Malaysian GP Race Thread

[aroutis]

There are positives and negatives from this race. Positives? Well first and foremost, we're fast, not as fast as RBR but definitely we can challenge the McLarens. And the RBR of Webber. And it 's clear (to me at least) that the problem lies to the quali pace. At least we get some clearer picture after the second race (And if we get a better picture, I am sure the team gets that a gazilion times more).

But clearly, we cannot afford to be slow in the pit stops. Not by almost (?) 2 seconds. And I am sure the team knows this (goes without saying) and I am sure they'll be working on this, so I seriously doubt there's any need to really getting about it.

Question lies to how soon we can solve the quali pace problem as well as if the upgrades that come are going to help to even improve the race pace. I 'd like to think that it's going to improve both, because honestly I fear that if the team focuses in doing away with the quali problem, we might be left behind with the race pace... but we 'll have to trust them.

In all, even with the whole incident with Alonso and Lewis, I am overly happy with what I saw.. and I hope for better things in a week's time.

[Hornet]

now that got me thinking, back in 2006 there was a man in Renault who screwed Fernando in Hungary and China (i think it was china) and was sacked after last time. it might bethat not 20 guys needs to be sacked, already one could make a difference

Hmm.. sack or not, we really need to do something about out pit stop. I felt that it was too slow as well in Australia, too much time spent waiting as some were fast and one would be slow to complete and we wasted too much time.

[Katu]

Hmm.. sack or not, we really need to do something about out pit stop. I felt that it was too slow as well in Australia, too much time spent waiting as some were fast and one would be slow to complete and we wasted too much time.

they were painfully slow and i already thought after Australia they do something with it, but it seems like they chose to ignore it. i hope they're smarter this time around. it was terrible

[Sha1]

So frustrating... WHY couldn't he just wait for the back or pit straight? Being around Hamilton makes his blood boil; he acts like he has something to prove!

[grinchy]

Not too bad overall,mistake by fernando. Pit crew not the best today but race pace is there.
Fernando & lewis off to stewards ,What the hell for?

[dfunk257]

Imagine if we did have a good car, Alonso would b givin it to Seb!

[Sha1]

Not too bad overall,mistake by fernando. Pit crew not the best today but race pace is there.
Fernando & lewis off to stewards ,What the hell for?

Standard procedure.

[Katu]

So frustrating... WHY couldn't he just wait for the back or pit straight? Being around Hamilton makes his blood boil; he acts like he has something to prove!

on the pitstraight was perez car and yellow flag

[scuderia_nano]

Maybe Alonso has to push harder because Hamilton is tough to pass And without DRS he is bound to try harder.

Hamilton lifted the pedal when Alonso came out of that corner. Possibly a reprimand for that?

[Lithium]

Fernando and Lewis off to the stewards

I hope Lew & Nando don't start a fistfight there!

[epiclyaddicted]

Main positive for us today was the race pace. Very encouraging, and I think it shows that the car is fundamentally good. We've still got to improve it by a big margin, but nothing that should make us throw in the towel. Particularly encouraging was seeing us keep up with Red Bull and McLaren on such an aero-heavy track. Looking forward to the updates in China and Turkey.

Alonso's mistake when trying to pass Hamilton was very frustrating. Completely his own mistake that cost him a clear podium. If it wasn't for that, he would have almost definitely finished P3. But he drove a great race otherwise. Mistakes happen.

For Petrov's crash... what on earth was he thinking?!

Great race overall, but I felt that all the KERS and DRS induced overtaking made it look all too gimmicky! I don't like all the fake overtaking with these gizmos. The tyres would have done enough on their own to make it all interesting. It has too much of a NASCAR type feel, not what real F1 should be about.

Anyway, roll on China!

[Meiga]

I hope Lew & Nando don't start a fistfight there!

Or that if they do there are cameras around!!!

[hogo]

Hamilton lifted the pedal when Alonso came out of that corner. Possibly a reprimand for that?

most likely

[Hornet]

So frustrating... WHY couldn't he just wait for the back or pit straight? Being around Hamilton makes his blood boil; he acts like he has something to prove!

We've done it many times over the years, unless your car is superior on the straights, its very difficult to be close enough to get an effective tow. It was exactly why DRS was introduce, and its a shame our DRS failed on a day we really needed it.

In fact, last year, Alonso lost the championship on the final race where he faced exactly the same problem, being stuck on the straights. You can imagine his frustration when he finds out the bloody DRS thing isn't working

[Tehvon]

All in all a great race to watch. We lost some time at the start with the Ren/lotus. Massa had a sticky front wheel which you can do naff all about. Then Alonso caught Hams wheel (but had no DRS which would have helped him pass him along time before). I think we could of had a podium in this race but things like this happen. Our race pace is better than our quali for sure. Pretty happy about the result as I thought we would be worse than we were.

[Katu]

Hamilton lifted the pedal when Alonso came out of that corner. Possibly a reprimand for that?

when your name is Hamilton you don't get any other penalties. and for sure he doesn't know what happened

[LeonKennedy]

I hope Lew & Nando don't start a fistfight there!

I'd bet for Nando anyway hahah

[Meiga]

Oh, my! Get ready for some storm, because on an interview on Spanish TV Alonso has hinted that the crash was not his fault... it went more or less like this:
Q: Fernando, a bit too much ambition there...
FA: No (and this was literally the answer)
Q: So what happened?
FA: Some strange aggressive movements at over 300km/h, we touched and I got the worst deal

More than enough to unleash a storm. Please let us know what both him and Hamilton say when interviewed by the BBC.

OK, guys, one request. I have seen the post above quoted in another two F1 forums as if it were a literal translation of what Alonso said. Please note my disclaimer: it went more or less like this. It is a quick summary on my side, with my own interpretation of what was said. Please do not present it as Alonso's words, because I have already seen people overanalysing the details.

It seems I have to be much more careful when posting - apologies for any misunderstanding.

[Tehvon]

For Petrov's crash... what on earth was he thinking?!

Anyway, roll on China!

He had no other option but to power it over the drainage ditch theres no way he could have stoped the car before it. Plus it was better to try to launch the car over than to have it go nose first into a ditch at that speed with a high deceleration. It could have been alot worse for him.

[eugene22n]

no defending the pit crew; I'm sure they are trying but they got beat badly.

I remember seeing cumulative numbers for all the stops last year analyzed and we had one of the slowest crews. More of the same this year. It was hard to watch.

[ninja1]

Frustrating to see Alonso let down by the team again. Terrible pitstops, then the failed DRS, which forced him to take big risks which cost him a podium. If the car is slow at least get a silly little flap to work for crying out loud Ferrari. As usual Alonso got another bad start and stuck behind Massa.

[eugene22n]

we started P5 P7 and got P5 P6 so at least we got something for all that fighting.

For damage control its not a bad result.

[RedRebel40]

at least the battles between Schumacher and Kobayashi were nice to see

[Sianellen]

Hamilton lifted the pedal when Alonso came out of that corner. Possibly a reprimand for that?

Do you have any evidence to back that up, like telemetry data??
It was a racing incident thats all neither of them should be punished.

[eugene22n]

alonso has always been fast but also has always made mistakes. Its just the nature of him.

[Katu]

i just wonder how many races more the damage control mode is on and when we get to the real stuff?

[eugene22n]

Ferrari need to clear their heads for China, not look for some penalty for Hami. He finished behind us anyways.

[Greig]

Whats your solution to the problems of Ferrari downforce considering you made a thread questioning the car and Alonso? I hope there are not many immature trolls like you around here.

LOL and I hope you learn some manners

I don't have any solutions I am not Fernando Alonso

[hogo]

Do you have any evidence to back that up, like telemetry data??
It was a racing incident thats all neither of them should be punished.

do you have telemetry data to back that up?

[epiclyaddicted]

Frustrating to see Alonso let down by the team again. Terrible pitstops, then the failed DRS, which forced him to take big risks which cost him a podium. If the car is slow at least get a silly little flap to work for crying out loud Ferrari. As usual Alonso got another bad start and stuck behind Massa.

Another Alonso fanboy I see! No doubting the slow pitstops by our crew, but nothing happened that forced Alonso to take big risks. Hamilton's tyres were shot and Alonso would have cruised past him to finish P3 anyway, but instead, he lost his head. In the end, it was completely his won fault that cost him the podium. Yes, the team did make mistakes as well, but Alonso still would have been easily P3 if it wasn't for his own fault!

And why having a dig at Ferrari for Alonso's DRS failing? Mercedes had DRS issues all weekend, Red Bull had KERS issues on and off all race on both their cars, so just lay off our team for a bit, ok?