Red Bull's Mark Webber overcame hazardous wet weather to take pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Ferrari and McLaren got it wrong in Q1 and suffered embarrassing early exits, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa to start line astern in 19th, 20th and 21st respectively. However, rain is expected in the race tomorrow, so who knows what will happen on sunday afternoon

Q1
The teams had expected rain to coincide with qualifying and, sure enough, the clouds opened minutes before the start of Q1.
Fifteen cars headed out of the pit lane at once as Q1 begun, including Sebastian Vettel, though most of the top teams’ drivers stayed dry in the garages.

But this proved their undoing when a second, unexpected belt of rain dropped more water on the track. The circuit had only been half-wet at best but now required full wet tyres.

This caught out several drivers. Lewis Hamilton spun at the last corner on his first lap on intermediate tyres and by the time he came around again the track was so wet he needed full wet tyres.
Jenson Button made it into Q2 with his first lap but the deeper water caught him out at turn six the next time around and he spun into the gravel trap. Vitaly Petrov followed him off, but while the Renault driver kept going Button was stuck.

Nor did either of the Ferrari drivers make it out soon enough. Fernando Alonso and Hamilton traded times at the end of the session, Alonso spinning at turn eight on one lap. They lapped within six thousandths of a second of each other on the quickly-drying track – but neither were able to make the cut for the top 17, and nor could Felipe Massa.

If the big teams had no excuse for missing the best opportunity to set a fast lap at the beginning of the session, at least Lucas di Grassi did – he’d been stuck in the pits with over-running repairs from first practice.

Also out were Bruno Senna, who spun during the early running, team mate Karun Chandhok and Lotus’s Jarno Trulli.
But the new teams had seized their opportunity – Timo Glock’s Virgin and the Lotus of Heikki Kovalainen made it into Q2.

Q2
After Q1 the teams weren’t getting caught out again – Robert Kubica led all 15 runners (minus Button’s McLaren) onto the track.

Most of the cars began the session on intermediates but a notable exception were Red Bull, who sent their drivers out on full wets to begin with, before switching over to intermediates.

That was an important change, because the rain picked up again towards the end of the session. With few drivers improving their times at the end of the session there were no surprises among the eliminations.

But Michael Schumacher almost fell victim to Pedro de la Rosa’s Sauber and only made it into the top ten by three-tenths of a second.

Heikki Kovalainen won the battle of the new teams, edging Timo Glock who spun early on in the session, but both were eliminated.

Q3
The rain return with a vengeance at the beginning of Q3. Not wanting to get held up by the other cars, Robert Kubica cheekily drove past the queue at the exit of the pit lane and led them out onto the track.

But with conditions similar to those which brought last year’s race to a halt, the session was red-flagged as the cars were halfway around their first lap.

After a 20-minute delay the session resumed with the Force Indias, wise to Kubica’s tactics, side-by-side at the pit lane exit.

That guaranteed them a clear view of the track ahead but the truly smart gamble came from Mark Webber, who started the session on intermediate tyres. It was a risky decision and when he came round after the first lap in ninth place it looked like it hadn’t paid off.

But with little further rain falling the track came to Webber. His second lap was quickest of all and his final effort put him 1.3 seconds faster than every other car.

Nico Rosberg grabbed second place on the grid, pushing Sebastian Vettel off the front row for the first time this year.
Adrian Sutil joins Vettel on the second row ahead of Nico Hülkenberg’s Williams.

Fernando Alonso is not concerned by Ferrari’s underwhelming showing in Friday practice at Sepang, insisting the lap times are next to meaningless given the different fuel loads being used.

Alonso finished the opening day down in seventh place, 1.4s off the benchmark time set by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, while his team-mate Felipe Massa was a further second back in 15th spot.

However both Ferrari drivers focused exclusively on race simulation work, and Alonso pointed out that they kept equally far beneath the radar at the same stage in Melbourne and yet went on to qualify third and fifth.

“Today is just practice,” he told reporters.

“I remember we were 15th in Australia on Friday and then we were quite quick in qualifying, so Friday is just Friday and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.

“It was a very normal Friday for us, with no idea of where we are.”

The Spaniard added that he was happy with the balance of his F10 after dialling out some initial understeer, and was encouraged to find the car working well on a circuit that is quite different from the first two of the season.

“The car is very easy to drive and quite enjoyable to drive here in Sepang – with high fuel and low fuel it remains more or less the same balance, so this is good news for us in terms of race preparation,” he said.

“After Bahrain and Australia this is the third very different track in a row, so hopefully tomorrow we can confirm that the car is quick in all conditions and all type of circuits.”

Alonso, who has won twice before at Sepang in 2005 and 2007, reckons the tropical Malaysian weather might prove the biggest challenge this weekend.

“Obviously we don’t know what our rivals are doing and what they are trying so we don’t know how competitive we are,” he said.

“Also it remains very open about the weather conditions – it could rain at any moment in either qualifying or the race.

“So we need to concentrate and make no mistakes.”

Massa admitted he still had to find some time in his car, but was equally sanguine about his lowly Friday placing.

"As usual, it's difficult to draw any hurried conclusions after these three hours of free practice," he said.

"We ran a different programme to the other main teams, therefore we can't tell where we are compared with them.

"The car is handling reasonably well.

"We just need to work a bit more to improve our outright performance, but we don't have problems in any particular area.

Formula 1 needs to think carefully about introducing a major revamp of the sport's tyre regulations next year, amid speculation that Michelin could return to grand prix racing with totally different rubber.

Michelin is close to giving the green light to coming back to F1 after a four-year absence in a move that could reignite a tyre war for the first time since 2006.

It is also understood that serious consideration is being giving to the French tyre company's desire to make F1's tyres bigger - by running 18-inch diameter tyres rather than the 13-inch ones that are currently used.

Such a move would force teams to make a major revamp to their car designs for 2011 – and it something that Gascoyne believes needs to be thought through with great care before the go-ahead is given.

"It will have a huge impact – and it depends on how we address it," Gascoyne told AUTOSPORT about the prospect of Michelin re-entering F1 next year with 18-inch tyres.

"Some people are saying let's not allow anyone to change anything on the suspension and put 18-inch rims on it, which you can sort of see why. But then you are going to have to change it at some stage and, if you are going to do so, why not do it straight away.

"It is something that I have mixed views about. In some respects as a new team you like big rule changes because it is a great leveller. In other ways, as a new team, maybe you don't have the number of people and the facilities to cope with it – but bring it on. Whatever it will be, we will get on and deal with it."

Gascoyne believes that as well as forcing teams to make big suspension changes, the change of tyre size will have other implications on car design.

"The aero implications are very big as well, it is huge. That is why I think we need to think carefully.

"Obviously there will also be less air in the tyres, so pressure management and all things like that become easier. There are less variables though.

"Obviously with the sidewall stiffness, a variable is taken away out of the suspension system, so there is a lot more space within the uprights – but do you then start damping the wheels and all sorts? We need to think quite carefully about it - that we don't end up allowing huge expense back into the sport."

He added: "Some of the big teams may not want it themselves because they will want to maintain the status quo, but there is a big aero change with the ban on double diffusers anyway – so teams will have to design new cars.

"But from my perspective, every time there is a rule change we are not having to catch up with the two or three year's development we are behind, so we look forward to a big rule change. We will get on and deal with whatever it is."

Bridgestone's director of tyre development Hirohide Hamashima believes a move to 18-inch tyres will lead to a big change in car handling.

"Generally speaking, if we put 18-inch tyres on the current cars suddenly, then it will have big oversteer – and will have less traction very quickly," he told AUTOSPORT. "Teams would have to redesign the rear suspension, aerodynamics and brake discs. It would be a lot of money and a lot of work."

Gascoyne is also wary about the prospect of a new tyre war in F1 – with the FIA having favoured a standard tyre for the last few years in a bid to bring down costs.

"I think tyre wars, with limited testing, will be hard," said Gascoyne. "Tyre wars are great if you are on the right tyre, but pretty bad if you are on the wrong one. And again, tyre wars have never brought down costs, they only make them spiral upwards. So again I think we have to be careful about that."

Source: Autosport

A ban on sidepod mounted mirrors has been delayed until the Spanish Grand Prix, AUTOSPORT has learned, after teams complained to the FIA that there was not enough time to make modifications to their cars in time for the next race.

The governing body told outfits prior to the Malaysian Grand Prix that outboard mirrors were being outlawed on safety grounds from the Chinese GP.

The move came after several near misses in practice and qualifying in Australia, which prompted drivers to speak to F1 race director Charlie Whiting in Melbourne to ask if something could be done to help improve rearward visibility.

Whiting agreed to act and the FIA wanted all mirrors to be mounted on the cockpit from the Chinese Grand Prix.

However, a number of outfits expressed concern that with their cars not returning to Europe prior to Shanghai it was impossible to make the proper modifications in time for the next race.

It is understood that the FIA has agreed to delay the ban until the Spanish Grand Prix in May, which will give teams another few weeks to make the necessary changes.

The move to outlaw outboard mirrors could have a big effect on the aerodynamics of the cars that use them - including championship front-runners Red Bull Racing and Ferrari.

Source: Autosport

After a dissapointing and frustrating Australian GP weekend for Lewis Hamilton, the brit has set the pace in both practice sessions. Ferrari concentrate on race pace and Felipe Massa suffers floor problems. Fernando Alonso ended the session seventh, Felipe Massa a lowly 15th.

Sidepod-mounted wing mirrors are to be banned from the Chinese Grand Prix, according to Autosport.

The teams will be required on safety grounds to fit the mirrors in a position where drivers can see them more easily following complaints over sidepod-mounted mirrors being too hard to see due to vibrations. Six teams used the mirrors during the Australian Grand Prix.

In Australia Pedro de la Rosa was reprimanded for holding up Sebastien Buemi during third practice. De la Rosa was among the drivers who complained about poor rearward visibility.

Fernando Alonso’s collision with Jenson Button at the first corner of the race might also have been avoided had Alonso had a better view behind him.

It’s the second tweaking of the technical rules we’ve seen from the FIA since the season began. After the first race at Bahrain several teams were instructed to modify their diffusers which the FIA felt did not comply fully with the rules.

Sidepod mirrors have become increasingly common since the mid-2000s. Ferrari, Red Bull, Force India, Sauber, Williams and HRT all used them during Sunday’s race at Melbourne. McLaren also tested sidepod mirrors in practice but took them off the MP4-25 in time for qualifying.

Source: F1Fanatic

We all remember the monsoon like weather in Malaysia in the 2009 season which resulted in the race being cut short, but this year it could be yet again another similar situation. Weather forcast is not looking good for Malaysia GP weekend, but makes for a potentially exciting race with errors and important calls needing to be made.

The rain isn't expected to be as last year so we all hope for a 100% finish this time around.

The race starts one hour earlier than last year, so hopefully the teams won’t face running out of daylight in which to complete the race as happened last time. But we know when it rains at Sepang it tends to be a torrential downpour rather than a light sprinkling, so anything could happen.

"The weather is likely to be a big story this weekend – just as it was last year. Thunderstorms are forecast throughout all three days and we’ve seen downpours heavy enough to stop races before at Sepang – which is just what happened last year."

Malaysia GP

First used by F1 in 1999, the Sepang International Circuit was the first clean-sheet design by F1’s track designer of choice, Hermann Tilke.

It remains one of his most interesting designs with several high-speed corners in the middle part of the lap – particularly the switchback turns five-six and 12-13. The main start/finish area sees two very long straights connected by wide hairpins which often provide useful spots for overtaking, as does the sharp turn four.

Malaysia Time Schedule

Felipe Massa believes Ferrari's reliability could give a key advantage in the title race - as he admitted that at the moment the championship-leading car is not the pacesetter.

Ferrari has a 16-point lead over McLaren in the constructors' championship at present, and Fernando Alonso and Massa are first and second in the drivers' standings, thanks to Alonso's first and fourth places in Bahrain and Australia, and Massa's back to back podiums.

But Ferrari has benefited from its consistency, as double polesitter Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull has wilted while leading both grands prix held so far this year.

Massa reckons Ferrari's relative sturdiness will prove crucial.

"We were not the quickest car in the first two races, but we did a good job," he said.

He added that he wasn't certain where Red Bull's current speed advantage came from, but is confident that Ferrari's development efforts will close the gap.

"It's always difficult to be sure, because we don't have the numbers of the Red Bull car," he said.