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As the exciting Malaysian GP 2011 is over, lets recap into the race analysis.
About the circuit
Malaysia GP was always driver friendly circuit, so it proved to be in 2011 also. Drivers were carving their way to overtake the driver in front. There were lot of opportunities during the race. And it was almost impossible to predict who would come behind Sebastian Vettel in second till the very end. With Rain hovering during the whole weekend, in the end, it was all dry.
Malaysia GP is also the most demanding circuit for drivers ability as it is very hot and humid. The temperature was around 42 degrees on track whil 35 degrees in atmosphere.
Practice Sessions - Malaysia GP
Mark Webber dominated the Practice Sessions by topping the first two sessions and second in the third session. The ever growing pace of Mclaren brought them closed to Red Bull's. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton both tried to hammer Red Bull from the top position. All the sessions were really competitive with most of the drivers separated by only tenth of seconds during the practice.
Mercedes and Renault were the next teams in contention as an upgraded performance from Mercedes was seen during the practice sessions.
The real losers were Ferrari, as they were not looking as competitive as they were in Australia.
For the backmarkers, Lotus was performing up to their mark, with HRT was the improving lot. As from no practice in Australia, there car were ready to practice in Malaysia. Also they had the reputation to save against 107percent rule.
Qualifying Session - Malaysia GP
Qualifying yet again saw the dominance of Sebastian Vettel. As he was not even among the top 3 during practice and once again grabbing the pole as it was his 17th pole of the season. He was only 17th when he was testing for KERS. Then in P2 showed the way that he is still in contention with 4th fastest. But P3 made much of a scenario where Vettel does not fit for pole. But again, just when it was that Lewis Hamilton will start the Malaysian GP 2011 on pole on sunday, it was Sebastian Vettel again who did the magic trick to top the charts in the dying moments of Q3.
The top 2 teams covered the top 4 positions. Ferrari's after a dreadful practice sessions came flying behind the top guns. Still lot to cover for one of the season favorite Fernando Alonso. Nick Heidfeld utilized the ample opportunity.
Michael once again beaten by his team mate Nico who pushed him out of Q3 also. Michael is yet to see Q3 for 2011 season.
Teams to watch over race in midfielders were Toro Rosso and Force India.
For the first time HRT qualify 107 percent rule and were racing the first race of 2011 season. HRT had made a lot of progress as far as there lap times are considered. They were in contention with the Virgin Racing.
Race - Malaysia GP
Sebastian Vettel proved his mettle again by winning back to back races in 2011. The winner of 2010 Malaysian GP and the defending world champion make his mark in 2011 season.
But Malaysia Proved that the Red Bulls are not invincible as they were in Australia. Mclaren gave them the tough competition, always on their tail.
The top order changed every 5-10laps. There were many drivers who were leading the packing for a short interval during the race. The race was hovered by the havoc of Rain to come. A strong cloud cover suspected of a heavy storm was a worry for the teams. But ultimately it was dry race in the end.
The use of 2011 toys were a common sight in Malaysia as all the drivers shows the capabilities of KERS and DRS (Drag Reduction System). It really enhanced the overtaking by the drivers. Most of the drivers were seen overtaking the car up ahead due to the mix use of KERS and DRS.
The really winner was the much criticized Pirelli Tyres. There three to four stop made impossible for the viewers to guess who will win and lot of competition and overtaking was seen due to this. Pirelli caused Lewis to lost his podium position. Pirelli increased overtaking and simultaneously chaos on the circuit as all the drivers dive into the pit at the same time.
As the drama continued in the race with Petrov out on second last lap. Lewis dropped to 8th. Button 2nd with Heidfeld 3rd. Even after the race, Stewards did not leave Alonso and Hamilton and added to their woes 20sec penalty that caused Lewis a place.
Overall the weekend was exciting and competitive. With Lot of unexpected events happened during the race. One thing that didn't happen was the Rain. More to come for 2011 season.
Team Analysis
Red Bull - The invincible tag of Red Bull is removed as they were just in beatable position with problems of KERS and DRS hovering their Car. But still they are the best team on the grid with leading both the drivers and constructors championship.
9/10 points.
Mclaren - The team was really competitve, were able to clinch the victory. With both of their drivers up for podiums and ready to defeat Red Bull boys. But they were poor in pits that caused Lewis his podium. 4 pit stop strategy was the turning point of their race.
8.5/10 points.
Ferrari - The team was way behind during the practice. But qualifying was the initial step for their race excellence. But they fail to deliver the same. As gaining a lot in the mid of the race, Fernando Alonso was really competitive and may be able to clinch the 3rd place and just when they failed to do so. Felipe Massa was also looking strong with some rejuvenation in him.
7.5/10 points.
Renault - Some extra-ordinary moves shown by the team during the race. Gaining the most of the ground on the 1st lap. But failed to convert into race victory during the middle of the race. Team has to work more on tyres that caused them some valuable points at the end of the race when Petrov failed to finish. But nevertheless Nick Heidfeld drove remarkably, good performance whole weekend.
8/10 points.
Mercedes - Again the hic-ups continue for the one of the top team. Could not able to convert the race into their big points. Look easily defeated by Sauber and Force India. Nico was not a competition. Michael gave something but equally failed to deliver during qualifying. Need to work a lot more.
5/10 points.
Sauber - Again the team looked stunning. Kamui Kobayashi showed the team their first point of 2011 season after they had been disqualified in Australia. Sergio Perez was proved himself as rookie as unable to finish and was also not able to qualify better.
6/10 points.
Force India - Rookie Paul Di Resta become the star overnight as his performance was more than words for him. He gave a competition to seven time world champion along with not ready to give up the place. Team Worked hard after their not so good performance in Australia where they looked easily beatable by Toro Rosso and Sauber. Adrian Sutil equally worked his way to finish behind Paul.
5.5/10 points.
Toro Rosso - The team was unable to make their mark in Malaysia. With problems in both qualifying as well as race. They were unable to score points. With 10sec stop and go penalty for Sebastien Buemi killed their chances to score points.
4/10 points.
Team Lotus - Lotus clearly become the fav. among the backmarkers as once again remained ahead of Virgin and HRT. Good result for the team but Jarno Trulli exit from the race was not desirable.
3/10 points.
Virgin - Virgin improved a lot as far as reliability is concerned. Team was not able to convert a two driver finish in Malaysia but still looked improved.
2.5/10 points.
HRT - After a devastating start to the season for HRT. They were able to hold up the ground in Malaysia. But a lot of improvement still required as both the drivers were unable to finish the race and also qualified last.
1/10 point.
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