Sebastian Vettel took his first Ferrari win at the Malaysian Grand Prix
Track: Shanghai International Circuit
Number of Laps: 56
Circuit Length: 3.4 miles (5.5km)
Race Length: 190.4 miles (310.4km)
Start Time: 7:00 BST
Fastest Lap: 1:32.239 (Michael Schumacher, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, 2004)
2014 Pole Position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 1:53.860, Intermediate Tyres
2014 Race Winner: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas
Tyre Compounds: Soft, Medium, Intermediate, Wet
First F1 Grand Prix: 2004
Most Wins: Lewis Hamilton (3)
Race Preview:
The Formula 1 world comes into the third race of the season with the knowledge that Mercedes may well have a genuine rival. In what was arguably needed for Formula 1, Sebastian Vettel dominated the race for Ferrari – passing both Mercedes on his way to setting a new record for wins in Sepang.
The four times champion will be looking to take the championship lead with back to back wins, whilst the German team Mercedes will be looking to bounce back.
The stats prove positive for the Silver Arrows. Nico Rosberg took his first – and the revived marque’s first – victory here in 2012, whilst Lewis Hamilton is the driver with the most wins around this track. It did, though, bite him hard in 2007 when he lost the world championship in the gravel trap entering the pit lane.
Another team to keep an eye on will be Red Bull. Having been openly critical of their Renault power unit early in this season, both Red Bull and sister team Toro Rosso made big gains at Malaysia and will be hoping to continue that trend this weekend.
The same can be said for McLaren. Despite a double DNF at Alonso’s return race, the Woking based outfit were much more competitive in the humid conditions at Malaysia, albeit still only out qualifying the Manor car of Roberto Merhi.
It is believed the Spanish driver will be continuing with Manor Marussia for the foreseeable future. He made his race début two weeks ago with the recovering team – finishing 3 laps down. Manor look to be managing to sort their 2014 Ferrari power unit problems that kept them in the garage throughout the Melbourne event. The team will be praying that Will Stevens also races this weekend – the Brit was not able to take part in qualifying due to further technical glitches with the 2014 Marussia.
Australia may have been a bit short of action, but Malaysia was not bad at all. Let’s hope the improving trend continues in China, to put us in for an absolute thriller!
Pictures courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari
