2012 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix preview

As we digest a scintillating Australian Grand Prix weekend, there’s barely enough time to catch our breath as the F1 circus moves swiftly on to Kuala Lumpur for the 14th Malaysian Grand Prix held at the Sepang International Circuit.

This race, which is run late in the day, can sometimes be hit by heavy tropical storms, like back in 2009 when the race was red flagged after only 31 laps. That particular year, the start time of the race had been moved from 3pm local time to 5pm local time, which led to heavy rain striking the circuit mid-race.

Last weekend in Australia, we saw a highly competitive field as Jenson Button crossed the line to win his third Australian Grand Prix for McLaren. Ferrari suffered a dismal weekend after Felipe Massa retired with suspension issues and Fernando Alonso was put under immense pressure from Pastor Maldonado in the Williams. HRT were the only team who failed to qualify after failing to set a time within the 107% rule, and will be hoping for a change of luck this weekend.

The Malaysian Grand Prix has had a history of first lap incidents, as it features a tight right-hander which then leads into an even tighter left-hander as it’s first two corners. With 24 cars scheduled to head down into turn 1 on Sunday, it’s hard to imagine everyone completing lap 1 without some missing pieces of bodywork.

The Malaysian Grand Prix was first run as part of the Formula 1 World Championship back in 1999, in a memorable race where Michael Schumacher returned after breaking his leg and dominating the race. Eventually he handed the race victory over to team-mate Eddie Irvine, who was locked in a Championship battle with McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen. Unfortunately both Ferrari’s were disqualified after a technical infringement, however the decision was overruled shortly after.

Before the Malaysian Grand Prix became part of the F1 calendar, it held Tasman Series races between 1968-1972, Formula Pacific races between 1973-1974 and 1978-1982, a Formula Atlantic race in 1975, a Formula 2 race in 1977 and a Formula Holden race in 1995. All of these races were held on the Shah Alam Circuit, a 3.69km circuit which was opened in 1968 and eventually closed in 2003.

Since the first race in 1999, eight different drivers’ have won the Malaysian Grand Prix. Kimi Raikkonen won his first race at the venue in 2003 for McLaren, and also won the 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix racing for Ferrari. Jenson Button won here in 2009, after the race was halted due to torrential rain on lap 31. Button’s team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, has never won here and will be hoping to change that fact on Sunday.

Pirelli have opted for the medium and hard tyre compounds for this weekends race, which will give the teams’ their first taste of the harder compound in 2012. With the changeable weather at Sepang, many teams’ are wary of the possibility of rain hitting the track.

For the second race weekend in succession, Johnny Herbert will be the drivers’ steward for this weekends Malaysian Grand Prix. The former British Grand Prix winner had a relatively trouble-free Australian Grand Prix, and will be hoping the drivers’ continue behaving themselves this weekend.

The DRS Zone for this weekend has remained the same as last season, with the detection zone just before turn 15, and the activation zone just after turn 15 meaning the drivers’ will get to use the device down the start-finish straight.

With such an exciting race weekend in Australia last weekend, the Malaysian Grand Prix is expected to continue the trend on a circuit which, coupled with the heat and humidity, is one of the toughest the drivers’ will encounter.

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