The Malaysian GP Thread

[iGav]

So then... 2nd race of the 2006 FIA Formula 1 World Championship... and so soon.

Interestingly... because of several engine changes before and after qualifying, the final grid will not be announced until Sunday morning.

Qualifying results

Renault, Honda, Williams, Ferrari and McLaren are all looking very competitive. Should be a cracking race.

 

[takao]

just like last week the qualifying was again very exciting especially the second heat where alonso and fisi just made it in within the last minute

rosberg on 3. is perhaps the biggest surprise ... this guy gonna be great the next years without a doubt

and klien is kinda lucky with the only ferrari engine which didn't get replaced

massa and ralf are perhaps the most unlucky ones.. replacing the engine twice / blowing up just after being qualified for the final heat

alonso + michael seem to be heavy for tommorow and i'm guessing mclaren as well...

i wonder how many engine gonna blow up tomorrow if the temperature is any close to today ... klien is my first guess

i hope i don't miss the alarm tommorow at 7 am

 

[stevep]

It's going to be an interesting start with so many fast drivers at the back of the grid all trying to push to the front before the first corner.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I'll bet this race favors the Cosworth V8 with those extra revs...

Race is on at 1:30 am for the live broadcast, I think I'll stay up. Rosberg is really impressive! This guy could definitely win a race this year.

 

[bursty]

I'm pissed. Screw Alonso, screw Fisichela, screw Renault.

Why does Kimi ALWAYS have such bad luck?

I'll bet this race favors the Cosworth V8 with those extra revs...

Quite the opposite....they both blew up.

 

[takao]

I'm pissed. Screw Alonso, screw Fisichela, screw Renault.

well they clearly showed that having reliability is perhaps the most important thing at the moment .. 2 races without big problems will bring points if you are fast as well

Why does Kimi ALWAYS have such bad luck?

perhaps it was Fisi not having problems today
no actually Klien and Kimi collided slightly in the first corners.. so it's just that ... bad luck

i'm i the only one who thinks that montoya is driving with hand brake ? i don't know i'm pretty sure that the car can go faster than that
overall the race didn't seem as good as the first one with too many drivers having bad luck early on

oh and can somebody tell cosworth that the engines have to last 2 races

 

[Counterfit]

Someone give Fisico a zeppole, he earned it today.

I almost started cheering when I saw the raindrops, as it was almost time for Schumi's stop. I bet Bernie has been ****ing with the weather the past two seasons to keep Michael off the top step.

 

[DerChef]

Mclaren you are our bitch , we own you

Really folks (as much as I hate to say it) Renault owns everybody at the moment. Raw Pace, reliability and consistency over long runs and 2 drivers giving 100%

Alonso the only driver since M$ with a racing brain in his head.

 

[iGav]

I bet Bernie has been ****ing with the weather the past two seasons to keep Michael off the top step.

Close... he just moved Malaysia from it's usual 'Monsoon Season' slot, to something a little earlier and thus drier in the season.

Not a very good race this week though. And Australia's next, which is also always reasonably dull too. *crosses fingers, fumbs and toes* roll on the European tracks.

 

[iGav]

Really folks (as much as I hate to say it) Renault owns everybody at the moment. Raw Pace, reliability and consistency over long runs

I'd agree with that, and the scary thing is... I still don't think they've fully unleashed that car yet either.

2 drivers giving 100%

Until the last set of stops when teamorders kick in.

Alonso's doing it again though isn't he... I was a little harsh on him last season (until he blew us all away in Japan and China) he's driving like '02 and '04 era Schumacher, win when you can... and when you can't, stick it on the next step down.

At least Fisi winning today, and Button's 3rd keeps things nice and tight in the championship.

Kimi though...

 

[Counterfit]

Close... he just moved Malaysia from it's usual 'Monsoon Season' slot, to something a little earlier and thus drier in the season.

They just lucked out this week. I checked the weather for Kuala Lumpur and the rest of this week is supposed to be storms.

 

[FireArse]

common!

Kimi though...

Dear God, give the guy a break! This man can fly. He's shown that. MercMaclaren - give the guy a fast & reliable car to win with! He is the man to put you on the podium since Mikka.

I do think this 2-race engine rule is crazy - much like the tyre rule last year. Give them new tyres and they'll race properly. Give them fresh engines every race (with a penalty for a blower) and less will drop out for reliability. These engines do 18,000-19,000RPM (some higher) for God's sake, there's only so much reliability you can get out of those high-performance engines.

F1 is about all-out speed, why bring reliability into the equation? In fariness, as a reliability engineer I know it costs the little teams more to make reliable engines.

Back to the point, I thought it was a great race. Qualifying works. Are there any HD feeds doing the rounds?

FireArse

 

[iGav]

Dear God, give the guy a break! This man can fly. He's shown that. MercMaclaren

I missed a from the end... (since edited)

Not blaming him at all, his luck sucks... racing incident today, it happens when you're stuck in the pack like that, McLaren need to consider maybe going for a more agressive strategy, where the potential risk of such an incident is less.

At least with Fisi winning it still keeps things closer...

 

[iGav]

They just lucked out this week. I checked the weather for Kuala Lumpur and the rest of this week is supposed to be storms.

really??? bummer.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Man, Kimi getting hit that early....it took some of the excitement out of the race. I was hoping to see Schu drive through the field a bit more - still he stayed out of trouble. And both Cossie V8's blew up.

So who's engine has not blown up yet, other than STR?

People are still looking for that first Button win, but it looks like Nico will beat him to it.

 

[mad jew]

And both Cossie V8's blew up.

And they were running so well too.

It would have been nice for Channel Ten to show one of the few compatible-time zone races live. Raced at 5:00PM, aired at 11:00PM.