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Beardroid91
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EPIC, no more russian torpedoes, now it is only Sainz :loll:
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Part 1 of today's drivers press conference will involve Sebastian, Max and Kimi :lol:

You have to admire the new F1 owners tactics there.
Let's see if they will hold a pre programmed press talk, or actually say something useful. :party:

I'm not so much interested the blame game, but more in how they see things now, after viewing the event from different angles and reading all the "analysis" that have been done in the past week. Also if Vettel will apologize, as he was the main perpetrator IMO.
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P1 started 30 minutes later due to rain. But than the fun began.
As usual in wet conditions, the driver makes the difference. No real surprise to see Alonso on 3rd before both Ferraris and also to see both Red Bulls at the front. Mercedes might play hide and seek. This track suits the Mercedes very well.

A little slap in the face for Wehrlein, who was slower than rookie LeCler.
A lot of drivers ran out of track, or talent.

It is really ashame Malaysia will dissappear from the calender. It is a great Tilke track. But somehow motorsports in general does not appeal in that country, with partially empty tribunes as a result. Also the organizing costs have been to high, resulting in a loss every year. Bernie has squeezed them too hard. Maybe they can return in the future with a better deal.

For now, we enjoy what will be the last race in Malaysia and it will be a good race.
Tough for drivers, crew and cars. High temperatures and humidity will push everybody to their limits.

First free practice results - 2017 Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix

Pos. Driver Team Time Laps
1. M. Verstappen Red Bull 01:48.962 11
2. D. Ricciardo Red Bull 01:49.719 12
3. F. Alonso McLaren 01:50.597 6
4. K. Räikkönen Ferrari 01:50.734 12
5. S. Vettel Ferrari 01:51.009 12
6. L. Hamilton Mercedes 01:51.518 8
7. V. Bottas Mercedes 01:52.007 10
8. L. Stroll Williams 01:52.295 9
9. P. Gasly Red Bull 01:52.380 14
10. S. Sirotkin Renault 01:53.521 10
11. J. Palmer Renault 01:53.625 10
12. S. Vandoorne McLaren 01:53.771 10
13. E. Ocon Force India 01:53.896 6
14. S. Gelael Toro Rosso 01:54.610 13
15. S. Pérez Force India 01:54.669 4
16. C. Leclerc Ferrari 01:55.280 10
17. P. Wehrlein Sauber 01:55.652 10
18. R. Grosjean Haas 01:56.211 8
19. A. Giovinazzi Ferrari 01:56.339 6
20. F. Massa Williams no time 3

Latest rumor from the drivers carousel, is that the chance is small that Kubica will return next year. Massa and DiResta are on pole for the last Williams seat. Palmer and Ericsson also made them an offer. Their chances are low.
Maybe Massa should retire to Formula-E, like he stated before. He had an excellent career, almost became world champion with Ferrari and came back when he was needed. Now its time to move on.

Another option is Wehrlein. Sauber might go for both Ferrari talents; LeCler and Giovinazzi, depending on how much Ferrari will invest in Sauber. Wehrlein can be interesting for Williams, as he can be part of a Mercedes engine deal. He has some experience now. Only issue is that title sponsor Martini wants a driver, who is at least 25 years old.
Still a lot undecided on the drivers market.
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P2 was stopped 15 min before the end, after a drain cover came loose. Raikkonen could avoid it, but Grosjean had a big moment when both his tires blew. Scary accident, but he is allright, also thanks to the massive run off areas at Sepang.

Ferrari was setting the pace on a dry track. Closely followed by Red Bull. Interesting to see the Mclaren performing good on a dry track as well. Mercedes was driving with heavy fuel loads. But their long runs seem to be slower than Ferrari's.

Second free practice results - 2017 Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix

Pos. Driver Team Time Laps
1. S. Vettel Ferrari 01:31.261 23
2. K. Räikkönen Ferrari 01:31.865 19
3. D. Ricciardo Red Bull 01:32.099 19
4. M. Verstappen Red Bull 01:32.109 11
5. F. Alonso McLaren 01:32.564 14
6. L. Hamilton Mercedes 01:32.677 15
7. V. Bottas Mercedes 01:32.720 21
8. S. Pérez Force India 01:32.862 20
9. N. Hulkenberg Renault 01:33.060 24
10. E. Ocon Force India 01:33.096 24
11. J. Palmer Renault 01:33.381 26
12. F. Massa Williams 01:33.394 20
13. S. Vandoorne McLaren 01:33.673 15
14. L. Stroll Williams 01:33.818 16
15. P. Gasly Red Bull 01:34.043 22
16. C. Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 01:34.104 19
17. R. Grosjean Haas 01:34.118 18
18. K. Magnussen Haas 01:34.343 17
19. P. Wehrlein Sauber 01:35.246 29
20. M. Ericsson Sauber 01:35.697 27
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P3 showed a similar order as yesterday.

Mercedes has brought an Aerodynamical upgrade package, that does not seem to work well on this track. Sometimes you can test things with fluent dynamics and extensive time in wind tunnels and it simply does not work in practice.
Question remains if they will decide to go back to the old package. It might be too late, as P3 is over.

Vettel has changed his starting electronics and clutch settings back to the old one. Kimi kept the new setting. Wonder why :lol:

For now, it appears that Ferrari has the pace, shortly followed by Red Bull and with Mercedes as third team this weekend.
Maybe Alonso can surprise everybody during qualifying.
But he did spin in P3. You don't see that very often. Perhaps the setup at the rear is very tight, with little margin for error, once you lose the grip. On flat surfaced tracks like this, they often go for extreme setups. Lots of cars were too low, causing sparks and small parts of the bodywork to break off the cars. Especially on the curbs. Everybody is obviously looking for the best qualifying setups.

The HAAS team has worked until 3 in the morning to rebuild Grosjean's Car. The bottom plate was damaged, so they had to build it from the bottom up. Kudos to the mechanics there.

Third free practice results - 2017 Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix

Pos. Driver Team Time Laps
1. K. Räikkönen Ferrari 01:31.880 19
2. S. Vettel Ferrari 01:32.042 14
3. D. Ricciardo Red Bull 01:32.091 16
4. V. Bottas Mercedes 01:32.329 24
5. L. Hamilton Mercedes 01:32.539 20
6. M. Verstappen Red Bull 01:32.579 17
7. S. Pérez Force India 01:33.209 20
8. F. Massa Williams 01:33.240 20
9. E. Ocon Force India 01:33.290 21
10. S. Vandoorne McLaren 01:33.321 16
11. F. Alonso McLaren 01:33.530 17
12. L. Stroll Williams 01:33.538 21
13. K. Magnussen Haas 01:33.787 10
14. N. Hulkenberg Renault 01:33.871 14
15. C. Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 01:33.924 22
16. P. Gasly Toro Rosso 01:34.206 24
17. J. Palmer Renault 01:34.475 12
18. R. Grosjean Haas 01:34.914 19
19. M. Ericsson Sauber 01:34.936 19
20. P. Wehrlein Sauber 01:35.045 19
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Another thriller as Lewis grabbed his 70th pole with only a few thousands of a second separating him from runner up Raikkonen, who did run a bit wide on the last corner. Followed by 20th birthday boy Max on 3rd.

Both McLarens in Q3 makes you wonder if Honda is really that slow....

Debutant Gasly did pretty well, by outpacing Carlos Sainz in Q1. But they both ended up in Q2.

Vettel had some mechanical issues, causing him to start from behind. Will he be able to drive to the podium from there?

The Sepang track is known for its weather variations. The rain can make a huge difference for the result tomorrow. :party:

Qualifying results - 2017 Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix

Pos. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1. L. Hamilton Mercedes 01:31.605 01:30.977 01:30.076 18
2. K. Räikkönen Ferrari 01:32.259 01:30.926 01:30.121 14
3. M. Verstappen Red Bull 01:31.920 01:30.931 01:30.541 12
4. D. Ricciardo Red Bull 01:32.416 01:31.061 01:30.595 16
5. V. Bottas Mercedes 01:32.254 01:30.803 01:30.758 17
6. E. Ocon Force India 01:32.527 01:31.651 01:31.478 17
7. S. Vandoorne McLaren 01:32.838 01:31.848 01:31.582 18
8. N. Hulkenberg Renault 01:32.586 01:31.778 01:31.607 17
9. S. Pérez Force India 01:32.768 01:31.484 01:31.658 18
10. F. Alonso McLaren 01:33.049 01:32.010 01:31.704 17

11. F. Massa Williams 01:32.267 01:32.034 12
12. J. Palmer Renault 01:32.576 01:32.100 14
13. L. Stroll Williams 01:33.000 01:32.307 14
14. C. Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 01:32.650 01:32.402 14
15. P. Gasly Toro Rosso 01:32.547 01:32.558 14

16. R. Grosjean Haas 01:33.308 8
17. K. Magnussen Haas 01:33.434 6
18. P. Wehrlein Sauber 01:33.483 9
19. M. Ericsson Sauber 01:33.970 9
20. S. Vettel Ferrari 2
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It appears that Hamiltons decision to go back to the old aero pack paid off. Bottas was almost a second slower in Qualifying on P5.
Mercedes was a bit off the pace on Friday, so Hamilton went conservative, while Bottas remained with the new package. The team has nice comparison material now and will soon be able to get the max out of the new package.

There are some other, bizarre developments in the pit lane.
Renault has made one of the FIA technical staff members an offer for next year.

Marcin Budkowski, the former head of the FIA's technical department, has intimate knowledge of all the teams cars. Including different things they want to try for the 2018 season. This includes sensitive information about design visions, experimental insights and gray area rule implementations. And all the engine and downforce data.

Their concern is justified. For some reasons he has only a 3 month time, in which he can not work in a similar function at another team.
As he has been relieved of duty directly and placed on gardening leave for the rest of this season, he can theoretically work for Renault at the start of next season.
If the FIA-FOM allow this, it would be one of the biggest spy scandals in F1 to date. And it would be legal.

I think it would be more appropriate for F1 officials, to wait at least 2 years, before they can take a similar role at a team in F1.

Christian Horner said this about it
"It's an important, vital role, and it's vital that the teams have trust and faith in the governing body that they can share and discuss their technical know-how, their technical secrets in many respects, which cost millions of pounds, in confidence that that information does not have the ability to end up in a rival team."
For some reason i do not think the last word has been said about this.
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Verstappen dominantion, he drove that race flawlessly what a race win Hamilton had nothing on him.

Also Vettel drove very well and made it from last to 4th which is pretty damn good considering he started from the back. But what the F**K happened at the end with Stroll ! Was Vettel out of fuel or did the he / Stroll just not see each other? (looks like Stroll didn't turn at all.)

But interesting Vettel took to the steering out of the car with him, normally you are not allowed to do that, maybe some new bits on it ?
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Fantastic win for Max, he dominated the dominator and drove 10 sec away from Lewis. He controlled the race until the end.
Palmer should consider doing something else. After a self inflicted spin he tried to fence off Magnussen and spun into his car, also risking colliding with race leader Max. Maybe blue flags are overrated Jolyon? Ctrl Alt Exit.

Driver of the day was Vettel (4th). Well deserved after Ferraris bad luck this weekend continued, even after the race. Stroll drove straight into Vettel, who followed the track. Stroll does still not use his mirrors. Bad habit.
Kimi could not even start after a mechanical failure and dead battery. Italian papers will be furious tomorrow.
And TBH i do not understand why they did not check every system twice after Vettels engine fail yesterday. :roll:

Lewis has his eyes on the big prize and after a short fight with Max, where they let each other live, he consolidated 2nd. That is how racing should be. Vettel can learn a thing or two from that.

Because of his aggressive overtaking moves earlier in this season, Vettel got no presents. Especially Alonso ignored the blue flags for 2 corners, only to piss off Vettel. That gave Ricciardo some room, who was under attack from Vettel before that. 4th was the maximum for Vettel today and he did a great job in damage control after starting from the back of the grid, gaining 16 position.
The incident after the race not included. :facepalm:

Renault engines had reliability issues again. Sainz dropped out in promising position and Hulkenberg also had some issues.

Gasly showed great promise in his F1 debut and he will most likely drive all remaining races this season and give up the Japanese Super Formula Championship, where he is 2nd at the moment. He belongs in F1 and Red Bull did a great job preparing him for the job.

Too bad Malaysia will vanish from the F1 calender, but maybe they will be back in the future, as it is a great track and always a place where great races happen. And man and machine are tested to the limit.

Race results - 2017 Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix

Pos. Driver Team Time
1. M. Verstappen Red Bull 1:30:01.290
2. L. Hamilton Mercedes +12.770
3. D. Ricciardo Red Bull +22.519 +9.749
4. S. Vettel Ferrari +37.362 +14.843
5. V. Bottas Mercedes +56.021 +18.659
6. S. Pérez Force India +1:18.630 +22.609
7. S. Vandoorne McLaren +1 Lap
8. L. Stroll Williams +1 Lap
9. F. Massa Williams +1 Lap
10. E. Ocon Force India +1 Lap
11. F. Alonso McLaren +1 Lap
12. K. Magnussen Haas +1 Lap
13. R. Grosjean Haas +1 Lap
14. P. Gasly Toro Rosso +1 Lap
15. J. Palmer Renault +1 Lap
16. N. Hulkenberg Renault +1 Lap
17. P. Wehrlein Sauber +1 Lap
18. M. Ericsson Sauber +2 Laps

Did not finish
19. C. Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso +27 Laps
20. K. Räikkönen Ferrari +56 Laps
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Maybe i see something emerge that not many expect to happen. Bottas is currently under fire, as he does not seem to be able to make the extra step, needed to push Hamilton or fight for the title.
That opens up a virtual spot, even if it is not there physical yet. Bottas did sign another years contract, but can easily be moved back to Williams on a loan base, with a nice engine deal accompanying him.

The reason i think something is brewing, is the lack of news about the second Williams seat, Alonso not signing yet at McLaren and the fact the Mercedes' 1st choice Max has a watertight contract at Red Bull Racing.

Alonso is right to try to get a seat in a car he can fight the championship with. Hamilton might not like it, as Alonso is a very dominant personality, but he is also able to push Hamilton. Alonso's clock is ticking. He might only have a few top years left. And he is a great Champion, who deserves a winning car.

Bottas does a decent job, but is no real threat for Lewis. Especially after the Summer break he is falling behind.
He admits this himself as well. Problem for him is that he is under a magnifying glass, driving at Mercedes. You need to deliver top performance and continue to do so the whole season. He has to deliver at Suzuka, but even with a good result his position is far from secure.

Question remains if Mercedes wants to risk another driver clash within the team. But you can not deny that one of the reasons they dominated before was the battle between Rosberg and Hamilton.
In addition to that, they have Ocon, who shows great progress at Force India and will be ready for the next step. But that is more for after 2018, when everything changes at the drivers market. Bottas did only get a one year's contract for a reason.

So there might be a drivers shuffle in the works that might surprise everybody.
Alonso to Mercedes and Bottas back to Williams.

If i'm right, who will drive the second McLaren, next to Stoffel Vandoorne? :party:
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