Shaneus said:
Hammer24 said:
AcridMeat said:
2012 Race Summary
Forty minutes before the race the pitwall radar read that more than thirty minutes of steady 2-3 (0 = no rain and 4 = heavy shower) intensity rain was expected at 15:50 pm local time (ten mins before race start). All drivers except the two HRT's(began the race on the green banded intermediate tyre. The HRT team opted for the blue banded full wet tyres. Grosjean starting from 7th, made a good start and was third into turn 1. Schumacher and Grosjean made contact at turn 4 and both spun, losing several positions in the process and Grosjean eventually retired on lap 4 after spinning into a gravel trap. On the first lap, turn 9 to 11 was almost completely dry but the rest of the track was very wet. Pérez stopped after the first lap to change to full wets in a move that would elevate him to an eventual podium scoring position. With almost all drivers having pitted onto full wets by laps 5, the pitwall radar was shown to read "the intensity will increase to 4 from time to time" meaning heavy rain was still to come.
The safety car was deployed on the 7th lap, purely because of the heavy rain, and the race was suspended on lap 9. This worked in favour of Jean-Éric Vergne, the only driver still running on intermediates, who was able to change to full wets (as required by race officials) without the necessity of a pit stop. The HRT of Karthikeyan benefited from starting the race on full wets, having not needed to pit stop and was in tenth when the race was suspended. Grosjean's car was rescued from the gravel and brought back in the pits during the suspension. The race suspension last around fifty minutes and in that time many drivers opted to leave their car and some (Rosberg) changed footwear. While the cars were suspended on the grid, many teams brought out gazebos to place over their cars to keep them and team equipment (i.e. laptops and tyre warmers) dry.
The race restarted under the safety car around local time 17:15. As the track steadily dried pit crew members attempted to dry the team pit box. After 4 laps behind the safety car, the majority of the drivers once again pitted to change to intermediate tyres, meanwhile Vettel lost his radio so he had to use the pit confirmation button on his steering wheel for most of the race. On lap 15, Jenson Button clumsily locked up the rear wheels and made contact with Karthikeyan, forcing him to pit again to change the front wing, ending his podium chances. Subsequently he made up a few places but was unable to finish in the top 10. Alonso emerged from this as the new leader when he overtook Sergio Pérez on lap 16, a lead he only briefly relinquished with a lap 40 pit stop. Rosberg was in fourth on lap 23 but slowly slipped backwards when his tyres overheated and he consequently pitted early for more inters. As the track slowly dried further, the top five all had comfortable gaps between them. During this period Senna was posting quick lap times and moving up through the midfield.
By lap 31 heavier rain was again forecast but never eventuated. After being 7.795 seconds behind Alonso in 2nd, Pérez began to set consecutive fastest laps and was closing the gap to the leader. The forecast rain prevented most cars from changing to slicks when the track was dry. An image of Hamilton's front tyre revealed that drivers were essentially racing on slicks anyway as the intermediate tread had worn off. Daniel Ricciardo was the first to take the gamble and change to dry tyres on lap 37. The teams watched his lap times go purple (fastest for the day) for every sector on the timescreens. He set the fastest lap by some three seconds on Pérez and that initiated the change from wet to dry tyres for everyone else. By lap 39, Pérez had excellent pace and cut the gap to Alonso back down to 1.339 seconds. Between laps 39 and 42 there was yet another round of pit stops, this time onto slick tyres. Alonso pitted on lap 40 while Pérez waited until the next lap. In that time Pérez, who prior to the pitstop had been within two seconds, now dropped to 7.180 seconds off Alonso. After the change to slicks, Pérez on the prime tyre, again consistently cut down on Alonso's (medium tyre) lead to within half a second. Controversially on lap 50, Pérez was told on the radio "be careful, we need this position" referring to the 18 points on offer for 2nd place. On the same lap Pérez took too much curb on turn 14 and had a slight off. This cost him at least five seconds and ensured he remain in 2nd position. Commentators questioned whether Sauber - whose engine is supplied by Ferrari - gave a coded message to Pérez asking him to allow the engine supplier to take victory. Sauber denied this emphatically after the race. Late in the race, Vettel received a puncture against the front wing of Narain Karthikeyan, and he pitted from 4th place, finishing 11th; Karthikeyan was given a 20 second post-race penalty for his part in the collision. Pastor Maldonado, who was running 10th, was forced to retire on the penultimate lap when his engine gave way, allowing Michael Schumacher his first points of the season.
[Click map for onboard lap]
Laps
56
Circuit length5.543 km (3.444 mi)
Race length310.408 km (192.878 mi)
Lap RecordJuan Pablo Montoya - Williams-BMW - 2004 - 1:34.223
Most Wins (Drivers)Michael Schumacher (6)
Most Wins (Constructors)Ferrari (5)
Previous Winners & Pole Positions
2012 - Winner: Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
Pole: Lewis Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes - 1:36.219
2011 - Winner: Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull RenaultPole: Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Renault - 1:34.870
2010 - Winner: Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull RenaultPole: Mark Webber - Red Bull Renault - 1:49.327
2009 - Winner: Jenson Button - Brawn MercedesPole: Jenson Button - Brawn Mercedes - 1:35.181
2008 - Winner: Kimi Räikkönen - FerrariPole: Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 1:35.748
2007 - Winner: Fernando Alonso - McLaren MercedesPole: Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 1:35.043
2006 - Winner: Giancarlo Fisichella - RenaultPole: Giancarlo Fisichella - Renault - 1:33.840
2005 - Winner: Fernando Alonso - RenaultPole: Fernando Alonso - Renault - 3:07.672 (2 Laps)
Videos highlighting the Malaysian Grand Prix
Highlights from the 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix
Highlights from the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix
Changes from 2012
-The pit wall debris fence has been extended in order to better protect the marshals.
GP Facts
-In the 14 events to date, the driver in pole position has gone on to win the race on seven occasions. The first winner from pole was Michael Schumacher in 2000 and the most recent Sebastian Vettel in 2011.
-Last years winner Fernando Alonso started the race from eighth on the grid, the furthest back a winner has started in the history of the race. Kimi Raikkonen won the 2003 event from seventh position.
-Alonso has won the Malaysian Grand Prix with three different teams Renault in 2005, McLaren in 2007 and Ferrari last year.
-Sergio Perezs second place last year for Sauber was the first time a Mexican driver had appeared on the podium since Pedro Rodriguez finished second in the 1971 Dutch Grand Prix for BRM 19 years before Perez was born.
Drivers Championship Standings
Constructors Championship Standings
Fantasy Championship Standings
