Feature: Yoong is Next in Line for the Limelight

Minardi will need a miracle in Malaysia this weekend to come anywhere close to repeating the magic of Melbourne.

Alex Yoong will be the first Malaysian to compete in his home Grand Prix on Sunday but nobody, with the possible exception of some compatriots, expects him to match teammate Mark Webber's recent Australian heroics.

Webber has taken the pressure off Minardi - his fifth place on his debut before a cheering home crowd in the season-opening race on March 3rd is sure to stand as one of the most heartwarming moments of 2002.

The Australian rode his luck, picking his way through the first corner mayhem that took out nearly half the field, for two points that set the scene perfectly for Sepang and made him stand out among this season's newcomers.

His was the highest-scoring debut by a driver since Canadian Jacques Villeneuve came second for Williams in Australia in 1996, and it was Minardi's best result since 1994. He was also the first Australian to score since former World Champion Alan Jones in 1986.

The team's ecstatic Australian boss Paul Stoddart stood on the podium afterwards as Webber poured champagne down his throat in a delirious scene that suggested all their Christmases had come at once.

"Whatever we do from here will be a bonus. We have achieved our year's goals at the first Grand Prix and it doesn't matter if we have a bad race or two, three or four," said Stoddart after Minardi's first points since 1999.

Highest Finish

Yoong may not be the fastest man on the grid, but he is Malaysia's motorsport pin-up and has brought much-needed sponsors to the team, including title backer Kuala Lumpur.

His seventh place - out of just eight finishers in Melbourne - should help to sell a few more tickets in his first race at home since he joined Minardi late last season, as well as boosting his self-confidence.

That was also his highest finish - only his second after a 16th place in the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix.

Webber qualified nearly a second-and-a-half quicker than Yoong in Australia and the Malaysian was spared his fourth successive start from last position on the grid only by Japan's Takuma Sato failing to qualify.

But Yoong has at least qualified every time so far, something that his Brazilian predecessor Tarso Marques failed to do, and has shown that he can last the distance.

"His seventh is a mega achievement for his country," manager Simon Munger said. "It is a very tough act to beat in the near-term future for Alex and in the medium-term future for any Malaysian coming after him."

Learning Curve

While Webber has been celebrating, three other men will be having their first taste of Sepang this week after disappointment in Melbourne.

One of them, Brazilian Felipe Massa at Sauber, will also be enjoying considerable local media attention as a driver with a Malaysian-sponsored team.

Massa made a good impression in Melbourne, qualifying ninth and ahead of German teammate Nick Heidfeld although he had more track time in a rain-hit session, after several crashes in pre-season testing.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya was impressed, while sounding a warning for the 20-year-old Massa who went out of the race in the first-corner crash.

"I think he's got a lot of potential but he's very young and after what Kimi (Raikkonen) did last year he wants to do even better," said Montoya. "And it's going to be hard. There's a learning curve, I went through it as well and it's not easy."

The other newcomers yet to finish are Sato and Toyota's Scottish driver Allan McNish, whose 10-year wait to start a race also ended within seconds in Melbourne.

Sato stands out as the only driver yet to qualify for a race after being prevented by a gearbox problem and then rain from setting a competitive time in Australia. He was given a reprieve in that race, allowed to start from the rear but withdrew with an electrical problem after 12 laps and will want to show what he can do in Malaysia.

"At least he's done everything," his manager Andrew Gilbert-Scott told Autosport magazine this week. "He's done the start, he's done the restart, he's done the pitstop and he's even been to the medical centre. So it's been a good learning curve".