Will the Melbourne form guide translate to Malaysia?

Will the step between the tyre options be so profound?

Will the late session times in Sepang mean track action in the rain?

Practice 1: 10:00 - 11:30

Practice 2: 14:00 – 15:30

Practice 3: 14:00 - 15:00

Qualifying: 17:00 – 18:00

At many Grands Prix, drivers who qualify towards the front favour two-stop strategies – a lighter fuel load equates

to speed, rather than stealth – while some farther back gamble on a single pit stop, in the hope that circumstance

might shuffle them into the reckoning. In the gruelling heat of Malaysia, significant tyre wear might dissuade

anybody from taking such a gamble. The track often remains slippery, too, because fierce overnight storms wash

away rubber laid down the previous day. Note that this year’s race is scheduled for late afternoon, when tropical

rain is a possibility…

Average turn angle indicates the average angle of a circuit’s corners expressed in degrees. The higher the

average turn angle, the more acute corners in the circuit configuration and hence the greater propensity for

in the 2009 calendar, and this is one indicator of the wing level typically selected to optimise the downforce/drag

ratio.

The pitlane length and profile (i.e. corners in the pitlane entry) contribute to the determination of the optimum fuel

track of the year in terms of fuel consumption.

Another key contributor to the determination of race strategy is the likelihood of safety car deployments, which

are influenced by weather considerations, the availability of clear run-off areas that allow racing to continue while

recovery takes place and the circuit profile, especially the character of the entry and exit into turn one at the start

the circuit character, based on historic data, will induce safety car periods.

It is a long observed tradition that drivers arriving at Interlagos complain about a lack of grip and an absence of

engine power. Having become acquainted with a baseline of engine and aerodynamic performance during the

season, the climb to 750 metres above sea level for one of the final races can, courtesy of the reduction in air

density, rob a Formula One car of engine power, aerodynamic performance and cooling. The losses can come

close to double digit percentages and thus have a very real impact on car performance. Air density is a factor of

the prevailing ambient temperature, which varies most significantly by season, air pressure which is closely linked

to altitude and, to a much smaller degree, by humidity. Thus if races are run at the same time each year, the

an average pressure (1004.41 mbar) when compared to other races venue in the 2009 Championship. As a

visited during the season.

Kazuki “For me, Sepang is one of the most exciting tracks we visit during the year. That doesn’t mean it is an

easy track, far from it, as it has some complex and technical corner sequences and some that demand special

attention such as turns 11 and 14 where your braking and turn-in sequence is different to say the least.”

Nico “Just like Kazuki, I really like the Sepang circuit, it is fast and flowing and has a nice variation of corners

that makes it really exciting to drive.”

Kazuki “Well, Malaysia is closer to my home country than many of the places we visit, so I find it more familiar

in terms of the culture, the food etc. I raced at Sepang in Japanese GT, so I am also a bit better acquainted with

the place, but of course the heat and the humidity are quite exceptional.”

Nico “The climate makes the racing very demanding for driver and machine. The heat and humidity means

that it is physically exhausting and this is one track where the fitness training over the winter really pays off. I

love the country, there is a nice warmth about the people too and like almost everywhere in Asia, I like the food,

so it is a good place to visit every year.”

Nico “Of course we would have liked to have achieved more in Melbourne, but three solid points was a good

start. More encouraging was our pace as we were right there with the quickest, which makes me hopeful for a

good season.”

Kazuki “I was running as high as P4 and this would have improved to P3 when Rubens pitted, so I can’t deny

the sense of disappointment in how the race turned out, but I have shut this out of my mind already and I am

only taking the positives of the potential we showed with me to Malaysia.”

Kazuki “It was difficult with the low sunlight in Australia, especially as the light flickered and changed under the

tree cover. We won’t have this type of shadow at Sepang, but there is a different issue which is the possibility of

reduced light conditions mixed with the likelihood of rain, so for sure these late race start times will have a

bearing on my approach to qualifying and the race.”

Nico “In Melbourne I found this a big concern as towards the end of the race the visibility was very poor,

which increased the danger in my view as it was more likely that you could make a mistake. I’d rather the race

changed back to its original start time or became a proper night race - that would improve matters a lot. ”

“AT&T Williams has good memories of racing in Malaysia because we’ve achieved some good results at Sepang.

Our best race at the track was in 2002, when we finished first and second with Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo

Montoya, and I have to say that our success was predominantly down to a good tyre from Michelin. It certainly