F1: Ten Conclusions From The Malaysian GP

[Rory Phoulorie]

Tuesday 10th April 2007

This week's findings from the Sepang laboratory...

1) McLaren Are Back.
A comeback can only be achieved after a spell in the wilderness, so here is a reminder that Alonso's victory was McLaren's first since 2005.

2) Ron Dennis Has An Awe-Inspiring Presence Of Mind.
It emerged this weekend that Dennis first invited Alonso to join his McLaren team on the podium after the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Yes, the podium.

While Juan-Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen wasted the champagne and celebrated what would be McLaren's last one-two for 15 months, Dennis quietly approached the then-Renault driver to suggest a change of employers.

Well, when else would he have been able to do so without detection from Flavio Briatore, Alonso's team boss and manager?

3) Lewis Hamilton Should Not Be Regarded As A Rookie.
Because he certainly doesn't drive, nor react, like a novice.

Hamilton is frighteningly impressive. Granted, he has in his possession a frighteningly quick car, but it is the youngster's self-assurance which is proving the most remarkable of his many attributes. Instead of being ruffled by the looming threat of the two Ferraris, both of which were carrying less fuel and were thus slightly quicker than his McLaren, Hamilton calmly out-thought Felipe Massa at the start of the race, reducing the Brazilian to an embarrassed red rage. Another test passed with distinction.

In superior machinery, overtaking can be a formality. But repelling a faster car is never so simple, especially at the sharp end of the grid. According to Lewis, "Defending is ten times harder than trying to overtake someone."

The youngster evidently doesn't believe in modesty.

4) Lewis Hamilton Needs A Coronation
On Saturday morning, BBC Radio Five Live introduced news of qualifying with the announcement that, "Lewis Hamilton will start tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix as the highest-placed Brit on the grid." They may as well have told listeners that Sunday followed Saturday.

Fast, and armed with equally-speedy machinery, Hamilton is destined to be Britain's number one for the next decade (and perhaps longer). Of his current crop of compatriots, David Coulthard is drawing his pension at Red Bull, Anthony Davidson is being eclipsed by a crashaholic, and Jenson Button is enduring the worst period in a career already extraordinary for its extremes.

The sorry news for Jenson is that Honda are actually in a worse state than the timesheets indicate. Incredible, I know, but true nevertheless.

Even Nick Fry forsook his usual cheerfulness in Sepang when he conceded that 15th and 19th on the grid represented "overachievement compared to what we might have expected to do with this car". As the team's boffins are still unable to pinpoint the RA107's deficiencies - likewise, the team were never able to explain why they were so fast in 2004 - a brand new car is being built, unofficially billed as "a complete revamp of the RA107 concept".

5) F1 Struggles With The Simple Jobs (Part One)
For the second race in succession, the race winner prevailed despite suffering a radio malfunction. Curiously, both radios were then fit for operation on the slowing-down lap, with TV viewers able to listen in as driver and team personnel embarked on a round of mutual appreciation.

One conclusion, then, is that the teams are so paranoid about their rivals eavesdropping that they prefer guaranteed secrecy to the notion that it is good to talk. However, given that pit-to-driver communications rarely stretch beyond reminders of the bleeding obvious, it is difficult to imagine why silence would be valued above the spectre of Ron Dennis hanging over the pitwall with a large chalkboard urging his number one driver to take a break for refuelling.

6) F1 Struggles With The Simple Jobs (Part Two)
At around the halfway stage of the hottest race of the year, Lewis Hamilton's waterbottle ceased working. Consider that for a moment from the perspective of F1 being the most technologically-advanced sport in the world and also McLaren reputedly boasting the largest budget of any team on the grid.

And the simple concept of water-bottle-straw was still too formidable a task to successfully complete.

Incredible.

7) Williams Are Improving
There won't be any fanfare at Williams after Nico Rosberg recorded the sixth-fastest lap of the race, partly because his Williams then succumbed to mechanical gremlins, and partly because a team of Williams' status only regards wins as worthy of celebrations, but the signs of a recovery are unmistakable.

Renault Are Declining
In Australia, Renault were half a second slower than McLaren (Alonso's best lap: 1:26.314; Fisichella's: 1:26.892). In Malaysia, Renault were a second slower than McLaren (Alonso's fastest lap: 1:36.861' Fisichella's: 1:26.892).

The World Champions' harsh decline towards midfield mediocrity can be traced back to Fernando Alonso's departure - Heikki Kovalainen improved in Malaysia but he could hardly do worse after his horrendous debut in Australia - and Michelin's exit from the sport. Flavio Briatore believes his team "lost more than anybody" with the switch to Bridgestone and it is thought that Renault are having particular problems with their rears.

However, despite last week's extensive test at Sepang, Renault have slipped further adrift in the three weeks since Australia. The only logical conclusion, as given by Frank Hopkinson in this week's Winners and Losers column, is that 'the tightening of the rules on flexible floors has clearly affected them more than any other team'.

9) Ferrari Also Had A Floor FlawThe FIA's 'clarification' of the rules regarding 'movable floors' must, surely, have also affected Ferrari's performance.

Kimi Raikkonen indicated that the team had played cautious in Malaysia, opting to turn down the engine that overheated in the relatively mild conditions of Melbourne. Yet Felipe Massa's "surprise" at McLaren's pace vis a vis Ferrari's was equally telling.

Suddenly, Ferrari are on the back foot and, according to Ron Dennis, even their Bridgestone advantage has been countered. "What was very encouraging for us means that the car got quicker which means we have come to grips with the issue of tyre degradation and as the fuel dropped out the car got quicker," the McLaren boss boasted to Autosport. "So that gives us some degree of confidence that we have come close to mastering the challenge of managing the Bridgestone tyre. That is possibly an edge that other teams have had."

No prizes for guessing which 'other teams' he was specifically referring to.

10) Felipe Massa Needs A Big Result In Bahrain
But does he possess the strength of character to deliver a hefty points haul next Sunday? Massa's seemingly despondent reaction to being "tricked" into sliding off in Malaysia was distinctly unimpressive, nor the response of a World Champion contender. It also boded dismally for the possibility of the Brazilian bouncing back in Bahrain.


Pete Gill

http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,18954,3265_2049141,00.html