Malaysian Grand Prix Re-cap

Source: F1Zone

Order was restored in the Formula One world in Malaysia, Sebastian Vettel returned to the top of the podium, but, it wasn't plain sailing.

Just over a year after the FIA decided to allow team orders, we had a weekend dictated by them.

Vettel, received orders from RedBull to maintain position but opted to ignore the order and overtake team-mate Mark Webber.

Webber vents his frustration.

The Australian was not amused and could be seen flicking the bird to his German team-mate from the cockpit of his RB9.

The tension between the pair flared up post race on the podium when Webber declared Vettel "Would get protection as usual."

Over at Mercedes, new-boy Lewis Hamilton received the preferential treatment with Nico Rosberg told by team principal Ross Brawn not to pass him.

Although, Hamilton was nursing home an under fuelled car and the team were admittedly trying to un-do their mistake by allowing Hamilton to take his first podium for the Silver Arrow team. The pair finished 3rd and 4th respectively.

Felipe Massa continued his good start to the season at Ferrari, the Brazilian finished 5th.

Alonso crashes out. Source: Adelaidenow

The Scuderias' talismanic Spaniard however, failed to make it past the second lap after contact resulted in him losing his front wing and consequently crashing out.

McLaren struggled again in Malaysia, eventually retiring Jenson Button to allow a gearbox change after realising he wasn't able to score points.

Buttons' Mexican team-mate, Sergio Perez finished in the points in 9th although, the Woking-based team will be looking to improve next time out. He also set the fastest lap of the race which hints that a hidden performance may be in the McLaren.

Lotus had a mixed weekend with pressure on them to maintain their blistering performance in Australia, Grosjean and Raikkonnen finished 6th and 7th respectively.

They struggled to adjust to changing conditions but, team principal re-assured us that the team aim to improve for following races.

Force India retire both cars. Source: Planet F1

Force India endured a horrific weekend with both cars forced to retire with 'wheel nut issues.'

Obviously, an easy fix for the team but, frustrating non the less. Sutil and Di Resta both rued a missed opportunity but vowed to make up for the disappointment in China.

Jean Eric Vergne scored the final point available with a 10th place finish he was 'satisfied' with points but claimed the teams race pace was good enough to do even better.

His team-mate Daniel Ricciardo aquaplaned off the track in the early stages and struggled to recover from there.

Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg had an impressive weekend and proved why he is held in high regard amidst the paddock. The German finished 8th and in changing conditions he often stood out.

Rookie Gutierrez, came home in 12th all be it a lap down, he showed glimpses of why he'd been signed with a few overtaking maneuvers during the race.

Williams were forced to retire Pastor Maldonado due to an on-going KERS issue. The Venezuelan reported that he was pulled in as a'precautionary measure.'

Team-mate Valtteri Bottas finished the Grand Prix in 11th only a 0.9 seonds behind the point scoring places so he can take positives away from his second race in F1.

The acquisition of Jules Bianchi appears to be a brilliant one for Marussia as once again he arguably out performed the car and mixed with mid-runners.

Jules Bianchi. Source: Getty Images

After catching the eye at a Young Drivers' test last year, Bianchi has shown tremendous pace and confidence in his early F1 career.

He finished 13th but insisted he wants to do better during the season.

Max Chilton was once again out performed by hus team-mate and finished last in 16th, the Brit will need to adapt quickly to try and compete with Bianchi.

Caterham appear to be the new team at the back of the grid drivers' Pic and van der Garde both managed to finish but their lack of pace was apparent throughout the weekend.

Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa

Fernando Alonso

Source: Daily Record

Two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso is in the form of his life.

Following a near faultless campaign for the Spaniard, he was desperately unfortunate to miss out on the Drivers' Championship at the final race in Brazil last year.

The Scuderia Ferrari team struggled to give Alonso the upgrades needed to keep up with the likes of RedBull and Mclaren last year. They found it difficult to match the performance they produced in their Maranello based wind-tunnel on track.

Alonso Will be looking to go a step further this year and take Vettels' crown: "I have prepared better. I am better than last year. We have a better starting point and I have learned from some of the mistakes."

Ahead of the curtain raiser in Melbourne he said: "This year we should be on the podium and there is no reason to believe that this will not happen in the first race. We can't say for sure we are going to be winning races but the car is better than last year and more competitive."


 Felipe Massa

Source: planetf1

Felipe Massa will have mixed emotions following an inconsistent 2012 season.

He endured a difficult start to the year realy struggling to find any real form, especially in qualifying.

The particularly impressive form of team mate Fernando Alonso may have also disguised the real performance of the Ferrari which was described as a 'pig' of a car.

Midway through the 2012 campaign severe doubt had been cast over Massas' future with the Scuderia team. Despite team boss Stefano Dominecalli and president, Luca Di Montazemelo publicly backing the Brazilian speculation was rife that he would be replaced for the 2013 season.

However, Massa rallied and picked up his performances, an impressive display at the Monza Grand Prix enabled him to gain momentum and his season kicked on from there.

Massa was handed a one-year contract extension and the 31 year-old was arguably stronger than team-mate Alonso in the final few races, out qualifying him twice.

He also showed tremendous team spirit, supporting Alonsos' title bid he said: "The team is lucky to have a driver like me." Referring to Ferraris decision to voluntarily give Massa a five place grid penalty in order to benefit Alonso.

On the upcoming season Massa is relishing the opportunity of a fresh start: "It's always nice to start a new season and the feeling you get thinking about a new season." 

"Everyone starts with zero points and it's a different car as well. That's always nice and it always makes you confident and happy. I hope this season can be better for us, more competitive and better for me as well."

2013 F1 season preview

9 days until the wait is finally over.

                                                      Source: polepositionsimulators.co.uk

By Ben Kelbrick

The third and final pre-season test at circuit de catalunya has now drawn to a close and all eyes are turned to FP1 at Melbourne on March 15. With relatively minimal rule changes, the cars have been described as 'evolutions' to their predecessors so, RedBull once again are favourites for the title.

Although legalities remain similar to last year, the driver line-up has had several changes. We bid farewell to seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher, the most decorated driver in F1 is joined in retirement by the man who has entered the most races, 40-year old former Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

21 year-old Brit, Max Chilton makes the step up from GP2 to Marussia Racing. He is joined by Jules Bianchhi who impressed at last seasons young drivers' test. Although, he becomes the third proposed driver to partner Chilton this year following a chaotic closed season for the Oxford-based team.

 Former Sauber man Sergio Perez joins Jenson Button at Mclaren. The Mexican will be looking to re-kindle the early form of last year that caught the eye of the Woking-based team.

Sauber will start the 2013 campaign with an all new line up with lead driver Nico Hulkenberg being joined by rookie Esteban Gutierrez.

Elsewhere, Adrian Sutil returns to Force India following a one-year absence and Valtteri Bottas fills the vacant slot at Williams.

Arguably the most anticipated move was Lewis Hamilton, leaving Mclaren after working with the team for six years. Ross Brawn will be looking to further improve on last years disappointing season and fans will relish the chance to see how well Lewis can perform in, I daresay a likely weaker car than the Mclaren.

                                             Triple World Champion Sebastian Vettel. Source: formula-one.speedtv.com
Following the three tests the usual suspects have impressed although, it has been difficult to gauge any real performance between them.

Sebastian Vettel described this years testing as 'less conclusive than ever,' so surely, we should expect another exciting year.

The German triple World Champion is said to be disappointed with the final few days of testing though, blaming the influence of the tyres for the lack of data received from his new RB9 challenger.

                                                Pirelli 2013 tyre range. Source: F1.com

"We just have to look after ourselves, we didn't tick all the boxesthat we would have liked to and the last two days were not as good as we would have expected," said Vettel.

"But there's still a little bit of time left before the season starts."

Vettel was unable to answer the specific areas that Red Bull needed to improve, "It's extremely difficult to pinpoint the exact areas because the tyres were not consistent enough."

"If you sum up the whole three tests, we were all limited to what the tyres could do."

"It was extremely difficult to read some set-up changes and find a good direction with the car because the tyres were simply not good enough."

                                                        2012 runner-up Fernando Alonso. Source : binaryapi.ap
                                                                                        


His Closest competitor last year, Ferraris' Fernando Alonso seemed optimistic about his chances this season following his initial reaction to the F138

"Last year we had a very difficult winter, we were completely lost, we didn't know what the car was doing. And with that car we fought for the title until the last race in Brazil."

"We now have a car that is responding well to what we change, and that is doing what we expect."

"We know we are maybe not the quickest yet, but the potential of the car is there."

                                                         New Mercedes man Lewis Hamilton. Source: DailyMail

Lewis Hamilton has remained coy on his hoped for the year and was initially adamant that he wouldn't challenge for the title, despite impressing in early pre-season testing.

Although, the blistering pace shown by both Hamilton and team-mate Rosberg at the final test in Barcelona has led to many people feeling they are more competitive than they claim.

When asked if he tought he could challenge for the title Hamilton replied, “It’s not ‘no chance’ and not definitely ‘we will’.”

"There is everything to play for still. We won’t know until the first race but don’t be surprised if we get to the first race and we are not at the front. We are going in the right direction, though.”

                                                        Mclarens Jenson Button. Source: therichest.org
Mclaren have experienced an up and down pre-season with undoubtedly quick single lap pace but reliability has hindered them.

"In terms of laps completed and the testing I have achieved, I think we're behind on that," added Button. "It's not been perfect and we know we've got a lot of work to do in terms of spending more time out on the circuit and understanding the car.

Speaking ahead of the final test Button said:

"So I am really looking forward to a good test next week in Barcelona as I don't feel that we have been able to do enough to really understand the car and where we are with the car. We've got to sort out our own issues and get the best out of the car that we have."