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.

JamesClayton: "It doesn't matter how good you are anymore all F1 cares about is money".

Porsche club motorsport driver James Clayton, 26 has claimed that F1 is no longer recruiting 'the greatest talent' but instead choosing those with the deepest pockets.

James, who races Porsche GT3 cars in a Euro series made the claims exclusively in an interview with The DRS Zone F1 he said:

"When I started racing at around 8 years-old in a kart all I dreamed of was competing in F1."

"I won my first junior series when I was 11 and was selected to race in the British karting cup."

"But, as i got older it became increasingly apparent that without bags of money, I was unable to compete with drivers who had a seemingly unlimited backing."

James is now sponsored by Permec, a British organisation who specialise in car performance and tuning.

"Without the sponsorship it is simple, I would not be able to race!"

Formula One has undoubetdly seen an increase in recent years in 'sponsor drivers' who don't only bring their racing skill to the team, but, it cames additionally to financial backing.

With Formula One continually trying to decrease the annual spending of teams could this bring the advantage back to the more talented drivers.

Fia. Source: Autosport

James said: "In my opinion it is right that the FIA are trying to reduce costs but, I think they have a long way to go before they are able to go back to the ways of having the most talented driver in the seat of their car."

"Surely that is what F1 should be, the best drivers, racing in the best racing cars in the world."

"It is already so difficult to be involved in motor racing but compare it to other sports and it is impossible to draw any comparison."

"In other sports if you have the talent then you will be picked up, in motorsport that isn't half the story. You have to support yourself for so long, from when I started racing I think my father has pushed over £50,000 of his own money into supporting my racing - and that is still not enough!"

The costs involved in young people being involved in motorsport is notably large, with the membership  for the average junior kart season ranging from £250 to £600.

One solution is for potential drivers' is to find sponsorship, James said: "Sponsorship is essential, but it really is difficult to gain. I am talking about during the younger years of your racing career, even though you may be the most talented driver on the grid if you run out of money for new tyres, chassis, springs- you will be unable to compete."

"As a result, some of the most talented drivers' are not given the chance to develop and instead other drivers who are less talented are able to go further in their career to due the funding that they have."



One answer to this is Karting academies, one that has proved to be successful is the British Schools Karting Championship (BSKC). They offer students to get involved in racing from a young age and are helped to learn how to become a racing driver.

Student between the ages of 13-18 are able to join the programme which is made up of teams of three.

All that is needed to start up is

+ 2 Team mates

+ A teacher willing to act as captain

+ £150 entry fee

Information on help raising the funds and more details on what the academy can actually do for YOU are available here: http://www.bskc.co.uk/

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."