The Malaysian Grand Prix

After the unpredictable Qualifying session on Saturday, the drama continued into race day. Sepang always delivers great races, todays was to be no exception.

It all began on the way to the grid, the rain had been falling and the track was wet. Just about everyone had an off as they made their way to the grid on intermediate tyres. Pastor Maldonado was one of those who was caught out at turn 3, the Williams suffered a broken front wing in the process.

But as the lights went out in Sepang it was a clean getaway for most, Alonso moving forward ahead of teammate Massa who started on the front row. Unusually there was no contact in turn 1, but in turn 2 Alonso just nudged the back of leader Sebastian Vettel damaging the front wing of the Ferrari. A dramatic sight indeed as sparks were flying from the large front wing which was held onto the car with only 1 of the 2 supports intact.

Mark Webber was keen to make a move, but Alonso was fighting, the question was did he know about the damage. Jenson Button was on the move meanwhile as he is usually one to watch in these unpredictable conditions. The McLaren hasn’t been good so far this year and Button was looking to take an early advantage.

Back at the front Alonso didn’t pit for a new front wing, raising the question once again did he know about the damage, was he informed by the team. It wasn’t stoping the feisty Spaniard as they started Lap 2. Side by side with Mark Webber, the drama was through the roof already in Sepang, but then the inevitable happened under braking for turn 1, the front wing broke loose and took Fernando Alonso right into the gravel trap and out of the race. He was lucky he didn’t have anyone close in front of him as the front wheels were off the ground, there was no steering he was just going straight to the scene of the accident. It was a real shame to see the Ferrari out of the race as they looked to be one of the main challengers to Red Bull this weekend.

As the track dried out it was time to change the tyres, race leader Sebastian Vettel came in on lap 6 and changed from Intermediates to the medium tyre. He was joined in the pits by the now sole Ferrari of Felipe Massa who also chose the same tyres. It was still too wet for the slicks in the first sector and Vettel was struggling and was swamped by a number of slower cars and Red Bull informed Webber to stay out on intermediates. That wasn’t what other teams thought however, and the pit lane became very congested as most teams pitted for the dry tyres.

Force India brought both their drivers in as they had some distance between them on track, but the team had a problem with Sutil’s left rear wheel nut, the mechanics struggled to get the wheel off, by which point DiResta arrived behind. It was a disastrous 32 second stop which cost both drivers time. The drama didn’t stop there, it was all going on in the heat of Malaysia. The heat had obviously got to Lewis Hamilton, he came into the pit lane but old habits die hard as he drove into the McLaren pit and not the Mercedes,the McLaren mechanics waving him through but it was a very unusual moment that will be talked and joked about for some time I’m sure.

Toro Rosso and Caterham had a coming together in the pit lane as Vergne was released right into the path of Pic, a clear unsafe release from the Toro Rosso team.

Back out on track the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg was showing great pace on the medium tyres and with Alonso out of the running, Massa and the two Lotus had fallen back in the pack, Mercedes were the only team who had the opportunity to chase the Red Bulls.

Rosberg and Hamilton were faster than the race leader at this point, the silver arrows were looking strong once again. The Red Bull drivers were told to look after their tyres and this was allowing the 2 Mercedes drivers to close in. Felipe Massa was falling back through the field his Ferrari just didn’t have the race pace as he too had to look after the tyres.

Jenson Button made progress in the McLaren. Tyres were a big talking point this weekend as they were proving to be difficult to keep in a good condition. Strategy was at play as the race settled down, but it wasn’t long before the excitement and drama returned. Force India were having a torrid afternoon in the pits, Paul DiResta had another problem with the wheel nut and the car was stationary and was beginning to overheat, smoke was seen coming from the brakes as the mechanics tried desperately to resolve the issue. It was a pit stop that lasted for over a minute, the problems continued with Adrian Sutil. The team eventually decided to retire both cars after they confirmed it was an issue with their new design of wheel nuts.

Back at the front Vettel was catching Webber who had jumped him in the first round of pit stops, the Red Bulls were under pressure from the Mercedes duo once again and both Hamilton and Rosberg were mounting a charge. Vettel was right behind Webber, he was looking for a way past but was told to take care of the tyres.

Mercedes were closing in on every lap as they caught up with the back markers, but Vettel seemed impatient to get past his team mate and he had this message for the team, “Mark is too slow, get him out of the way he’s too slow”. It was clear Red Bull were having a fight on their hands.

Jenson Button was having a strong race in Malaysia, but unfortunately it wasn’t to last. He had a problem in his pit stop as the front left wheel wasn’t secured, he was released but then stopped in the pit lane having noticed the problem. He later retired from the race, it was a disappointing end to another rather poor weekend for McLaren.

It was a fantastic race in Sepang, but then sadly drama turned to controversy. Vettel had pitted on lap 43, Webber in on the following lap. On pit exit the leading Red Bull of Webber just stayed ahead, but it was a heated and aggressive battle between the two drivers for position. After Sebastian’s radio message earlier in the race, he wanted to be past and in the lead. It was a great battle to watch, but several messages gave the impression that team orders were at play. Red Bull were not the only ones, Mercedes were behind and now dropping back. The teammates were seen changing positions rather easily. Hamilton was in 3rd and told to save fuel, Rosberg was right behind, and going much faster. Team principle Ross Brawn told Nico to hold position, Rosberg was understandably getting more frustrated. Back at the front, the Red Bulls were wheel to wheel right up agains the pit wall, Vettel attacking, Webber defending and the battle wasn’t over as Webber kept position. The Bulls went charging wheel to wheel into turn 3, Vettel forced his way through. It was amazing to watch, but it wasn’t in the plan for the team. Christian Horner came over the radio, “This is silly Seb come on”. The message said it all. Sebastian Vettel had disobeyed team orders and in the words of his engineer Rocky, he had some explaining to do.

The positions were held and the race was over on lap 56 with Vettel winning from Webber, Hamilton was 3rd and teammate Rosberg in 4th. Hamilton was in his car dejected, as he got out he had a word with Rosberg presumably about what just happened. The race was over, but there was a horrible and unhappy atmosphere in preparation for the podium. Team orders may be legal, but they can ruin the excitement of a race so easily. In the podium interviews with Martin Brundle, the tension could be cut with a knife. Hamilton admitted that Nico Rosberg should be on the podium rather than him, Vettel apologised to Webber and Mark said that “Seb made his own decisions as usual”.

Tom Wilkinson’s View Point’s.

It was an exciting race with action and overtakes all the way through. I felt sorry for Jenson Button who sadly had to retire after a good race. he could have scored good points. I also though Bottas outperformed teammate Maldonado once again at Williams.

But the controversy I’m afraid took the pleasure out of the race at the end for me. I felt a good race was ruined. I don’t understand why Rosberg wasn’t allowed to pass Hamilton when he was clearly faster, in all honesty I don’t think the drivers understood that decision either.

As for Red Bull, with 2 great drivers in a team battles are always going to happen. But they allowed the situation to get out of control. I don’t blame Vettel for overtaking as after all he was faster, but the team are at fault for allowing the situation to escalate.

As for the atmosphere on the podium, I feel sadly that it was actually quite embarrassing to Formula 1 and the image of the sport. After a 56 lap race, finishing on the podium should be an exciting and happy achievement, but on this occasion the drivers couldn’t wait to get out of the spotlight.

I hope you enjoyed the Malaysian Grand Prix, what a weekend. There is a short break now for Easter, but we will return on the 14th April for round 3 of the 2013 Championship, the Chinese Grand Prix. As ever you can catch all of my Previews, Qualifying and Race reports right here at Driving For Pleasure.

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