"Cato Batista" 24/03/2012 23:26:42 ID #137
Ladies and Gentlemen,




Another front row for the McLarens but SCH is getting closer and Raikkonen is back at the front of the action splitting the Red Bulls, Vettel is already preparing for the race, Alonso just made it to Q3. The top eight are separated by 4 tenths of a second!

We had a point festival at the CFA breaking all kinds of marks: plenums for Maria, Joe, Rocco, Fernando and Santiago. We reached a totalof 39 points, our best ever QF record.




The grid for tomorrow:




HAM BUT SCH WEB (*) VET GRO ROS ALO PER RAI *Kimmi dropped to 10th due to gear-box change penalty





After Australia's this is a more conventional looking starting grid withthe current top 4 teams lining up at the front. Red Bull acknowledged theirMercedes-powered rivals are faster in qualifying and decided for Vettel to start the race on hard tires looking for an alternative race strategy. He wasstruggling with the car’s handling on the medium compound but the team is well aware that they have very good balance to cover race distance, so expect to himin a possible prime-prime-control 2-stop strategy to try to close the gap onthe McLarens. Vetel is the only one in the top 10 to start on hard tires.The norm will be 3 stoppers.

This is the second race in succession that we don’t have a Red Bull in the front row, something not seen since 2010.



The race has all the makings to be an exciting one for 2 main reasons:tire degradation and DRS. This is a circuit layout where DRS works wonders. Thedetection zone is in the hairpin between the 2 long straights, if a driver iswithin 1 second of the car in front in the braking area, he will be able totake full advantage of the following 850-meters main straight under DRS. Yes,we will see a lot of passing, and of course the start could well decide the outcome of the race. The distance between the starting line and the apex to first corner is 660 meters, the second longest after Barcelona.



For McLaren having Schumacher in third is their ideal scenario: with his hightop speed but poor tire management, the Mercedes could be the blocking partner to delay the Red Bulls and build up a safety cushion at the front.

And then there is the rain...The latest Kuala Lumpur forecast reads: mostly cloudy, 31c, 80% chances of thunderstorms and rain with more thunderstorms in the afternoon.

So, what’s your bet, wet or dry?

The polesitter has won 5 of the last 10 Malaysian GPs.



Time to work. Let me start:



Cato – HAM BUT VET SCH ALO RAI



Enjoy. Good luck!