The Official 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix Thread **Spoilers**

[rsbmw]

Sepang International Circuit, Friday 30 September - Sunday 02 October 2016

Contents

Overview

Session Timings

Race Info

Live Timing

FIA Info

Weather

Tyres

Tyre selection per driver

2015 Grand Prix

Qualifying

Race

Overview

F1 is back in Malaysia for the 16th race of the season. Following his third win in a row, Nico Rosberg carries an 8 point championship lead over Lewis Hamilton. Ricciardo is sitting comfortably in third place in the drivers championship after a run of podium finishes. Raikkonen is closing the gap to Vettel in recent weeks, with now only 5 points separating them.

Meanwhile in the constructor's championship, Red Bull will be looking to extend their 15 point cushion over Ferrari. Force India and Williams will continue the battle for fourth place, only one point between them, with McLaren looking to maintain their small gap back to Toro Rosso.

Malaysia can throw up some interesting challenges with extreme heat and chance of rain, this will hopefully make for an interesting race. Vettel won here last year from 2nd on the grid and will no doubt be looking to replicate that success.

Session Timings

All sessions are live on both Sky F1 and Channel 4

Session	Day	Sky F1	Channel 4	Session Start	Local Time
Practice 1	Fri	0245	0255	0300	1000
Practice 2	Fri	0645	0655	0700	1400
Practice 3	Sat	0645	0655	0700	1400
Qualifying	Sat	0900	0900	1000	1700
Race	Sun	0630	0700	0800	1500

Race Info

Live Timing

Live timing for all sessions will appear here;

http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/f1-...

FIA Info

Info such as lap times, PU use, technical reports, stewards decisions etc for the weekend will appear here;

http://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula-one-world-ch...

Weather

http://www.myweather2.com/Motor-Racing/Malaysia/Se...

Session	Comment	Air Temp (°C)	Cloud Cover	Rainfall (mm)
Practice 1	Sunny Skies	34	24%	0.0
Practice 2	Partly Cloudy Skies	36	32%	0.0
Practice 3	Partly Cloudy Skies	37	29%	0.1
Qualifying	Sunny Skies	37	20%	0.1
Race	Patchy Rain Possible	36	32%	0.5

Tyres

Tyre compounds available for the weekend are soft, medium and hard.

Under 2016 rules, drivers must have two sets of hards available for the Sepang race, and must use at least one of them.

Each driver will also have to save one set of softs for the Q3 qualifying session. This set will be given back to Pirelli after Q3 for those who qualify in the top 10, but the remaining drivers will keep it for the race.

The teams are free to choose the 10 remaining sets per driver permitted from the three available compounds, making up 13 sets in total for the weekend. The tyre choices requested by the teams:

Tyre selection per driver

More info from Pirelli

2015 Grand Prix

Qualifying

Pos.	No.	DRIVER	TEAM	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	LEWIS HAMILTON	MERCEDES	1:39.269	1:41.517	1:49.834	13
2	5	SEBASTIAN VETTEL	FERRARI	1:39.814	1:39.632	1:49.908	13
3	6	NICO ROSBERG	MERCEDES	1:39.374	1:39.377	1:50.299	13
4	3	DANIEL RICCIARDO	RED BULL RACING	1:40.504	1:41.085	1:51.541	16
5	26	DANIIL KVYAT	RED BULL RACING	1:40.546	1:41.665	1:51.951	16
6	33	MAX VERSTAPPEN	TORO ROSSO	1:40.793	1:41.430	1:51.981	16
7	19	FELIPE MASSA	WILLIAMS	1:40.543	1:41.230	1:52.473	17
8	8	ROMAIN GROSJEAN	LOTUS	1:40.303	1:41.209	1:52.981	18
9	77	VALTTERI BOTTAS	WILLIAMS	1:40.249	1:40.650	1:53.179	14
10	9	MARCUS ERICSSON	SAUBER	1:40.340	1:41.748	1:53.261	18
11	7	KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN	FERRARI	1:40.415	1:42.173		7
12	13	PASTOR MALDONADO	LOTUS	1:40.361	1:42.198		11
13	27	NICO HULKENBERG	FORCE INDIA	1:40.830	1:43.023		9
14	11	SERGIO PEREZ	FORCE INDIA	1:41.036	1:43.469		11
15	55	CARLOS SAINZ	TORO ROSSO	1:39.814	1:43.701		9
16	12	FELIPE NASR	SAUBER	1:41.308			7
17	22	JENSON BUTTON	MCLAREN	1:41.636			8
18	14	FERNANDO ALONSO	MCLAREN	1:41.746			8
NC	98	ROBERTO MERHI	MANOR	1:46.677			7

Race

Pos.	Driver	Nat.	Team	Time	Grid	Points
1	SEBASTIAN VETTEL	GER	FERRARI	1:41:05.793	2	25
2	LEWIS HAMILTON	GBR	MERCEDES	+8.569s	1	18
3	NICO ROSBERG	GER	MERCEDES	+12.310s	3	15
4	KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN	FIN	FERRARI	+53.822s	11	12
5	VALTTERI BOTTAS	FIN	WILLIAMS	+70.409s	9	10
6	FELIPE MASSA	BRA	WILLIAMS	+73.586s	7	8
7	MAX VERSTAPPEN	NED	TORO ROSSO	+97.762s	6	6
8	CARLOS SAINZ	ESP	TORO ROSSO	+1 lap	15	4
9	DANIIL KVYAT	RUS	RED BULL RACING	+1 lap	5	2
10	DANIEL RICCIARDO	AUS	RED BULL RACING	+1 lap	4	1
11	ROMAIN GROSJEAN	FRA	LOTUS	+1 lap	8	0
12	FELIPE NASR	BRA	SAUBER	+1 lap	16	0
13	SERGIO PEREZ	MEX	FORCE INDIA	+1 lap	14	0
14	NICO HULKENBERG	GER	FORCE INDIA	+1 lap	13	0
15	ROBERTO MERHI	ESP	MANOR	+3 laps	19	0
NC	PASTOR MALDONADO	VEN	LOTUS	DNF	12	0
NC	JENSON BUTTON	GBR	MCLAREN	DNF	17	0
NC	FERNANDO ALONSO	ESP	MCLAREN	DNF	18	0
NC	MARCUS ERICSSON	SWE	SAUBER	DNF	10	0

Fastest Race Lap: 1:42.062 (L43, N. Rosberg; Mercedes)

Edited by rsbmw on Tuesday 20th September 12:57

Edited by rsbmw on Tuesday 27th September 08:38

Edited by rsbmw on Tuesday 27th September 10:35

[rsbmw]

Couldn't tell you the why's and wherefore's, other than it seems they have only mandated one compound this race, rather than two.

[rsbmw]

Taking a look at previous compound announcements, it seems they mandate two sets of tyres that must be available for the race, of which one must be used. In this case both nominated sets are hard, rather than two different compounds.

Not sure I see the point myself, just limits strategy options. Probably pushes it towards a one stop race as well, since you would expect the hard to last a while.

[rsbmw]

Just updated weather and added some more Pirelli info to OP.

Rain looking less likely now, which is a shame I think. Still maybe a little bit around for the race, but probably not enough to cause any problems.

[rsbmw]

30 place grid penalty for Alonso, due to testing a new engine this weekend

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/37503760

[rsbmw]

Haven't seen any of practice, but had a look at BBC live feed, this looked interesting;

"You've got a five second penalty, which we will serve on the pit stop," Nico Rosberg is told.

Mercedes practicing penalties, I wonder who Nico is planning to run off the track this week

[rsbmw]

At the moment they're not even planning on using it in the race, just for practice, so no big deal.

[rsbmw]

Assuming a breather does what it says on the tin, how on earth would blocking it cause a drop in pressure?

[rsbmw]

Another episode of 'Rosberg poor judgement'. That could have seen them both out of the race.

At first look I thought it was the first memorable overtake from him too!

[rsbmw]

Great stuff from the RB's, handing it to LH though

[rsbmw]

Oh dear,, that's the championship gone

[rsbmw]

Good to see them not screwing DR over for once, he deserves a win

[rsbmw]

Interesting point, of 43 Mercedes engines across the 4 teams, only his have failed (and several of them).

I don't suspect foul play at all, it's purely luck, but clearly itf NR wins it's the engine failures that will be the deciding factor, not driver skill.

[rsbmw]

HustleRussell said:

lee_fr200 said:

find it hard that alonso started at the back yet ended up ahead of jb, maybe he's lost his fight since its his last season as since it was announced he's had no fight at all

I don't think you can say a driver who has dragged the McLaren into the points at a power circuit has 'no fight'- he probably got unlucky with the virtual safety cars or something.

He pitted a couple of laps before the middle vsc, screwed him right over.

[rsbmw]

Hungrymc said:

Yep, I'm a Lewis "fan". Was a hard pass, marginal, but he had to go for it and it was slightly harsh getting a penalty, even if I suspect it was chosen so as to not really impact the result (10 seconds didn't look too difficult at the time).

As for Lewis, probability says it is extremely unlikely to be luck. But I don't believe its a Merc conspiracy either. You'd say its likely to be incompetence (still incredible probability on Lewis "benefiting" from it all). Or some unofficial malice.

Watching it I thought "nice move!", genuinely impressed. Watching it from the reverse angle, he lost the back end a bit and shunted straight into Raikkonen. Bit harsh to get a penalty, but it was certainly another example of poor judgement and not being able to get the job done cleanly.

tommunster10 said:

I always find it strange how people talk of Nico being an undeserving champion if he wins it due to only having to beat one driver, Lewis, who has had reliability issues etc.......
Yet they never seem to mention how Lewis isn't therefore undeserving for only having to beat one driver, Nico, to become 2 times WDC in a Merc?

Either both drivers in the best car by a country mile are by default non deserving as they have best cars, or both are worthy. How can one be and the other not?
It's also not new for drivers to be crowned Champions due to other having car issues, just ask Mansell.... It's part of racing and used to be a lot worse.

If there had been no, or even, reliability concerns over the year and Nico won, fair play to him. If he wins by a small margin, with the amount of failures Lewis has had, then he hasn't won on merit.

Neither driver can be blamed for not having competition outside of their own team.

[rsbmw]

tommunster10 said:

I take it you were questioning Merc F1 back in Singapore season ago when Nico's car broke on the grid? Or Nico in Germany this year when the car bogged down?

Yes, it's the same question.

tommunster10 said:

Like i said before, if they (Merc F1) hated Lewis so much they would of left him to suffer at McLaren like Jenson and Alonso, unless you ACTUALLY believe Lewis would still be WDC 2 times in a row had he been in the McLaren still.... do you?

Just like every WDC in history, you need to be in a competitive car at the right time. Your individual skill then lets you beat your team mate 3 times in a row over a season, where reliability/DNF's are roughly equal over the period.

tommunster10 said:

Just imagine if Merc had taken on Button instead of Lewis, he'd of been WDC.

As good as Button is, Rosberg is probably faster at getting a car round a track. Button would win out in the racecraft stakes though every time.

tommunster10 said:

Lewis also tellingly said yesterday that he's the "No 1 driver" at Merc F1, which is true, now has a No 1 driver paid nearly twice what the No 2 gets paid ever been run so close by the No 2 driver? Seb wasn't...Micheal wasn't...

Seb was beaten by DR, also most No1 WDC contending drivers have had someone in the No2 role helping them win, Mercedes let LH/NR race.

[rsbmw]

tommunster10 said:

OK so you think Merc F1 borked Nico last seaon to help Lewis then?

And If Button was in Lewis's place Rosburg would be WDC and deserving of it?
I think Seb had mentally left Red Bull when DR was beating him, but if you do F1 family trees DR wasn't making Vergne look bad when both in Torro Rosso's so could Vernge of been Champion in the Red bull Seb won WDC in? Or at least won races?
If Seb was only WDC due to the Red Bull dominance why is Lewis's any more merited than Seb's?
Where is Alonso in all of this, has he lost it or is he just in a bad car?
It's always about the car over the season, if Rosburg wins WDC then so what? He's there in the best car no less than Lewis yet he actually gets paid less and is No 2...thats some achievement.


But, Lewis is with out doubt a driver for the X Factor generation and hey it sells cars and sells tickets.

I'll probably stop engaging with you now, other than to say I don't think Merc 'borked' Nico last season to help Lewis, nor do I think Merc 'borked' Lewis to help Nico - that's luck.

Strange though that of 43 engines used this season, 4 failures, all belonging to Lewis. Still just luck, however it will quite possibly be the way Rosberg defaults to a WDC.

When there is only one car in it, the only way to be measured is against your team mate. If your team mate is generally faster, but their car keeps failing, then what have you really won? In your hypothetical scenario, if Rosberg beat Button to WDC in the same car, with similar reliability and no foul play, then yes he would be deserving.

I think Nico is a great driver, one of the fastest at getting a car around an empty track, he just lacks racecraft and often pushes past the limits of what is deemed acceptable.

[rsbmw]

Disastrous said:

I don't know how any WDC can be 'undeserving' of the title (short of cheating to win). It's a ridiculous and disingenuous notion IMO.

F1 has always required a liberal sprinkling of fortune and I don't think any champion would be bothered about admitting that. Button lucked out with the Brawn. Hamilton lucked out when Glock slipped a bit on the last lap and he was able to snatch the championship from Massa. It's just how it goes.

To be at the sharp end you need to be pretty good, get yourself into a good seat, work well with your team, try and have a better season than the other guy etc etc. That's not lucky.

Given the number of races in a season, anyone up at the front is there because they ought to be. Then a few dice rolls here and there separate who wins and who loses. It's always been like that.

I disagree here. When there is only one car (team) in the race, and the differentiator is reliability, how is that not luck? Taking this season as the example - 3 compromised qualifying sessions due to engine failure, starting at the back in China and Belgium, and from P10 in Russia. That's a 35 point advantage to the other guy, based on results. One DNF (from the lead) due to engine failure, that's another 13 points gifted. Of course Nico still had to bring the car home, but as we said above he was unchallenged with his teammate out of the picture. That's a 48 point advantage in those races, due to luck. When you then consider he only has a 23 point lead, then Hamilton has outscored him in the other races by 25 points. This is even completely ignoring bad starts (they've both had this, though has LH had 1-2 more?), and the whole Baku situation.

Of course luck plays a massive part, they're both even lucky to be in the right car at the right time.

Edited by rsbmw on Monday 3rd October 10:52

[rsbmw]

Disastrous said:

Well, that's pretty much exactly what I said. Luck is a massive deciding factor and to claim a champion who is lucky is undeserving, is disingenuous.

Well yes I seemed to lose track of my original point in my ramblings. I disagree on the undeserving part. I don't think that any champion, in any discipline/sport, that defaults to the championship because their competition is removed, is deserving. For example, if a Tennis player wins Wimbledon because they get a bye or opponent withdraws in every round, they wouldn't be a deserving champion either. Whether that individual was good enough to win if they had to compete is largely irrelevant at that point.

I don't think disingenuous is the correct word here either, it's not insincere to suggest they are undeserving, it's just an opinion.

[rsbmw]

You're right, it's conceivable that McLaren injected some nanobots into the exhaust fumes that were programmed to eat Hamilton's engine.