Malaysian Grand Prix Review

Let's face it, by the end of the weekend the two-race engine rule was a bit of a non-issue. The FIA had quickly closed the loophole that BAR had exploited in Melbourne, and in a touch of delicious irony Honda humiliated themselves anyway within five minutes of the lights going out on Sunday afternoon. Sure, there hadn't been a litany of detonations in the second half of the race, but as if that was really to be expected. Maybe super-reliability is OK after all as long as it's not the red cars marching away up the front ...

And what of aggregate qualifying? The fastest man in the field with undoubtedly the best all-round package still ended up on pole, and as long as it stays that way, then I guess the fact that it was over two laps instead of one might just be palatable. On the flip side, if you care to view the system more positively, the second session is now an intriguing exercise in second-guessing who's traded grid positions for a potentially-advantageous longer first stint (greetings Kimi Raikkonen). It's a not-uninteresting balancing act.

Some may quibble that prohibiting tyre changes has seen drivers go into endurance mode when F1 is all about going flat-out, but it's all too easy to forget that it's only been since the mid-1990s that F1 hasn't been about endurance. Up till then, when reliability wasn't as good, if drivers didn't nurse the car, if they didn't perform that delicate juggling act between performance and preservation, then they risked not finishing altogether. It's just another aspect of a driver's skill.

Melbourne was unseasonally cool, and Sepang atypically hot. But in the course of the European summer, conditions will probably be hotter than they will be cooler. And in the Malaysian conditions, by the end of the race everyone was on the edge in terms of tyre wear, even if they were on the much-superior Michelins. Few actually went over the limit, but you got the impression that it would only have taken one or two false steps to ruin one's race.

As the victorious Fernando Alonso put it, Renault are indeed currently "the reference". This was the first time a Renault engine had won two races in a row since the Williams days of 1997; the first for the Enstone-based Benetton-Renault incarnation since the Schumacher days of 1995; and the first for the official Renault factory team under that name since the first two races of 1982! Clearly, the R25 on Michelins is a superlative package, in terms of aerodynamics, handling, driveability, tyres and engine.

But some recognition has to go to the man behind the wheel as well. Alonso has traditionally done well at Sepang, but after his scintillating drive in Melbourne, and now this dominant performance in which he built a lead whilst saving his tyres, and didn't put a foot wrong despite being completely exhausted by the end, there's no doubt he's re-capturing his best form. Martin Brundle may be slightly pre-emptive by calling him the 'champion elect', but he does have a head-start on the rest, and especially on Michael.

Of course, Giancarlo was eliminated in a controversial incident with Mark Webber, but more about that in a moment. But first, congratulations and credit where credit's due, and that's to Toyota. In a stunning form turnaround, the two TF105s started 2nd and 5th, and finished there as well. After Melbourne it looked as though they were still yet to learn their lesson, that single-lap speed needs to be converted to race pace, and their first podium still seemed a way off. Within two weeks, or so it seems, they have fixed all their errors.

Mike Gascoyne's clearly worked his magic again, and the most impressive thing is that whereas in Melbourne on a cool track they were unable to make their Michelins last, here in the heat of Sepang they managed it well. Toyota are now 2nd in the constructors' title; was their Malaysia speed indicative of where they really are? The logic is this: if they can make the TF105 work in the extremities of Sepang, why can't they make it work elsewhere? Might those few aero tweaks have made it the 2nd best car in F1 right now?

F1 Racing magazine recently labelled Toyota as being like the Roman Catholic Church - because they are winning very few converts. True, Toyota doesn't get the fans' blood pumping, but the general consensus also seems to be that it would be a shame for Toyota not to get there eventually. They haven't come into F1 with an arrogant self-confidence, only a determination to succeed, even if they haven't always gone about it in the wisest way. For them to start tasting champagne is a welcome thing for the sport.

Williams should be cautiously heartened by their display. Heartened because they were up there with Toyota snapping at Renault's heels, when they were worried that Malaysia would be their Waterloo; if the FW27 still has much development left in it as everyone says, then there is definitely race-winning potential there. But cautious because at the moment they are in a precarious spot, riding on other teams (like McLaren and Ferrari) faltering, but subject to ambushes by the likes of Red Bull in Australia and Toyota here.

What it means is that, unless they improve rapidly now, they are vulnerable to any resurgence from McLaren and Ferrari before they come on strong as anticipated in the second half of the year. From being on the cusp of the podium now they may see themselves slipping back into the minor points before rising back up later in the season. That's not really the kind of season-pattern a good team like Williams and an ambitious partner like BMW would hope for.

Webber must be kicking himself for missing out on his first podium, on a day when the McLarens and Ferraris were out of the picture, and one of the Renaults was in trouble. He won't get afternoons like that too often. Ultimately it was a racing incident between himself and Fisichella, but with Giancarlo undoubtedly the more to blame. Wise or not, Mark was entitled to fight on the outside. He need not account for Fisi losing control. And indeed, once he saw the Renault sliding, Mark even turned right to give it more room.

He sticks his nose in, in places where he is likely to hit someone or be hit. The tussle with Ralf and his own team-mate Nick Heidfeld was lucky not to end in tears. Mark needs to learn a little bit of patience, and he could do well to learn from what Quick Nick achieved here. The German was fast throughout in the race, matching Webber's pace, but he bided his time, showed his intelligence, picked up places when others lost their cool, and took his second career podium.

There was much to admire about Heidfeld's performance, from his daring move outside Coulthard on lap 1, to the way he gave Webber space when the Aussie charged up his inside. But perhaps most astonishing of all was his freshness after the race, when Alonso and Trulli looked ready to collapse. That after his drink-bottle had allegedly failed at half-distance. Mark should take note: Nick has the fitness and speed to match him, and arguably Heidfeld has the better skill in battle at the moment.

But the truth is that neither Williams would have been on the podium had Raikkonen's McLaren not punctured its right rear tyre. Much of Kimi's race was forceful, and his gamble to sacrifice a few grid spots to run longer in the first stint worked beautifully. Yet does this show that McLaren is depending on stealth rather than speed right now? If Juan-Pablo Montoya's anonymous drive to 4th is anything to go by, as he complained of lack of grip and understeer, then the McLaren package really isn't quite on the mark.

The opposite is true for Red Bull, who proved that their performance in Melbourne was no fluke by another double-points effort here. They have kept their 3rd place in the constructors' championship, and have already surpassed the number of points many thought they would score all year. All of Renault, Toyota, Williams, McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari have had both drivers score points already; none of the other teams are off the mark at all. On current form, these six teams will keep hogging the points.

David Coulthard was once again very solid, ever professional, but Christian Klien continues to impress. Like in Australia, he didn't lose his head fighting against some big guns, and here he spent most of the race in a dogfight against the Ferraris. He has learnt from his over-eagerness last year, and things are getting to a point where if Vitantonio Liuzzi really does take the Austrian's seat by the fourth race at Imola, it would be sheer lunacy because Klien is driving so well.

It's possible that we have never gone so far in our review before discussing the Ferraris. It was surreal but refreshing to watch them struggle so much. The last time two Ferraris have both qualified outside the top ten was at the British GP of 1993, when Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger also started 12th and 13th, plus this was also Schumi's lowest ever grid position when there were no extenuating circumstances in qualifying like weather, spins etc., other than a car-engine-tyre package that wasn't good enough.

REJECT OF THE RACE
Honda
Exploit loophole in Melbourne; get comeuppance in Sepang

The F2005 may be - and probably will be - a step up from the F2004M, but Maranello aren't making earth-shattering noises about it as they tend to do when the new car is stunning out of the box. What if the F2005 isn't ready to be introduced straight away? What if the tailored Bridgestone tyre still doesn't eventually match Michelin's? Ferrari haven't had to play catch-up like this for a very long time. At this point in time it's not inconceivable that we may finally witness the birth of a new champion.

Almost as breathtaking as Ferrari's fall from grace was BAR's embarrassment, with both Jenson Button and the ill Sato's stand-in Anthony Davidson retiring within seconds of each other, within the first few minutes of the race, both with Honda engine failures, despite both having new engines without penalty after retiring on the last lap in Melbourne. This is the most no-brainer 'Reject of the Race' award for some time; it goes to Honda, who at the moment can't make engines to last one weekend, let alone two!

Equally extraordinary was Button's post-race verballing of his own team, blaming both Honda and BAR for being unlikely in the foreseeable future to fix their current problems, despite the 007 being occasionally quick. Jenson must be careful here; he was treading on eggshells already after he tried to walk out to go to Williams (which, it turns out, may have been a good move despite not looking like it at the time). A re-ignition of tensions within the team could make the rest of the season unbearably long.

The Canadian was outshone again by Felipe Massa, though truth be told neither Sauber was competitive here, and they were the lowest Michelin team. But Jacques was the one who made the glaring error, losing it under braking and spinning off. He just doesn't seem to have the killer instinct any more, nor is he the kind of driver Sauber need, given the relative position of the C24. They need a young, enthusiastic, but technical driver as well to really develop the car, and Davidson would be a perfect man for the job.

Jordan and Minardi continued to struggle as being the leftovers who just inconveniently happen to also have Bridgestone contracts, although the yellow cars are suffering less by only being year-old cars rather than designs of several years' vintage, as in Minardi's case. Narain Karthikeyan continues to show Tiago Monteiro the way, although both still need to learn better track manners. Once again, both Jordans seemed to find ways of holding up the leaders at the most inopportune places on the circuit.

Patrick Friesacher surprisingly had the better of Christijan Albers despite spinning off on Button's oil. It may be that the Austrian isn't doing anything particularly special, just that the Dutchman is taking things overly conservatively at the moment. They will be looking forward to their new car as much as Ferrari anticipate theirs. Although in Minardi's case they will be aiming to surpass Jordan, in Ferrari's case it will be to try to get on level terms with Renault before the French steamroller gets too far ahead.