Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to take back to back wins this season and at Malaysia
Track: Sepang International Circuit
Number of Laps: 56
Circuit Length: 3.4 miles (5.5km)
Race Length: 190.4 miles (310.4km)
Start Time: 8:00 BST
Fastest Lap: 1:33.074 (Michael Schumacher, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, 2004)
Fastest Race Lap: 1:34.223 (Juan Pablo Montoya, BMW Williams, 2004)
2014 Pole Position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 1:59.431, Wet Tyres
2014 Race Winner: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas
Tyre Compounds: Medium, Hard, Intermediate, Wet
First F1 Grand Prix: 1999
Most Wins: Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel (3)
Race Preview:
Following a high attrition, albeit low quality, first race in Australia, the Formula 1 pack moves to Sepang for a race that never usually fails to entertain.
The immediate news coming into this race is that both Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas are fit to race this weekend. Spaniard Alonso missed the opening race of the season due to a concussion he picked up in testing, whilst Bottas damaged a disc in his back during qualifying.
Manor Marussia are also expected to take part in the weekend. The team, which came out of administration just a fortnight before Australia, failed to turn a wheel at the street circuit due to engine software problems, issues which team boss Graeme Lowdon says have been addressed.
Daniil Kvyat was another driver who failed to reach the grid in Melbourne, he will be hoping his Red Bull lasts longer than it did in Australia.
As regular F1 fans will know, the weather plays a crucial part in the action at Sepang – the 2009 race being abandoned due to torrential rain. 3 years later, the epic 2012 race was briefly suspended before an epic final few laps saw Alonso hold off Sergio Perez.
The early forecast is for rain to once again affect the event, but as is so often the case with Formula 1’s venues, exactly how much and when is a mystery.
Whatever the conditions, let’s hope for an entertaining race following the lacklustre opener two weeks ago!
Pictures courtesy of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team and McLaren Honda F1 Team
