2006 Malaysian Grand Prix - Race 2/18

[Flibster]

Toro Rosso to get extra 'edge' - Liuzzi

While the F1 paddock may be musing Toro Rosso's alleged horse power advantage, Vitantonio Liuzzi has suggested that the former Minardi team might have even more of an 'edge' in Malaysia this week.

Weather forecasts suggest that temperatures could soar to 35C this weekend, with high humidity and rain also likely for Sepang.

"One good thing (about the heat) is that we are the only team with V10 (engines)," said Liuzzi, the 24-year-old Italian.

Toro Rosso's Cosworth, although built to generate 19,000 rpm and 950 horse power, is performance-limited in 2006 -- resulting in near-bullet proof reliability.

Liuzzi, on a quick PR trip to Singapore with Red Bull's Robert Doornbos before jetting into Kuala Lumpur, added: "We should have an edge -- more reliable in the conditions. I think this will help us a lot."

 

[Flibster]

Sepang from a technical perspective

Sepang is what can be termed a ‘complete’ circuit in its demands on the chassis. It has high-speed corners, rapid changes of direction (particularly turns 5 and 6), and slow hairpins. In order to achieve optimum performance for these contradictory requirements we must, as always, find the correct compromise on the car set-up.

Suspension: The car must be stable and well-balanced in the fast corners, and in the braking zones for the slow corners. We will use relatively stiff settings to achieve this, while still maintaining them soft enough to have good traction in the slower corners.

Aerodynamics: The cars use medium high downforce to optimise the car performance in the high-speed corners and under braking.

Tyres: This will be a key factor and will play a significant part in our set-up choices with the car. The quick corners coupled to high ambient temperatures put the tyres under significant loadings, and the rear tyres work particularly hard at this circuit. Tyre degradation will be a key parameter.

Cooling: Given the high temperatures expected in Malaysia, the effective general cooling of the car will be a key to success this weekend.

Performance: With 72% of the lap spent at full throttle, Sepang is now one of the most demanding engine circuits of the year – this is the third highest value encountered all season, and represents a significant change to the V10 era. This is because of the high number of high-speed corners on the circuit. Given that the V8 engines have less power than their predecessors, this means that the drivers will spend more time on the throttle than last year.

Operating Range: The operating range of the engine is not particularly demanding at this circuit, as the engine is rarely used at very low revs. However, the high speed sections can pose their own particular problems, particularly through turns 5 and 6. The drivers use partial throttle openings at high revs on this part of the circuit, and if this is not properly managed, it can result in a phenomenon named ‘blow-by’ which can damage both the pistons and piston-rings, with gas escaping from the combustion chamber.

High Temperatures: More so than in Bahrain, we will once again have to contend with the acoustic offset caused by the high temperatures. The higher temperatures, and thus lower air density, modify the intake acoustics, and mean that maximum power is produced at higher engine speeds than at lower temperatures. This means the operating range is pushed higher than usual.

Engine Cooling: If we need to use higher engine revs in order to extract maximum performance from the engine, this will require an increase in the already significant cooling capacity at this circuit. As always, the compromise on cooling will be between keeping the oil and water temperatures within their specified limits, and sacrificing a minimum amount of performance in order to achieve this.

 

[Flibster]

Malaysia GP engine preview

With 72% of the lap spent at full throttle, Sepang is now one of the most demanding engine circuits of the year - this is the third highest value encountered all season, and represents a significant change to the V10 era.

This is because of the high number of high-speed corners on the circuit. Given that the V8 engines have less power than their predecessors, this means that the drivers will spend more time on the throttle than last year.

The operating range of the engine is not particularly demanding at this circuit, as the engine is rarely used at very low revs. However, the high speed sections can pose their own particular problems, particularly through turns 5 and 6. The drivers use partial throttle openings at high revs on this part of the circuit, and if this is not properly managed, it can result in a phenomenon named 'blow-by' which can damage both the pistons and piston-rings, with gas escaping from the combustion chamber.

More so than in Bahrain, we will once again have to contend with the acoustic offset caused by the high temperatures. The higher temperatures, and thus lower air density, modify the intake acoustics, and mean that maximum power is produced at higher engine speeds than at lower temperatures. This means the operating range is pushed higher than usual.

If we need to use higher engine revs in order to extract maximum performance from the engine, this will require an increase in the already significant cooling capacity at this circuit. As always, the compromise on cooling will be between keeping the oil and water temperatures within their specified limits, and sacrificing a minimum amount of performance in order to achieve this.

 

[Flibster]

Malaysia Preview: Michelin

15/03/2006

A taxing start to the 2006 Formula One world championship season continues this weekend as the 11 teams complete a swift dash from the sandy expanses of Bahrain to Sepang, Malaysia, where the latest V8 engines will have to complete the second part of their two-race cycle in searing heat and humidity.

Sepang has been ever-present on the F1 calendar since its inauguration in 1999 and this will be the eighth Malaysian Grand Prix. Michelin teams dominated 2005's corresponding event, when Fernando Alonso (Renault) spearheaded a clean sweep of the top six positions. The emerging world champion's success was Michelin's third at Sepang in the space of four years: Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya swept to a one-two for Williams-BMW in 2002 and Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren Mercedes) notched up his maiden F1 success here the following season.

Nick Shorrock, Formula One director, Michelin: "The second race of the season takes place in something of a Formula One hotspot. It will be a very demanding weekend for tyre manufacturers. Several long straights put quite a strain on rear tyres, but sustained ambient heat is the biggest factor. We have done a lot of preparatory work, though, and obtained encouraging results during a pre-season test in hot conditions at the Bahrain International Circuit, where we won last weekend's opening race. We expect things to be much warmer in Malaysia and will turn to slightly more rigid tyre constructions. Given our winning start to the season, I'm confident we will perform very strongly once again."

Gil de Ferran, sporting director, Honda Racing F1 Team: "It is obviously quite tricky preparing for hot conditions during the cool of a European winter, but our pre-season test in Bahrain gave us some useful pointers. We anticipate that temperatures will be warmer in Malaysia than they were during last weekend's season-opener in Bahrain, but Michelin has proved it can be competitive in all conditions and we have worked well with its engineers to optimise tyres for every type of circuit."

 

[Flibster]

Williams still linked with Toyota engines

Williams remain linked with a possible switch to Toyota engines next year, despite the impressive start to their relationship with Cosworth at Bahrain last weekend.

Although Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg both finished in the points at Sakhir, with the latter claiming fastest lap, it is understood that the team are continuing talks with Toyota about a customer deal for 2007.

Sources have revealed to autosport.com that Toyota's engine chief Luca Marmorini and manager of car design Pascal Vasselon held a meeting with Williams co-owner Patrick Head one evening at the Bahrain Grand Prix to begin preliminary discussions about the technical issues relating to a future partnership.

Despite those talks, however, it is understood that Williams have not signed a deal with Toyota yet and that there is still a chance that Cosworth could still remain with the team if they continue to shine.

Williams chiefs made it clear in Bahrain last weekend that they were very impressed with the work that Cosworth had done over the winter.

"I personally think they have got the best engine on the grid and whether that gives us a harder time to develop the tyre or the set-up or aero, fine," said technical director Sam Michael. "But you have got to take your hat off to them to produce an engine that revs to 19,000rpm and is as solid as a rock. They did a really, really good job."

However, the ultimate decision may well come down to whether Williams can afford to remain an independent customer team or if it would make better financial sense to join up with a manufacturer who would likely subsidise the cost of power-units.

Cosworth's managing director Tim Routsis said at the Williams launch earlier this year that he was determined to make it difficult for the team to choose to change engine partners.

"My job as head of Cosworth is to deliver the sort of performance in the early part of the year that makes it bloody hard for Williams to want to go anywhere else," he said.

 

[Flibster]

Bridgestone helped Ferrari in the wind tunnel?

For the first time, Ferrari crafted the bodywork for its new '248' F1 car by fitting real Bridgestone tyres to its wind tunnel models.

Previously, the Maranello based marque built wind tunnel models with aluminium tyres, according to 'Auto Motor Und Sport' magazine.

Ahead of the 2006 season, however, Ferrari engineers stumbled upon the idea of using real tyres, probably because Bridgestone's new teams - Toyota and Williams - revealed that it is a practice employed by rival Michelin-shod squads.

Interestingly, the revelation coincided with a sizeable boost in performance from the red team -- Michael Schumacher's near-victory in Bahrain. 'Auto Motor Und Sport' contended that the change resulted in a three (3) per cent gain in aerodynamic efficiency.

''Unlike rubber, aluminium does not deform,'' technical director Ross Brawn explained, suggesting that in previous years, Ferrari might have developed aerodynamic packages that did not totally correspond with the actual cars on track.

Brawn added: ''Three months ago, Bridgestone supplied us with our first tyres for a wind tunnel.''

 

[Flibster]

Wasn't it a few years ago they raced in very wet conditions, was a very fun race

@Flibster, do you want the Bahrain moved to the archive?

Brazil 2004 iirc - they only had Intermediate tyres available as part of the FIA's wonderfull cost cutting ideas they were only allowed to take 1 slick compount and 1 wet compound - and everyone took Intermediates.

Would be great if the Bahrain thread could go to the archive too.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

OK, will take a look.


EDIT: Works OK here (not the machine I created the kmz on). Anyone else seeing the same error?

Same here.

Seems to be on ones with an image overlay. Like Germany *iirc anyway*

Hmmm...

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

Malaysia Preview: McLaren

The Formula One fraternity moves to Malaysia this week for round two of the 2006 World Championship. Following the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, Team McLaren Mercedes arrives in Malaysia looking to build on the pace of the MP4-21 demonstrated at the Sakhir circuit.

With only four days between the Bahrain event and Free Practice in Malaysia, the team travelled straight to Kuala Lumpur's Sepang circuit to begin preparations for the race, with the MP4-21s and other trackside equipment also leaving in the early hours of Monday morning, arriving in Malaysia on Tuesday 14th. Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya are spending a couple of days in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore respectively, to start acclimatising to the hot and humid conditions of the Malaysian Grand Prix. Sea freight for the race left the McLaren Technology Centre on Friday 27th January and arrived at Sepang on Saturday 4th March, after a period in storage in Kuala Lumpur.

Kimi Raikkonen: "My race in Bahrain showed that the MP4-21 is a competitive car, despite the heavy fuel load I had for most of the race compared to the cars around me, it was quick. I now want to get back on track in Malaysia and have a better qualifying session, so that I can improve on my finishing position in Bahrain. Sepang is a track that sees car set-up compromised between efficiency at high speeds, for areas such as the start and final straights where we reach full throttle, and good grip for the slower corners, such as the complex at turns one, 14 and 15. Parts of the track are great to drive, such as the S complex and you need to really push through here to get a good lap time. After Bahrain, I have been spending a few days relaxing and doing my fitness training in hot conditions. I will also focus on getting used to taking on a lot of fluid to replace what is lost through sweat. Dehydration affects concentration levels, muscle strength and endurance, and so I have been working with my trainer to avoid this. We also have to make modifications to the cars to cope with the heat, for example there will be larger air cooling intakes on MP4-21 for this race."

Juan Pablo Montoya: "I am really looking forward to the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend, Sepang is a track I love to race on and it suits my driving style. I am hoping that this will help me and the team to find a better set-up with the car than I had in Bahrain and that we will be putting more points on the board. The wide track and its sweeping corners mean there are a few good overtaking chances, I guess the main opportunity is corner 15, but you do need really good traction to make the most of it. Other characteristics of the track are the gradient changes, including through the complex at the end of the first straight, and the different cambers. Of course the humidity is another major factor, Malaysia is a really punishing race physically. It gets so hot in the cockpit, up to 50 degrees centigrade and you lose a lot of fluid, up to four litres, during the race alone. The tropical climate means that it could rain at any minute, so that is always a bit unpredictable, particularly because when it rains in Malaysia, it really rains!"

Martin Whitmarsh: "It was an interesting start to the 2006 season in Bahrain, which gave us the first opportunity to understand how the new qualifying and tyre change regulations would operate in race weekend conditions, and to gauge our genuine competitiveness compared with the other teams. Of the latter, it was a reassuring race for Team McLaren Mercedes with the performance of the car meeting our expectations. Despite Kimi's issue in qualifying and Juan Pablo's handling concerns, we were able to take ten points from the weekend, which is a good basis to build upon. We now move to Malaysia, where tyre wear is a key factor. Despite a smooth surface characteristic, the hard acceleration and braking points combined with the high track temperatures, which can reach 50 degrees centigrade, tends to punish the tyres. Our Michelins performed well in Bahrain, with the intensive development work conducted with the test team and Michelin over the winter to ensure we adapt back to short stints proving invaluable, and we hope this performance will continue at Sepang. After Malaysia, our test team will return to the track, at Paul Ricard in France, to continue their programme. This will include conducting the shakedown of chassis 4 of MP4-21, which we aim to get out to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix."

Norbert Haug: "We learned in Bahrain that the level of competition is higher than we have ever previously seen in this sport. A demonstration of this was the fastest lap times of the top seven drivers, which were all within just over four tenths of a second and the best lap times of the top ten drivers in qualifying all within about a second. We were quite pleased with the performance of our technical package and are now looking forward to the Malaysian Grand Prix. The conditions at the Sepang circuit will be different from those experienced in Bahrain last weekend, as the race takes place in hot and very humid conditions with a chance of rain this time of the year. The track with a smooth, low grip surface is quite hard on the tyres as a result of the high surface temperatures. Close to 70 percent of a lap will be run under full throttle, so the track is quite stressful for the engines.”

 

[Flibster]

Malaysia Preview: Midland

MF1Racing looks to bounce back from a disappointing opening race in Bahrain with a much-improved performance in Malaysia.

Having spent the week solving the technical problems that plagued both race cars at Sakhir, the team is cautiously optimistic it can finally demonstrate the reliability and pace it believes it is capable of.

Swiss driver Giorgio Mondini makes his official Formula One debut for the Midland team, testing tyre compounds behind the wheel of the T-Car on Friday. The 2004 Formula Renault V6 champion will also be on standby as a reserve driver throughout the weekend.

Built in 1999, Sepang International Circuit is a high-downforce circuit with a good combination of technical corners. The heat and lateral forces, combined with a surface that has become increasingly bumpy over time, make this one of the most physically challenging tracks on the F1 circuit.

Tiago Monteiro: "I'm very glad to be back in Malaysia because this was one of my favourite tracks last year, actually. From a driver's perspective, it's really enjoyable to race here - very quick, very aggressive, nice high-speed corners - but at the same time, it's also very demanding, both for the car and for the driver. The temperature, humidity and downforce loads will all be extreme, so it won't be an easy race for anyone, I guess. But we understand why we had problems last week in Bahrain, so we know what we have to work on and how we can improve. Therefore, I'm really looking forward to doing better here."

Christijan Albers: "Although the track is quite challenging, it's very nice to drive and, from what I'm told, to observe a race at. The weather here is typically very hot, but it shouldn't be a problem for us. The guys are working really hard to overcome the problems we experienced last weekend, and hopefully we'll be OK. We're pushing like hell to improve and I'm just anxious to get my first race lap of the season out of the way. After that, I can concentrate on getting into a good rhythm and putting all this hard work to good use."

Giorgio Mondini: "I'm so excited to be here. This is so different from anything I'd experienced previously - not just the car, which is obviously much faster, but also the number of personnel at our disposal, their skill level, everything. They don't call it F1 for nothing! It is the maximum, in every way. To be honest, I had hoped to get some more test time in the car before coming here, but my aim is still the same: to make the best tyre and car set-up choices for the race. I don't know the track very well, but this should only take me 5 or 10 laps to figure out. After that, I should get up to speed very quickly."

Dominic Harlow, Head of Race and Test Engineering: "It's a back-to-back race, so it's been quite an exciting push to get ourselves across from Bahrain and get prepared for this event. Like Bahrain, it's a very hot environment here - it's one of the main features of this circuit. In terms of our car performance, we'll be looking to improve on Bahrain, obviously. We weren't happy with what happened there, with a lack of reliability in the race, so we'll address those issues. We expect pretty good performance from the package in these conditions, that's for sure. We think we're well suited to the hot climate with what we're bringing here. We've got Giorgio Mondini in the third car this weekend, so it will be interesting to see what he's got to say on the Friday. Apart from that, we'll execute our normal programme and push as hard as we can to get the job done properly this time."

 

[Flibster]

Rossi challenges Alonso to the ultimate duel

Clearly smarting from comments Fernando Alonso made to the media recently, MotoGP sensation, Valentino Rossi, has laid down the ultimate challenge to the F1 World Champion, a series of head-to-heads on various racing machinery.

Previously, as the media speculated on the possibility of Rossi joining Ferrari in 2007, Alonso told a press conference that he didn't believe the Italian had the potential to win F1 races, far less a World Championship.

"He might finish fifth or even get on the podium," he mocked, "but some time I could do the same on the bikes if I was given enough time to practise."

Like a red rag to a Spanish bull, Rossi has hit back, challenging the Renault driver to a series of races.

"I read that if Alonso is able to make some practice then he can put a MotoGP bike on the podium with me," the Italian told Motorcycle News. "Well, I think we should drive a Formula One car, a World Rally car and a MotoGP bike, add the times together and then we will see who is the fastest."

Over to you Fernando!

 

[Flibster]

Coulthard, Massa to get engine penalties

Scot driver David Coulthard and Brazilian Felipe Massa will be penalized at the Malaysian Grand Prix following an engine change.

Red Bull driver Coulthard suffered an engine problem at the Bahrain Grand Prix, stopping on track right after the end of the race. Since he finished the event, Coulthard is not entitled to a penalty-free engine change like the drivers who retired earlier from the race.

Massa finished in ninth place after spinning off early on, but some problems found in his Ferrari engine have forced the Italian squad to replace the unit for the Sepang race next weekend.

"We've taken this decision today after an analysis of the engine, which presented some anomalies that could presumably have caused a failure," a Ferrari spokesman said.

Both men will lose ten grid positions in the race.

Under current regulations, engines must last for two Grand Prix weekends.

Coulthard himself had been critical of the rules earlier this week.

"For me I was 14th on the grid and, if you give me 10 places, then I am at the back. I am not driving a McLaren and I cannot go from there to third place," the Scot said.

"I understand the regulations to try and make people use less engines, but I think there should be a handicap penalty based on a performance at a GP. Maybe it could be percentage to the fastest time, but just 10 places is wrong.

"The guys at the front only ever get to just outside the top 10 whereas we always have to go to the back."

Also Villeneuve after he cooked his engine a little bit...

 

[Flibster]

showers eh?

We all remember what happened in 2002, right?

Yup.

Was very hot.

Schumcaher hit Montoya going into the first corner and lost his nose. *for which Montoya was given a very unfair drive-through penalty*
Coulthard retired in the pits.
Raikkonen engine failed
As did Barrichello's
Button's suspension failed on the last lap removing him from 3rd and his first podium

R.Schumacher took the win, Montoya came 2nd and M.Schumacher was 3rd

Think thats the right race.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

How does that work if he stopped in the last lap he would get a penalty free engine change?

If you retired or stopped for any other reason that the engine - you can replace the engine penalty free.

If it's the engine that went foom then you can't.

I think...

 

[Flibster]

Fisichella is allowed a new engine without penalty, apparently.

I've never been a fan of punishing the driver for an engine problem, surely docking team points would be better?

Maybe im not seeing the whole/correct picture

Fisichella's engine didn't fail.
The hydraulics did - so no problems with having a new engine.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

Mosley pressing ahead with entry window

Max Mosley has warned Formula One's manufacturers that there will be no backing down over his plans for a limited 'window of opportunity' for entries to the 2008 world championship later this month.

Although the sport appears to be heading towards a deal that will head off the threat of a manufacturers' breakaway following meetings at the Bahrain Grand Prix, the FIA president has written to Formula One's teams insisting there is no change in the FIA's entry window procedure.

There were suggestions in the Bahrain paddock that plans to open entries for 2008 on March 24 and close them on March 31 could be made more flexible in light of an imminent deal with the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association, but this speculation appears to be wide of the mark.

In a letter that Mosley sent to the teams on Wednesday, the FIA president confirmed that he was pressing ahead with the one-week entry window.

He insists that it is necessary if the FIA are to frame the sport's 2008 regulations in co-operation with the teams - and he makes it clear that no team or manufacturer will be given special dispensation if they miss the entry window.

Those teams who fail to submit an entry in time will be frozen out of talks on the future rules, even if their entry for 2008 is accepted at a later date.

"A Formula One team which does not enter before 31 March would nevertheless be able to submit an entry at a later date and such an entry might be accepted by the FIA subject to the relevant sporting regulations and provided the number of teams did not exceed twelve, including the late entry," wrote Mosley.

"However, unless the FIA and the Competing Teams are persuaded that extenuating circumstances apply, even where such a late entry is accepted by the FIA prior to 30 June, late entering teams will not be invited to join in any discussions regarding the finalisation of the Sporting Regulations and entry will only be possible on the basis that the team accepts the Sporting Regulations as finally adopted and published prior to 30 June."

Mosley is hoping that the FIA World Council will approve his window of opportunity plan at their next meeting on March 22.

If they do, then once the entries are closed the FIA plans to begin a series of meetings with the teams to finalise the future F1 regulations. The technical regulations need to be sorted before June 30 this year to give teams enough time to design their 2008 cars.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis, who has been central to the discussions between the GPMA, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone, said in Bahrain last weekend that he was hopeful the manufacturers situation would be resolved before the entry deadline closed but said there was no fixed position from them about entries.

When asked about the GPMA's position towards the deadline, he said: "This is an almost day-by-day process now and I don't think anyone can present a situation where there is no signed-off MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) by that point.

"I don't want to be at all predictive but I expect there will be several meetings before that day and one of those meetings will be to decide what the position will be if we find ourselves in that situation. But there is no dialogue on that yet."

Speaking about the FIA's position with regards to the entry window, an FIA spokesman said: "The FIA's position with regards to the entry of the 2008 championship has been very clearly communicated to the current teams."

 

[Flibster]

Im not sure this rule really makes sense?

As fas as I'm aware - if the engine is still running when the car retires - then they are free to change the engine without penalty.

So:

Gearbox fails. Engine can be changed.
Hydraulics fails. Engine can be changed
Tyre blows and takes the suspension with it. Engine can be changed
Run out of fuel. Engine can be changed.

Engine decides to dump some oil on the exhaust and flambe itself. Engine can be changed - with a 10 place penalty.
Engine may have issues. Engine can be changed - with a 10 place penalty.

 

[Flibster]

But if car doesn't retire then the engine cannot be changed without penalty.

If two cars are running out of the points (and have no chance of getting any) surely this hands an advantage to the car that retires allowing it a new engine for the next race. Last year doing this would have disadvantaged the retiring car due to the qualifying order, but that doesn't have any effect this year.

The FIA made an edict about this iirc...
Trying to find it.

Here we go...

2005 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
CLARIFICATION: TWO-RACE ENGINES
16.03.2005


“Each driver may use no more than one engine for two consecutive Events. Should it become necessary for a driver to use another engine he will drop ten places on the starting grid at that Event and may not use another engine until the end of the next Event. Any driver who failed to finish the race at the first of the two Events may start the second with a different engine without incurring a penalty.”

The purpose of including the final sentence in the first paragraph of Article 85 of the 2005 Formula One Sporting Regulations was to ensure that if a driver failed to finish the first of two races he would not be penalised in the second if the engine was changed, the principle being that failing to finish a race was sufficient penalty.

As a result of what happened on the last lap of the race in Melbourne a distinction will now be made between failing to finish and choosing not to finish, the former is normally accidental or beyond the control of the driver while the latter is not.

In order to ensure the purpose of the regulation is fully respected, and unless the reason is completely clear, in future we will require the team of any driver who fails to finish the first of two races to explain the circumstances surrounding the retirement to the Stewards of the meeting.

 

[Flibster]

New engines in Malaysia for Massa, Coulthard, Montoya

Felipe Massa and David Coulthard will both face a ten-place penalty in Malaysia, as their cars will start the first practice for the Malaysian GP tomorrow with fresh engines and not with those used in Bahrain. McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya is likely to use a new engine too, therefore the Colombian will also have to drop ten places down his qualifying position.

Yuji ide, Jacques Villeneuve, Giancarlo Fisichella and Christijan Albers will also benefit from new engines, however they will not face a ten-place penalty as they all retired in Bahrain.

 

[Flibster]

Fisichella apologizes for Bahrain radio outburst

Speaking to the media ahead of this weekend's Malaysia Grand Prix, Giancarlo Fisichella has apologized for the emotional outburst that turned the airwaves blue.

In qualifying, the Italian lost pace after fitting new tyres for his final run, resulting in him taking ninth place on the grid. The following day, the problem continued, with the team admitting that it was unable to explain a loss of "around fifty horsepower short of his potential maximum".

There was no such loss of words for the Roman, who told the team that the car was "fornicating poo", adding greatly to the French team's embarrassment as the broadcast had gone out live to the watching millions.

"I was very upset," Fisichella admitted today. "First, I'm really sorry for that to all the people that were listening, especially to the children. I didn't know the team radio was on television. But now it's too late."

Earlier this week, Renault apologized to the Italian for not having rectified the problem in the first place.

"It was very disappointing because the problem I had in the race was the same that I'd had in qualifying which is the reason why I was more upset than usual," admitted Fisichella. "But there are more important things in life."

And one has to wonder what us mere mortals would have done in a similar situation.