FORMULA 1 - 2012

[Bartolomeo]

Good race today, Engineers @ Ferrari need to step it up now and provide a more competitive car

[mikec]

Good race today, Engineers @ Ferrari need to step it up now and provide a more competitive car

Good race but I'm gutted about the performace of the Mercedes. I hope it's only a set up thing and they can recover quickly. I'm also left wondering about Rosbergs driving, I'm starting to doubt the size of his attatchments.

[MIKA27]

ALONSO'S "SAVE" HIGHLIGHTS MASSAS PLIGHT:

Race day did not match expectations for the Ferrari team in Australia it exceeded them. Fernando Alonso's fifth place finish essentially the position his Ferrari was in for much of last season in qualifying was a very strong result from 12th on the grid. It is fair to say that the lowly grid slot was due to Alonso spinning off the track in Part 2 of Qualifying and he would probably have been more like seventh or eighth on the grid in a clean session.

But Alonso's result also put the spotlight on his team mate's difficulties this weekend. Felipe Massa had a nightmare weekend of uncompetitiveness, retiring from 13th place after a collision with Bruno Senna. "It couldn't have gone any worse," he told the Italian media after the race.

Massa looked uncomfortable on Friday and in qualifying was never on the pace. When Alonso spun off in Q2 he was lying 5th with a 1m 26.494s lap, while Massa at the time was on 1m 27.603. Massa had another run after his team mate's withdrawal and was still 1.003s slower, qualifying 16th. He got a great start, up to 10th by taking advantage of the chaos in the first turn as Senna and Ricciardo collided, but his race pace was well short of Alonso's in the opening stint. The Spaniard was into the low 1m 34s by lap three, while Massa took until lap 6 to get to 1m 34.6s. His fastest race lap 1m 31.940 was 1.7 seconds slower than Alonso's (although it was set six laps earlier, so fuel corrected was 1.2 seconds slower).

The discussion throughout the pit lane all weekend was of how Ferrari have stood by their driver despite the results of the last two years. Now again that patience and loyalty is being tested. "We need to stay close to Felipe because it's clear that he's under pressure," said team boss Stefano Domenicali. "I've asked his engineers to analyse the data on the car, also to reassure him."

The Ferrari is a difficult car to drive with a narrow operating window at present. Alonso can deal with this better than Massa, although Alonso had a number of "moments" during the weekend, of which the spin in qualifying was the worst.

Massa is also still struggling to get the tyres to work and in the race was suffering worse tyre degradation than his team mate, which is a sign of not having the car well balanced. This is despite the hiring of Mr Hamashima, formerly technical boss of Bridgestone.

Where does the situation go from here? Massa must quickly regroup and get on top of his problems, clearly. Last year he was able to get away with being over half a second slower than Alonso because the gap back to the next fastest team Mercedes was greater than that. This year that part of the grid is much more competitive. Mercedes and Lotus, even Williams and Sauber look to have the pace to vie for the top ten slots, so the difference between the two Ferrari drivers may result in grid slots with a large and obvious disparity.

The pressure which Domenicali referred to in Melbourne and which was highlighted pre-season by Ferrari president Montezemolo, is significant. But there is no obvious driver with whom Ferrari might replace him.

Sergio Perez is the closest thing, but he has a Sauber contract and in any case has less than 20 Grands Prix under his belt and that is not Ferrari's style to go for an inexperienced driver. Mark Webber is the obvious choice for 2013, should Ferrari feel they need to move on.

Nobody wants to see a driver who was so combative in 2008 and so dignified in defeat at the end of that season, suffering like this.

It's a headache for driver and team management alike.

[MIKA27]

Horner wants wing issue resolved

Christian Horner has called on the FIA to resolve the issue of Mercedes' DRS-activated F-duct device.Ahead of the Australian GP weekend, FIA technical director Charlie Whiting ruled that the innovation, which comes into play when the Drag Reduction System (DRS) is activated, stalling both the front and rear wing, is legal.

However, Whiting's ruling has been questioned by Mercedes' rivals with Lotus even threatening to protest.

And although that protest never materialised, Red Bull team boss Horner has called on Whiting to clear up the confusion.

"I think there are different interpretations of the rear wing of Mercedes," Horner said. "We had some discussions with Charlie over the weekend and we chose not to protest it.

"There were other teams perhaps more animated than we were, but it is something we just want clarity on because one could argue it is a switch that is affected by the driver.

"The driver hits a button which uncovers this hole, and so it is driver activated, which is not in compliance with the regulations.

"I think there will be a lot of debate about it during the next five days, so we have requested there be more clarity on it because it is a grey area.

"We need to do this before everybody charges around, committing considerable cost to development. If it is a clever idea and it is accepted then fine, but it does seem to be somewhat grey at the moment."

MIKA: RBR, LOTUS, especially RBR really need to butt out and leave it be. If Charlie Whiting has ruled in favour of Mercedes development, then its clearly legal. Mercedes have obviously disected the rules for this season and understood them better than RBR and the like.

[MIKA27]

A cuddle for 'frustrated' Maldonado

Williams chairman Adam Parr says he gave Pastor Maldonado a comforting "cuddle" after he crashed out of sixth place on the last lap of the Australian GP.In what proved to be Williams best race weekend in recent memory, Maldonado qualified his FW34 in eighth place and had been on course for a solid result and a much-needed eight points for his team.

However, it came to naught on the final lap when, chasing down Fernando Alonso, he put a wheel a few inches off line. That put the Venezuelan into a spin, into the wall and out of the grand prix.

"I think you can imagine a driver who doesn't finish a race always feels very frustrated," Parr said.

"But I gave him a cuddle and said 'You drove a great race and we'll have another go in seven days' time (in Malaysia)'.

"Although he didn't get side by side with Fernando he's a racer.

"If there's a car in front of him he doesn't appreciate that very much, so I am afraid that's just in the blood."

But despite the lost points, Parr says there are plenty of reasons for Williams to feel encouraged by their Australian GP showing.

"At the end of the day we've had a great weekend.

"We've done a lot in the last few months to truly try and turn the team around, and I think we've had a lot of evidence this weekend we're making really good progress.

"The car was considerably better than anything I have seen in recent years, so I think we've to take the positives.

"The car seems to be very gentle on the tyres, the drivers find it balanced and very driveable, so I think a lot of features will carry across to other races. We'll find out."

Maldonado's team-mate Bruno Senna also failed to score, finishing P16 after a late incident with Felipe Massa.

MIKA: Maldonado was my driver of the day. He drove a great race and I can see him winning some podiums in due course.

[MIKA27]

'McLaren didn't win, Red Bull lost'

Christian Horner opted for arrogant over magnanimous when faced with defeat, saying McLaren won in Australia because Red Bull underperformed.After dominating the world of Formula One last season, Red Bull came crashing down this weekend in Melbourne where McLaren's Lewis Hamilton claimed pole and Jenson Button the race victory.

And although Red Bull had a better Sunday than they did Saturday, finishing second and fourth in the race as opposed to fifth and sixth in qualifying, Horner is adamant his outfit is actually faster than McLaren.

"It was a good recovery and we had good pace in the race," said the Red Bull team boss.

"We were right on same pace as the McLarens and could have been faster.

"Overall it was a good recovery.

"I think we underperformed rather than McLaren being overly strong and that is the story - we can prove it next time we race."

MIKA: It's way too early to make any predictions however I'm glad Vettel says that three (3) is only a number when referring to winning three consecutive WDC's. I don't believe Vettel will win the WDC this season but rather feel more than think that Button will win the WDC and if that's the case, Lewis hamilton may leave the team also.... Just a hunch on both accounts. Regardless, it will be very close with Vettel in the mix for sure along with a few others. I hope MercedesAMG are there also.

[MIKA27]

Lotus expect competitive showing in Malaysia

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier fully expects his outfit to remain as competitive as it was in the season opening race in Australia, where Romain Grosjean secured third in qualifying.The Frenchman admits he was surprised by the result, but expected his drivers to do even better in Malaysia where the higher temperatures will be of benefit to the E20, which is light on its tyres.

"Before qualifying nobody really knew what to expect," he said. "Possibly to a greater extent than in previous years, there was very little reliable information to be learned from winter testing.

"We knew our car was quite quick, but as for the others we had absolutely no clue. Saturday was a relief: you don’t reach the second row of the grid by chance."

He added: "It will be a totally different track from Albert Park of course. This said, we think that the E20 should be competitive there.

"One of its bigger assets is very low tyre degradation. Considering the very hot conditions in Malaysia, this can only be a help. We think we can be competitive."

The teams technical director James Allison said however, due to the tight turnaround between Australia and Malaysia, the car won't feature any new parts.

"We don't have any big upgrades to the car," he explained. "It is a tight turnaround with a back to back race and we will be concentrating on finding a good setup with the package we have to make sure that we are using the tyres well.

"Sepang is quite challenging in this regard, due the high track temperatures that we can expect. "

[MIKA27]

Q&A with Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen

Q. How did it feel coming back to Formula 1 after two years away? Did you find it easy getting into the groove with a new car, new tyres and the DRS?

Kimi Raikkonen: To be honest it didn't feel any different to when I last raced. There have been a few rule changes but the racing itself is very similar. The DRS is easier to use in the race than in practice or qualifying because there are only certain places you can activate it, whereas in the other sessions people will try to push the limits of how early they can use it which can easily lead to a mistake if you are too aggressive.

Q. Given your performance and where Romain managed to qualify in Australia, how much potential do you feel the E20 has?

KR: The car feels very good. In the race I was stuck in traffic a lot so it didn't show so much, and who knows what might have happened if we had a better grid a slot. There is a lot of speed in the car.

Q. You came on the radio shouting about the blue flags…

KR: I was just wondering what was going on as they kept showing it to me! I assumed it was for the car behind that I'd just overtaken but it seemed to go on for a few laps so I wanted to know why they were still waving at me!

Q. With round 1 now done and dusted, what are your thoughts moving on to Malaysia?

KR: I'm happy to get the first race out of the way. We'll be trying to improve our performance in Malaysia for sure. We don't know how the car will behave there but it's been good everywhere so far so hopefully it'll be the same there. It'll be hot and humid which is a challenge but we have a good car. As long as qualifying goes well we could be fighting for podiums. We'll have to wait and see.

Q. Sepang as a circuit is quite different from Albert Park as a track?

KR: You still need a good car and that looks to be what we have. Hopefully we'll have a smoother weekend than we did in Australia with no mistakes. We won't know how the car will perform until we get out on track, but it's been good everywhere else so far. Hopefully it'll be the same in Malaysia.

Q. What are your main memories of Sepang as a circuit?

KR: Malaysia has been good and bad for me in the past; I've had a few bad races there but I've also won three times at the circuit including my first Grand Prix victory so it's nice to go back to where it all began. It's hot and humid which makes it a challenge for the drivers, but it's the same for everyone.

Q. With two long straights forming part of the circuit layout, is this a track which will lend itself to overtaking with the DRS and KERS systems?

KR: I haven't used the DRS here before so I'm not sure how much use it will be, but our car is good in a straight line so hopefully it can help us out in the race. We'll have to wait and see.

Q. Do you feel like you're getting the most out of the E20 at this stage?

KR: There's much more to come. We're learning about the car all the time and the last race didn't really give us the chance to use its full potential. Hopefully Malaysia will be a bit more straightforward.

[MIKA27]

Maldonado: 'We're not far behind top teams'

Pastor Maldonado may have crashed out on the final lap of the Australian Grand Prix, but his performance beforehand has given the Williams outfit great confidence in its car.

The Venezuelan harassed Fernando Alonso for fifth place for much of the race and was clearly quicker, but couldn't get passed the Ferrari. He later hit the wall on the final lap.

Now the Williams team have even greater targets, and Maldonado is eyeing the top, saying he doesn't believe the tops teams; McLaren and Red Bull, are that far away.

"Next weekend [in Malaysia] will be interesting for everybody. The McLaren and Red Bull look strong, but we are not that far behind," he said.

"I was close to [Mark] Webber in the first and second stint - a little bit quicker in the first but just losing a little bit in the second. So we are there. I think we are faster than Ferrari, plus quicker than Sauber and Force India as well."

The Renault powered-FW44's pace has given Williams a boost and Maldonado says they head to the next race in a much more relaxed mood.

"The team is confident," he added. "We need some points, but at the same time we are more relaxed now because we did a pretty good job.

"We've been pushing so hard to get this car more competitive. I think everybody is surprised by our pace, even more in the race than in qualifying."

[MIKA27]

Sauber preview the Malaysian GP

Kamui Kobayashi: "I have good memories of Malaysia. Last year I finished seventh, two years ago for the first time I managed to make it into Q3, and I also won there in my time in GP2. So it's really a good place for me. I think we have a good chance to score points there because our car showed a lot of potential in Melbourne, and the characteristics of the track should suit us. It will be the first time that we will be driving in really hot ambient temperatures, but that shouldn't be an issue. Looking at the performance of our car, I'm really optimistic for this race.

"Sergio Pérez: "In Melbourne we did not have a straight forward weekend due to the gearbox failure in qualifying, but nevertheless we have proven the C31 is a fast car and we can be competitive. So I hope in Malaysia we will be having a more consistent weekend in terms of weather conditions and reliability, as there is still a lot more to learn about the car. The Sepang International Circuit is a nice one. It is one of the most physical circuits of the season. The heat is demanding for the drivers and also in terms of tyre degradation. It is not an easy circuit to race on, and it is quite technical. I especially like the first section of the lap with the long corners and some hard braking."

Giampaolo Dall'Ara; Head of Track Engineering: "The circuit in Sepang is a technical one, but also a modern and wide one which therefore allows for more lines. In terms of set-up you have to take into account that it is demanding for the tyres. The tarmac is rather on the rough side and you have high speed corners and changes of direction which put stress on the tyres. Therefore the hardest and the medium tyre compounds from Pirelli are allocated for this race. The car configuration will be almost the same as in Melbourne. It is a back to back race anyway and the downforce level isn't much different to Melbourne. Drag matters mostly in the first sector and, to a certain extent, also in sector three. Traction is important although a bit less crucial compared to the street circuit we have been racing on in Australia. Braking stability fairly much effects the lap time, so we have to keep an eye on that. In terms of cooling for the engine and gearbox, you normally run the maximum available configuration in Sepang. Last, but not least, there you sometimes have to deal with changing weather conditions at very short notice. It will be another challenging race weekend and we are looking forward to it."

[MIKA27]

HRT preview the Malaysian GP

Pedro de la Rosa: "Our two main priorities for Malaysia are to have DRS and improve the power steering in this short time that we have whilst being away from Europe. In Australia we were only able to complete 7 timed laps so I need get more track time, get to know the car better and improve the set-up. If we can achieve this then we could have a good Grand Prix. Sepang is probably the toughest track of the year both for car and driver. Mechanically it's very demanding because besides there being a lot of consecutive high-speed corners it is very hot and humid. Cooling is key for the car as is hydration for the driver."

Narain Karthikeyan: "It wasn't an easy first weekend for us in Melbourne but the team is working hard and we hope to complete the maximum amount of kilometres with the new car so that we can have it in prime conditions for qualifying and the race. The team is working on solving the reliability issues that we encountered, so I'm confident that things will go better in Malaysia. Sepang is a circuit that I like a lot and a place where I have raced numerous times. This was the only Grand Prix out of the eight that I took part in last year that I didn't finish, so this year I'm looking to firstly qualify and then finish the race, that is the main objective."

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: "Winter has been a period of hard work where we have achieved many things in a short period of time. But this is Formula 1 and what counts in the end are results so, although for us it was important to make it to Australia and run from the first day, to have made it so far and not quite make it didn't please anyone. Anyways, the F112 is a young car with potential and the team is also new and promising. They both need running time and adaptation, but we are aware that the Championship doesn't stop and there is no time to lose. That is why we will continue to work to the maximum as we have done until now and I'm confident that in Malaysia we will continue to progress and take that extra step to improve."

[rckymtn22]

Q. You came on the radio shouting about the blue flags…

KR: I was just wondering what was going on as they kept showing it to me! I assumed it was for the car behind that I'd just overtaken but it seemed to go on for a few laps so I wanted to know why they were still waving at me!

Kimi, the stewarts are not used to having Lotus running on the lead lap!

[MIKA27]

Nico Rosberg confident Mercedes' degradation issues can be solved quickly

Nico Rosberg believes his Mercedes team can quickly get on the top of the tyre degradation issues which hampered its chances in Australia.

The Brackley-based team had looked a serious threat for a podium finish in Melbourne - especially with Michael Schumacher and Rosberg running in third and fourth places after the first corner of the race.

But its race turned to disappointment, as Schumacher retired with a gearbox problem and Rosberg slipped down the order with tyre degradation - before a late collision with Sergio Perez gave him a puncture.

Although its situation would point to some trepidation ahead of this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, where the track characteristics and high temperatures will make tyre management crucial, Rosberg is upbeat that the team can put in place changes to make its situation better.

"You can do a lot," explained the German. "It is early days and there are so many new things on the car. With a good analysis of the car and what's going on, and also set-up wise, you can improve things.

"[sepang] is also a different track and different circumstances, so it can all look very different."

Rosberg believes that a poor balance to his car was the main contributor to his struggles in the race.

"There was a lot going on [in the race], and unfortunately car wise we were not where we wanted to be," he said.

"We were not quite good enough I think with the balance, and we were wearing the tyres a little bit more than other people. So, we need to look into that and learn what we can do. I'm sure we'll bounce back next weekend.

"My start was great so thanks to my engineer, who did a fantastic job moving me up from seventh to fourth. That was nice but from then on it was a bit more difficult. As Ross [brawn, team principal] would say: 'onwards and upwards' to the next race."

[MIKA27]

Webber buoyed by recovery to fourth in the Australian GP

Mark Webber says his recovery to fourth place in the Australian Grand Prix gives him confidence that Red Bull is in good shape this year, despite losing out to McLaren in the fight for victory.Red Bull's slide from being the dominant force in 2011 to one of several teams in the leading pack last weekend was one of the talking points of the first grand prix of the campaign.

Webber took fourth in the race while team-mate Sebastian Vettel got between the McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton to finish second. But Webber was buoyed by his fightback from a first corner collision at the start, which he feels proved the competitiveness of the RB8.

"I had to rebuild the race from much further back than I had anticipated, but then there were a lot of positives after that," he said. "The pace was very strong.

"I was closing on most people and generally sometimes I was the quickest car on the track. Overall we had some positives, and I think Red Bull Racing leaves here pretty satisfied.

"Yes, we still got beaten and McLaren did a very good job and Jenson deserved the race, but overall we expected to have a bit of a harder time in the race. In the end I am looking forward to round two and a nice battle next week."

Much like his team boss Christian Horner, Webber is predicting some pretty close fights between Red Bull and McLaren, judging by the competitiveness of the outfits in the Australian Grand Prix.

"We are both pretty well organised teams and we have executed good races from both sides," Webber added. "The drivers are very experienced at getting the cars home, but in the end McLaren had track position in qualifying and we had a bit of catching up to do.

"We all bunched up under the safety car and pretty much followed each other home, so let's see how next week goes. It is pretty early days, but it seems that there are going to be some pretty good battles this year."

[MIKA27]

HOW HAMILTON LOST OUT TO VETTEL WHILE PEREZ INFLUENCED KEY DECISIONS:

Source: JamesallenonF1.com

The Australian Grand Prix got the new season off to a great start and showed that the race strategy side is going to be as vital as ever to a good outcome.

In this first Strategy Report of the year we will look at how Jenson Button was able to dominate the race by taking priority in strategy decision making at McLaren, while Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull used good strategy and a piece of opportunism with the safety car to steal second place away from Lewis Hamilton.

We will also see how, for the second consecutive year, Sauber's Sergio Perez was a trailblazer, covering the race with just one stop and his performance on the medium tyre in the first stint changed the thinking of many of the top teams about how to approach the race.

Analysis of Key Strategy Decisions: Albert Park, Melbourne, March 18 2012

As the first race of the season the Australian Grand Prix is always something of a test case for how race strategies have been affected by new generation of tyres and rule changes, such as the one banning the exhaust blown diffuser.

This weekend we saw clearly that the 2012 Pirellis are more suitable race tyres for F1 than last year's; they allow the drivers to push a bit more and they wear differently from the 2011 versions, which would wear quickly along the shoulder, whereas the 2012 models wear evenly across the tyre, which is positive and makes them slightly more predictable. But performance still drops sharply if you stay on them too long.

The expectation going into the race was that the leading drivers would do a two stop race, starting on used soft tyres, taking a second set of used softs at the first stop around lap 19 and then pitting for medium tyres around lap 39.

McLaren vs Red Bull: How Button got the upper hand and Vettel beat Hamilton

McLaren controlled the race from the front row of the grid and the victory was only threatened 22 laps before the end, when the safety car neutralized the field and removed Button's lead, with Vettel right behind him. Lewis Hamilton didn't have the pace to stay with Button and some bad luck with strategy cost him second place. Both drivers had to be careful on fuel saving as well, according to the team boss Martin Whitmarsh, due to starting with an aggressively low fuel load.

The start was the decisive moment. Hamilton had qualified on pole, but Button had gained the strategic advantage over his team mate by winning the start, which meant that he had first call on when to pit.

He made his first stop on lap 16 and moved onto the medium tyre. This meant Hamilton had to come in a lap later. Hamilton's tyres were already going off significantly and he lost 3.4 seconds on lap 16 and on his in-lap to the pits on lap 17. He lost a further 1.4 seconds on his out lap. Worse still, he rejoined behind Raikkonen and Perez, who was on the medium tyre and one-stopping. By the time he passed Perez he was 11 seconds behind Button. More significantly, Vettel had gained seven seconds on him through this period. The world champion also stopped at the ideal moment lap 16 before the tyre performance dropped off and was now just two seconds behind Hamilton. This time lost for Hamilton would prove decisive at the second stops. Vettel had opted for the soft tyre, while Hamilton and Button were on medium.

With an 11 second gap between Button and Hamilton at the end of the second stint and the tyres going off on both cars, the McLaren team decided to pit both of their cars at the same time, on lap 36. Their in laps were identical, but Hamilton's out lap was 3 seconds slower than Button's, meaning he was vulnerable to Vettel.

People have questioned the wisdom of pitting the two cars on the same lap and it's something that McLaren have been working on, as it's hard to achieve and requires a very well drilled pit crew, to have the second set of tyres ready to go. Being able to double stop has significant strategic advantages in multi-stop races, where an extra lap on fading tyres can cost a lot of time. But in a two stop race, it was an interesting decision to try it.

The Red Bull team had seen McLaren stopping, but left Vettel out as he was lapping faster than the McLarens at that point.

So he was on target to jump Hamilton at the second stops anyway, but it was guaranteed when the safety car was deployed as Petrov's car had broken down on the pit straight.

Vettel dived into the pits from the lead and rejoined in between the McLarens, ahead of Hamilton. From 6th on the grid after a disappointing qualifying session, Vettel had made the most out of the opportunity presented to him by McLaren and Hamilton.

Perez blazes a trail again!

The total time needed for a pit stop at Albert Park is 25 seconds, which is one of the longest of the year. This is because the pit lane is long and the speed limit is just 60km/h, rather than the usual 100km/h, for safety reasons. This encourages drivers to do less stops rather than more. Even though Raikkonen, for example, had three sets of new soft tyres at his disposal, he didn't go for a three stop sprint strategy because of the time that would be lost in the pits.

So from outside the top ten there were always going to be a few cars that would start on the medium tyre and try to get to lap 28 or 29, then switch to the soft. The front runners would never have planned to do this as simulations showed it to be 20 seconds slower than a 2 stop if you can run in clear air.

Last year Sergio Perez did a one stop race and finished seventh (although he was later disqualified for rear wing irregularities). It was assumed that several drivers would try this. In the event only three started on the medium tyre: Perez, Vergne and Petrov. Vergne did a two stopper, but Perez managed to go from 22nd on the grid to finish 8th. More importantly his pace around the time of the leaders' first pit stops showed that the medium tyre as not only more durable than the soft, but was fast too.

Going into the race the strategists knew that on one single qualifying lap the soft tyre had been 0.8secs faster than the medium. But they believed that in the race that gap would be smaller, probably around 0.5 seconds. If you had a new set of options as Raikkonen did for example that was a faster choice than a new set of mediums. But the gap between the two tyres turned out to be so close that if you only had used softs, as all the front runners had, then a new set of mediums was better for most.

With the leaders forced to stop as early as lap 16, Perez was lapping comfortably in the 1m 33s which convinced several strategists that the medium was the best tyre to be on that day. Webber went to it first, followed by Button, Hamilton and Alonso. Vettel, Raikkonen and Kobayashi went for soft. The Japanese driver then underlined Sauber's gentle action on the tyres by extending his middle stint on softs to 23 laps; longer than Alonso managed on new mediums in the Ferrari !

Perez' strategy saw him rise to second place by lap 20 before the tyre started to really go off he dropped five places and ten seconds in three laps as the cars that had pitted for new tyres overtook him. But he made his only stop on lap 24 and drove to the flag on a set of new options. He was racing Maldonado, Rosberg, Kobayashi and Raikkonen and finished 8th, having started at the back of the grid. The Sauber's ability to run long stints on the tyres will bring them plenty of points this year.

The UBS Race Strategy Report is written by James Allen with input and data from strategists from several teams.

[PartagasIV]

Love the above breakdown! Really enjoyable qualifying and race, very excited for the season.

[MIKA27]

F1: Coulthard worried Hamilton already beaten

After putting his tumultuous 2011 season behind him, Lewis Hamilton has kicked off this year's world champion in downbeat mood.The 2008 world champion had put his well-documented personal problems and on-track struggles behind him with a positive approach to his sixth season in F1.

But after his teammate Jenson Button beat him in the 2011 standings, Hamilton could not hide his disappointment on Sunday when the 2009 title winner also beat him to the first corner in Melbourne, before Button and reigning champion Sebastian Vettel filled the top two podium spots.

"I just struggled out there," confused pole-sitter Hamilton said afterwards.

David Coulthard, the former long-time McLaren driver and now paddock analyst, expressed concern about Hamilton's "striking" post-race body-language and "stony-faced" performance on the podium.

"Has it (Button's win) knocked Lewis?" he wondered in his Telegraph column.

Many in F1 are astonished by how Button, described as having entered Hamilton's "lion's den" at McLaren two years ago, is now being described by the famous British team as its title-winning hope.

"People underestimate him," said team boss Martin Whitmarsh. "He's such a calm, mature and easygoing fellow that people don't realise necessarily the hunger that's in him to compete and to win.

"He must now believe he's in a good chance of a proper title run this year and providing we can continue to improve the car, not make mistakes, be reliable there's no reason why he can't do that," he added.

On Hamilton's side of the garage, meanwhile, is a downcast driver and an expiring contract.

"On his day, Lewis is unbeatable, and yet I suspect McLaren are wondering whether or not they want to keep him, because he brings so much baggage with him," another former McLaren driver-turned commentator, Martin Brundle, told April's Motor Sport magazine.

As for Whitmarsh, McLaren's team principal insists there is no concern yet that Hamilton has already re-entered another spiral of despair so early in 2012.

Downplaying Hamilton's post-race mood in Australia, he said: "When he starts getting happy with being third, or beaten by his teammate, then he won't be the Lewis we all love and admire."

[MIKA27]

F1: Praise and scorn for Williams' Maldonado

Pastor Maldonado attracted praise and scorn from high places after his performance in Melbourne.

As far as Lotus team boss Eric Boullier is concerned, the Williams driver cost Romain Grosjean a place on the podium after their clash during the season opening grand prix.Asked when the promising black and gold E20 will make its first drive to the rostrum in 2012, Frenchman Boullier told Helsingin Sanomat newspaper: "When Maldonado doesn't crash into us."

Venezuelan Maldonado, often criticised for being Williams' lead pay-driver, had another crash at Albert Park - on the very last lap - which ended his stirring push for a solid fifth place.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who initially admitted to being relieved when Maldonado was no longer hounding him in his mirrors, also said he felt sorry for the 27-year-old.

"He was much faster than me and in the end I might have had problems to defend my position," he told AS newspaper.

"I think he did a good drive and I felt some sadness when I saw that he had gone from my mirrors because he was about to earn the fifth, sixth, whatever (position)," added the Spaniard.

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F1: Webber 'wary' of late rain in Malaysia

A typically hot, humid and thundery weekend is forecast for the Malaysian grand prix.

New championship leader Jenson Button travels to Kuala Lumpur eyeing a weather forecast of possible rain for all three days of track action.And as ever in tropical Malaysia, the highest chance of rain is always in the late afternoon.

"Bernie (Ecclestone) loves a late start," smiled Red Bull's Mark Webber, "and, once again, the race has a late kick-off."

Indeed, qualifying and the race are not scheduled until 4pm local in Malaysia, ensuring a more civil early morning wake-up for F1's bulk live audience in Europe.

"Late afternoon is usually when the rain comes in Malaysia, and when it comes you know about it," said Australian Webber. "It's something to be wary of."

Even more nervous about the rain forecasts will be HRT.

After sitting out almost the entire winter whilst rebuilding the struggling Spanish team following Colin Kolles' departure, Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan failed to qualify in Melbourne.

"In Australia we were only able to complete seven timed laps so I need to get more track time, get to know the car better and improve the setup," said de la Rosa.

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Schumi has 'good feeling' for season ahead

Michael Schumacher heads to Malaysia in an upbeat mood as he feels the W03 will once again put Mercedes in the mix at the front of the grid.The seven-time World Champion impressed during qualifying in Melbourne as he put his car in P4, but it was a different story on the Sunday as he was forced to retire with a gearbox problem while running in third place.

Schumacher, though, knows that there were plenty of positives at Albert Park which should stand them in good stead at Sepang this weekend.

"After the disappointment of how the first race in Melbourne turned out, I am flying to Malaysia with a big sense of anticipation, because we saw in Australia that our car is capable of putting us in the mix," he said.

"Of course, we haven't forgotten that the circuit in Melbourne is not really representative of the true competitive picture, but nevertheless the car gives me a good feeling for the season ahead.

"Sepang will be interesting for everybody because it will be the first clue to the real relative strengths of all the cars.

The range of slow and fast corners give a good indication of where you are, which always makes the race in Malaysia fun for the drivers and engineers, and overall a big challenge for both man and machine."

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Kimi: We'll be in the mix for a podium

Kimi Raikkonen believes Lotus will be fighting for a top-three finish at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The 2007 World Champion endured a mix weekend upon his return to Formula One. He crashed out in Q1 in Australia on Saturday after some miscommunication with those on the pit wall, but he bounced back a day later and moved up the field to finish P7.

Raikkonen is confident that the E20 will be good enough to challenge for a podium finish at Sepang.

"I'm happy to get the first race out of the way," the Finn said.

"We'll be trying to improve our performance in Malaysia for sure. We don't know how the car will behave there but it's been good everywhere so far so hopefully it'll be the same again.

"It'll be hot and humid which is a challenge but we have a good car, so as long as we don't make the same kind of mistakes again in qualifying I think we have a chance to fight for podiums."

Team principal Eric Boullier admits he is "proud" of the team's performance in Melbourne. Romain Grosjean managed to qualify P3, but was then forced to retire early following a crash.

"Well, we are coming back from a tough 2011 season. From a human and a technical point of view, last year was very, very tough," Boullier said.

"We took some risks with an innovative concept that didn't pay off, and we paid the price for that. However, when we approached the subject of 2012 this experience did not prevent us from being brave once again. The team proved that they were not scared to think outside the box once again. This is exactly what I was expecting. I guess this is in the DNA of Enstone. As a Team Principal, I can only be impressed with this approach."

He added: "It will be a totally different track from Albert Park of course. This said, we think that the E20 should be competitive there. One of its bigger assets is very low tyre degradation. Considering the very hot conditions in Malysia, this can only be a help. We think we can be competitive there."

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Ferrari hope new chassis will aid Massa

Ferrari will fly a brand new chassis out to Malaysia for the second round of the 2012 championship, in the hope it will help Felipe Massa to more closely match his team-mate.The Brazilian qualified 16th in Australia, but failed to progress on Sunday and finally a collision with Bruno Senna on lap 46 resulted in his retirement, whilst Fernando Alonso finished 5th after a drive which many have applauded.

A statement on the team's website reveals that a new chassis, number 294, will be prepared for Massa to enable the outfit to rule out an irregularities with the F2012 he drove last weekend.

"Felipe has certainly been the target of criticism after the race in Albert Park," read the statement. "But the Brazilian driver is used to this situation.

"Felipe knows he can count on the team to do everything, both from the technical and the operational point of view, to put him in a better state to show off his talents – even at the cost of extra work in these few days that separate the Australian race from the one in Malaysia," it continued.

"Work has already begun in the Sepang pits to prepare chassis number 294, which replaces the number 293 and will be used by the Brazilian in the second race of the season.

"This choice was taken to clear up any doubts about the unusual performance of his car during the weekend at Albert Park," it explained.

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Williams preview the Malaysian GP

Mark Gillan: Chief Operations Engineer: The whole team are really buzzing after the good pace shown in both qualifying and in the race in Melbourne. We are now eager to capitalise on this performance and convert it into points in Malaysia. The Sepang track is a medium speed circuit, which is quite hard on the front tyres. With this in mind, Pirelli have specified both the hard and medium tyres. Despite the high ambient temperatures, humidity and chance of late afternoon rain the likelihood of a safety car is low, and indeed is the lowest of the entire season. Aerodynamically we shall be running a similar package to that in Australia, but will probably have to open up the cooling levels to allow for the increase in ambient temperature.

Pastor Maldonado: The next race in Malaysia will be a real challenge for all the teams due to the hot and humid conditions we find there. The team is feeling positive and our car looks competitive, so we'll do our best to be in the top 10 again. I feel confident in the team and all the hard work we have done over the winter. I want to carry the momentum we had in Australia forward to get a good result in Malaysia.

Bruno Senna: It is a very tough track, very physical and the heat is a big issue in Malaysia. It will be important to get acclimatised to the heat ahead of the weekend and get a good car set-up for these conditions. We will then try to chip away and continue what we learnt in Australia. I've been to Sepang before so I know the track, and I'm looking forward to the race weekend.

Remi Taffin, Head of Renault Sport F1 Track Operations: Malaysia places a very different set of stresses on an engine from Australia. The heat and humidity can present stiff challenges for an engine's cooling systems that may mean extra holes have to be put in the bodywork to diffuse heat. The safeguards Renault has put in place mean no such measures need to be taken with the RS27 so we can focus entirely on delivering the drivability needed for the flowing corners and those two long straights, which account for 25% of the lap, and building on the strong start in Melbourne.

Paul Hembrey, Pirelli Motorsport Director: For Malaysia we have nominated the P Zero Yellow soft tyre, which was used in Australia, and the P Zero White medium compound, making its debut this year. One of the biggest challenges of Sepang are the tropical conditions, which mean high temperatures, high humidity and the strong chance of a downpour. All these factors, along with quite an abrasive surface, place plenty of demand on the tyres. We have a new evolution of the intermediate and wet tyre the Cinturato Green and Cinturato Blue which could see action in Malaysia for the first time.

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Mercedes preview the Malaysian GP

Michael Schumacher: "After the disappointment of how the first race in Melbourne turned out, I am flying to Malaysia with a big sense of anticipation, because we saw in Australia that our car is capable of putting us in the mix. Of course, we haven't forgotten that the circuit in Melbourne is not really representative of the true competitive picture, but nevertheless the car gives me a good feeling for the season ahead. Sepang will be interesting for everybody because it will be the first clue to the real relative strengths of all the cars. The range of slow and fast corners give a good indication of where you are, which always makes the race in Malaysia fun for the drivers and engineers, and overall a big challenge for both man and machine. I'm looking forward to it."

Nico Rosberg: "I always look forward to coming to Malaysia for the Grand Prix. Sepang is one of my absolute favourite tracks on the calendar and it is the home race of our friends from Petronas. The circuit has two long straights which should suit us this year, and the conditions will be very demanding as always due to the high heat and humidity. I'm confident that we can improve our performance here, and we will have a successful weekend in front of all our Malaysian supporters."

Ross Brawn, Team Principal: "The Malaysian Grand Prix is always a special race for the team as the home race of our title partner Petronas. As always, the support that Petronas provides to Formula 1, both to our team and to the promotion of the sport and the Grand Prix in Malaysia, has been fantastic, and we are all looking forward to a busy and successful week. Despite a positive start, our first race weekend of the season in Australia did not turn out as we would have wished, and there has been, and will continue to be, a lot of hard work done before we take to the track again in Malaysia. We have a fundamentally good car, now it is up to us to optimise its performance and achieve its potential on track."

Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "Last weekend in Melbourne, we began the race well, with our cars running third and fourth, and ended it badly, with Michael retiring from P3, while Nico suffered a puncture on the last lap after contact with another car while fighting for sixth place. Before this, Nico's lap times were affected by higher levels of tyre degradation than ourselves and Pirelli had expected from testing and the practice sessions in Melbourne. Our team will be working hard to understand and, where possible, correct this before the next race in Malaysia. Our title partner Petronas is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur and they are strong supporters of Mercedes-Benz motorsport activities in Formula 1, DTM and our Formula 3 junior programme. However Petronas is much more than a title partner and element of the Mercedes AMG Petronas team name. Thanks to their hard work, the continuous development of fuels and oils has also brought valuable tenths of a second in lap time improvements. Moreover, Mercedes-Benz and Petronas are close business partners in many countries around the world, with notable success. Together, we are working to achieve similar successes in Formula 1 and, with the potential our car has shown in pre-season testing and in qualifying and the opening stages of the race in Melbourne, we are now working in a focused manner to convert this into strong race results."

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Caterham preview the Malaysian GP

Heikki Kovalainen: "I've been looking forward to getting back to Malaysia and after the race in Australia it's good that we can get straight back on track so quickly. I've accepted the penalty I was given for passing Vettel under the safety car - it was definitely a bit harsh but the rules are set and it's just unfortunate I made a small mistake that will put me back five places on the grid at Sepang. It's not really a problem - we know we can pass the cars that will probably be ahead on the grid and I'll just have to do my best to put myself as far up the grid as I can on Saturday so we can minimise the effect of the penalty in the race.

"As Malaysia's one of our two home races we're always given a very warm welcome when we come here and that's extra motivation for the whole team to push on in what are clearly pretty tough conditions. I feel for the guys in the garage as they have to work in intense heat and heavy humidity, but for me I've been training hard all winter to prepare for the whole season, and this race isn't really any different. Staying hydrated is key - I'll take on more liquid than normal earlier in the week before the race and I'll make sure I'm outside in the hottest part of the day to get my body used to the temperatures, but once I'm in the car it's really business as normal."

Vitaly Petrov: "This is my first race in Malaysia with the team and I'm looking forward to seeing how the Malaysian fans react to their home team, and to building on what we achieved on track in Australia. The race in Melbourne didn't end as we'd wanted, but it was still very good to see that we could push the cars ahead, and until the problem we had with the steering wheel I felt good in the car. My engineer Gianluca told me afterwards that he felt happy, despite how the race had finished, because we'd done a really good job in the car and in the pitstops, so we know we have something to work on, which is good motivation for the race at Sepang.

"Putting aside the weather, which affects everyone the same, the track itself is a good challenge, and with KERS on the car for the first time for the team in Malaysia I think we can show how we have progressed since last year in front of our home fans. We should be looking to get more out of the package in qualifying than in Australia, and in the race itself it would obviously be good to avoid the sort of incident that held us up at the start of the Melbourne race and be right in the fight from lap one. Whatever happens it will be a good week and the more time I spend with my new team, the more I'm finding what a good group of people I'm working with so I want to do my best to help the whole team keep pushing forwards."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: "The obvious challenge facing everyone in Malaysia is how you cope with the heat. This will be the first time this year where we will be able to see how the 2012 tyres operate in the sort of temperatures we will be facing throughout the weekend, and we also have to take into account the strong possibility of heavy rain when we are planning the setup options for each session.

"We saw in Australia that we have some work to do on generating heat into the tyres as early as possible when the cars are on track, and the increased ambient temperatures in Malaysia will obviously help that, but I think managing degradation levels will play a key role in the race strategies of all the teams. We need to make sure we improve our qualifying performance and then I think we can be reasonably confident of repeating the sort of race pace we saw from both cars in Australia. We know what the car is capable of and we need to maximise track time on Friday and Saturday to help us extract the performance it has within it, so the main aim will be to have a reliable, problem free weekend and put on as good a display as we can in front of our home fans and our shareholders."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "This is our third visit to one of our two home races and the first for us as Caterham F1 Team, with the legal wrangles we have been involved in for the last two years now behind us, firmly in control of our own destiny and writing a brand new chapter in our story. I am very glad we are back home as Caterham and it feels like only yesterday that we were making our debut at Sepang, and recording what was for us an historic first appearance in Q2 in only our third ever race. While I would obviously like to see us repeat that in 2012 I am not sure if we are quite there yet. We have obviously improved our pace relative to our 2011 speed, but the teams ahead have also improved, so even though we are closer than this time last year we still have work to do to bridge the gap in qualifying.

"However, in the race I think it looks like a different matter. At the end of last year we were agonisingly close to a number of cars ahead, and this year our race lap times in Australia were on a par with at least three cars ahead. With a bit of luck, which obviously deserted us in Melbourne, I think the Malaysian race will give us a chance to show just what we have achieved over the winter, and that gives us good reason to be optimistic about the weekend ahead."