Sepang: Preview
Posted by raju on April 3rd, 2007
No of Laps : 55
Race Distance : 304.81 km
Lap Record : Juan Pablo Montoya (COL), BMW-Williams, 2004, 1min 34.223 secs
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Fernando Alonso started the season with one main competitor in mind - his rival in the prancing horse, the man who is claimed to be the fastest on the circuit right now and the winner of the first race of the 2007 season, Kimi Raikonnen. Now, heading to the heat bowl of Sepang, he is not just fighting the Finn, rather his immediate concern is his team mate- the super fast Ferrari driver currently shelved in the background. Perhaps, the lethargic two years at Renault where Fisichella rarely posed a whisker of a challenge has made the team-mate-as-a-challenger a non-existent concept for the world champion. Its time to wake up. Time to show the young blood what experience means in F1. And what better circuit than Sepang to do it.
Sepang is arguably the toughest race of the formula 1 season. It’s tough on the drivers as well as on the machines. Temperatures usually soar to around the 35 degree centigrade mark and along with the humidity makes it the most physically demanding race. The high temperatures and the abrasive track is also very unforgiving on the tyres and will definitely be a stern test of how well teams have adapted to the new Bridgestone compounds.
If the way Kimi won the Australian GP is anything to go by, he is the favorite to win at Sepang. But there are other variables. For starters, Kimi and Ferrari have the dilemma of an engine change. Should they change it and therefore suffer a penalty or should they risk it and go for another victory? Ferrari had some issues with cooling during the Australian GP and it will be interesting to see what happens here. And the way ‘Kimster ‘ pushed the car even when he was comfortably leading will be put in context if he does suffer a penalty and then fights for a podium finish here. It’s these little things that may come to haunt Ferrari this season with Kimi.
Ferrari are still favorites to win this race by a long way followed by Mclaren and then perhaps the Renault or the BMWs. Fisichella won the race here last season although I doubt if he’ll be going anywhere near the first step of the podium this time around. Heikki meanwhile has to buckle up, put his head down and start putting pressure on his more experienced team mate. Another bad race and he’ll earn the full wrath of Mr. Flavio. Not good for an F1 career. Sepang will give answers to a lot of questions. Will it be Massa’s race? Will Hamilton sustain his brilliance? Will Alonso hit back? Will Renault come stronger? And the most important question of all, Will it rain? Lets wait and watch.
Technorati Tags: Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikonnen, Sepang, Ferrari, Mclaren, Fisichella
April 4th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Go Kimi!
April 4th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
The best part of Sepang is the torture the cars have to go thro during the race. With its long straights and winding - wide corners… there is just about 800 gear changes for a single lap. Jus count the gears the car goes up n down whilst crossing a corner… (comes down from 7 till 1 r 2 depending on the corner and then go back to full throttle and hit the nxt coner…) and the braking!!! As far as I can see Ferrari is stronger in these areas compared to the rest of the pack. So other than the water leakage in the engine from down under - I dont see any major drama there. If not Kimi - it might be Massa. Even if Kimi does change the engine he will qualify on top and go down and come thro the pack with ease. Remember he is not the one who keeps low… he always goes for the kill. So ferrari is the obv favs. Mclaren will have to come out stronger for Alonso to put a decent show. The mech woes thats been haunting Mclaren will keep coming back in this race for sure!!!
As u said Alonso has to kick the butt of Hamilton to prove his prowess on the track. Hamilton no easy customer though. The kid has got talent but again if puts himself at the front Alonso will always whine into the radio and get past him. So that aint a problem. But will the mclaren be reliable???? thats the 7 million dollar question!!!
And rain - yeah it looks like it might rain!!! And if it rains… there is nothing more to say!!! Its gonna be a total mayhem!!! With SATO driving a more powerful car that can get into the top ten - MOTOR MADNESS will reach new heights… Lets wait n watch!!!
Godspeed Kimi!!! Give em the FINGER once again!!!
April 5th, 2007 at 9:35 am
@Arjun: totally agree on the fact ferrari are way ahead of competition….half a second a lap is a performance that cant be matched in a couple of weeks…it would take bad luck in terms of retirements or poor tire choices or rain to ruin the party for them…having said that if engine change does happen, can Mclaren yet again do albert park and claim 2 podium finishes…that would put them in a strong position as number one in team standings…when u consider that they are yet to catch up (which i am sure they will do in the later half of the season), they cant ask for more…..and maybe even propel Alonso to the head of the driver standings without actually winning a race ;)……again with Ferrari so much better…he wouldnt ask for more…
April 7th, 2007 at 12:23 am
is it just me or does anyone agree when i say that the 2 race engine rule is a farce??!!