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MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
Erratum :
It was incorrectly stated in the team’s Australian GP Review (30 03 2009)
that Nico Rosberg “… crossed
the line in P6. He was later promoted to P5.”
This should of course read that Nico finished in P7
and was later promoted to P6 .
At a Glance
When Friday
April 3 to Sunday April 5, 2009
Where Sepang
Circuit, Kula Lumpur, Malaysia
Round 2
of 17
Standings N
Rosberg 3 pts (6th), K Nakajima -, AT&T Williams 3pts (5th)
Malaysia Hot Topics
Will the Melbourne form guide translate to Malaysia?
Will the step between the tyre options be so profound?
Will the late session times in Sepang mean track action in the
rain?
Race Data
Practice 1: 10:00 - 11:30
Friday
Practice 2: 14:00 – 15:30
Practice 3: 14:00 - 15:00
Saturday
Qualifying: 17:00 – 18:00
Sunday Race:
17:00
Lap Distance 5.543km
Laps 56
Distance 310.408km/h
Sepang circuit in a nutshell
At many Grands Prix, drivers who qualify towards the front
favour two-stop strategies – a lighter fuel load equates
to speed, rather than stealth – while some farther back gamble
on a single pit stop, in the hope that circumstance
might shuffle them into the reckoning. In the gruelling heat of
Malaysia, significant tyre wear might dissuade
anybody from taking such a gamble. The track often remains
slippery, too, because fierce overnight storms wash
away rubber laid down the previous day. Note that this year’s
race is scheduled for late afternoon, when tropical
rain is a possibility…
Talking Technical
Car dynamics
Average turn angle indicates the average angle of a circuit’s
corners expressed in degrees. The higher the
average turn angle, the more acute corners in the circuit
configuration and hence the greater propensity for
understeer to compromise lap time. At Sepang, the average turn
angle is 1390,
against a season average of
1100 ,
ranking as the circuit with the highest
average turn angle across
the Championship. As a consequence of
the circuit’s physical layout, an understeering car balance
will have a high punitive
effect on lap time.
The end of straight (EOS) speed at Sepang was 301kp/h
in 2008. Sepang ranks as
the 12th fastest
EOS speed
in the 2009 calendar, and this is one indicator of the wing
level typically selected to optimise the downforce/drag
ratio.
Pitlane & refuelling strategy
The pitlane length and profile (i.e. corners in the pitlane
entry) contribute to the determination of the optimum fuel
strategy. The pitlane loss at Sepang is approximately 22
seconds, the 5th
most penalising pitlane
in the
Championship. To complete a normalised distance of 5km around
the Sepang circuit requires 2.38kg
of fuel
against an average of 2.42kg
per 5km across all
circuits this season, making the circuit the 5th
least demanding
track of the year in terms of fuel consumption.
Safety car
Another key contributor to the determination of race strategy is
the likelihood of safety car deployments, which
are influenced by weather considerations, the availability of
clear run-off areas that allow racing to continue while
recovery takes place and the circuit profile, especially the
character of the entry and exit into turn one at the start
of the race. Since 2002, there have been no
safety car deployments in
Sepang, making it statistically unlikely that
the circuit character, based on historic data, will induce
safety car periods.
Temperature, pressure & humidity
It is a long observed tradition that drivers arriving at
Interlagos complain about a lack of grip and an absence of
engine power. Having become acquainted with a baseline of engine
and aerodynamic performance during the
season, the climb to 750 metres above sea level for one of the
final races can, courtesy of the reduction in air
density, rob a Formula One car of engine power, aerodynamic
performance and cooling. The losses can come
close to double digit percentages and thus have a very real
impact on car performance. Air density is a factor of
the prevailing ambient temperature, which varies most
significantly by season, air pressure which is closely linked
to altitude and, to a much smaller degree, by humidity. Thus if
races are run at the same time each year, the
factor that tends to have the greatest bearing on air density is
elevation. Sepang is 4 0m above
sea level and has
an average pressure (1004.41 mbar) when compared to other races
venue in the 2009 Championship. As a
consequence, the circuit’s ambient characteristics will be average
for engine performance
across all tracks
visited during the season.
What the Drivers Say
On Sepang circuit
Kazuki “For me, Sepang is one of the most exciting tracks we
visit during the year. That doesn’t mean it is an
easy track, far from it, as it has some complex and technical
corner sequences and some that demand special
attention such as turns 11 and 14 where your braking and turn-in
sequence is different to say the least.”
Nico “Just like Kazuki, I really like the Sepang circuit, it
is fast and flowing and has a nice variation of corners
that makes it really exciting to drive.”
On Malaysia (the climate, the people, the food..)
Kazuki “Well, Malaysia is closer to my home country than many
of the places we visit, so I find it more familiar
in terms of the culture, the food etc. I raced at Sepang in
Japanese GT, so I am also a bit better acquainted with
the place, but of course the heat and the humidity are quite
exceptional.”
Nico “The climate makes the racing very demanding for driver
and machine. The heat and humidity means
that it is physically exhausting and this is one track where the
fitness training over the winter really pays off. I
love the country, there is a nice warmth about the people too
and like almost everywhere in Asia, I like the food,
so it is a good place to visit every year.”
Standing back from Albert Park – Reflections of the first race
Nico “Of course we would have liked to have achieved more in
Melbourne, but three solid points was a good
start. More encouraging was our pace as we were right there with
the quickest, which makes me hopeful for a
good season.”
Kazuki “I was running as high as P4 and this would have
improved to P3 when Rubens pitted, so I can’t deny
the sense of disappointment in how the race turned out, but I
have shut this out of my mind already and I am
only taking the positives of the potential we showed with me to
Malaysia.”
On the late start times for the first two races
Kazuki “It was difficult with the low sunlight in Australia,
especially as the light flickered and changed under the
tree cover. We won’t have this type of shadow at Sepang, but
there is a different issue which is the possibility of
reduced light conditions mixed with the likelihood of rain, so
for sure these late race start times will have a
bearing on my approach to qualifying and the race.”
Nico “In Melbourne I found this a big concern as towards the
end of the race the visibility was very poor,
which increased the danger in my view as it was more likely that
you could make a mistake. I’d rather the race
changed back to its original start time or became a proper night
race - that would improve matters a lot. ”
Sam Michael’s Sepang Jottings
The historical perspective from Patrick Head – Sepang 2002
“AT&T Williams has good memories of racing in Malaysia
because we’ve achieved some good results at Sepang.
Our best race at the track was in 2002, when we finished first
and second with Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo
Montoya, and I have to say that our success was predominantly
down to a good tyre from Michelin. It certainly
suited the circuit, but the drivers both did good jobs as well..”….. Read
the full story at www.attwilliams.com
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