The 2006 Malaysian F1 GP (Fisichella wins - Your thoughts ?)

[Ed]

The starting grid for the Malaysian Grand Prix is likely to be as follows (the final grid is announced a few hours before the race in case any driver decides to change their engine)

G Fisichella
J Button
N Rosberg
M Webber
JP Montoya
K Raikkonen
F Alonso
C Klien
J Trulli
J Villeneuve
N Heidfeld
S Speed
M Schumacher
V Liuzzi
C Albers
T Monteiro
T Sato
Y Ide
D Coulthard
R Barrichello
F Massa
R Schumacher

Note: Massa will use a new engine and thus drops to the back of the grid but is ahead of Ralf Schumacher as he had a higher car number than Ralf.

Any driver that decides to change the engine from the start of qualifying till before the race drops to the back of the grid with the order based on numerical order.

[Ed]

Selected Quotes from Qualifying:

Giancarlo Fisichella (Pole):

I want to dedicate this win to Pietro, a childhood friend of mine who died last Sunday. This is the best pole I have had so far. Last year it was thanks to the rain, but today, everybody was up there and fighting hard for it. The engineers made some changes to the car overnight that really improved the balance, and from the first run this morning, I could feel we had the pace to fight for the first two rows. After that, it was a question of doing the best possible job in the qualifying session, and performing to the maximum at the right time. We did it, and tomorrow, I will only be thinking about the win.

Jenson Button (2nd):

The team has done a fantastic job to get us on the front row of the grid and I have to thank them for that. Things were looking a lot less positive yesterday when we were really struggling to find a good set-up. A lot of hard work was done overnight and tomorrow looks promising, but let's wait and see. This is always a tough race but I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Nico Rosberg (3rd):

I am really pleased to be starting from the second row for tomorrow as it is important for me to make a good first impression. The team has worked well and it is very good to have this opportunity to drive a great combination of chassis, engine and tyres and start so far up the grid. Getting here has not been easy at all, but I have been working really well with my engineers and the team generally. Looking ahead to tomorrow, I think we will be strong and maybe have a bit of an edge engine-wise. It might be tough in the heat for some drivers, but I didn?t find the conditions in Bahrain a problem at all.

Mark Webber (4th):

The team has done a really good job again bringing a competitive car here, so congratulations to everyone at Williams, Cosworth and Bridgestone. I think the drivers went well too. We decided to run right at the end of the last session and did pretty well. From what we did today, I think we look in pretty good shape for the race tomorrow.

Juan Pablo Montoya (5th):

I am happy with our qualifying result today, and we will see tomorrow with the different fuel loads just how well we have done. Hopefully the Michelin tyres will continue to perform, so far they have been good, but it is a very long and hot race. We have worked intensively on the set-up of the car and I am much happier with it. I am looking forward to a good race tomorrow where we can hopefully be challenging at the front.

Kimi Raikkonen (6th):

I had a little bit of traffic on my out lap at the end of the session which disrupted my flying lap. As a result I didn't do as well as I could have, but I am pretty happy with the result. The car could still be better but I think that we have a competitive strategy and we will still be strong in the race tomorrow.

Fernando Alonso (7th):

It was obviously a very disappointing qualifying session for me. Fisico showed what the car can do at this circuit, and I should have been up there as well. We had a problem with the fuel rig before the final part of qualifying, and I didn't have the performance on my lap with new tyres at the end. Even so, I am not actually in too bad a position, and I will gain a place before tomorrow. The package actually feels good, and we are consistent with our pace, so I am not ruling anything our for tomorrow.

Christian Klien (8th):

The first session went well, I did a good lap and was P7, but then the second session was really close. I was on my first set of tyres and thought my lap was okay, but then I saw the others were quicker and I had to go out once more on another set of tyres, which we were saving for tomorrow.
Then I could go quicker and that was enough to get to the last session. The final part was a bit frustrating. We stopped in the box early as it was so hot, and amended our race strategy for tomorrow.

[<T-K>]

What I think will be interesting is Nico and Webber starting next to each other, Nico will want to beat Webbs to prove a point, and webber doesnt want to be upstaged by a "rookie".......should be an interesting first corner....

[Jim Watt]

I love it! The guy I had already written off as a hopeless #2 (joining the JPM, F.M. & R.B. "club") wins the POLE! Way to go Giancarlo!! this qual performanc makes me remember the promise of last year (and all that time in the way uncompetitive Jordan. Back when he was 8th in the W.C. with Benneton. Full of promise

makes me think of a dialogue for JayVee:

F.A. to Flav: "What the @#$ did you put in my engine compartment anyway; I had a hard time finding my way past the bleeding Red Bull!?

Flav to F.A.: "Whoops, sorry lad, in all the hurry to qualify we put you in Fisi's car?

F.A. to Flav: "so what do you have planned for the race, genius?"

Flav to F.A.: "not to worry defending champ; we'll put you back in your own car and you should be able to get past the Webbo & the new kid before the end of lap one."

F.A. to Flav: "just one small problem my high living escort of fashion babes: I have to get past Kimi and JPM, too!"

Flav to F.A.: "Well, at least you don't have to worry about Michael!; if J.V. doesn't take him out on the way up, J.T. will!"

Oh Boy ain't this gonna be fun

I've lost me pole pick (by a country mile as they say here in the midwest) but I'm still picking Kimi to finish #1. As the Iceman he should have a psychological AND physiological advantage over the fiery Spaniard and the phlegmatic German.

Can't wait for the race,

Jim Watt

[BlinkyBill]

This will be interesting. Looking at the times it looks like the number 2's are all on lighter load than the number 1's.

If I was Williams boss, thats what I would do. Keep Nico out of opening lap dramas and give him more space, same with Fisi. . . the question is, how much lighter are they than their team mates???

Can Fisi stay up front or is he too light? Will the honda last the race? Could we see a Williams 1-2 this weekend? Or will the 2 Mclarens behind them have more pace??

Yep - looking forward to this.

[Snowy]

This will be interesting. Looking at the times it looks like the number 2's are all on lighter load than the number 1's.
Yep - looking forward to this.

Apparantly Fisi is not on that light a load, and with the new engine he is in an optimum situation. The Mclarens are the dark horses will going deep into this one work? I would have suspected that tyre wear would have put them off but apparantly it hasn't and they haven't hedged their bets. Fisi and Alonso were supposed to have the same amount of fuel but a problem with the fuel rig gave him an extra few litres, towit they weren't hedging their bets either. towit Mclaren's computer says it's long haul Renault's computer says it's a sprint. If Jenson has gone for less fuel than the William's I'd be surprised but I suspect he'll pit a lap before Fisi. Michael will be there or there abouts at the end because his tyres are gonna be useful, you can tell that because the Williams is right up there and the Toyota has also made an impression this weekend. I don't subscribe to the theory that Michelin handle the heat better and that this has been born out in qualifying. Which is incidently what the Michelin spokesman said.

[JayVee]

JayVee,ur above arguement will not hold good anymore

Ross Brawn: Michael (in a very low voice) we have to change your engine

Michael: (angrily) WHY, NO WAY, THIS CAN'T HAPPEN

Ross Brawn: Someone stuffed your engine with sand

Michael: Are you sure Jean's son has got this place wired ?



Watch Alonso today impress even more

May the best win!

[Snowy]

An interesting GP Both William's letting go was a major dissapointment , it would have been fun to see them duking it out at the end. Felipe beat Michael and that is mighty even though they were on different strategies. He started 5 or 6 places further back didn't he?

Jenson still doesn't have the car to beat the Renault and isn't helped by rigid and unimaginative strategy and pit stops. His tyre usage was more consistent than last race but still no where near as consistent as Renault. Where was JPM? Apart from in Jenson's way again. And as for Scot Speed I think we were robbed of a duel between Jense and Fernando in those closing laps.

[Ed]

Giancarlo Fisichella wins the second race of the season making it 2 out of two for Renault. Alonso recovered from the fuel rig problem and managed second thanks mainly to a superb start!. Jenson Button finished 3rd and was the only driver to stay in touch with the Renaults. Juan Pablo Montoya had a lonely race finishing 4th with Felipe Massa finishing in 5th ahead of Michael Schumacher in 6th. Jacques Villeneuve scored his first points of the season in 7th ahead of Ralf Schumacher who was on a 3 stop strategy! - Full Results

The reliability of the engines played a major factor in the outcome of this race. Many drivers opted for an engine change earlier in the weekend and some of those who races with the Bahrain engins didn't last and that included the 2 Williams and Nick Heidfeld in the BMW.

Of the top 8 only Alonso, Button and Montoya ran with the Bahrain engines and that could give them an advantage in Australia in 2 weeks time.

With two races, it appears that Renault have a car suited to different tracks, Honda are a bit behind whereas the rest have a lot of work to do.

Thoughts ? And you can now vote for the driver of the day at the top of this thread

[Snowy]

I think Fisi was driver of the day but I voted for Filipe because he beat Michael in equal equipment in only his second race for the team That is outstanding and very pleasant in fact I think I'll say something more about it on the pleasant comments thread.

Jenson has got to whip that team into shape They are complacent, dithery and away with the fairies If you want to win races your gonna have to take risks, live on the edge a little. They must either fuel him for pole or for distance. They haven't got the luxury of doing both like Renault. Mclaren have correctly or incorrectly identified their strengths and weakness, they use the tyres economically so they fuel for distance. They have failed to deliver for whatever reason but it is only a matter of time before Kimi shows their tyre wear advantage and competes with the Renault.

JPM should have taken an engine change I suspect.

[Ed]

Fastest laps from Malaysia:

1 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:34.803
2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:35.294
3 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 1:35.566
4 Jenson Button Honda 1:35.604
5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:35.647
6 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:35.686
7 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 1:35.751
8 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.954
9 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 1:36.002
10 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:36.188
11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:36.380
12 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 1:36.771
13 Christian Klien Red Bull Racing 1:36.867
14 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 1:37.313
15 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 1:37.366
16 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 1:37.387
17 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1:38.078
18 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 1:38.198
19 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 1:39.510
20 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:40.199
21 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 1:42.833

[Ed]

Sequence of pit stops - lightest vs heaviest in qualifying

Ralf Schumacher - Lap 13 (3 stopper - started from the back)
Mark Webber - Lap 14
Giancarlo Fisichella - Lap 17
Jenson Button - Lap 19
Jarno Trulli - Lap 20
Juan Pablo Montoya - Lap 23
Michael Schumacher - Lap 23
Jacques Villeneuve - Lap 23
Nick Heidfeld - Lap 24
Fernando Alonso - Lap 26
Felipe Massa - Lap 29 (1 stop - started from the back)
Rubens Barrichello - Lap 31 (1 stop, 2nd stop penalty - started from the back)

[Ed]

Selected quotes:

Giancarlo Fisichella (Winner):

It was a perfect race for me, but it was very tough physically and mentally. It was really, really hot out there and I began to feel it from mid-race onwards. I knew it would be hard but there was no choice but to push all the way to the end. So I did. I didn't want to lose concentration in the last laps, and everything went well, the car and engine were perfect too. I am really so happy for this win. And I am especially pleased because I am dedicating the win to a friend who died last week, Pietro. To have my race engineer Alan Permane on the podium alongside me was special too. Thank you to the whole team, this is a brilliant result.

Fernando Alonso (2nd place):

From my point of view, I think things could have been different without the problems in qualifying, but today was about making everything we could from P7 on the grid, and I think we did that. I got a great start, and managed to brake late into turn 1 to get the Williams round the outside. I knew Webber was lighter than me, and would have let him go if he had tried to pass, but we had the speed in spite of the heavy fuel load. After that, it was just a question of pushing and letting the strategy work itself out. I have a special feeling for this circuit, it is a fantastic track, and it has always been good to me. I am very pleased to have 18 points out of a possible 20 after only two races, and we are really looking forward to Melbourne.

Jenson Button (3rd):

I'm obviously pleased to see us back on the podium but it was the top step that we had in mind, so we are a little disappointed. We want to be winning races and today showed that we are in the fight, but there is still a lot of work to be done before we can achieve that target. Having said that, I was held up by traffic a few times, not least of all by Scott Speed before the second pitstop. Had that not happened, maybe I could have come out of the pits ahead of Alonso. Regardless of that though, we have two weeks and a test in Vallelunga to work through our issues and hopefully we can look forward to better things in Melbourne in two weeks' time.

Juan Pablo Montoya (4th) :

I am very disappointed because I had a great car set-up and very good race strategy. I think it was fairly obvious that Christian Klien made a pretty fundamental mistake and ran into the back of me at turn five, breaking my rear suspension in the process. A positive side, the team has had good race reliability in the first two races and I am already looking forward to Melbourne in two weeks.

Felipe Massa (5th) :

I?m very pleased with this result and I would like to thank the team for an excellent job. To start from the last row and end up 5th is a good result. Our strategy worked well and I was able to make a good start. During the race I was able to push a bit more at the
right moment knowing that during the other phases I would have needed to play more of a waiting game. I lost quite a bit of time behind some of the slower cars but when I had a free track I was able to improve my rhythm keep a good pace. It was a difficult race but finishing fifth gives me that extra bit of motivation for the next races where I hope to be able and compete with the front runners.

Michael Schumacher (6th):

We can accept this result, considering everything that has happened over the weekend. I don?t think that we could have achieved much more. On my second stint I wasn?t as quick as I was on my first and third one, so now we need to understand the reasons why. All things said and done, the race went basically as I had expected even if one always hopes for something more. During my first pit stop I had to wait a fraction of a second before going out because another car was coming down the pit lane. This was a wise decision from
the safety point of view. During the closing stages of the race I was not able to get past Felipe because I just wasn?t fast enough and he didn?t make any mistakes. This track has always been one of the most difficult for us. Melbourne is a completely different circuit and I hope that it will be better suited to our 248 F1. Now I?m going to take a few days off with my wife Corinna before travelling on to Australia.

Jacques Villeneuve (7th):

I got held up early on behind Trulli, which was a pity because it cost me time, but once I had overtaken him it was just a question of running to the end. Physically it was an easier race than I had expected and I knew I should be in good shape mechanically because it was the first race for my engine. It was bad luck for Nick, but we?ve scored the points we should have taken in Bahrain so I am happy. The race pace was strong, so we need now to work on our qualifying.

Ralf Schumacher (8th):

That was a very interesting race and it is obviously good news to have scored our first point of the year so we are very happy with today's result. We certainly could not have expected that with a three-stop race from the back of the grid. We are also happy that our times showed that we are again competitive. But it was a difficult race today and of course that does not mean that we have solved all our problems. We have the cooler weather of Melbourne next so we will be testing in Paul Ricard next week to be as prepared as possible for that. We hope to be able to keep up this level of pace at the coming races. We have to keep fighting and try to push for the podium again as soon as possible.

Jarno Trulli (9th):

I'm delighted that we scored a point with Ralf today. We should probably have finished with both cars in the points but it was really bad luck for me today. My afternoon got off to an unfortunate start when I suffered a broken diffuser when someone hit me from behind, just like in Hungary last year. That destroyed the rear of the car and that cost me today because I could have scored points. From then on I was suffering a mixture of oversteer and understeer and it was a big struggle so I just concentrated on driving as quickly as possible. We tried to adjust the car at the pit stops but obviously with the diffuser broken we could do very little. It's good that our pace has shown an improvement since Bahrain and we've gained some important data. We know we will succeed if we keep our heads down and work hard.

Rubens Barrichello (10th):

It's certainly been an eventful weekend and it was disappointing to end it with a stop-go penalty when I was in with a chance of at least coming away with a few points. These past two races have been a bit of a learning curve but I'm sure things will pick up for the next few races and we can start to realise more of the car's potential.

Kimi Raikkonen (retired):

I am very disappointed because I had a great car set-up and very good race strategy. I think it was fairly obvious that Christian Klien made a pretty fundamental mistake and ran into the back of me at turn five, breaking my rear suspension in the process. A positive side, the team has had good race reliability in the first two races and I am already looking forward to Melbourne in two weeks.

Mark Webber (retired):

My start wasn?t too bad, but Fernando?s was phenomenal. He closed up really quickly from behind me and passed me. This was a shame because it prevented us from running at our own pace. The hydraulic problem came on as I was on the start-finish line. My engineers confirmed it was terminal, so we had to stop. I am off to Australia tonight and I am really looking forward to seeing my family that I haven?t seen for a long time, so naturally I?m looking forward to my home race in a fortnight.

Nico Rosberg (retired):

What happened today was a shame because I was going quite well, even if I had lost a couple of places at the start due to wheelspin and also at the first corner where I could have been maybe a bit more aggressive, but after my experience in Bahrain, I just wanted to be careful. Nevertheless, I still thought I could have a good race. But just a few seconds before my engine gave up, I felt there was
something wrong with it. It?s really unfortunate because I would have loved to finish the race, but that?s the way it is and I can?t change that. I?ll now have a couple of days of holiday and look forward to the race in Australia.

Nick Heidfeld (retired):

I hoped we would be faster than we were in qualifying but I didn?t expect us to be so good. I could keep pace with the McLaren and was quicker than either of the Ferraris. I made a superb start and gained places straight away. After that I had a troublefree race apart from delays with blue flags which made lapping backmarkers difficult. After my second pit stop it was pretty close between Felipe and I in Turn 1, but I was able to stay ahead of him. The engine failure came without warning. Fifth place would have been brilliant for us, it?s a real shame.

[rah]

Good race to watch, not as exciting as Bahrain, but still a good race.

I voted for Fisi. He did well and one the race fair and square. Noone looked to challenge him as much as martin would have liked. Bloody commentators.

Alonso had a great start and a good race, shame he did not start closer to the front, you never know what would have happened.

Button did well, but appart from Renault, he was un chalenged.

Dissapointment of the day was Williams, they looked strong, but motors are always at their fastest just before they go pop.

Doesn't look as though Honda can challenge Renault at the moment, and everyone else is trying to get their cars to do what they are supposed to do.

Is there are team that has had no mechanical problems yet?

[Julian Mayo]

two comments...

it is of course early to say what i gonna say, but il looks like the most fragile engine is the ferrari v8, only one race and 75% of their engines are dead...

The fact that NicoRos. is in P3 here is of course great, but for me more impressive is the fact that in his first year with the team, in his 2nd race ever he has outqualifyed the Q-master Webber who is in his 2nd YEAR with the car...

Nico did more than 16,000kms of pre season testing in the car, I think he knows where the pointy end is