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:
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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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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