Malaysia Preview: Facts & Stats

When Malaysia hosted its very first Formula One race seven years ago, it was viewed with much intrigue. The F1 fraternity had not visited a new nation since Australia was added to the calendar back in 1985.

Sepang was the first circuit designed entirely by Hermann Tilke, after his previous efforts were concentrated on modifying existing circuits. Subsequently, Sakhir, Shanghai and Istanbul have increased to four the number of tracks on the calendar that are wholly developed by the German. All of his creations have been in nations that never previously held an F1 event.

Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso are the only two drivers to start a Malaysian GP from pole position. In addition to his massive 0.947-second advantage in qualifying in 1999, Schumacher was on pole by 0.463 in 2000 and 0.641 in 2004, as well as taking pole in 2002 with a year-old chassis (the F2001), so Sepang clearly lends itself to Schumacher's style of driving.

It was that sort of previous form that really exposed Ferrari's shortcomings to the world in last year's race, when Schumacher could only qualify 13th and limp home in a lowly seventh, again in a year-old chassis.

Alonso's first Sepang pole in 2003 made him the youngest pole-sitter ever, surpassing Rubens Barrichello at the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix. Jarno Trulli made it a shock all-Renault front row - their first since Paul Ricard in 1983. Moreover, it was only the second dry-weather qualifying in the previous 17 years in which there was no Williams, Ferrari or McLaren on the front row.

Alonso set many of his age records that weekend - he was also the youngest man to lead a race and the youngest to score a podium, aged 21 years 237 days. Nico Rosberg's presence already meant that these records would be under scrutiny this season, but after the German's stunning debut in Bahrain, they look under serious threat. Nico was seventh in the first race of 2006, just as Alonso was in 2003, so history is on his side.

One mark that Rosberg cannot threaten single-handedly is the record for the youngest average age for the three podium finishers. At Sepang in 2003, 23-year-old race winner Kimi Raikkonen was flanked by 30-year-old Rubens Barrichello and 21-year-old Alonso, making it the youngest trifecta ever, and beating the mark set by Emerson Fittipaldi, Niki Lauda and Jody Scheckter at the 1974 Belgian GP at Nivelles-Baulers.

That record didn't stand for long - Alonso elevated himself to being the youngest F1 winner later that season in Hungary, and while Raikkonen was again with him, the presence of Montoya on the rostrum - three years Barrichello's junior - meant the record changed hands once more.

Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher celebrate their 1-2 finish in the 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix © LAT

Sepang's first Grand Prix proved to be one of the most controversial in F1 history. It marked Michael Schumacher's return after missing six races with a broken leg, and he played his role in keeping alive Eddie Irvine's championship hopes by following him home for a Ferrari 1-2.

When their cars then failed post-race scrutineering, third-placed Mika Hakkinen was elevated to victory and declared the world champion. Ferrari were reinstated on appeal, which set up a last round decider at Suzuka. After Hakkinen won the Japanese race, he became the only driver ever to 'win' the championship twice in the same year.

As well as controversy, Malaysia has provided its fair share of surprises down the years. In the 2001 race, after a monsoon sent many of the top drivers off the circuit, Arrows' Jos Verstappen worked his way up from 18th to second place and was closing on race leader David Coulthard before the track dried, with the Dutch driver eventually finishing a frustrated seventh. It was the last time an Arrows ran in a podium position in F1 (assuming Super Aguri don't spring a major shock with their hybrid A23 chassis at some point).

The eventual winner that day was Michael Schumacher, and as it was his sixth successive victory from pole position, he overhauled a record that had been held by Alberto Ascari for 48 years, with Nigel Mansell tying Ascari's number in the opening five races of 1992.

Raikkonen triumphed in Malaysia in 2003, having started seventh, and coming as it did after teammate David Coulthard had won in Melbourne from 11th place, it marked only the third time in F1 history that back-to-back winners had come from outside the top six on the grid - and the first time that it happened at the start of a season. As if that wasn't enough, Fisichella made it three in a row for the first time by winning the following round in Brazil.

Back-to-back wins from outside the top 6:

• 1973: South Africa, Spain - Stewart (16th), E Fittipaldi (7th)
• 1995: Belgium, Italy - M.Schumacher (16th), Herbert (8th)
• 2003: Australia, Malaysia, Brazil - Coulthard (11th), Raikkonen (7th), Fisichella (8th)

In 2004, the surprise came from Mark Webber, with the Australian giving Jaguar their first (and, it transpired, last) front-row start. It was also Cosworth's first front-row start under their own name, having been disassociated from the Ford Motor Company in 2000, and 79 races after their Ford-badged engine last appeared on the front row, when Rubens Barrichello took pole for the 1999 French GP.

Last season, Jarno Trulli gave Toyota their first ever podium finish, in their 53rd start. By following home Fernando Alonso, it was the first time ever that former Minardi drivers finished 1-2 in a race, on the same day as they, in addition to Fisichella and Webber, made up the first ex-Minardi 1-2-3-4 on the grid.

Mark Webber qualifies the Jaguar on the front row of the 2004 Malaysian Grand Prix © LAT

Prior to Malaysia in 2005, the Toyota team had endured a miserable start to the year, with both cars finishing out of the points in the first race. Twelve months on, and they find themselves in exactly the same position....

Alonso's victory in Bahrain means that he is more likely than not to defend his crown in 2006. A reigning world champion has opened his title defence with a victory on 17 occasions out of a possible 57, a 32% success rate.

Of those 17 occasions, the driver in question has successfully defended his title 10 times. The last time it didn't happen was back in 1987, when Alain Prost (going for the first title hat-trick since Juan-Manuel Fangio won four in a row from 1954-57) took the chequered flag in Jacarepagua, but slumped to fourth in the points by the season's end.