 12
13. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m37.685s + 1.250s 23
14. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m37.690s + 1.255s 14
15. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m37.936s + 1.501s 16
16. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.294s + 1.859s 17
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.376s + 1.941s 16
18. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.425s + 1.990s 15
19. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m38.995s + 2.560s 18
20. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m39.717s + 3.282s 21
21. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m40.209s + 3.774s 18
22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m40.495s + 4.060s 18

[url="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106281"]Malaysian GP: Vettel quickest in final Sepang practice - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com[/url][/quote]

[quote=faksta;993484]Bianchi was faster than Bottas. Now that's interesting. After his 1:30.454 in Australia during the race he sure seems like a fast man even in Marussia.[/quote]

Yes he is seriously quick, and probably the only of the bottom four drivers to have earned his seat in F1 on merit alone. I think he is still part of the Ferrari young driver program as well.

Vettel scored a back-to-back pole in a rain-hit qualifying:

[quote]Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m49.674s
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m50.587s + 0.913s
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m50.727s + 1.053s
4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m51.699s + 2.025s
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m52.244s + 2.570s
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m52.519s + 2.845s
7. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m52.970s + 3.296s
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m53.175s + 3.501s
9. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m53.439s + 3.765s
10. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m54.136s + 4.462s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m37.342s Gap **
11. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m37.636s + 1.446s
12. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.125s + 1.935s
13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.822s + 2.632s
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.221s + 3.031s
15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m44.509s + 8.319s
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault no time
Q1 cut-off time: 1m37.931s Gap *
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.157s + 1.348s
18. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m38.207s + 1.398s
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m38.434s + 1.625s
20. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m39.314s + 2.505s
21. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m39.672s + 2.863s
22. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m39.932s + 3.123s

[url="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106285"]Malaysian GP: Vettel on pole as rain hits qualifying - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com[/url][/quote]

[quote=Wouter Melissen;993486]Yes he is seriously quick, and probably the only of the bottom four drivers to have earned his seat in F1 on merit alone. I think he is still part of the Ferrari young driver program as well.[/quote]

The rumor is once they signed Massa Ferrari had to find a seat for Bianchi, so they first went to Force India then Force India decided to pick Sutil(good decision it looks like now). Then Bianchi was left without a ride. Then one of the pay driver for Marussia's funding fizzled out, Ferrari gave Bianchi a bag of money and took that seat.

He is not a "pay driver" per se, even if he is paying for the seat right now...

Kimi got a penalty for blocking Rosberg in Q3....revised grid position below:
[url="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106325"]Malaysian GP: Final starting order - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com[/url]

[quote=RacingManiac;993508]Force India decided to pick Sutil(good decision it looks like now)[/quote]

Honestly, I still can't understand why did they keep Di Resta.

Thoughts.

- Alonso/Ferrari.... bwahaahahaha... Losers!
- Force India changing tyres not their greatest strenght.
- Hamilton at McLaren's pit box. Wait this isn't where I had to to go, is it?
- Rosberg. If I was him I'd want to puncho 'milton and Brawn very hard in the face.

Podium thoughts: Hambone very diplomatic, Webber very angry, Vettel very unrepentent (and a bit childish). Though (as Chris Harris said) I'd be happier if Vettel was more transparent about his reasons.. 'I want to be champion therefore I will win at all costs' or something.

Pretty much agree on all counts.

Also, Ross Brawn, Rosberg and Merc came out of that a lot shinier than Horner, Vettel and Red Bull. Should Rosberg've been allowed to pass Hambone? Probably. Were they right to do what they did? Probably. Did Rosberg prove himself to be more mature than Vettel? Definitely.

I know that the team comes first in F1 (largely because Enzo Ferrari made it that way), but if you're gonna enforce team orders, put the faster guy in front. It wouldn't have made any difference if Horner told Webber to move over or if Brawn told Hamilton to move over, you'd have still had a Red Bull 1-2 and a Merc-AMG 3-4. Or if Rosberg could've caught and passed Webber, which Mark fell like a rock after Seb passed him, that's more points for Mercedes-Benz and less for RBR in the teams ranking.

The thing that peeves me is that these guys are supposed to be race drivers, not team shrills. Clearly, I'm not in favor of team orders, and that's what I liked about Audi racing at Sebring. They had the race won from the green flag as long as they didn't screw up, but they still raced like Toyota were pursuing them.

The only way to get rid of any team orders is if, as in NASCAR, the teams had different sponsors on each car, but the FIA has already made it known that they don't like the idea.

And after the race, a radio transmission was picked up where Rosberg told Brawn that "well talk about this later", or something along those lines. The NBC crew basically took that as Nico telling Ross in a veiled tone "you owe me one for myself falling on my sword". It's pretty clear that right now that Mercedes-Benz want's Hamilton to be the #1 right now, which I feel that Lewis should have to earn that position, but at least he has the speed to be the #1 at Merc-AMG F1, unlike MS.

It all goes back to what Rob Smedly told Massa at the '10 German GP: "Fernado is faster than you. Do you understand?" And Jean Todt, who Max Mosley fined $1 million over a team orders scandal about a decade ago, abolished the team orders ban ahead of the next GP and the FIA fined Ferrari $100,00 for "technically" being in breach of the regs--pretty much lip service for those who pointed out that Ferrari did technically break the rule as it was at that time.

I'm not in favor of contrived team orders, but I know why they exist, but this is Formula One--the alleged pinnacle of motorsports (though I'd say that sportscar racing is the real pinnacle of motorsports now), and I'd rather have "natural" team orders (fastest guy in front) as opposed to Horner and Brawn telling all their drivers to slow down and hold station because of alleged "fuel mileage" concerns. This isn't Group C, after all.

The full results of the controversial Malaysian Grand Prix:

[quote]Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h38m56.681s
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault + 4.298s
3. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes + 12.181s
4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes + 12.640s
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari + 25.648s
6. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 35.564s
7. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 48.479s
8. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari + 53.044s
9. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes + 1m12.357s
10. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1m27.124s
11. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault + 1m28.610s
12. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
14. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
15. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
16. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps
17. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes + 3 laps
18. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 5 laps
Fastest lap: Perez, 1m39.199s

Not classified/retirements:

Driver Team On lap
Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 45
Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 27
Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 22
Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1

World Championship standings, round 2:

Drivers: Constructors:
1. Vettel 40 1. Red Bull-Renault 66
2. Raikkonen 31 2. Lotus-Renault 40
3. Webber 26 3. Ferrari 40
4. Hamilton 25 4. Mercedes 37
5. Massa 22 5. Force India-Mercedes 10
6. Alonso 18 6. McLaren-Mercedes 4
7. Rosberg 12 7. Sauber-Ferrari 4
8. Grosjean 9 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1
9. Sutil 6
10. Di Resta 4
11. Hulkenberg 4
12. Button 2
13. Perez 2
14. Vergne 1

[url="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106336"]Malaysian GP: Sebastian Vettel beats Mark Webber amid team row - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com[/url][/quote]