[PAVAN KADAM]

About the circuit, nothing more to write, since we know ,Its raced in a clockwise direction, is 5.54 kilometres long, and is noted for its sweeping corners and wide straights. The layout is quite unusual, with a very long back straight separated from the pit straight by just one very tight hairpin.

Though Australian GP gave us a glimpse of each teams and their cars capabilities, This race will actually give us a clearer picture of whats in store for us throughout the year.

Rains are on cards... But you wont know how the weather gods behave untill the race starts.

2011 Results

1 Sebastian Vettel - Red-Bull Racing

2 Jenson Button - Mclaren Mercedes

3 Nick Heidfield - Renault

4 Mark Webber - Red-Bull Racing

5 Filipe Massa - Ferrari

6 Fernando Alonso - Ferrari

7 Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber Ferrari

8 Lewis Hamilton - Mclaren Mercedes

9 Micheal Schumacher - Mercedes GP

10 Paul Di Rista - Force India- Mercedes


TIMETABLE


Fri 23 March 2012

Practice 1 07:30 - 09:00

Practice 2 11:30 - 13:00


Sat 24 March 2012

Practice 3 10:30 - 11:30

Qualifying 13:30


Sun 25 March 2012

Race 13:30



Kuala Lumpur track Record

Race Date: 25 Mar 2012
Circuit Name: Sepang International Circuit
Number of Laps: 56
Circuit Length: 5.543 km
Race Distance: 310.408 km
Lap Record: 1:34.223 - JP Montoya (2004)

[mgh]

Rain predicted on all 3 days.
The 'rain specialist' drivers should do well, as long as they are not kayoed by drivers who are not.

[asr245]

There are 6 WDCs - all of them good in rain. Rookies & Massa will be a concern.

If it rains, I am betting that Massa will spin & crash out. Any takers?

[VW2010]

If it rains my bet is on Hamilton. The craziest driver who can wreck a race or show brillance of driving.

Mercedes showed some back bone but lost all the spine during race. Neither Michael or NRosberg showed any signs to move forward rather defend all day.

Vettel again showed why he is a two time champion piling up pressure every minute through out the race.

Massa to me is done. He may not finish this season.

[anachronix]

If it rains in Malaysia, FIA will be the winner I bet

The Sepang circuit becomes a river when it rains!

[jalsa777]

Originally Posted by mgh

Rain predicted on all 3 days.
The 'rain specialist' drivers should do well, as long as they are not kayoed by drivers who are not.

Originally Posted by asr245

There are 6 WDCs - all of them good in rain. Rookies & Massa will be a concern.

If it rains, I am betting that Massa will spin & crash out. Any takers?

Originally Posted by VW2010

If it rains my bet is on Hamilton. The craziest driver who can wreck a race or show brilliance of driving.

Mercedes showed some back bone but lost all the spine during race. Neither Michael or NRosberg showed any signs to move forward rather defend all day.

Vettel again showed why he is a two time champion piling up pressure every minute through out the race.

Massa to me is done. He may not finish this season.

About Massa: His race was bad because there was some problem with his car. His car was unbalanced and ate up its tyres way to fast. And no driver can do anything when his tyres are giving up.
We'll see a comeback from him for sure provided his car has been sorted out.

Hamilton is a good bet but only if he finishes. I predict he will crash out in the Rain. Watch out for MSC and ALO. They will be surprises this time around. And one can never discount the Iceman.
(All this assuming its gonna be wet)

[VW2010]

We'll see a comeback from him for sure provided his car has been sorted

I am not certain about this. He doesnt have the edge anymore nor did he had major influence to become a No 1 driver for any team.

if i am ferrari i will start thinking about the future and have someone young take over maasa seat. Maasa is getting an extended run.

Kimi - I dont see him getting close to his team mate yet. He will take sometime though they have one of the fastest cars in the circuit.

This year i am still inclined towards Vettel and Red bull edging others in a closely fought battle and only Hamilton to challenge vettel for the title.

[nofear5611]

For the malaysian grand prix 2012, if it rains Alonso is sure take some of the top contenders by surprise, webber and vettel both would be good but my bet is on vettel. I agree with the some of the earlier post that massa has somehow lost his edge after the accident in hungary where he was out for a few races. Race will be good also expecting kobyashi showing a fine performance. So far in the last season one of the drivers who is very impressive is sergio perez, he seems to much on the likes of button who can conserve his tyres and go the whole distance on fewer pitstops. But if i were to bet my money, i would list the final race in this order:

1. Vettel
2. Button
3. Webber
4 Alonso
5. MSchumacher
6. Hamilton (if he doesnt crash)
7. Kobyashi
8. Rosberg
9. Raikkonen
10. One of the Toro Rosso's
11. One of Force India's.

[GTO]

I'm just glad this season isn't going to be (I hope!!) a Red Bull washout. What a drab the second half of 2011 was. The MCs seem to be the car to beat, and I'm especially pleased with Schumacher's renewed vigour (both driver & car wise). If Schumy is in the top 5, you are guaranteed some entertainment. Alas, gearbox issues robbed us of a classic Schumacher - Vettel fight in the last race.

Can't wait for Sunday lunch time.

@ Jalsa : My money is on 2012 being Massa's final year with Ferrari.

[akshay380]

Originally Posted by GTO

@ Jalsa : My money is on 2012 being Massa's final year with Ferrari.

Final? I doubt if he will racing at Brazil. Ferrari will send him packing halfway through.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by GTO

I'm just glad this season isn't going to be (I hope!!) a Red Bull washout. What a drab the second half of 2011 was. The MCs seem to be the car to beat, and I'm especially pleased with Schumacher's renewed vigour (both driver & car wise). If Schumy is in the top 5, you are guaranteed some entertainment. Alas, gearbox issues robbed us of a classic Schumacher - Vettel fight in the last race.

Can't wait for Sunday lunch time.

@ Jalsa : My money is on 2012 being Massa's final year with Ferrari.

True GTO,

Bores you to death to see 2011 repeat, with that kind of horrendous commentry too continuing.

Need to make sure, no visitors drop home on Sunday Race day

Originally Posted by akshay380

Final? I doubt if he will racing at Brazil. Ferrari will send him packing halfway through.

Massa seems to have Reasons for all Seasons these days, no more that classic driver after his crash ( thanks to his best friend Rubens )

My top 10 would be something like this for the Sunday's race

1) Hamilton
2) Michael Schumacher
3) Jenson Button
4) Vettel
5) Alonso
6) Kimi Raikonnen
7) Nico Roseberg
8) Mark Webber
9) Nico Hulkenberg
10)Paul Di Riesta

[deetjohn]

Massa to get new chassis for Malaysian Grand Prix. Work has already begun in the Sepang pits to prepare chassis number 294.

Ferrari says this choice was taken to clear up any doubts about the unusual performance of his car during the weekend at Albert Park.

Two sides to Malaysia for the Scuderia

If it rains, I hope it doesn't stay that way for long. Sepang doesn't like too much rain. And varying conditions are the best to bring out the best from drivers.

[anachronix]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Massa to get new chassis for Malaysian Grand Prix. Work has already begun in the Sepang pits to prepare chassis number 294.

Ferrari says this choice was taken to clear up any doubts about the unusual performance of his car during the weekend at Albert Park.

Two sides to Malaysia for the Scuderia

If it rains, I hope it doesn't stay that way for long. Sepang doesn't like too much rain. And varying conditions are the best to bring out the best from drivers.

Offlate, Ferrari have issues with the quality of manufactured parts. The testing in Jerez went useless just because of the faulty sidepods manufactured and now this. I hope its a chassis thing that made Massa shred the tires so badly in OZ.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by anachronix

Offlate, Ferrari have issues with the quality of manufactured parts. The testing in Jerez went useless just because of the faulty sidepods manufactured and now this.

Was the quality issue due to material defect or machining defect?

I hope Ferrari gets to the root of this issue ASAP. Like Ferrari worked on improving the pit lane efficiency. I for one was glad to see the awesome work by the pit crew in Australia. To bag the top 5 times is no mean feat. Shows superior efficiency and consistency.

[anachronix]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Was the quality issue due to material defect or machining defect?

I guess it was the material defect, since all the parts went through a complete cycle of reconstruction.

Here is an interesting article by Mark Hughes on the F2012!

Why the F2012 is braking down | Features & Experts | Sky Sports Formula 1

He blames the front pull rods!