[SchumiFan]

What a race! Easily one of the best races I have ever seen. The DRS working fine to enable overtaking and the DRS not working to mess up certain men’s race
Great drive by Vettel. He was there always to take advantage of the car even when there was a lottery going on the track. Poor Webber again suffering gremlins, but an excellent recovery to 4th. A podium beckoning if only he had KERS with him. Button had a solid race to 2nd. He was flying under the radar with impressive consistency and taking care of his tires too. Heidfeld getting a superb podium after a impressive race. Renault got some good replacement for Kubica. However hope he returns soon!

A damage limitation for Ferrari with Massa 5th and Alonso 6th. Gutted to see the DRS not working for Alonso. He was eating Hamilton alive and it was exciting to watch them battle.

Hamilton let down by his tires/ he failed to take care of them? and dropping steadily down the ladder to finish at 7th. Schumi had an OK race and somehow finishing 9th for MercGP.

The Ferrari certainly having race pace to challenge the Macca while the RBs are a little further up the ladder. If they can get their qualifying sorted out along with Alonso’s starting mistakes they could salvage something from the season. Massa also seems to be doing good now.

Up to Ferrari to get the car ready for the drivers. Still hopeful about the season!

[D33-PAC]

Does anybody know why Vitaly Petrov went off the line and into the grass? Is it because he locked his brakes or was it his fault?


And why did Narain Karthikeyan retire early from the race ?

[SchumiFan]

Hamilton and Alonso penalised! 20 sec penalty, Hamilton drops to 8th but Alonso retains 6th spot.
autosport.com - F1 News: Alonso, Hamilton hit with penalties

[topedgemonk]

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

Hamilton and Alonso penalised! 20 sec penalty, Hamilton drops to 8th but Alonso retains 6th spot.
autosport.com - F1 News: Alonso, Hamilton hit with penalties

That battle was something that added some colour to the race. Sad that they had to impose a penalty on it. Its the FIA that makes things boring! And anyways, Hamilton is the only actual loser in this penalty. Alonso's position remains unchanged.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

Hamilton and Alonso penalised! 20 sec penalty, Hamilton drops to 8th but Alonso retains 6th spot.
autosport.com - F1 News: Alonso, Hamilton hit with penalties

This is pretty silly. Its like real racing is not allowed any more.

And anyway, if Hamilton was handed 20 second penalty for blocking more than once, what was Alonso's crime? Attempt to overtake?

[MCR]

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

Does anybody know why Vitaly Petrov went off the line and into the grass? Is it because he locked his brakes or was it his fault?
And why did Narain Karthikeyan retire early from the race ?

Petrov broke his steering. No idea about Karthikeyan.

The race was really exciting. But still, the DRS should be allowed to be used wny where its possible. This way the races will become much more exciting.

Vettel - 50 Pts
Button - 26 pts
Hamilton - 22 pts
webber - 22 pts
Alonso - 20 pts

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

Does anybody know why Vitaly Petrov went off the line and into the grass? Is it because he locked his brakes or was it his fault?


And why did Narain Karthikeyan retire early from the race ?

HRT stopped their cars because they felt it was unsafe to race them.
autosport.com - F1 News: HRT stopped cars for safety reasons

Someone in Malaysia thought it was good to have a launch pad just outside the tarmac. Petrov was pushing and went wide and was launched into air. He was lucky not to catch any other car on the return, since there was no way he could steer the car with the steering in his hands literally

[Dippy]

Good controlled race by Seb in the RedBull. Looks like hes off to an aggressive start this season. The Ferrari Mc Laren battle felt good to watch for a change and that too I was happy to see that DRS not working on the forum. Atleast we got to see some old school head to head racing. Too bad that was short lived with Alonso's broken wing. Ferrari need to work hard on their qualifying.

Even though I am a big Michael fan, I feel he should hang up his helmet at the end of this season. Age has seriously caught up with him and everything is just not the same anymore. The decision to make a come back just seems wrong now. The Ross Brawn / Schumi Magic isnt working.

I was just watching a few old races over the weekend I must say that F1 just isnt the same anymore. Most of the races are just yawn and nothing is really edge of the seat. All these new electronics and rules have ruined everything. Get rid of the DRS , KERS, refuelling ban, tyre rules etc. and give us the real racing back when there wasnt a single dull moment.

[anachronix]

There was lot of racing this time at Malaysia. The magic of DRS made it possible!

Amazing performance from Vettel. Heidfeld & Button did their bit to save their tires and get there on the podium. Good racing from the drivers on podium.

Superb drive from Webber, with all the problems that he had with his car he came through the whole grid upto 4th after initially losing positions with the KERS not working.

Massa did well to be finish 5th, but his pace was nowhere comparable to Alonso in the other Ferrari. That Ferrari is not a dog in the hands of Alonso, if not for him losing patience behind Hamilton, he would have been there on the podium behind Vettel. The race pace of the Ferrari was relatively good and kind on the tires as well!

Hamilton, Hero to Zero as Slater quotes this weekend! He showed promising pace, but it looked like it was a different driver inside that Mclaren through the 2nd half of the race. He did call for the final strategy and looked like the biggest loser of this weekend.

A quote from Whitmarsh on why Hamilton had problems today...

"Towards the end of the race Lewis was struggling on Prime tyres – and, although from a conventional point of view a further pitstop looked like an unattractive option, it was what he was calling for and in truth it was probably therefore the safest thing to do. Tyre drop-off was a problem for everyone today, and ultimately you have to listen to your driver in such situations.

Mercedes, what was this team doing all through last season when they were focusing on their 2011 car? The Mercedes is the real dog of this season!

Finally, the penalty on Alonso. When I thought the Stewards were helped with common sense by some ex-driver sitting there and helping them, this happens! It was a racing incident, a mistake by the driver which affected his own chances and the Stewards were happy to hand him a penalty. Pathetic!

Hamilton deserved that penalty though, he did the same last year with Petrov!

HRT racing, I dint even realize that the cars had been parked safely in their garage!

Overall, a good weekend of racing!

[LandCruiser]

I get a feeling that there are too many pit stops and tyre changes. We need to see wheel to wheel racing lap after lap. Drivers have go have a go at each other and not do pit stop rounds every 15 laps. That the DRS cant be used by the leading car is a shame. Every driver should get equal opportunity to use all the gadgets to them. I support KERS but not DRS.

We need some change in order in the qualifying and in the races too. Vettel cant have it easy everytime to stay in the front. Mclaren, Ferrari go and go hard and soon. It is a pity for Michael Shumacher though.

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by LandCruiser

I get a feeling that there are too many pit stops and tyre changes. We need to see wheel to wheel racing lap after lap. Drivers have go have a go at each other and not do pit stop rounds every 15 laps. That the DRS cant be used by the leading car is a shame. Every driver should get equal opportunity to use all the gadgets to them. I support KERS but not DRS.

We need some change in order in the qualifying and in the races too. Vettel cant have it easy everytime to stay in the front. Mclaren, Ferrari go and go hard and soon. It is a pity for Michael Shumacher though.

The DRS is working like it should. Giving the trailing car some assistance to overtake. Else it will be Alonso-Hamilton all the way.

Hamilton shot his tires and was terribly slow compared to the Ferrari but still Alonso couldn't find a way past him. Whereas Webber used the DRS but Heidfeld was able to keep him out with the help of KERS.

The thing I would like to abolish is that lapped cars using DRS. Kovalainen was trying to use it on Alonso which really seemed stupid. They are lapped because they are slow and not contributing to the race.

Why disturb the guys at the front? If you want to join the party, then increase the pace and challenge for positions on the lead lap. This rule sounds foolish as of now. Hope no lead driver is affected by this as the lapped ones may try for a bit of glory and do a Barrichello on them

Hoping for much more from Ferrari albeit without rotten pit-stops. Hope they release the car faster from pits. They are currently taking more than 1.5 secs over RB in a pitstop which is a significant gap on the track.

[anachronix]

Originally Posted by LandCruiser

I get a feeling that there are too many pit stops and tyre changes. We need to see wheel to wheel racing lap after lap. Drivers have go have a go at each other and not do pit stop rounds every 15 laps. That the DRS cant be used by the leading car is a shame. Every driver should get equal opportunity to use all the gadgets to them. I support KERS but not DRS.
.

You should have also noticed the racing line clearly getting marked away through the race as the marbles were getting thrown.

Its the tire degradation issue and the number of pit stops becomes inevitable. Its really stupid, at one side they wanted races to be decided on track and banned refuelling to reduce the number of pit stops & strategic victories! Now they have tires thats there to create more pitstops and make racing more interesting. Its sad!

[shibujp]

From an interesting race at Melbourne to an exciting one at Sepang.

I guess Sebastian set the tone when he stole pole from fight under McLaren's noses!! With Mark Webber reeling in Nick Heidfeld in the closing labs it was a close finish.

Tough luck for Ferrari with Alonso being a bit too impatient. In hindsight that third podium and possibly the second was his for the taking.

I think the Pirelli's did their jobs of making the racing more exciting - at least in Sepang. The multiple pit stops make all kinds of strategies possible. Also the DRS and KERS enabled some great wheel to wheel racing. Webber's pass on Massa was great - his use of the throttle was great to hear and see.

Four strong teams this year - Red Bull, McLaren, Lotus and Ferrari with Mercedes a near fifth. Kinda flattered to decieve with even teams like Sauber and Force India getting the better of them.

The penalty on Alonso was a funny one and to be frank I never expected any incident at all. I did not notice Hamilton doing anything other that being freaking hard to pass as he is anyway. And Alonso just made the right move and the wrong time and got punished. I felt it was just a racing incident. Anyway that's why they have stewards!!

After the race, in the room before the presentation ceremony Jenson was heard asking Heidfeld - hey where did you guys come from!! - referring to the awesome start the Lotus' made!!
Drive on,
Shibu.

[vishnana]

I really wonder what Kubica would have done with this good car of Lotus Renault . He would have really enjoyed and given the RB's and Mclaren's run for thier money surely . With 2 podium finishes , the LR team has really improved from Renault F1 last year . And good to see Renault Engine , R27 ruling the last 2 races with 1 , 3 finish in both the race . I really Love them !

[Newpunter]

Originally Posted by vishnana

I really wonder what Kubica would have done with this good car of Lotus Renault . He would have really enjoyed and given the RB's and Mclaren's run for thier money surely . With 2 podium finishes , the LR team has really improved from Renault F1 last year . And good to see Renault Engine , R27 ruling the last 2 races with 1 , 3 finish in both the race . I really Love them !

I don't think Kubica could have done any better than Heidfeld this race. Nick was running 2nd and kept a faster Lewis behind him for the whole first stint. A strategic error ( his tyres were finished but the team kept him out longer waiting to see if the rain would increase ) lost him several positions after the first stint and he was lucky to get back on the podium due to Alonso's mistake and Lewis's tyres degrading towards the end. The Redbulls were anyway untouchable so I think Nick extracted the maximum out of the Renault today.

People who keep saying Kubica could have got more points for Renault seem to forget that in their 3 years racing together, Kubica beat Nick only in one season.