2009 Malaysian Grand Prix - Sepang (04.05.09)

mistybear87 said:They haven't had a Safety Car in Malaysia since 2002, so you can see just how safe of a bet that is. ☕

It’s not going to happen this time.

Not when Piquet flies off the track, slides 200 meters away from the circuit, and doesn't bother anyone.

I mean, it isn't Canada where they spend hours picking people up off the track.🙏

Roger Williams3 said:if it starts raining, I'm personally rooting for this guy

🙂

as for me, I'm leaning towards this one 😬

Frank Collins85 said:as for me, I really like 😬

I wouldn't mind this at all☕

Arthur Doyle70 said:hollowhawk412, just wanted to say hello 👍 You've been MIA from the forum for months now...

I'll be back to my usual self soon enough 😉

actually spending these past few days tinkering with some wiring 😁

Roger Wright94 said:Over at Ferrari, they’re claiming that KERS has triggered some totally unforeseen issues with the rear tires, which are just getting absolutely shredded out there. Honestly, I find it hard to wrap my head around how something like that wasn't caught during testing or predicted beforehand.
Their best comparison right now is looking at BMW, who are running the exact same strategy but are clearly in a different league of speed altogether.
At this stage, whether using KERS was even worth it remains a massive question mark.
So, we wait to see if everything plays out the same way in Kuala Lumpur-Malaysia, and then we can expect some real decisions to be made. They’ll have to make adjustments on the fly, and they'll need to move fast.

exactly... carrying 40 kg just to get minimal payoff...

stormybadger8 said:It’s good to see you back in the mix😁

We didn't even get a chance to witness whether there was an actual KERS difference on the BMW or not, because Heidfeld went flying off at the very first corner—essentially getting catapulted out—and he likely ended up with a damaged car, and honestly, it’s entirely possible his KERS wasn't even functioning properly to begin with; then you have Alonso running wide as well, so there is absolutely no way to determine the true pace of Alonso and the Renault 😉

And here is another interesting little tidbit, Rubens mentioned that Kovalainen actually ripped that controversial diffuser right off his car during the impact at the rear😲 yet the BGP remained incredibly fast, even while dealing with a broken front wing, so if what he's saying is accurate, the BGP is quite frankly a perfectly engineered machine 😲 😲

Best to you as well...

The gap in qualifying between Kubica and Heidfeld was nothing short of obvious

hollowhawk412 said:Right back at ya...

The gap in qualifying between Kubica and Heidfeld was pretty obvious.

We're looking at 691.5 vs 650 kg😉 which is huge, especially if you consider the base weight of all the cars without fuel is around 605.🤷

stormybadger8 said:the gap was 691.5 versus 650 kg😉 which is actually quite significant, especially when you consider that the base weight for all these cars without fuel is sitting right around 605🤷

I was actually referring to Q2... there wasn't any weight discrepancy during that session.

That’s exactly why Ferrari will ditch Massa and kimi just to shave off some weight and make the car easier to pilot remotely... 😂

Brawn might hold it together—unless they smash into each other or something. At least Ross Brawn will handle the tactics.
What would Honda even do if it wasn't pouring rain? 🙂

With that diffuser, they're pulling more downforce—which matters even more in the wet than on a dry track.
Since their setup is the most advanced of the three, Toyota and Williams better get moving if they want to catch up.

I just hope the FIA doesn't ban it (which would screw over all the teams that actually put in the work on that diffuser design); let the others deal with the fallout of their "thinking on the fly" approach for once.

(Saturday)10:55 Kuala Lumpur: Qualifying session for the FA for Malaysia Grand Prix, live coverage

(Sunday)10:25 F1 studio
10:50 Kuala Lumpur: Formula 1 for Malaysia Grand Prix
12:50 F1 studio

If we actually get some rain this weekend, things are going to descend into absolute madness.🙂

wiredseal7 said:I’m honestly praying the FIA doesn't step in and ban it—which would cause an absolute nightmare for the teams that spent their entire off-season perfecting that specific diffuser setup—but I certainly wouldn't mind seeing the rest of the field struggle a bit with the consequences of their own "reactive" decision-making processes.

Despite all the various penalties the FIA has been handing out lately, I seriously doubt they'll actually penalize these three teams for their diffusers; if they did, they'd basically be eating their own words after spending the whole winter insisting that such diffusers were perfectly legal.

Every single year, the conversation inevitably turns to the looming threat of rain during the Malaysia Grand Prix, mainly because we’re right in the thick of the monsoon season. As far as I can recall, the only time the track actually turned into a literal lake was back in 2001, when Schumacher took the win and joked that he would have preferred being handed a speedboat instead of a race car.😂

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74146

So there it is... everyone's just kind of agreeing here and there..

Keith Jones19 said:http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74146

And just like that... everyone's picking bits and pieces from here and there to suit their own views..

I honestly don't know how he can show his face in public like that 👎

Neither Hamilton nor McLaren seem particularly rattled. They’re just coasting along in this casual, "nothing to see here" mode. I’m honestly just sitting here waiting for Jerković to come up with his excuses. 🤣

fadedpanther4 said:I honestly don't think Kimi has even stumbled upon that button yet.
And even if he had, I suspect he'd be staring at it, completely baffled as to what its purpose actually is. 😬

Kimi has a whole reservoir of KERS to play with, not just some little button.

Charles Martin78 said:Kimi’s got a bottle of KERS, not a button.

🤣

Bradley Nelson2 said:It’s hardly surprising... neither Lewis Hamilton nor the McLaren crew are getting any heat. They just continue playing it safe with this exhibition-style approach. I can't wait to hear the usual excuses from the pundits 🤣

You aren't wrong about that...👍