Malaysian GP 2013 - Preview

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We still have the good taste from Australia and in a few hours action will start again in Malaysia for the second round of the season. What a treat.

From the streets of Melbourne we are moving to a proper circuit, temperatures are expected to be higher with tyres again the name of the game, and after their win last Sunday Lotus (Raikkonen in particular) they are in the highlight although Red Bull qualifying dominance got everybody else worried. It may be early for predictions but Sepang has a record of offering us wet races, it is their rainy season and the race starts late in the afternoon when the showers commonly arrive in the region. It’s not a bad idea to start considering you favorite rain-masters to shine.

Pirelli will provide their 2 hardest compounds to handle the higher track temperatures and the very different surface and loads of Sepang, nobody in the pitlane is sure on how this is going to affect each of the leading teams. Lotus has the best tyre-suspension package but they are only the 4th fastest team, if they can pull another 2 stopper their low qualifying slot (as in Albert Park) will not be an issue. Ferrari was the quickest car in race trim, and you wonder if the advantage of Red Bull's single-lap speed and front row starts are not as decisive as last year's.

From every point of view, looks like another fierce battle is brewing up for this weekend.

Look at the tyre chart Santiago prepares after every GP and you’ll find the most accurate picture of what's happening during the races. If you thought that Lotus was good on its Pirellis you will be very surprised to know that the best chassis was Mercedes. Raikkonen made his super-softs last 9 laps (same as Alonso and 3 more than Vettel), Hamilton had them for 13 laps and Rosberg for 14!

http://f1.manbos.com/tyresgp.asp?t=2013&gpn=Australia

Much to talk as usual, but let’s continue tomorrow.

Manbos has informed us that the CFA web is now ready to start posting your QF picks.

‘Till tomorrow

Cheers

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