Just 7 days after the Australian GP the F1 teams will be on the grid this Sunday for the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix at Sepang in Kuala Lumpur (= 'muddy estuary').
Sepang International Circuit was built under the Vision 2020 Plan to develop Malaysia into a modern industrialised country. The Plan included the building of a multimedia 'super corridor', linking Kuala Lumpur's international airport with the capital city. The then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad also ordered that a Grand Prix track be constructed. A track that "would be the envy of the world in terms of its facilities and technology". The circuit including 5,000 new palm trees was built in just 14 months and opened for the 1999 Malaysian F1 GP (won by Eddie Irwine in a Ferrari).
Designed by Hermann Tilke, Sepang is one of the most technical circuits in F1. It is also Tilke's first 'greenfield' circuit design. The 15 turn Circuit features two adjacent straights separated by a 1300m long 32,000 capacity double sided grandstand. It can also be split in to two circuits when required. A three-storey pit building houses all the main facilities including 33 pit garages, race control, paddock clubs and management offices. The combination of long high-speed straights, low and high speed turns make the track complicated, but its generous width (16-22m) helps overtaking. The drivers reportedly love it. Sepang is also the home of the Malaysian MotoGP.
The 300kmh (830m 12s) start-finish straight leads to a right-left, downhill 90kmh hairpin Turns 1 and 2. Turn 3 is a 270kmh sweeper and Turn 4 a 110kmh right hander. A series of 200 to 260kmh sweepers at Turns 5, 6, 7 and 8 lead to a 90kmh hairpin at Turn 9. Sweepers at Turns 10, 12 and 13 lead to 115kmh Turn 14 for the start of the second 290kmh long straight. The final hairpin 95kmh Turn 15 leads back to the start-finish straight. The heavy braking zones are at Turn 1 (300 to 75kmh), Turn 4 (290 to 110kmh), Turn 9 (280 to 70kmh) and Turn 15 (300 to 85kmh). The best overtaking areas are at Turn 1, 3 and 15. The Lap Record is 1:34.223 (211.783kmh) by JP Montoya (2004).
Previous winners of the Malaysian F1 GP include Kimi Raikkonen (2 wins). Of the 2010 drivers Michael Schumacher (2000, 2001, 2004), Fernando Alonso (2007, 2005) and Jenson Button (2009) have won at Sepang.
Sepang circuit is hard on every component of the car, particularly cooling systems, brakes and tyres. The two long straights, slow and high speed corners require medium to high downforce / low drag setup for good exit speed from the corners onto the straights. The track surface is described as old, rough and hot, and with temperatures in the low-mid 30's and 70% humidity the GP is considered one of the hardest races of the season. 65% of the lap is run at full throttle. At the 2009 2.64kg of fuel per lap a full tank needs to carry 156kg of fuel.
Pit stops should follow the 2010 standard single-stop strategy of 16-18 (soft tyre) laps followed by 38-40 (hard tyre) laps. In Melbourne it was obvious that the soft tyre could be made to last 50+ laps if driven well. Sepang has higher tyre wear due to the rougher track surface and higher ambient temperatures so some drivers may struggle with a one-stopper.
Melbourne GP had more race action than Bahrain but it was the rain and the safety car periods, not the cars, that contributed to the show. In Sepang run-off areas are vast so the safety car should stay parked for the race. However rain is almost guaranteed although perhaps not in time for the race. Sepang is known for its daily tropical thunderstorms like the one that stopped last year's race on lap 31. This year's race start has been brought forward by one hour so perhaps we'll see a full 56 lap GP.
With no time for car development Sepang should provide similar results to Melbourne. McLaren had a surprise win due to a good pit stop call (and Button's silky driving) and Kubica / Renault scored a rewarding podium. Red Bull failed to follow up the 1-2 in qualifying with Vettel's wheel nut issue and Webber's 'inconsistent' driving but is now overdue for a better result. Ferrari again could not match Vettel but Massa beat Alonso. Mercedes showed little improvement, Schumacher tangled early, but just about everyone else followed the set script. Force India and Williams scored minor points, Kovalainen finished the race but Trulli scored a rare DNS. The Virgins did not finish but Chandhok was classified finishing 5 laps down. There were just 14 finishers.
The Malaysian GP is the home race for Lotus (Proton) and Mercedes main sponsor Petronas. The organisers are promising 'the best ever F1 race in the history of the event' so we just have to wait. Perhaps they meant to refer to the off-track entertainment.
Engines Used > Massa, Alonso (3); Button, Hamilton, Schumacher, Rosberg, Vettel, Sutil, Liuzzi, Buemi, Alguersuari, Trulli, Kovalainen, Senna, di Grassi (2); Webber, Barrichello, Hulkenberg, Kubica, Petrov, Chandhok, De La Rosa, Kobayashi, Glock (1)
Gearboxes > Buemi, Chandhok, Senna, De La Rosa, Kobayashi, di Grassi (2nd race); others (3rd race)
Tyres > Soft and Hard (2009 Soft and Hard)
Sepang Circuit home page >
http://www.malaysiangp.com.my/Circuit map >
http://www.malaysiangp.com.my/files/u1/images/circuits-track/sic_map.gifProgramme >
http://www.malaysiangp.com.my/story/formula-1-2010-f1-race-scheduleFIA page >
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/championships/f1/2010/malaysia/Pages/circuit.aspxGoogle Satellite >
http://bit.ly/dngMr4Weather forecast >
http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/153 > Friday - heavy rain shower and 32 deg
Friday 02 April
13:00 - 14:30 - Practice 1
17:00 - 18:30 - Practice 2
Saturday 03 April
16:00 - 17:00 - Practice 3
19:00 - 20:00 - Qualifying (Q1 20min; Q2 15min; Q3 10min)
Sunday 04 April
18:00 - 19:45 - Race (56 laps x 5.543km = 310.408km)
(race starts 16.00 local)
(all times are AEDST)
ONE / ONE HD (check local guides)
Saturday 03 April > Qualifying - 18:55 - 20:05 (LIVE)
Sunday 04 April > Pre-race - 17:00 - 17:50 (LIVE)
Sunday 04 April > Race - 17:50 - 20:05 (LIVE)
TEN (check local guides)
Sunday 04 April > Race - 22:40 - 00:40
