2010 Malaysian Grand Prix Race day at Sepang
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There are just five minutes to go until the formation lap at Sepang. Mark Webber arrives back on the grid late and is climbing into the RB6.
Lewis Hamilton climbs aboard the McLaren MP4-25 and slots himself into the cockpit. He has a lot to do from 20th position on the grid.
Nico Hulkenberg is strapped into his Williams ahead of his first start in the top ten.
The latest weather radar images tell us that there is no significant rain within 50 kilometres of the circuit. Meteo France say that there is no rain for at least the next 45 minutes.
Heavy rain yesterday has dramatically reduced the grip level, meaning the first set of tyres will take a lot of punishment with full fuel.
The race engineers have a tricky tyre choice to make for the start between the two compounds of slick rubber.
The track temperature is 44 Celsius, with overcast skies and a 32 degree ambient.
The Sepang crowd rises to respect the Malaysian national anthem, as it rings out over the public address system.
The pitlane is now closed. Any car not on the grid now will be required to start from the pits.
De la Rosa's Sauber is pushed behind the barriers and his day is over.
This is disaster for the Spaniard and he could be out of the race before it even begins.
De la Rosa's Sauber fired up but has now stopped in Turn 3.
Kamui Kobayashi has made it onto the grid in the other Sauber C29.
Hazy sunshine overhead as the cars continue to form up on the grid.
The mechanics arrive at the end of the pitlane and are trying to fire up de la Rosa's Sauber.
De la Rosa has in fact stalled at the end of the pitlane and his mechanics race to assist.
A queue forms at the end of the pitlane as the Ferrari pair dodge around a slow-starting Sauber.
Fernando Alonso is also pushing hard on his lap to the grid as all the drivers feel out the grip level.
Nico Hulkenberg has run wide exiting Turn 4 on his lap to the grid. The young German takes a brief trip through the gravel trap but continues with no apparent damage.
Polesitter Mark Webber tours around to the grid with the harder compound slicks on his Red Bull.
Weather-wise, the radar is showing us that the band of rain to the east is drifting north-east and is decreasing in intensity. This particular area of wet weather will no longer be a factor for the race, as it is heading towards Kuala Lumpur city centre.
Otherwise, to the south-east the weather is clear. However, showers could develop in the area quickly. Conditions have become heavily overcast in the last 20 minutes.
Otherwise, to the south-east the weather is clear. However, showers could develop in the area quickly. Conditions have become heavily overcast in the last 20 minutes.
Those with big enough fuel tanks can add extra petrol to allow for several laps to the grid, passing through the pits each time.
Both Mercedes drivers are already out on exploratory tours.
With much of the rubber removed from the asphalt by yesterday's rain, the drivers will be keen to get a lap or two on slicks to assess grip.
The pitlane is now open for the drivers to make their way around to the grid.
Hamilton has a lot to do from 20th
Continuing our look through the starting grid, it is clear that the McLaren and Ferrari drivers have a lot of work to do this afternoon.
Jenson Button starts 17th, with Alonso 19th, Hamilton 20th and Massa in 21st. On paper, the foursome should make it through to the bottom end of the top ten quite easily by mid-distance.
Despite brilliant qualifying performances, Kovalainen and Glock will be easy pickings on the first lap. The interesting question will be whether the four drivers become embroiled in their own battle for position as they bid to move up the order.
Lewis Hamilton in particular needs a decent score here to stay in touch in the championship race, and will be in no mood to sit behind Massa or Alonso in the first few laps. The McLaren MP4-25 is quicker than the F10 in a straight line - thanks partially to its F-duct system allowing for reduced drag on the straights.
Patience could be the key to scoring points - not something Hamilton has in abundance.
Red Bull's RB6 continues to set the pace
With Webber and Vettel securing first and third on the grid in the ever-quick RB6, Red Bull is clearly the team to beat once again. With its major championship rivals boxed in at the back of the field, today really is a golden opportunity for the team to bounce back from costly reliability failures at the first two events.
"We had good chassis reliability [last year], and we should have book ended that with two wins at the beginning of this year - and it has been frustrating that we have not achieved the maximum," said team principal Christian Horner. "We are confident in our performance and the most important thing is we get both cars to the finish and score some sensible points."
Red Bull pressures no worry for Horner
Nico Rosberg starts from a career best second on the grid and is well-placed to mix it with the Red Bulls and pick up the pieces if they do hit trouble again.
Strong qualifying efforts from Sutil, Hulkenberg, Kubica and Barrichello put this group in the ideal place to fight for strong points finishes, mindful however of the top drivers looking to push forward from the back of the field.
It certainly could be another good day for Force India, with Liuzzi also in the top ten on the grid. "The team did a really good job during the winter and we confirmed that we had a good speed in winter testing and we confirmed our speed at the track," the Italian told AUTOSPORT after qualifying. "It has been a really perfect beginning of the season. Now we have to try really hard to continue in this way because other teams are not sleeping."
A downpour ended the race early last year
2004 would provide the next opportunity to race in the rain at Sepang. A light shower early in the race gave Juan Pablo Montoya the chance to close down the gap to Schumacher's Ferrari. But quickly the rain subsided and with it so did the Williams driver's hopes of challenging for race victory.
And so to last year's incredible race. The decision to start the grand prix at five o'clock was heavily criticized by teams and fans. Predictably the daily storm lashed the circuit, stopping the event, but for 42 laps it was a tremendous spectacle.
Timo Glock gambled on intermediates at a time when everyone was pitting for full wet tyres and the German reaped the benefit, lapping the circuit up to seven seconds per lap faster than anyone else at times. By the time the red flags were displayed, he had moved up to second place and was offering a strong challenge to eventual winner Jenson Button.
With the start time moved back to four o'clock this year, we can reasonably expect a similar type of race today.
Schumacher led home Barrichello in 2001
Despite the volatile climate and enormous downpours that frequently occur at Sepang, the history of rain-affected events in the 12-year history of the Malaysian Grand Prix is surprisingly few and far between.
The inaugural event in 1999 perhaps gave a taster of what would follow. 37 consecutive days of rain ended just one hour before the drivers took to the circuit for the first free practice session. Pedro Diniz took the dubious honour of becoming the first driver to spin at Sepang, managing to loop his Sauber exiting Turn 14 on the installation lap - less than two minutes into the Friday morning session.
Archive report - Rain continues at Malaysian GP
The next instance of rain affecting Formula 1 running was in 2001. Showers soaked the circuit prior to the Sunday morning warm-up. The session started wet but the track was dry by the end of the half-hour session.
That was small fry compared to what came in the afternoon. On lap three of the race a huge rainstorm fell, giving Ferrari a pitlane headache as Schumacher queued up for intermediate tyres behind Barrichello, who sat stationary in the pitbox for 72 seconds while the mechanics ran around looking for tyres.
The move to intermediates proved to be a stroke of genius as the red cars waltzed through the field to take a spectacular one-two.
With many drivers starting out-of-position in today's race, we expect to see a lot of overtaking as they try to fight their way towards the front.
So where are the favoured overtaking spots at Sepang?
Turn 1 is obviously a good place to start. The cars are barreling down the pit straight at close to 185 mph, braking hard for an ever-tightening right-hander. The corner can be defended though - even from the outside - as Heinz-Harald Frentzen demonstrated beautifully in 2001 as he fended off a strong attack from Ralf Schumacher, but usually the inside line is the favoured route to pass a competitor.
Turn 4 is the next opportunity to slice up the inside under braking, but it depends very much on how much traction you get coming out of a very slow Turn 2. Drivers would be advised not to risk a wild move in such a long race. Felipe Massa found this out to his cost early in the 2007 event. He ran wide twice attempting to pass Lewis Hamilton and his race was heavily compromised as a result.
The next few corners are a case of follow-the-leader, but Turn 9 does provide a possibility to pass, but with the Penang straight just 20 seconds up the road it would be advisable to wait.
Turn 14 tightens slightly, but the exit is slow-to-medium speed and providing you can stay within half-a-second of your opponent coming onto the 900 metre Penang straight, you have a good chance to tow up behind the car in front and dive to the inside under braking for the final corner. Most of the overtaking will take place here this afternoon.
So where are the favoured overtaking spots at Sepang?
Turn 1 is obviously a good place to start. The cars are barreling down the pit straight at close to 185 mph, braking hard for an ever-tightening right-hander. The corner can be defended though - even from the outside - as Heinz-Harald Frentzen demonstrated beautifully in 2001 as he fended off a strong attack from Ralf Schumacher, but usually the inside line is the favoured route to pass a competitor.
Turn 4 is the next opportunity to slice up the inside under braking, but it depends very much on how much traction you get coming out of a very slow Turn 2. Drivers would be advised not to risk a wild move in such a long race. Felipe Massa found this out to his cost early in the 2007 event. He ran wide twice attempting to pass Lewis Hamilton and his race was heavily compromised as a result.
The next few corners are a case of follow-the-leader, but Turn 9 does provide a possibility to pass, but with the Penang straight just 20 seconds up the road it would be advisable to wait.
Turn 14 tightens slightly, but the exit is slow-to-medium speed and providing you can stay within half-a-second of your opponent coming onto the 900 metre Penang straight, you have a good chance to tow up behind the car in front and dive to the inside under braking for the final corner. Most of the overtaking will take place here this afternoon.
The weather remains fine and dry at Sepang, with no indication yet that it will change anytime soon.
The latest radar images suggest that showers are lurking to the east - but they are still approximately 100 kilometres away.
Storm clouds are expected to build throughout the afternoon, but today the development is much later than we saw on both Friday and Saturday.
The latest radar images suggest that showers are lurking to the east - but they are still approximately 100 kilometres away.
Storm clouds are expected to build throughout the afternoon, but today the development is much later than we saw on both Friday and Saturday.
Here is the sensational grid for the Malaysian Grand Prix:
Pos Driver Team
1. Webber Red Bull-Renault
2. Rosberg Mercedes
3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault
4. Sutil Force India-Mercedes
5. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
6. Kubica Renault
7. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
8. Schumacher Mercedes
9. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
10. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
11. Petrov Renault
12. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari
13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari
14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari
15. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
16. Glock Virgin-Cosworth
17. Button McLaren-Mercedes
18. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
19. Alonso Ferrari
20. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
21. Massa Ferrari
22. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth
23. Senna HRT-Cosworth
24. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
The Royal Malaysian Airforce swoop overhead
Entertainment at Sepang has continued through the afternoon both in the air and on-track to keep the sparse but growing crowd occupied.
At the start-finish line, the drivers appeared a short time ago for the traditional parade around the 5.543 km track, with the loudest cheers from the Malaysians reserved for Lotus Racing drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli.
Michael Schumacher is a three-time winner of this event and the German also received plenty of appreciation from the main grandstand.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force has just finished its final air display of the weekend with a MIG fighter jet blasting sound all around the circuit.
Formula 1 fans make some noise
Motor racing enthusiasts love to debate and discuss the action on track, and the live forum at the bottom of the screen is your chance to let everyone know your thoughts on events as they unfold at the circuit.
• Will the Red Bull duo - aided by slightly slower machinery around them on the grid - blast off into the distance unchallenged?
• Do you want to see a wet or dry race today?
• Can Kovalainen or Glock score a point from 15th and 16th on the grid? Glock, of course, would need rain to make that a possibility due to the size of the Virgin fuel tank.
• What can Ferrari and McLaren do from the back of the field? Will any of the four drivers make it onto the podium?
Tell the world what you think.
Click the SHOW LIVE FORUM link in the red bar at the bottom of your browser window if you'd like to join the debate.
Richard Bradley dominated Formula BMW Pacific
Formula BMW Pacific provided the only supporting action to the Malaysian Grand Prix with two races at Sepang to get the season underway.
18-year-old Singaporean Richard Bradley dominated proceedings throughput the weekend, taking pole in qualifying and wins yesterday and in the second race this afternoon for his Eurasia Motorsport team.
Carlos Sainz Jr, son of the rally legend, finished a strong second yesterday but slipped back to fourth in the closing stages of the race today, leaving 14-year-old Colombian Oscar Tunjo and Japanese Kotaro Sakurai to complete the podium
The series is back on the grand prix support bill at Singapore in September.
Dry and mainly sunny conditions greeted the Formula 1 teams at dawn this morning, but it could have been very different.
At seven o'clock a ridiculously large storm cell passed by 40 kilometres to the south of the circuit, featuring rainfall rates of around 35 mm per hour. We have no word on whether the teams are planning to build an ark for today's race.
At the circuit it's so far, so good. Dry conditions remain but all afternoon the clouds have been building to the east. Storm cells are on the move west towards Sepang - the nearest one is currently located 110 kilometres to the east of Sepang, but further showers will build over the next few hours.
The hottest part of the day is already behind us with temperatures reaching 32 degrees Celsius. The lack of strong sunshine as the skies turn overcast will help bring the temperature down a degree or two as we move towards the start time.
At seven o'clock a ridiculously large storm cell passed by 40 kilometres to the south of the circuit, featuring rainfall rates of around 35 mm per hour. We have no word on whether the teams are planning to build an ark for today's race.
At the circuit it's so far, so good. Dry conditions remain but all afternoon the clouds have been building to the east. Storm cells are on the move west towards Sepang - the nearest one is currently located 110 kilometres to the east of Sepang, but further showers will build over the next few hours.
The hottest part of the day is already behind us with temperatures reaching 32 degrees Celsius. The lack of strong sunshine as the skies turn overcast will help bring the temperature down a degree or two as we move towards the start time.
Webber, Rosberg and Vettel start at the front
The heavens opened above Sepang just seven minutes before the start of qualifying as the weather did its best to play a key role in deciding the grid.
The smart move was to get out on track as soon as the session opened, but the big teams surprisingly chose to wait, thinking that the rain would stop. It didn't, and in fact got worse, leaving them with a huge task just to make it through the first stage.
Jenson Button soon found out that he was on the wrong side of the conditions, as he slid off the road in his McLaren. Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso spun but continued, Bruno Senna also headed for the beach and Felipe Massa didn't make it either. The casualty list after 20 minutes was phenomenal - Trulli, Alonso, Hamilton, Massa, Chandhok, Senna and di Grassi all taking an early bath.
Button scraped through, but with his MP4-25 stuck in the gravel it was clear he wouldn't be taking any further part in proceedings and will start 17th. Kovalainen and Glock did a brilliant job in making it through, with 15th and 16th respectively almost as good as a win for Lotus and Virgin. The second phase was plain sailing from thereon, with Petrov, de la Rosa, Buemi and Alguersuari also eliminated.
That left some surprising names in the top ten shootout. Robert Kubica caused consternation at the start of Q3 by choosing not to queue up behind the rest of the cars in the pitlane. Instead, he drove past his competitors and parked at the front. He won the race to Turn 1 when the session opened and had track position over the rest of the field as the rain came down in torrents.
That piece of gamesmanship proved to be worthless, however. Race director Charlie Whiting had no choice but to temporarily stop the session due to the atrocious track conditions. After a 20-minute delay, out they came again for a seven-minute scramble to determine the grid.
Full wet tyres were chosen by all but Mark Webber. The rain had stopped and the Australian gambled on there just being enough grip out there to stay on the road with intermediates. The gamble paid off and Webber blitzed the rest of the field by 1.3 seconds on his final lap. Nico Rosberg bagged a front row spot for Mercedes with Sebastian Vettel third and Adrian Sutil a spectacular fourth.
Webber on pole in disrupted qualifying
Clouds build above Sepang
Hello and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live for the third round of the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
Last weekend the sport put on a great show at Albert Park, offering up action, excitement and plenty of overtaking. The weather undoubtedly played a part in all that - and could do so again today.
Qualifying produced a wonderful grid and action is guaranteed this afternoon for the 12th Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang F1 Circuit.
The race itself begins at 08:00 GMT, but before then we will set the scene by reviewing yesterday's qualifying session, update you on today's weather conditions and support card activity, and focus on some of the major talking points heading into the race.
By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton
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