The 2004 edition of the Malaysian Grand Prix revealed chinks in Ferrari's armour. Maestro Schumacher was unable to lap the field; indeed he won by a scant five seconds over the Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya. Removing my tongue from my cheek... What the race in Sepang showed was how much Bridgestone improved its tyres this year. After all, Sepang is supposed to be a "Michelin" track and it was in a way, as Michelin-shod teams closed the gaping gap to Ferrari that we witnessed in Melbourne.
Qualifying
Final qualifying (Q2) was basically about Mark Webber and Schumi. The former hustled his Jaguar round the circuit managing to nip Barrichello's time by 0.041s, taking provisional pole that stood until the Scuderia's ace went out and turned in a blistering lap 0.641s faster than the Australian, taking pole.
Comparing Q2 results from the first two GPs shows a bit of interesting data. Michelin teams had 8 cars within two seconds of Schumacher's pole time both races, and it likely would have been 10 had Alonso and Sato not spun off. This is misleading, as the fastest non-Bridgestone runner, Webber, was slightly slower versus Schumacher than JPM was in Oz. Plus we will never know what fuel load Mark was carrying due to his misfortune during the race. Montoya qualified about a second behind Michael but he was carrying at least 3 laps more fuel than Schumi. With equal fuel loads could JPM have out-duelled Schumi for pole? An interesting question with no absolute answer possible. At this moment Montoya looks to be the only driver capable of keeping pace with the Maranello bunch.
In the second Ferrari, Barrichello's tyre choice seemed to work against him and yet he almost claimed P2. Ralf Schumacher continues to be slower than his Colombian team-mate. McLaren's pace was far better than most expected. BAR's package looked strong (if Dave Richards can calm Sato down a bit). Renault's efforts suffered as a result of driver mistakes. Jaguar is showing promise that I did not foresee from them this year. Webber in P2 and rookie team-mate Klien in P13 is not shabby at all. Klien has impressed many so far this year. Toyota was a bit more on pace this round but still is far away from where they should be. Panis really needs to pick up his pace. The Saubers ended up in P11 and P12, separated by just 0.017s, with Massa edging out Fisichella again.
Final Qualifying results:
1 M. Schumacher Ferrari 1:33.074
2 M. Webber Jaguar 1:33.715
3 R. Barrichello Ferrari 1:33.756
4 J.P. Montoya Williams 1:34.054
5 K. Raikkonen McLaren 1:34.164
6 J. Button BAR 1:34.221
7 R. Schumacher Williams 1:34.235
8 J. Trulli Renault 1:34.413
9 D. Coulthard McLaren 1:34.602
10 C. Da Matta Toyota 1:34.917
11 F. Massa Sauber 1:35.039
12 G. Fisichella Sauber 1:35.061
13 C. Klien Jaguar 1:35.158
14 O. Panis Toyota 1:35.617
15 N. Heidfeld Jordan 1:36.569
16 G. Bruni Minardi 1:38.577
17 Z. Baumgartner Minardi 1:39.272
18 G. Pantano Jordan 1:39.902
19 T. Sato BAR 0.000
20 F. Alonso Renault 0.000
The Race
Just minutes before the race was to begin, heavy showers fell on parts of the Sepang circuit; not hard enough to cause a switch to wet tyres but enough to slicken up the tarmac considerably. Track temperatures were approximately 14 degrees cooler than they had been for qualifying. Raikkonen spun on the formation lap but managed to right himself before the back of the field could come around his McLaren. Had that happened, the Finn would have been regulated to the back of the grid.
At lights out, 17 cars screamed for traction as their drivers launched them towards turn one... 17 you're asking yourself - I thought the grid had 20 cars? Jordan's Pantano chose to start from the pit lane and the two Jaguars, most noticeably Webber's, bogged down before getting underway. All the hard work of the team, the genuine excitement of Jag's first F1 front row start and the fantastic qualifying effort of Webber were wasted in a split second due to terrible start strategies. What a pity for a team in dire need of success.
Rubens slid in behind Schumi in 2nd whilst Montoya dodged the stricken Jag and made his getaway picking up 3rd, followed by Raikkonen and Button. The two Renaults once again made their trademark blistering starts, Trulli gaining 2 positions and Alonso 5, exiting the turn 1-2 complex. Trulli banged tyres with Button, doing no damage, but did earn himself a visit to the stewards at race end. Button's hold on 5th lasted just seconds as Trulli drove past at turn 4. Webber's botched start dropped him down to 15th, but he overtook Alonso into turn 9 and was up to 9th place after lap one. Alonso's first lap was truly amazing to watch as he weaved his way through and around the back half of the grid, making up 10 spots in one lap! Sato was the other big winner in the opener as he moved forward 8 positions to 11th, overtaking Heidfeld and Massa at the final corner.
Lap 2 saw Barrichello's Ferrari slip and run wide in turn 4, letting JPM and Kimi by. Rubens' race would be compromised by his decision to run the harder Bridgestone tyre. Team-mate Schumacher chose the softer option that proved to be the better choice as it provided more grip in the cooler than expected weather plus the damp conditions in the opening portion of the race. Once past the Brazilian, Montoya closed rapidly on Schumi mid-circuit as his Michelins provided superior handling on the slick tarmac. The Colombian literally was right on the champ's tailpipes, the gap not more than a tenth. The German was able to extend the gap a bit in the final few corners and led JPM by 1.1s as they began lap 3. This interval would gradually widen to 4.5s until Schumacher made the first of his three pit stops on lap 9. Montoya would pit three laps later. Lap 2 would be the only serious challenge Michael would encounter on this day.
The back and forth battle between Button and Trulli provided some of the best entertainment of the race. Touching wheels at the start, exchanging positions several times in the first 3 laps... these guys had a real duel going, both refusing to yield. Truly sterling stuff that makes F1 racing the best in the world!
The rain returned on lap 3, heaviest on the backside of Sepang's beautiful circuit. Turn 7 was especially treacherous as numerous cars wiggled and twitched their way through searching for traction. This corner caught out Sato on lap 4 as he spun his BAR off into the gravel trap, losing 5 positions. He was able to extract his car and continued on in 16th place. I have to say Sato has got to settle down, as he was off or spun numerous times over the race weekend. He bumped into Trulli in Oz, damaging both cars, and was off and around several times there as well. BAR's front man Dave Richards has stated his intentions of working with the Japanese driver on his craft so let's hope they are successful. Takuma seems to be a likable fellow and he's definitely quick so it would be nice to see him stay in F1.
Two drivers chose turn 9 to attempt passes and both were successful. Button made an outstanding outside manoeuvre around Trulli to retake 5th spot. Webber dove inside Ralf Schumacher. The German, not wanting to lose a position, tried to maintain pace but the Jaguar forced him wide on exit, allowing Webber and Alonso by, dropping Ralf to 10th. Crossing the start/finish line to begin lap 4, Alonso made a move to the inside of Webber. The Australian moved to block the Spaniard who nearly brushed the pit wall before steering back across track, without losing momentum, and overtook Webber at the first corner. Turn 1 the following lap would prove to be far more cruel to Webber as Ralf had a go to the inside, apparently seeing an invisible opening, realized his plan was impossible and tried to pull up, by then it was to late and his front wing struck the Jag's right rear wheel, instantly puncturing it. The unlucky Webber had to negotiate the full circuit to reach his pit. His day went from bad to worse as he was penalized for exceeding pit lane speed. The Australian's nightmarish day ended on lap 24 when he spun off into the gravel.
Three pit stops were the order of the day and Fisichella brought his Sauber in first on lap 8 followed by Schumi one lap later. By lap 14 the front-runners had made their stops. The grid order for the most part settled down during the second stint. Schumacher in the lead followed by JPM, Raikkonen, Trulli, Button, Rubens and DC. Alonso rounded out the point paying positions.
At the head of the field Montoya continued his pursuit of Michael. At times the Colombian managed to close the gap to around 3s but Schumacher always answered, upping his lead to 5 to 6s with apparently little difficulty. The race was playing out like a high-speed game of cat and mouse.
The second round of stops began as early as lap 20, when Trulli pitted after just 10 laps. Webber spun out on the 24th lap. The lead cars completed their 2nd round of stops by lap 26. Ralf Schumacher, who was having an uninspiring race, retired on lap 28 when his BMW engine let go. At the halfway point the top eight were Schumacher, Montoya, Button, Kimi, Barrichello, Trulli, Coulthard and Sato. Takuma, one of the few drivers on a 2-stop strategy, moved from 11th spot up to 8th by overtaking Massa and Alonso in the pits and gained the other position when Ralf dropped out. Alonso had worked his way from the back of the grid all the way to 6th by lap 24. Renault decided to gamble when he came in for his 2nd stop, switching to a 2-stop strategy. This strategy worked against the Spaniard, as he could not maintain pace with the heavy fuel load.
This Grand Prix was all but over. The third and final pit stops saw no change at the top of the field. Nick Heidfeld retired on lap 34 with gearbox failure, Kimi's Mercedes V10 let go on lap 41 and Sato spun off for good three laps short of the finish. Ferrari was bulletproof yet again allowing Schumacher to cruise home claiming his 72nd victory. Montoya was second and Jenson Button took his first podium in 68 attempts.
The Sepang circuit has been a thorn in Ferrari's side in the past two races. Malaysia was considered to be Michelin's track and Williams' to some extent. Bridgestone supplied the Scuderia team with a much-improved tyre this year. Clearly BAR, Jaguar, Williams and most noticeably McLaren, had improved their package in the fortnight following Melbourne. Their improvement plus the hotter conditions allowed them to close the dominating gap Ferrari enjoyed in the season opener. What I found most intriguing was the strategy Schumacher-Ferrari chose for qualifying and the race. They made sure they captured pole by running light on fuel and choosing the soft tyre compound for the additional grip. I believe their thinking was: get Michael out front as we are sure that not only will he keep the lead but he will be quick enough to maintain his lead after the first stint. Then he will be more or less on the same pit cycle with the front of the grid... and we know Michael is seldom overtaken on track. Ferrari has the best pit team plus they are superior in race and pit strategy to the main rival here, Williams.
I believe Montoya could have kept the lead and gotten the win if he could have found a way around Schumacher. Kinda like at Monza last year when Schumi held off JPM's opening lap attack at the Variante della Roggia chicane, the race was decided right there. At least it looks like Ferrari will not simply run away from the field, as many had feared after the Scuderia's whitewash in Oz.
Funniest moments of the race:
Minardi's Baumgartner about to be lapped by Schumi; in his haste to yield to the German, made absolutely sure he didn't hold the champ up by driving off track at turn 7. I guess that's one way to do it...
Oliver Panis and his Toyota team had some sort of "radio communication issues" around lap 45. Panis entered the pits only to discover no one was waiting to service his car... and was seen giving the Toyota boys the ol' one fingered salute as he drove by his pit box. Adding to the entertainment value, Panis accelerated down the pit lane a bit too much earning the Frenchman a drive-through penalty for his troubles.
Thumbs Up To:
Michael Schumacher – master at bringing his car home.
Jenson Button – well earned first podium for the Brit.
Christian Klien – Jaguar rookie placed 10th, a nice follow-up to his debut at Melbourne.
BAR – what a turnaround compared to the past few years.
Minardi – brought home both cars.
Ferrari – smartest and hardest working team on the grid.
Bridgestone – really improved their hot weather tyre performance from last year.
Thumbs Down To:
J.P. Montoya – post-race comments were a cheap shot at Barrichello and Ferrari. How long are we supposed to wait for Juan to act like a grown-up?
Kimi Raikkonen – the race marshals are there to protect you and all drivers. Learn some manners - you have been guilty of this before.
Takuma Sato – has to learn to properly channel his excitement in the cockpit. His spins and offs are getting hard to keep track of.
Ralf Schumacher – uninspired drive highlighted by an ill-advised manoeuvre against Webber. Maybe Ralf is thinking too much about next year?
Felipe Massa – has anyone told the Brazilian this is F1, not WRC? Turf offers little traction versus tarmac.
Toyota – this team should be far better.
Sauber – scored 1 point in spite of their lacklustre efforts. Send Thank You note to BAR and Sato.
Jordan – the Minardis looked more stable than Eddie's cars.
The official results:
1. M. Schumacher Ferrari 1h 31:07.490
2. J.P. Montoya Williams-BMW + 5.022
3. J. Button BAR + 11.568
4. R. Barrichello Ferrari + 13.616
5. J. Trulli Renault + 37.360
6. D. Coulthard McLaren + 53.098
7. F. Alonso Renault + 1:07.877
8. F. Massa Sauber + 1 lap
9. C. da Matta Toyota + 1 lap
10. C. Klien Jaguar + 1 lap
11. G. Fisichella Sauber + 1 lap
12. O. Panis Toyota + 1 lap
13. G. Pantano Jordan + 2 laps
14. G. Bruni Minardi + 3 laps
15. T. Sato BAR + 4 laps
16. Z. Baumgartner Minardi + 4 laps
Not Classified/Retirements:
K. Raikkonen McLaren
N. Heidfeld Jordan
R. Schumacher Williams
M. Webber Jaguar
Drivers Championship Positions after Round 2:
1. Michael Schumacher 20 points
2. Rubens Barrichello 13
3. Juan P. Montoya 12
4. Jenson Button 9
5. Fernando Alonso 8
6. Jarno Trulli 6
7. Ralf Schumacher 5
8. David Coulthard 4
9. Felipe Massa 1
Constructors Championship Positions after Round 2:
1. Ferrari 33 points
2. Williams 17
3. Renault 14
4. BAR 9
5. McLaren 4
6. Sauber 1
Next race: April 4th - The inaugural Bahrain GP
Bill Keen - 8 Apr 2004