2014 Malaysian Grand Prix Sunday - Malaysian Grand Prix
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Perez has gone for the hard tyres for his first stint. All drivers on the grid are on mediums.
Parade lap begins, the whole field away fine bar Perez, who is waiting in the pitlane.
Everybody is starting on the medium compound tyres, the softer of the two on offer this weekend.
Mechanics are clearing the grid, tyre blankets are off. We're about to get going.
JONATHAN NOBLE: One thing we have not talked about much this year is tyre degradation - and the impact it has on the competitive order.
Last year Mercedes had big issues looking after its rear tyres. Has it banished those blues this year? We should find out today.
Last year Mercedes had big issues looking after its rear tyres. Has it banished those blues this year? We should find out today.
EDD STRAW: If the rain gets involved, obviously all bets are off but if the race is dry, it's most likely to be a three-stop race, although two stops is worth considering and track temperatures will have a say in making that possible.
Expect the orthodox approach in normal race conditions to be a medium/medium/medium/hard, but with a few perhaps attempting to pull off a two-stopper.
But keep an eye on conditions, which will have a big influence on what strategic options are open to teams.
Expect the orthodox approach in normal race conditions to be a medium/medium/medium/hard, but with a few perhaps attempting to pull off a two-stopper.
But keep an eye on conditions, which will have a big influence on what strategic options are open to teams.
JONATHAN NOBLE: I bumped in to Toto Wolff on the grid, who says one of the big issues of the day is going to be cooling.
Reliability had been a big concern in Australia but in the end the attrition rate was not as high as some had predicted. With air temperature currently 32C, things could be very different this afternoon.
Reliability had been a big concern in Australia but in the end the attrition rate was not as high as some had predicted. With air temperature currently 32C, things could be very different this afternoon.
Seems that Force India has a software problem with Sergio Perez's car. It's being worked on in the hope that the Mexican can start the race from the pits.
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EDD STRAW: Felipe Massa expressed concerns coming into the weekend that Williams risks slipping down the order if updates aren't forthcoming. He was frustrated with the wet weather conditions and the fact that the Williams FW36 is still an uncompetitive proposition in the wet.
Massa has looked the stronger Williams driver throughout the weekend and will line up 13th.
"It's really difficult. We are struggling massively with the rain and the more water you have on the track, the more we struggle. Sometimes you say 'ah, he's not quick, he didn't do a good job because he's not quick in the rain' but this is the reality. I said this in Australia and I've been pushing the team since the first test that we need to increase the downforce of the car quickly.
"Unfortunately, we didn't have anything new for this race, we had the same car as we had in Australia. It's a competitive car, we can fight. If you remove Mercedes, which is one second in front of everybody, you have a lot of cars together and we are there in the fight. But it's another race where we are not starting in our position."
Massa has looked the stronger Williams driver throughout the weekend and will line up 13th.
"It's really difficult. We are struggling massively with the rain and the more water you have on the track, the more we struggle. Sometimes you say 'ah, he's not quick, he didn't do a good job because he's not quick in the rain' but this is the reality. I said this in Australia and I've been pushing the team since the first test that we need to increase the downforce of the car quickly.
"Unfortunately, we didn't have anything new for this race, we had the same car as we had in Australia. It's a competitive car, we can fight. If you remove Mercedes, which is one second in front of everybody, you have a lot of cars together and we are there in the fight. But it's another race where we are not starting in our position."
JONATHAN NOBLE: Just back from a very hot trip to the grid. Although there are predictions for rain, the opening phase of the Malaysian GP at least will be dry.
Chatting to several engineers, it looks like it will be a three-stop race - with the medium compound the preferred choice
Chatting to several engineers, it looks like it will be a three-stop race - with the medium compound the preferred choice
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BEN ANDERSON: Jean-Eric Vergne continued his strong start to the new season by again getting his Toro Rosso through to Q3 in challenging conditions. He'll start ninth in today's race.
But the Frenchman told AUTOSPORT after qualifying that he is concerned his car has been steadily losing pace since setting the sixth fastest time in first free practice.
"We're not where we should be," he said. "The performance seems to have been going down session after session for the whole weekend, so we need to investigate to see if something is wrong. My feeling has been getting worse since FP1. We need to understand why."
But the Frenchman told AUTOSPORT after qualifying that he is concerned his car has been steadily losing pace since setting the sixth fastest time in first free practice.
"We're not where we should be," he said. "The performance seems to have been going down session after session for the whole weekend, so we need to investigate to see if something is wrong. My feeling has been getting worse since FP1. We need to understand why."
The poignant one minute of silence in memory of the lost Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has just taken place on the grid. Now moved onto the national anthem.
Looks like Sergio Perez is destined to start from the pitlane, if at all. He picked up an engine problem while on one of his reconnaissance laps. The Mexican reported a loss of power and ended up in limp-home mode.
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Kevin Magnussen
BEN ANDERSON: Magnussen will start eighth on the grid for his second race in Formula 1, but McLaren's Melbourne podium hero was lucky to make it through to the final segment of qualifying yesterday, after sliding into the gravel at the final turn while on a quick lap.
"It was a mistake from me," he admitted. "It's quite misty, and the spray doesn't really settle in the last corner. I missed my braking point, locked up, locked the rears, went sideways.
"But I could change down as I was coming through the gravel and keep going. Quite lucky, really!"
With the race just over 15 minutes away, the track temperature is up at 51C and the ambient at 33C.
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EDD STRAW: Valtteri Bottas was disappointed by the conditions and was certain he could have qualified well inside the top 10 had it been dry.
He's hoping for a dry race to allow him to stage a Melbourne-style charge up the order, as he starts 18th after being hit with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Daniel Ricciardo in Q2.
"It was quite a similar qualifying to Melbourne for us. At the beginning, when there was a bit less water in Q1 it was still more or less driveable, we were clearly in the top 10, which was not too bad. But then there was this step more of water in Q2.
"When the track is slower, the more time we spend in the corners and the more we are traction limited, the more you see the weaknesses in the car. There is no question we are more competitive in the dry, but it's difficult to say exactly where we would have been.
"If it's dry, we have a good chance again definitely to get into the top 10. Where in the top 10? Unknown. Hopefully closer to the top six but if it's wet we know that it could be a very difficult day."
He's hoping for a dry race to allow him to stage a Melbourne-style charge up the order, as he starts 18th after being hit with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Daniel Ricciardo in Q2.
"It was quite a similar qualifying to Melbourne for us. At the beginning, when there was a bit less water in Q1 it was still more or less driveable, we were clearly in the top 10, which was not too bad. But then there was this step more of water in Q2.
"When the track is slower, the more time we spend in the corners and the more we are traction limited, the more you see the weaknesses in the car. There is no question we are more competitive in the dry, but it's difficult to say exactly where we would have been.
"If it's dry, we have a good chance again definitely to get into the top 10. Where in the top 10? Unknown. Hopefully closer to the top six but if it's wet we know that it could be a very difficult day."
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JONATHAN NOBLE: One of the fascinating aspects of qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix was how Red Bull was again able to get so close to Mercedes on pace.
During the dry FP3, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were about one second clear of their closest challenger – but in the wet that advantage disappeared.
There is no obvious explanation for why a car that is so dominant in the wet should not maintain that advantage when it rains – but Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reckoned it could have something to do with engine driveability rather than different downforce levels.
"You can see sector two that needs a lot of downforce was not the quickest sector of Sebastian," he said.
"I think it comes back to driveability, maybe less power is better. Torque kicking in, downforce of course and then for sure we have an advantage with our engine that maybe in the wet we cannot use it. Exiting corners, traction, you don't have enough grip…"
During the dry FP3, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were about one second clear of their closest challenger – but in the wet that advantage disappeared.
There is no obvious explanation for why a car that is so dominant in the wet should not maintain that advantage when it rains – but Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reckoned it could have something to do with engine driveability rather than different downforce levels.
"You can see sector two that needs a lot of downforce was not the quickest sector of Sebastian," he said.
"I think it comes back to driveability, maybe less power is better. Torque kicking in, downforce of course and then for sure we have an advantage with our engine that maybe in the wet we cannot use it. Exiting corners, traction, you don't have enough grip…"
Pastor Maldonado
EDD STRAW: Pastor Maldonado was frustrated at missing out on Q2, which he blamed on the red flag caused by Marcus Ericsson's crash, so will start down in 17th. But he is delighted at the progress the team has made, with running on Saturday relatively smooth. So he goes into the race hoping for his first finish of 2014.
"We had a normal day without any problems, all was clean. This is very important for the team, especially as they have been working very hard to have a competitive car, to have everything working to be at the top. It's a clear step forward from the last race and we need to continue like that.
"The main focus is to finish the race, we need it. With both cars it will be very good from the team from the development point of view, for performance, to have more data about the temperatures, about so many things at the moment that we are missing.
"Last race we went completely blind into the race and everything was working in the range, then we had the MGU-K problem. We've been working well with Renault, there's a clear improvement in terms of reliability, which is very important to us. We can go into the race and push as hard as we can."
BEN ANDERSON: "Air temperature is 33 degrees celsius (track is 55), so it's set to be a scorching Malaysian Grand Prix. No sign of any rain yet either. If it stays dry it's going to be a tough race for the cars and drivers."
Problem for Sergio Perez as he tries to make a practice start at the end of the pitlane. He's been collected by the Force India mechanics and is being brought back towards the garage.
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BEN ANDERSON: Kevin Magnussen is the second Magnussen to race for McLaren in Formula 1, following in the footsteps of his father Jan, who started the 1995 Pacific Grand Prix for the Woking squad.
Magnussen Sr is in Malaysia this weekend to support his son, and Kevin is delighted to have his dad around for moral support.
"He hasn't been to many races in my career, but it's always nice to have any family around," said Magnussen Jr.
"It's good to have one guy, one person from the family. If I have more, I want to spend time with them and if there are many people, I feel it's distracting. But one person is really good."
Magnussen Sr is in Malaysia this weekend to support his son, and Kevin is delighted to have his dad around for moral support.
"He hasn't been to many races in my career, but it's always nice to have any family around," said Magnussen Jr.
"It's good to have one guy, one person from the family. If I have more, I want to spend time with them and if there are many people, I feel it's distracting. But one person is really good."
McLaren
With such a big rule change for teams to get their heads around, this was always going to be a year of ferocious technical development - and the upgrade race has already started.
AUTOSPORT's technical expert CRAIG SCARBOROUGH rounds up the main innovations and upgrades seen in the Sepang pitlane, plus some of the changes teams are having to make for cooling reasons.
Malaysian GP technical blog
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JONATHAN NOBLE: Sebastian Vettel caused some raised eyebrows from Nico Rosberg in the post-qualifying press conference on Saturday when he suggested he had got blocked by his Mercedes rival.
I asked Rosberg about the incident on Saturday night and he dismissed it completely.
"That is not right," he said. "I was about two and a half seconds in front, and you just don’t see anything when you are 2.5 seconds away.
"I am sure it was difficult for him to see but you cannot consider that anywhere near holding up."
I asked Rosberg about the incident on Saturday night and he dismissed it completely.
"That is not right," he said. "I was about two and a half seconds in front, and you just don’t see anything when you are 2.5 seconds away.
"I am sure it was difficult for him to see but you cannot consider that anywhere near holding up."
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JONATHAN NOBLE: Lewis Hamilton is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve. It means you can tell a lot about his state of mind by how his mood is in his press briefings.
On Saturday, he was full of beans – and understandably so after grabbing a well-earned pole position in tricky wet conditions.
All eyes though are on delivering points today though, having seen a decent result in Australia evaporate after a cylinder dropped because of a failure in a small blue rubber tube that held the spark plug.
"I feel like I am still in the best position I can possibly be in," he said.
"It will be a dream to win the race and I will do everything I possibly can throughout this evening and tomorrow to try to get that.
"This will be a special race to win, particularly with the incident that happened a few weeks ago with the plane. Hopefully as a team we can shine a light on this country."
On Saturday, he was full of beans – and understandably so after grabbing a well-earned pole position in tricky wet conditions.
All eyes though are on delivering points today though, having seen a decent result in Australia evaporate after a cylinder dropped because of a failure in a small blue rubber tube that held the spark plug.
"I feel like I am still in the best position I can possibly be in," he said.
"It will be a dream to win the race and I will do everything I possibly can throughout this evening and tomorrow to try to get that.
"This will be a special race to win, particularly with the incident that happened a few weeks ago with the plane. Hopefully as a team we can shine a light on this country."
Plenty going on outside F1 this weekend as the 2014 motorsport season commences in earnest.
It's season-opening weekend for both the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch and IndyCar on the streets of St Petersburg.
Ex-F1 man Takuma Sato showed his street track prowess again to take pole in St Pete, while it's reigning champion Andrew Jordan who will lead the packed BTCC grid away at Brands later today.
Elsewhere, it's been a good weekend for eagerly-awaited new cars.
Porsche's 919 Hybrid topped the official World Endurance Championship test at Paul Ricard, but GARY WATKINS explains why its outpacing of Audi and Toyota might not be all it seems.
And in Greece, the Peugeot 208 T16 is leading the Acropolis Rally in Craig Breen's hands on its European Rally Championship debut. If you want to see that car in action, head to the AUTOSPORT rallying page for videos.
It's season-opening weekend for both the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch and IndyCar on the streets of St Petersburg.
Ex-F1 man Takuma Sato showed his street track prowess again to take pole in St Pete, while it's reigning champion Andrew Jordan who will lead the packed BTCC grid away at Brands later today.
Elsewhere, it's been a good weekend for eagerly-awaited new cars.
Porsche's 919 Hybrid topped the official World Endurance Championship test at Paul Ricard, but GARY WATKINS explains why its outpacing of Audi and Toyota might not be all it seems.
And in Greece, the Peugeot 208 T16 is leading the Acropolis Rally in Craig Breen's hands on its European Rally Championship debut. If you want to see that car in action, head to the AUTOSPORT rallying page for videos.
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Jenson Button
BEN ANDERSON: McLaren doesn't have the pace to fight at the front in Malaysia, so it's unlikely to retain its status as constructors' championship leader after this race.
Jenson Button reckons the Mercedes drivers are going to be difficult to beat today, if they have a clean run, which would likely propel second placed Mercedes above McLaren in the title race.
"They proved their pace in Melbourne," said Button. "In the race I don't think they were giving it everything. After Lewis' problem, I think Nico probably backed off a little bit.
"Here, when they turn everything up and go for a lap, they've proved that they are very, very fast. They're good in high-speed corners, which is helping them a lot in terms of consistency in a run, and they're not overheating their tyres, if you look at their laptimes in a run.
"Somebody could give them a run for their money, I hope they do tomorrow. But for us, we have to concentrate on where we are, and who we can race."
One more thing for your pre-race catch-up: head to AUTOSPORT's partner FORIX for the full run-down of all 22 drivers' quotes from the weekend so far, plus their results in each session:
Driver quotes and data on FORIX
Pop a bookmark on that page too as post-race it's your gateway to every single driver's full race laptimes plus gap charts, just click on each driver's name for the data.
Driver quotes and data on FORIX
Pop a bookmark on that page too as post-race it's your gateway to every single driver's full race laptimes plus gap charts, just click on each driver's name for the data.
We haven't seen too many grid penalties yet this year, though Valtteri Bottas has had one at each race. His drop from 15th to 18th is the only change on the grid:
Final Malaysian GP starting grid
And the Finn also became the first F1 driver to receive penalty points.
Final Malaysian GP starting grid
And the Finn also became the first F1 driver to receive penalty points.
Malaysian GP qualifying
Yesterday, it did rain. A lot. And that meant a delayed qualifying session, although it was well worth the wait as a fascinating battle then unfolded.
Lewis Hamilton kept Mercedes on top, but it was close:
Malaysian GP qualifying report: Hamilton fends off Vettel
First piece of important news: it's not currently raining.
Over the next quite-a-few-hours, we'll be bringing you all the pre-race build-up as the start nears, including the thoughts of all the main protagonists, lap-by-lap commentary on the race, full post-race news and analysis, plus updates from elsewhere in the motorsport world.
And then after a very short break, AUTOSPORT Live will switch to Race Centre Live mode to bring you the reverse-grid leg of the British Touring Car Championship opener at Brands Hatch, the Indy Lights and IndyCar season-openers from St Petersburg, and the latest round of the NASCAR Sprint Cup from Martinsville.
And then after a very short break, AUTOSPORT Live will switch to Race Centre Live mode to bring you the reverse-grid leg of the British Touring Car Championship opener at Brands Hatch, the Indy Lights and IndyCar season-openers from St Petersburg, and the latest round of the NASCAR Sprint Cup from Martinsville.
Good morning AUTOSPORT Live readers, it's Malaysian Grand Prix race day at Sepang.
By: Scott Mitchell, Andrew van Leeuwen, Ben Anderson, Edd Straw, Jonathan Noble, Charles Bradley, Pablo Elizalde
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