Grapevine: Final News from the Paddock - Malaysia

Schumacher Home Away from Home

Not unexpectedly, one of the happiest faces in the paddock after the Malaysian Grand Prix was Michael Schumacher - and not only because he had won. For once, in fact for the second race in succession, he was accompanied away from home at a flyaway race by his wife Corrina. She looked happy and smiling and was full of jokes.

Michael meanwhile was running from one debrief to the next with all the ease and relaxed frame of mind to be expected of a triple world champion. "The next race should be good for us," he said. "Ferrari like to go to Brazil....but I know I will have to keep an eye on Rubens. He is very quick now."

F1 Phone a Friend

Formula One fans at Sepang were given a bit of mobile phone help by the switched-on Orange Arrows team who set up special booths around the track where people could plug in and recharge their phones during the day. It was a marketing exercise by the Orange folk organised by Catherine Emms who said: "We have chargers for most Nokia, Siemens Ericsson and Motorola phones and the 'lockers' are designed and used in the UK. They are popular at concerts and festivals. People just come and plug in and leave their phone and come back later."

Street Partying into the Night

A party called the Pole Position Street Party kept F1 fans up half the night on three evenings in downtown Kuala Lumpur during the weekend. The party, organised by the Emporium Grand Cafe, the Beach Club and the Millennium Garden, ran from 9am to 4pm. It attracted thousands, but few from the F1 paddock or teams. "No-one can work in our business all day in this heat and go out at night," said one team member.

Schuey Diplomatic

Michael Schumacher played diplomat for the sport through the weekend as well as giving a one-man demonstration of his ability by winning the race. On Sunday he greeted the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad with a flourish like an old friend. "Schue-perb!" said the local papers afterwards with headlines.

Big Crowd Pleases PM

The prime minister praised the fans and the attendance of 75,000 after days of controversy over the tickets sales being low. "I am told there were 75,000 here and that is a good crowd and everyone says Sepang is the best circuit in the world with great facilities. I didn't ask the teams, but they all gave positive reviews and that is wonderful for Malaysia." He was also delighted that the drivers had a taste of real Malaysian tropical storm weather!

Barrichello Storms Off in Disgust

For his part Rubens Barrichello was not so happy. Disillusioned by the way things had worked out during the race and less than satisfied with finishing second, he decided to duck out of the normal post-race briefing he gives to the Brazilian media who were waiting patiently in the scorching sunshine.

"It's not a serious worry to us, Rubens is very competitive and fast this year. We are not worried and it will soon all be forgotten," said his manager Freddie de la Noce, referring to the disagreement between the two Ferrari drivers which erupted in relation to Michael's overtaking move on lap 12.

Verstappen Reminded of Glory Days

Jos Verstappen left the paddock with a smile on his face despite missing out on the points. He said he was glad to have proved to people that he still retained the basic speed and guts that had cut him apart as one of the fastest men around six or seven years ago.

"When my career went down, a lot of people thought it was all over for me, but of course it wasn't," he said. "This is like a reminder. I am sure with this car we can do well this year, but we need to find a bit more from the engine."

Move Over Brother

Ralf Schumacher was unhappy at not finishing on the podium, but glad to be close to challenging his brother. As he left the paddock to visit his friends at the RTL television studio for an interview, he talked about Michael's bid to land a magnificent seventh win in Brazil next week and his onslaught on Alberto Ascari's record of nine straight wins.

"Of course, he could do it, but I hope he doesn't because I want to start winning some Grands Prix myself," he said. "But of course I know I will have to avoid the kind of accidents I had today."

Brawn Waiting for McLaren Fightback

Long faces at McLaren and smiles all around at Ferrari. Even Ross Brawn, often a lugubrious featured man, was beaming with pleasure. "It is nice to have them on the back foot for once," he said of the rivals powered by Mercedes-Benz engines. "But I know that they are at their most dangerous when they are down and looking to retaliate and bounce back....we are going to stay on our guard."