March 24, 2012

F1 Quals: Malaysia 2012

It was hot, sticky, and a bit cloudy when the challengers took to the track for Qualifying, but teams have to look ahead to the race as well.  Will the potential for lousy weather in the race make a difference in setups?  Let's take a look at the provisional grid for the 2012 Grand Prix of Malaysia:

Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.813 1:37.106 1:36.219
2 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.575 1:36.928 1:36.368
3 Slappy Schumacher Mercedes 1:37.517 1:37.017 1:36.391
4 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:37.172 1:37.375 1:36.461
5 Mumbles Räikkönen Renault Lotus 1:37.961 1:36.715 1:36.461
6 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:38.102 1:37.419 1:36.634
7 Lettuce Grosjean Renault Lotus 1:38.058 1:37.338 1:36.658
8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:37.696 1:36.996 1:36.664
9 HWMNBN Ferrari 1:38.151 1:37.379 1:37.566
10 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.933 1:37.477 1:37.698
11 Rector Maldonado Williams-Renault 1:37.789 1:37.589
12 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:38.381 1:37.731
13 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1:38.437 1:37.841
14 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:38.325 1:37.877
15 Daniel Ricciardo STR-Ferrari 1:38.419 1:37.883
16 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:38.303 1:37.890
17 Gandalf Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:38.372 1:38.069
18 Jules Vergne STR-Ferrari 1:39.077

19 Heikki Kovalaineninnie Lotus Caterham 1:39.306

20 The Red Menace
Lotus Caterham 1:39.567

21 Tim O'Glockenspiel Marussia-Cosworth 1:40.903

22 Charles ToothPic Marussia-Cosworth 1:41.250

23 Pete Rose
HRT-Cosworth 1:42.914

24 Narain Kittylitter HRT-Cosworth 1:43.655


Q1 107% Time
1:43.974

Another McLaren one-two, another great performance from Renault Lotus, and another headscratcher from Red Bull.  While 4th and 6th are hardly bad positions to be in, and Vettel will be starting on the hard tires, for a team used to effortlessly claiming pole whenever they felt like it, it has to be the same as not even making it out of Q1.

Speaking of not making it out of Q1, the Red Cars very nearly met that fate today.  Felipe Massa burned soft tires in both Q1 and Q2, and HWMNBN had to use his softs in all three... and the best he could do was 9th.  He also had a balky KERS unit, from all reports.  He said it wouldn't have made a difference as far as position goes, but it would have closed the nearly 1 second gap to 8th.

The best news of the day, though, was that both HRTs made it into the race, though Kittylitter was having overheating issues and probably won't make it far on Sunday... unless it rains, in which case all bets are off.

Speaking of rain, if anybody is set up for a wet track tomorrow, they're being very subtle about it.  I suppose it's possible that the Red Cars and the Saubers have a rain setup; their times were consistent across the board in all three Quals sessions, while the people above them got faster as time went on.  Something tells me that no, they aren't, they're just legitimately slow in comparison.

Two drivers received five-grid-spot penalties.  Mumbles had a compromised gearbox after Australia and had a new one put in, and Kovaleinninnie got his penalty for passing behind the safety car last week.  So the HRTs won't be last on the grid, and Kimchee will be 10th. 

See you Sunday for the F1U!

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