FORMULA 1 - 2012

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The Ice-cream man giveth

Kimi Raikkonen showed that beneath that icy facade is a sense of humour to rival most as he gifted the media ice-creams at Sepang.

The last time he raced at the Sepang circuit, Raikkonen was slated by many while earning a chuckle from others as, with the race suspended due to the heavy downpour, he headed into his Ferrari garage for a Coke and a chocolate ice-cream.

That proved to be the Finn's final season with Ferrari as his commitment to the team and the sport was called into question.

Three years later - and back in F1 - there were again ice-creams to be had in Malaysia although this time they were for the press.

With more rain and another suspended race on the horizon, the Lotus team handed out ice-creams to the media on behalf of their Finnish driver ahead of Sunday's grand prix.

The treat came with a note saying "please enjoy this ice-cream" and was insurmountable proof that Raikkonen does have a sense of humour.

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Alonso: Aggressive approach still needed

Fernando Alonso says Ferrari need a "very aggressive approach" if they want to ensure that Sunday's victory is not their last for a while.

Against the odds, Alonso claimed the win in Malaysia on Sunday, fighting his way to the front from eighth place on the grid in the wet conditions.

It was a surprise win as Ferrari have struggled this season, especially in qualifying, falling behind rivals McLaren and Red Bull and even Mercedes and Lotus.

Despite being overjoyed with his victory, which pushed him to the top of the Championship by five points over Lewis Hamilton, Alonso concedes Ferrari cannot rest easy.

"We are not having the easiest start to the Championship with some problems in the car and some lack of pace but we are working on that, working day and night," Alonso said.

"I think Ferrari (has) proved over 60 years what they are able to do.

"This win changes nothing in the approach in the next coming weeks. In the next coming races we need to have a very aggressive approach in terms of the development of the car.

"We need to bring updates to every race because we are a little bit too far behind or more than what we want or what we expect.

"Now that we are leading the Championship we should be quite proud of the job but as I said we need to work."

He added: "From a psychology point of view, the win will make more motivation to the guys in Maranello.

(But) they don't need motivation because they work for Ferrari and they need to do the maximum for this red car and they know that, but after one win they will go at eight o'clock to work with a smile and that maybe will give us some ideas."

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Tost hails faultless Vergne

Toro Rosso are singing the praises of rookie driver Jean-Eric Vergne after he netted points in only his second F1 grand prix.

Joining the Toro Rosso fold this season, Vergne missed out on his first World Championship point in Australia by just one place while his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo bagged his first with an eighth-placed finish.

However, on Sunday in Malaysia it was Vergne's turn to net a few points as he went one better, bringing his STR7 home in seventh place. He started the 56-lap rain-interrupted grand prix 18th on the grid.

"In Melbourne we scored points with Daniel and now in Sepang, it was the turn of our rookie driver, Jean-Eric, to secure his first Formula 1 points with a strong drive to eighth place," said team boss Franz Tost.

"As is often the case in Malaysia, we witnessed a very exciting race in which Jean-Eric did an excellent job as it was the first time he has raced a Formula 1 car in wet conditions.

"He made no mistakes and produced really good lap times and so this eighth place is well-deserved.

"These four points are also the result of excellent work from the team, making the correct decisions as regards pitstops and tyre strategy as well as managing the complicated situation while the race was suspended."

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MALAYSIAN GP PICTURES:

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FIA investigation could cost Caterham £25m+

The Caterham F1 team has been embroiled in legal fights since its inception back in 2010, but the latest case brought against them could dwarf that of the naming saga seen last season.

Whilst it looked as though Caterham got off scot-free from the Force India vs. AeroLab/Caterham court ruling last week, which claimed the Italian aerodynamics specialist and Tony Fernandes owned team had used significant amounts of Force India data to develop the Lotus Racing T127 from 2010, an investigation by the sports governing body could prove otherwise.

The FIA has been asked by both Force India and Marussia - Caterham's closest rival - to investigate claims that the team used development data from the VJM05 to develop its first car.

Marussia's sporting director, Graeme Lowdon, explained the reasons behind their dialogue with the FIA.

"The rules that we all as teams operate under are very strict and very clear in terms of what we have to do as a constructor," he is quoted as saying by GPWeek. "There are certain parts of the car that you have to design yourself and you have to own the IP to that.

"Unless I'm mistaken, the contents of part of this judgement suggest that there has been copyright infringement and if that's the case it needs to be looked at and it needs to be looked at seriously because it's really fundamental to the integrity of the sport."

Whilst the London High Court found AeroLab and Caterham to have used Force India CAD files, they believed it was purely to cut corners and speed up the development process, rather than copy the parts as a whole.

However, paragraph 373 of the 122-page ruling suggests much deeper copyright infringement took place, "In my judgment the Aerolab/FondTech CAD files do reproduce a substantial part of the corresponding Force India CAD files for the following parts: the vortex generator, rear brake duct lower element and rear view mirror."

If clear evidence can be found by the FIA that data from the VJM05 was designed into the T127, then the outfit could face losing its tenth place finish in 2010. Whilst such a penalty may be seen as harsh, damaging to the sport and the team, it isn't unheard of. In 2007, McLaren were stripped of their points, thrown out of the Constructors' title (in which they would have finished first), and fined £62 million ($100m).

Such a scenario at Caterham could very well be likely if found guilty, resulting in the loss of their column one status, which sees them take a share of the F1 prize money, estimated at £18m ($30m) as well as significant fines easily topping £10m ($15m).

The FIA are currently awaiting the results of a separate criminal case against the teams and AeroLab before conducting its own investigation into the matter.

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Nico Rosberg baffled by tyre problems in the Malaysian Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg has admitted that he is baffled by the tyre problems suffered by Mercedes in the Malaysian Grand Prix, as the team failed again to capitalise on its strong qualifying pace.

Rosberg and team-mate Michael Schumacher had been McLaren's main rivals in the battle for pole position, but their form dropped off dramatically in the race for the second event in succession.

But rather than its performance in Malaysia being the result of excessive degradation, as happened in Australia, Rosberg says that its tyre issues in Sepang had a totally different nature that he does not understand.

"It is strange we are so strong in qualifying but then struggling in the race," Rosberg said on his official video blog after the Malaysian GP. "In qualifying with the car we have we can fight for the front row, but in the race [we cannot match that].

"This time strategy-wise, everything was going well. I was P4 after the red flag and pitstop, and from then on I thought I could do something good this time. But then I started going backwards - and big time.

"[With] the first inters I had to come into the pits because I thought my rear tyre was game over completely. So I come into the pits, put a new set of inters on and the pit crew said to me that my inters were brand new still, so I thought, what is going on? They felt completely destroyed. It was strange.

"From then on, it was getting worse and worse, and then going on the slicks it was a bit of a highlight that I managed to beat Jenson which was nice, but fighting for 13th place is not worth mentioning."

Mercedes chiefs now face an intense effort over the next few weeks to try and get an understanding of why their car is so strong on single lap pace but cannot repeat that form over long runs.

Rosberg added: "There is a lot of work ahead of us as we are still struggling in the race, and it is going to take some thorough analysis. We have enough time before China [on April 15], so I hope we can improve.

"I am looking forward to China to finally getting a better result, and my season starts there more or less."

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F1: Vettel loses cool as Red Bull loses edge in 2012

After the near-perfection of 2011, reigning back-to-back world champion Sebastian Vettel lost his cool in Malaysia.

Red Bull's dominance since late 2009 has finally ended, and that fact was fully demonstrated at Sepang when German Vettel could not hang on even to fourth place.

He collided with backmarker Narain Karthikeyan and lost his temper with the Indian, showing him a middle-finger salute no less than twice.

Vettel, 24, then described Karthikeyan as a "gherkin" on German television.

And his description got worse in front of the British audience, when he branded his Madras-born rival an "idiot".

Germany's Bild newspaper quotes him saying: "I think some people get overwhelmed by the situation and don't see where their car is.

"You have to wonder whether driving a car is the right job for them."

There are also those who believe Vettel deliberately ignored Red Bull's multiple radio messages about retiring his car - ostensibly because of high brake temperatures - at the end of the race so that he can have a fresh gearbox for China.

He argues that his radio didn't work, but also told Welt newspaper: "I guess I should have come in, but I think that if you can, you should go to the end of the race.

"Of course you can save the car, but I wanted to see the chequered flag," added Vettel.

Ultimately, he scored no points in Malaysia and lies a mere sixth in the drivers' points standings.

Team boss Christian Horner is not too worried.

"McLaren lost more than us here," he said. "At the moment they have the fastest package yet they only got three points more than us.

"Ferrari's victory and Sauber's second place, we can get over," added the Briton.

Nonetheless, the situation for Vettel is starkly different to last year.

"Statistically he is already among the best ever in formula one," wrote Livio Oricchio in O Estado de S.Paulo. "But this (race) was an example of him lacking effectiveness when he is down the field and has to gain positions.

"He is a great driver but he still has to improve in this regard. Karthikeyan was punished but my own reading is that Vettel could have avoided it."

Jaime Alguersuari, meanwhile, thinks the only factor is Red Bull's loss of superiority.

"The end of the blown exhausts has cost Red Bull its magic," the former Toro Rosso driver is quoted by Mundo Deportivo newspaper.

"Vettel was almost literally walking the races (last year) but now the aerodynamic solutions in the field are very even.

"Many called what he (Vettel) did a miracle, that he had divine talents, while others knew it was due to his (car's) technological superiority," said the Spaniard.

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F1: Schumacher admits Mercedes not winning car yet

Michael Schumacher is looking on the bright side, even though the best qualifying effort of his F1 comeback washed away on Sunday.

The seven time world champion qualified his Mercedes in the top three at Sepang, but the tyre-eating W03 could deliver him only a single point."On no other car does the rubber dissolve so quickly," read a report in Germany's Bild newspaper.

Schumacher, however, is upbeat.

"We are a second behind. Last year it was two (seconds)," he is quoted as saying.

"Clearly we have made progress but at the moment we can't be expected to fight for victory."

It would also be premature to draw up the 2012 pecking-order based on Malaysia, after the heavy rain left Ferrari and Sauber drivers as the unlikely occupants of the podium's top steps.

"Today was quite peculiar," Red Bull's Christian Horner told AFP news agency, "because if you look at it Sergio Perez was the quickest car on track.

"He was catching a Ferrari -- and pulling away from a McLaren," he exclaimed. "It's difficult to draw too much out of the first couple of races."

Former veteran engineer Joan Villadelprat agrees that Sunday at Sepang was not a representative result, particularly for the otherwise struggling winner Ferrari.

"Fernando Alonso won with a car that is really below the pace of McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and probably - as we saw at the end - Sauber as well," he wrote in El Pais newspaper.

MIKA: I don't agree with this 'Oh well" attitude. Sure, MercedesAMG are 1 second better than last season, but look at Williams, below the mid field teams last two seasons and then this season, both Melbourne and Malaysia, they have race pace to be up there fighting for points with a car that has pace to gain positions. So for the last three seasons, Mercedes have really not gained all that much. Qualifying doesn't win you points or a WDC... Mercedes need to do something fast otherwise both Rosberg and Schumacher (If he decides to stay in the sport) will eventually leave. Schumacher might yet retire after this season if MercedesAMG don't deliver a car worthy of challenging for podiums.

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WEBBER MEETS HIS TUSSAUD'S WAXWORK:

Red Bull driver Mark Webber has been immortalised in a waxwork at the new Madame Tussaud's which will open in Sydney in May.

"When Madame Tussauds approached me about including me in their Sydney collection, I was rapt," Webber said. "It was fun working with the team in London to make a second version of myself, particularly my varying five o'clock shadow.

"I think it's an incredible and accurate representation and I'm still amazed at how perfectly they matched everything, particularly my eyes, which is spooky."

Madame Tussaud's has been producing lifelike waxwork figures for over 250 years. Initially the figures were designed to give insights into the people making the news, but since the advent of the press and more recently TV and internet, the displays have become more of a commentary on culture and celebrity.

As well as looking like the celebrity in question, the waxworks are the exact same size; F1 fans in Australia who have never met Webber may be surprised by how tall and how thin he is.

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FOH - F1: TECHNICAL ANALYSIS - 2012 DEVELOPMENTS:

An illustration(s) and explanation of the new F1 regulations and the Formula 1 teams' latest solutions:

Ferrari F2012 - gearbox-chassis stiffening arm:

Following Fernando Alonso's advice, Ferrari have introduced to the F2012 a concept used by their driver's former team, Renault, as long ago as 2001. Designed to make the rear end of the car stiffer, an arm (red arrow) has been added connecting the gearbox and chassis. Note also the oil radiator mounted on top of the gearbox and cooled by the second small inlet in the engine cover (blue arrow).

Sauber C31 - brake ducts:

More and more teams are gleaning aerodynamic benefits from their brake ducts, with those at the front improving the flow of air in the space between the tyre and the chassis and the rear ducts boosting downforce. At the Barcelona tests, Sauber followed Williams' lead and introduced drums with no inlet, but at last weekend's Melbourne race the Swiss team did add an inlet (see inset). In Sepang, however, the brake ducts on the C31 are totally closed and instead receive the air needed to cool the brakes via a small gap between the carbon blade and the tyre.

Williams FW34 - brake ducts:

Brake ducts are being used more and more by the teams for aerodynamic benefit. The front ducts are used to improve the flow of air in the space between the tyre and the chassis, whilst the rear ducts are used to boost downforce. Williams (and subsequently Sauber) have introduced front ducts without an inlet.

The British team have also added a small turning vane to improve airflow efficiency.

Mercedes F1 W03 - 'F-duct' rear wing:

This is the development that had some of Mercedes' rivals up in arms in Australia, and in Malaysia. Here we can see the hole in the rear-wing endplate (purple arrow) that is exposed when the DRS is activated (inset, red arrow). Beyond that, the exact workings of the system are speculation. The most complex theory is that when the holes are 'opened', air is sucked into channels in the endplates and routed via thin pipes down to the beam wing and then all the way through the chassis until it reaches the nosecone. There it is channelled down through the two front-wing pillars to the front-wing flaps, where it is released, stalling the wing in F-duct fashion, cutting drag and boosting top speed. It is effectively the same F-duct system used by the team two years ago (with air flowing from the nose, through the chassis, to the rear wing), but in reverse. In simple terms, it acts as a front-flap adjuster, reducing drag and downforce at the front of the car, balancing it with the loss of drag provided by the DRS at the rear. A far simpler theory is that the system acts like an F duct, but purely on the rear wing. Either way, the grey areas in terms of legality are whether it is considered to be passive in its operation (legal) or driver operated (not legal), and whether it is acceptable for the driver-operated DRS mechanism to have such a secondary function.

Mercedes F1 W03 - rear diffuser:

Mercedes' is arguably the most innovative car of the season, especially compared to its predecessor, with its 'W-duct' front wing and the reported 'F-duct rear wing' that has generated so much discussion in Melbourne. This drawing shows how the exhaust blows towards the central section of the rear diffuser, which also has a second element in the central 15 cm area which is free from restrictions. It's quite a different solution, not totally dissimilar to Sauber's, with airflow coming from the engine cover and going through to the the beam wing and the deformable rear crash structure. But the car's most controversial point is a hole in the rear wing endplate (red arrow), which when opened by the movement of the DRS is thought to stall the rear wing, cutting drag and boosting top-end speed by as much as 18km/h. It is thus far considered legal by the FIA, though two teams have already requested clarification.

Red Bull RB8 - rear floor variations:

Red Bull have brought their second, highly revised version of the RB8 to Melbourne, with new exits for the exhausts (more squared off like the McLaren ) and a new floor in front of the rear tyres. On Friday the team used a layout with a transverse cut (1) to induce airflow to go under the side channels. On Saturday this area was different: more vertical fins (2) now direct the airflow and a different cut (1) in front of the rear tyres reduces drag in this area.

Ferrari F2012 - revised exhaust positioning:

Following new rule restrictions, exhaust positioning has taken centre stage in 2012. At the opening winter test in Jerez, Ferrari chose to send the hot exhaust air in a wide and low direction towards the rear of the car (main image, yellow arrows), between the tyres and the diffuser. The Italian team, like Sauber and McLaren, used the Coanda effect to help divert the airflow downwards and along, even when evaluating different angles for the exhaust pipe itself (see two small insets). By using an assortment of curved surfaces surrounding the exhaust, low pressure builds, which in turn forces the air to maintain contact with the surfaces it is passing. For the two final Barcelona tests, however, Ferrari changed their approach in an effort to boost rear downforce. This solution, also used by Lotus and Williams, directs the air towards the centre of the car (see large inset at top), over the rear suspension and towards the beam wing. But with Ferrari technical boss Pat Fry openly complaining that the second solution proved less effective than the original.

Sauber C31 - exhaust positioning:

Following an FIA clampdown designed to eliminate blown diffusers, teams have had to rethink exhaust positioning this year. Sauber's solution sees the hot exhaust air directed in a wide and low direction towards the rear of the car (yellow arrows), between the tyres and the diffuser. It relies on the Coanda effect, which makes it possible to divert the airflow when it leaves the exhaust pipe. The hot air is guided by an assortment of curved surfaces cleverly placed around the exhaust (see red arrows). As the surfaces curve away from the flow of air, low pressure builds, which in turn forces the air to stay in contact with the surfaces. This concept has also been used by McLaren and Ferrari.

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HOW PEREZ COULD HAVE BEATEN ALONSO AT SEPANG DESPITE HIS MISTAKE:

The Malaysian Grand Prix provided us with an exciting glimpse of what we can expect in 2012, from a racing and strategy point of view.

We saw also a phenomenon which could provide the key to the season for whoever wins the title; the ability to be fast on all types of tyre in all conditions. Because judging from the Sepang race, even more so than Melbourne, all the teams are finding it hard to manage that. Hamilton, the pole sitter, for example, wasn't particularly fast in any condition, while the Sauber was very quick on used intermediates and hard slicks. Williams' Pastor Maldonado was not particularly quick on intermediate tyres, but once he went onto slicks he was extremely fast.

It was a fantastic race and one that Sergio Perez could and should have won, even without the driving error he made six laps from the end, as we will see.

Race morning strategy predictions for a dry race had been that the hard tyre would actually prove faster in the race, with estimates of up to 0.2s advantage. In the event this proved true and what was critical was taking a new set of hard tyres versus a used set of mediums. This was to be proven by the duel in the closing stages for the lead.

Perez and Sauber the one that got away

Sergio Perez and Sauber were the fastest car/driver/tyre combination in two vital phases of this curious afternoon; in the long second stint on used intermediates and particularly in the final stint on slick tyres. But a historic victory wasn't lost solely on his driving mistake. The strategy, while bold early on, became very cautious as the race progressed and this also cost him the chance to win.

As the rain fell heavily in the opening laps, Sauber pitted Perez on lap 3 for wet tyres. He was the first serious runner to make the move and everyone followed suit, but not for another two laps. On extreme wets Perez was three or more seconds faster than the leading cars and when everyone pitted on lap 5 he moved up to third place.

This bold move by Sauber had set up the platform for a great result. But then they started playing it cautious.

Going into the second stops, Perez was ahead of Alonso. At the second stops, the move from full wets to intermediates, Perez stopped two laps later than Button and a lap later than Alonso. The track was drying out and by the end of lap 13, when the safety car was withdrawn and it was obvious that intermediates were the faster tyre to be on. But Sauber played it safe, leaving Perez out for another lap, in which he took the lead.

But critically, this mistake led him to lose track position to Alonso. When Perez came out of the pits on lap 15 he was still just in front of Alonso, but was now feeling his way on new intermediates, whereas Alonso had a lap's worth of experience on them and was able to pass Perez early in the lap.

However Perez did gain a position over Hamilton who was held in his pit box by McLaren so as not to collide with the incoming Massa.

The Ferrari opened up a six second lead over the Sauber, but as the intermediates wore down and the tyre pressures came up, Perez came flying back at Alonso, closing the gap to 1.3 seconds on lap 39. By now Ricciardo, the pioneer on slick tyres, was lighting up the time sheets and it was clearly the moment to follow.

The Sauber strategists delayed again; they were cautious about putting their inexperienced driver on slicks too soon, they also had one eye on the weather, with the threat of more showers in the air. They lost the initiative; Ferrari went for it, bringing Alonso in. As the leader, Alonso needed to cover off the threat from clearly the faster car, which he did.

This second mistake dropped Perez back seven seconds behind Alonso. Sauber had chosen a new set of hard tyres, Alonso a used set of mediums. The Ferrari decision was an interesting one as many strategists weren't sure whether the medium would last 16 laps, the distance to the flag from this point. But on paper the medium offered faster warm-up. In fact the hard tyre proved faster to warm up on the Sauber and was instantly quicker. Perez again caught Alonso easily and with the DRS wing activated and a tyre advantage was sure to pass him at some point in the final six laps.

However he lost focus when the team told him to protect his position and he made a mistake, losing four seconds. There were suggestions that with Sauber so politically aligned to Ferrari and a long-standing customer of its engines, had made some kind of "arrangement" with the Scuderia, but Sauber and Ferrari denied this on Sunday night. And it does look more like a case of Sauber not wanting to throw away the chance of its best result in five years.

Nevertheless in that final stint we saw something that gives great encouragement for the season ahead. After six laps we had reached a crossover point where the hard tyre was the faster tyre than the medium. This is something Pirelli had been hoping to achieve this year and it will make the strategies extremely interesting. With lots of cars close on performance and many strategic options, it's going to be a great year of racing.

Toro Rosso tactically astute

Toro Rosso's technical director Giorgio Ascanelli used to be race engineer to Ayrton Senna at McLaren and is one of the wiliest old foxes in the pit lane. On Sunday we saw a couple of classic Ascanelli moves: first he left Jean Eric Vergne out on intermediate tyres as the torrential downpour hit. He had only to stay on the track as everyone pitted for full wets and he managed it. When the race director stopped the race, as Ascanelli knew he would, Vergne was in seventh place. And with the restart behind the safety car, this meant full wet tyres must be fitted so Vergne got a set of full wets without having to make a pit stop! It set him up for his eventual 8th place finish.

Meanwhile Ascanelli was at it with his other driver too; as the track dried out he decided Ricciardo should be the first to go onto the slicks. This made sense as he was 17th at the time and needed to get into the game. There was no need to risk Vergne's position. So Ricciardo rolled the dice and gained three places; not enough to get him into the points, but well worth a try.

Risk and reward; it's what F1 race strategy is all about.

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Thailand 'in talks' to host F1 race

Thailand could host a F1 grand prix in two to three years after reportedly receiving tentative backing from Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz.

"We are in talks," Mateschitz told the Bangkok Post. "Thailand could host a Formula One race in the next two to three years."

The co-founder of Red Bull, a Thai-Austrian joint venture, said Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone also supported the idea.

"Ecclestone agrees with the idea," Mateschitz was quoted as saying. "We may sign an agreement soon."

Mateschitz was in Bangkok last weekend to attend the funeral of Chaleo Yoovidhya, the Thai entrepreneur who launched the Red Bull energy drink in Thailand and went on to set up a joint venture with Mateschitz in 1987 to make the product in Austria for the European market.

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Perez: We must remain realistic

Sergio Perez to "keep improving" after the Mexican driver secured his maiden F1 podium finish at the Malaysian GP.

Perez made the most of the tricky wet conditions as he stormed into third place ahead of the rain delay. With the action underway 50 minutes later, the Sauber driver continued to impress as he climbed to second place.

From there it was a race against Fernando Alonso and the elements for the victory with Perez closing the gap to less than a second before an error cost him time and his chance of a P1 result.

But with second in the bag, his first F1 podium result, is was still a great afternoon for the 22-year-old.

"I must say it is a bit difficult to accept it because in Formula One everything happens so quickly and, although I had to leave straight after the race, I'm still not at home in Mexico and have not really celebrated yet," he told his team's website.

"For sure it was a great race and in a way a great feeling. But initially I was a bit disappointed because I thought maybe I could have won it, although nobody knows what in the end would have happened if I had managed to attack Fernando and whether I would have got by him or not.

"Meanwhile, of course, I realised that having come second is also a great result for us and is a perfect boost for the entire team, which is working very hard. I am happy for everybody in the Sauber F1 Team."

Perez, though, has warned against inflated expectations, saying the team has to continue working hard and remain realistic about their chances.

"The target is to keep improving our overall performance and the car. We have to push hard and, of course, we have to stay realistic.

"Although the pace in the race was good we should not forget that this result came after a very special race in extraordinary conditions.

"Ultimately I always wanted to win races and I strongly believe my first win in Formula One will come sooner or later - in an ideal world it will happen this year."

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Brawn laments W03 'conundrum'

Ross Brawn insists Mercedes are not "abusing" their Pirelli tyres, they are still "not using them properly" as once again they struggled in a grand prix.

After a fantastic Saturday at Sepang in which Michael Schumacher qualified in third place and Nico Rosberg in seventh, Mercedes again went off the boil on Sunday.

The team's race-pace was sorely lacking, leaving Schumacher, who battled to recover from an early incident, down in 10th place and Rosberg P13.

"It's a very disappointing end to what had been such a positive weekend in Malaysia," said team boss Brawn.

"Clearly we have a conundrum with this car that we have to unravel.

"After such an encouraging qualifying session, and indeed the fuel runs that we did on Friday, we struggled to get the tyres to work properly in the race.

"There were little windows when we seemed to get them working and other times where we fell out of them completely.

"I don't believe that we are abusing the tyres, just not using them properly, and it's a problem that we have to solve if we are going to move forward with the car."

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Button: Alonso is not a worry

Jenson Button has all but written off Fernando Alonso's title challenge, saying his deficit to the Ferrari driver is "not the worry.

"Alonso claimed a surprise victory ahead of Sergio Perez in Sunday's Malaysian GP as the wet conditions detracted from the Ferrari F2012's weak points.

His win put Alonso at the top of the Drivers' standings, five points ahead of Lewis Hamilton and a further five in front of Button.

However, the McLaren driver, who finished outside the points in Sepang after colliding with an HRT, believes it's the man in second and the off-the-pace Red Bulls who are his biggest threat and not Alonso.

"Even after such a bad race - and that's hopefully my bad race for the year gone - I'm still only 10 points off the lead, and that's Alonso in a Ferrari. That's not the worry," Button said.

"I'm also only five points behind Lewis, who is the guy in a competitive car, so (it's) still not bad considering the day I had.

"Lewis is definitely my main rival, and you have to say the Red Bulls as well.

"Those are the guys I still think are the main ones at this point in the season, and will be for quite a few races.

"The Mercedes' show signs of speed in qualifying, and we'll have to see what they can do in a nice dry race, and see where we stand compared to them.

"But the team we should still be worried about the most are Red Bull."

Meanwhile, in a separate interview with dpa, Button admitted that he does not believe he's the "quickest" driver in Formula One, however, added that being the fastest is not the end goal.

"I know I am probably not the quickest driver on the grid. My aim is not to be the quickest either. My aim is to be the best," he said.

"But I never think I am the best. It is important to be confident what I am, but never overconfident.

"Realising that it's not one individual that wins a grand prix. that makes a big difference. that has helped me a lot in winning grands prix."

The Brit also spoke of his future, saying retirement is not yet an option and that when it does happen he hopes to look back over his F1 career with pride.

"I think it is really important to have good memories from these times. In 10 years in the future I will look back and go 'wow' those times that I had in Formula One are great memories and I will take them to my grave."

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Hulkenberg backs Karthikeyan over idiot jibe

Nico Hulkenberg has come to Narain Karthikeyan's defence following his Malaysian clash with Sebastian Vettel, which resulted in the double world champion calling the Indian an 'idiot'.

The HRT and Red Bull drivers came together in the closing stages of last weekends Malaysian GP. Whilst many believed Vettel to be at fault, after he pulled in ahead of Karthikeyan too quickly and hit his front-wing, dropping him from fourth to 11th after a stop to change his punctured tyre, the FIA sided with Vettel and imposed a 20-second post-race time penalty on Karthikeyan.

The clash led to Vettel saying the following after the race: "Like on normal roads, you have some idiots driving around. It seems there is also one driving here," he told the BBC.

Force India's Hulkenberg disagrees, and believes it was Vettel at fault on Sunday.

"I heard about whatever happened and I also saw it on TV," he said. "From what I saw, it was not Narain's fault. So, I don't really understand why he [Vettel] said all of that.

"I think Vettel was just emotional at that point of time. He lost out on points, it was frustrating for him and his team. At the end of the day, he is just human and sometimes you get emotional."

[MIKA27]

Bahrain can't make any guarantees over safety

The president of the Automobile Federation of Bahrain, Sheikh Abdullah bin Isa Al Khalifa, is hoping its Formula 1 race can help to unify the country during a difficult period, but admitted they couldn't make any guarantees over safety.

Al Khalifa believes the race will unite citizens following months of protests against the government, which resulted in last years grand prix being cancelled.

"People keep asking me about Bahrain, and I appreciate their apprehension, but anybody who has been there before and comes now will see there is no difference," he said.

"It is why I'm hoping for the race to come as quickly as possible, just to let the [F1] community see and feel what is really going on in Bahrain.

"I know all eyes are on us, but for me I feel there is a buzz going on in the country to rally around Formula One.

"So my message to Formula One is 'be part of unifying my country'."

Al Khalifa isn't worried about safety fears which he believes are nonsene, thus not requring additional security during the race, but admitted he couldn't guarantee it.

"Any death is unfortunate or regrettable, but no, I'm not worried at all," he added. "Of course, there are no guarantees in this world. You could be anywhere, even Silverstone.

"All I can guarantee you is you will be as safe as at any other grand prix."

[MIKA27]

Q&A with Force India's Paul di Resta

Q. Paul, you had an amazing drive to seventh on a very difficult day. How would you sum up the race?

Paul di Rest: The conditions were really poor at the start of the race and it was the right decision to put out the red flag. Unfortunately Maldonado ran into me just before the safety car, and I lost three places, but after the restart I had good pace on the intermediates. We probably got onto slicks a lap later than we could have, but given the position we were in it was the safest thing to do. To come away with seventh and ninth is a result everybody can be extremely satisfied with.

Q. At what stage in the race did you feel that your package was at its strongest?

PdiR: Probably on the intermediates. At some points we were nearly as quick as Red Bull; we were nearly the quickest car on the track. But as people grew in confidence things changed and others became stronger.

Q. Did you have fun battling with people?

PdiR: You always do and there were lots of good battles all day, so it was a fairly hard task. But we managed to keep ourselves out of trouble.

Q. We've seen two races where you've worked your way up and got the best result you could on the day is that satisfying?

PdiR: That's what it's all about and I think that's where experience for me as a second year driver is coming in. We plugged away and the boys on the pit wall did a good job. With the support we've got back in the factory, I think you're seeing the strengths of our team at the moment and how it has grown. We just need to get a bit more downforce and a bit more performance, and hopefully we'll achieve some results from that.

Q. Finally any thoughts on the next race in China?

PdiR: Last year our car was reasonably competitive there and hopefully that philosophy carries over. We'll just do our best, and whether that's enough, we will see. But I do think the temperature is going to be slightly different!

[MIKA27]

Can Ferrari's shock win lead to a title challenge?

Fernando Alonso's Malaysian GP victory was the perfect tonic for Ferrari, but doesn't disguise the fact they have a mountain to climb to mount a title challenge.

If they can become more competitive, the 35 points Alonso has won so far could become critical later on in the season. This unexpected win will give a huge boost of morale to everyone in the Italian team.

However the victory on Sunday owed much more to the sheer brilliance of the Spaniard and the conditions than it did the F2012. Plus Sauber threw away a golden chance of a race victory. The car is still a long way off pace with plenty of issues to solve.

Alonso was able to compete for race victory as his own talent comes to the fore in wet conditions. The wet conditions remove some of the advantages enjoyed by the best cars, and on the same token, the weaknesses of a bad car aren't as much of a hindrance.

The two times world champion was able to demonstrate why he is considered the best driver in the sport. The series of laps he set once he was in the lead, to pull away from Sergio Perez, were absolutely mesmerising.

Great pit work and strategy is also essential in races where Mother Nature plays a starring role. Ferrari got that absolutely perfect proving that they are strong in other departments, even if the car isn't on song at the moment.

Ferrari will now want it to rain at every GP this season. They may well get that wish when the F1 circus heads to China, but they will be extremely lucky to see any rain in Bahrain.

Clearly in the dry the F2012 is still a long way short. In qualifying Alonso was 1.347 seconds slower than Lewis Hamilton's pole time. However KERS wasn't working on that lap so in reality the deficit was probably just under a second, but still a light year in F1 terms.

It would be much worse for Ferrari if it wasn't for the supreme talent of Alonso. You just have to look at Felipe Massa's pace to see that.

Had the race been run in dry conditions Fernando would have done brilliantly well just to finish in the position he started in P8.

He was able to finish fifth in Melbourne as the circuit isn't the most aggressive on the tyres, which is a major issue for Ferrari at the moment. Also it doesn't feature too many fast corners which really expose the Ferrari's weaknesses. Furthermore the retirements of Michael Schumacher and a messy weekend for Lotus flattered Ferrari somewhat.

In dry race conditions at Sepang, Ferrari's aggression on the tyres would have been more of a problem than in Melbourne due to the heat and fast corners. The few laps of dry running that we got at the end of the GP hinted strongly that Ferrari would have really struggled had the race been dry.

When Sergio Perez changed to dry tyres he ended up 7.180 seconds behind Alonso. Seven laps later he was right on Alonso's tail before he made that crucial error. He had already been starting to close on Fernando quickly in the build-up to the change to dry tyres (before Sauber pitted Perez a lap later than they should have done for dry tyres).

This was due to the ease that the Sauber has on its rubber, and the aggression the Ferrari has on its tyres really beginning to show.

Making up the one second deficit Ferrari has to the front runners is going to be a very difficult task.

Ferrari have major developments in the pipeline, especially for the Spanish GP. However the problem is you can be sure that the likes of McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes will also have major upgrades planned.

So even though Ferrari are around a second behind the pacesetters McLaren, in reality they have to find more than that in order to overtake them as nobody stands still in F1. It's a massive ask to out-develop a team like McLaren by a whole second, then of course the upgrades might not work. If you look at Red Bull's huge upgrade during Barcelona testing when a new chassis with upgrades bolted on was flown out, you could argue that it made them worse. They appeared more competitive before those changes were made.

You have to search very hard in recent times for a team who have come from that far back to win races on merit i.e normal dry conditions. McLaren managed it in 2009 but that was the first year of a new set of regulations so partly different circumstances. It was more a case of understanding the new regulations later than their rivals.

However there is a little bit of hope for Ferrari even though it's such a tall order.

This victory will have completely changed the atmosphere back at Maranello. Now that Alonso is leading the championship everyone will be encouraged and working with a smile on their face. Working in a happy environment on the back of a victory will make those long night shifts less difficult. It's underestimated how much of a difference a win can make.

When McLaren were off the pace in 2009 there was one dominant team scoring all the points in the first third of the season in Brawn GP therefore when McLaren did recover later on in the year, they were too far back for a championship recovery.

Back to 2012 and even though McLaren appear to have the best car, it's only by a whisker. In Q3 only 0.445 seconds covered the top eight qualifiers. With margins that tight the order could easily change from race to race.

In dry races there are three or four teams who are potentially capable of challenging for race victories if they get everything right on the day in terms of setup, strategy and good performances from the drivers.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: "The championship is wide open. We are in a reasonable position to win more races and the championship, but that requires us to perform well, not make mistakes and continue to develop car at a decent rate."

If a number of different teams win races then it means nobody can pull away too far from Ferrari in the championship.

Alonso's brilliant win in Malaysia and fifth in Melbourne puts him top of the driver's championship. No points for Sebastian Vettel or Jenson Button was another huge bonus for the Spaniard.

If Fernando can score some points in China and Bahrain (and someone different wins both races) before the big Spanish upgrade, then he has an outside chance.

Speaking of the first two races, Alonso said: "The aim was to not lose too many points, and we didn't lose any points. This is positive news about these first two races, but coming to China, Bahrain and Barcelona there is a lot of stuff coming, the team is putting in a lot of effort."

However the big question mark will be how much of a difference the upgrades can make. Ferrari just need to get the car in range of the top teams, and that is all that Fernando needs to compete for victories.

It's very clear that there is a lot of potential in this radical Ferrari, and that there is plenty of pace to be unlocked as Alonso said at the end of winter testing: "We know in which direction we need to go in terms of car development and that's an important step. Sure, we will have to grit our teeth for the first few races."

It's the sort of car where one breakthrough could transform Ferrari's season.

Overall life is better at Ferrari after the Malaysian GP, and the tightness of pecking order at the front could help them greatly, whilst they uncover their car's potential.

Even so, it will take nothing less than a monumental effort to land a title this season but not impossible which is all the motivation Alonso needs to keep pushing. It's likely that the driver's title is the only one they have a shot at bearing in mind Felipe Massa's form at the moment.

[MIKA27]

Senna says run to sixth in Malaysia eases pressure on himself and Williams

Bruno Senna says his run to sixth place in the Malaysian Grand Prix has helped ease the pressure on both himself and the Williams team, as they target even better results in the future.The Brazilian bounced back from an opening lap collision with team-mate Pastor Maldonado to deliver the best result of his career, and help ensure Williams has now scored more points than it did all of last season.

"Having a good result in a good position takes some of the weight off your shoulders," he explained. "I wanted to do well for these guys and I think everyone is happy because all the work from this last year to this year is paying off.

"It will keep them motivated to keep pushing for the car to improve and I can improve myself."

Senna also believes that having shown he can deliver in tricky race conditions will silence the critics who have claimed he only secured the drive at Williams because of his sponsorship backing.

"There will always be critics and I know that there were people criticising us," he explained. "You are never going to please everybody and for sure, having a strong result will take some wind out of the critics' sails.

"And hopefully we can make sure we keep on having strong results and show that I deserve my place here."

[mikec]

Button: Alonso is not a worry

Jenson Button has all but written off Fernando Alonso's title challenge, saying his deficit to the Ferrari driver is "not the worry.

"Alonso claimed a surprise victory ahead of Sergio Perez in Sunday's Malaysian GP as the wet conditions detracted from the Ferrari F2012's weak points.

His win put Alonso at the top of the Drivers' standings, five points ahead of Lewis Hamilton and a further five in front of Button.

However, the McLaren driver, who finished outside the points in Sepang after colliding with an HRT, believes it's the man in second and the off-the-pace Red Bulls who are his biggest threat and not Alonso.

"Even after such a bad race - and that's hopefully my bad race for the year gone - I'm still only 10 points off the lead, and that's Alonso in a Ferrari. That's not the worry," Button said.

"I'm also only five points behind Lewis, who is the guy in a competitive car, so (it's) still not bad considering the day I had.

"Lewis is definitely my main rival, and you have to say the Red Bulls as well.

"Those are the guys I still think are the main ones at this point in the season, and will be for quite a few races.

"The Mercedes' show signs of speed in qualifying, and we'll have to see what they can do in a nice dry race, and see where we stand compared to them.

"But the team we should still be worried about the most are Red Bull."

Meanwhile, in a separate interview with dpa, Button admitted that he does not believe he's the "quickest" driver in Formula One, however, added that being the fastest is not the end goal.

"I know I am probably not the quickest driver on the grid. My aim is not to be the quickest either. My aim is to be the best," he said.

"But I never think I am the best. It is important to be confident what I am, but never overconfident.

"Realising that it's not one individual that wins a grand prix. that makes a big difference. that has helped me a lot in winning grands prix."

The Brit also spoke of his future, saying retirement is not yet an option and that when it does happen he hopes to look back over his F1 career with pride.

"I think it is really important to have good memories from these times. In 10 years in the future I will look back and go 'wow' those times that I had in Formula One are great memories and I will take them to my grave."

I'm pretty convinced now that Mercedes have fumbled the ball again with the W03. It pains me to say this but it just doesn't look like they got it right again, it's truly worrying news for Ross Brawn, you can tell he is anguishing over the situation himself. I really hope they prove me wrong but I just don't have the faith in them anymore.

[PartagasIV]

I just finally caught up and watched the race today. BRILLIANT! Some supreme drives, especially for Senna to get that far in the points, and of course Perez. Perez should have won, the way he was lapping. Very exciting and much to look forward to for the season.

[MIKA27]

I just finally caught up and watched the race today. BRILLIANT! Some supreme drives, especially for Senna to get that far in the points, and of course Perez. Perez should have won, the way he was lapping. Very exciting and much to look forward to for the season.

Yes, it's always great to watch a race where the weather can mix it all up and give drivers that perhaps normally wouldn't score points and or score but lower down in the chain, achieve a great deal more. Senna is a good example, IMO not as good a driver as Maldonado, but for some reason, he was better suited to the wet conditions vs Maldonado who the previous week was battling it out against Alonso for P5. It's great when even Team mates can put positive pressure on each other that in turn brings better rewards for the team collectively when both drivers can achieve some points. Heaven knows Williams need them.

We can probably expect the same in China and even SPA should the weather 'Chop and change' the way it has in the past.

Certainly some rookies are mixing it with some of the best!

[MIKA27]

I'm pretty convinced now that Mercedes have fumbled the ball again with the W03. It pains me to say this but it just doesn't look like they got it right again, it's truly worrying news for Ross Brawn, you can tell he is anguishing over the situation himself. I really hope they prove me wrong but I just don't have the faith in them anymore.

Mike, I'm very much feeling the same way but patience is all we can have and hope for the best.

Looking at Schumachers excellent position in P3 from Qualy vs where he and Nico ended up in the end is a real worry from a fans perspective...

[MIKA27]

Massa cancels trip home to solve his problems

Felipe Massa has cancelled a trip home to visit his family in Brazil in order to fly to Ferrari's factory in Maranello, in an attempt to resolve the issues plaguing his form.

The Brazilian hasn't been able to match the performances put in by his team-mate Fernando Alonso who currently leads the championship with 35 points, compared to Massa's zero.

Whilst some would call it bad luck, Ferrari and Massa are keen to understand why he is so uncompetitive during the race, despite qualifying just three tenths behind his team-mate with a brand new chassis.

His performances have prompted calls for Ferrari to replace him, but team principal Stefano Domenicali isn't getting caught up in the rash decisions and rumours.

Domenicali knows there is time to turn it around, comparing Massa's current season to his best, which started in the same fashion.

"I well remember that, four years ago, in fact right after a Malaysian Grand Prix, which was won for us by Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe was more or less in the same situation as today," said the Italian.

"The papers were demanding his immediate replacement and he managed to react in the best way possible, thanks to support from the team, which saw him win two of the next three races.

"We remember how that particular season ended, with the Brazilian actually world champion, even if it was just for a few seconds, while we took our sixteenth Constructors' title."

Domenicali has given his full support to Massa and revealed the 30-year-olds plans for the coming week.

"Felipe has changed his plans and, instead of heading home to see his family in Brazil, he will be in Maranello tomorrow to work alongside the engineers to calmly analyse everything that happened in these past two races, trying to identify why he was not able to deliver what he is capable of," he added. "That's the right spirit and we are here, ready to help him."