Comments on: Button wins again but rain stops play at Sepang (Malaysian Grand Prix review)

By: Kallan

Kallan — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 03:12:47 +0000

^ another funny (perhaps painful) moment was Legard ‘and he’s gone off again!’ Brundle: ‘no thats a replay’

By: PJA

PJA — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:38:56 +0000

It was a good race, though it was a pity it rained too hard for it to go the distance, but FOM can’t say they weren’t warned about moving the start time later in the day.

While Ferrari made a massive mistake putting Kimi on wets too early Glock called it just right by going on to inters first. The front runners couldn’t take that risk as previously when it rained it poured down straight away so I suppose the sensible thing to do was to go on to wets as soon as it started raining.

In pre season when most teams except BMW wanted KERS delayed for a year, people were saying that BMW must have the best system yet now opinion is that the McLaren KERS is best.

As mentioned in previous articles the cars can be divided into three categories at the moment, those with the special diffuser those with KERS and those with neither. Even with these differences the cars and the different looks of all the cars they are still quite close overall.

A couple of non racing moments that me laugh were, on Brundle’s grid walk when he tried to get a look the Toyota diffuser and the mechanics kept moving about so the camera couldn’t get a look. Also when Massa was panicking about the team getting him the proper visor after the race was red flagged when Rob Smedley said “Felipe baby you need to stay cool, were trying to get to you”.

By: kallan

kallan — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:38:39 +0000

I was disappointed Roseberg didn’t end up with a result he deserved (yet again), hopefully his day will come.
And full credit to Alonso for getting the ronald mcdonald mobil into position for some good racing.

By: Philip

Philip — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:10:18 +0000

A very Schumacher-esque win by Jenson the way he kept some life in the tyres, bided his time, and set blisteringly fastest laps once the others pitted. Well done to him!

Williams pleasantly surprised me as I half expected Melbourne to be a bit of a one-off for them, even with the diffuser advantage.

By: Tom M

Tom M — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:59:37 +0000

I had Felipe Baby for the pole, what a prediction that turned out to be! Got Jenson for 1st though. Credit to Nico for a great first stint, I love seeing Williams back up the sharp end.

By: Explosiva

Explosiva — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:26:15 +0000

Brilliant, BRILLIANT(!!!!!) race…while it lasted

By: schumi the greatest

schumi the greatest — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:06:20 +0000

button was outstanding again to be fair. mig golf complaining about alonso…..thats part of f1…be no point in 10 teams turning up if they arent going to race eachother.

glock was great again..toyota look very strong this year…wouldnt be suprised to see them win that 1st race finally.

By: ElanKato

ElanKato — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:44:30 +0000

Just a quick note to say this race was Button’s first fastest lap! Hard to imagine I know.

By: Cameron

Cameron — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:41:51 +0000

Another great performance from Jensen and the BrawnGP guys.

However, my concern is, how are BrawnGP going to cope as other teams develop their cars and close down that performance gap? I have been told that BrawnGP doesn’t have the funding this year to be able to further develop the car. Could this mean Jensen’s stellar start could end in disappointment later in the season?

I really hope not!

By: Toby Bushby

Toby Bushby — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:28:25 +0000

I’d like to put a word in for Rosberg and Williams. They are continually under-rated, and all but ignored in this analysis. When was the last time that a driver leapt from 4th to 1st by the first corner? Not only that, but he was pulling away from the much-fancied Trulli/Toyota combo before his stop. His outlap was pretty amazing too, to be even further ahead of Trulli after the Toyota’s stop. Also, with Button in clear air (before he caught Trulli), Nico and Jenson were swapping fastest laps – an achievement in itself, even with a lighter fuel load than the Brawn. Unfortunately the car was no match for the Brawn once the rain hit, and four stops put paid to a decent result for Nico, but I think he and his car definitely deserve some credit for their performance.

Now to the weather and the inability of Charlie Whiting to cancel the race. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that the decision was deliberately delayed. Imagine if Whiting had cancelled the race, then the sun popped out 5 minutes later at, say, 6:15 local time. What a media frenzy that would have been! To rely on something so unreliable as a weather prediction is risky, even with the radar, and there was probably fear of legal wrangling if the wrong call was made. Just a thought. Doesn’t mean I agree with it.