2006 Malaysian Grand Prix - Race 2/18

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Qualifying notes - Midland

Adrian Burgess, Sporting Director: "It's been a difficult weekend so far, dealing with a new engine formula, and being the second weekend of the first two-race cycle has been challenging for a lot of teams. We've had a few mechanical problems, which we're trying our hardest to get under control but then again, we're not alone in that regard and we'll be quite happy starting 15th and 16th on the grid tomorrow, if I'm not mistaken. We still have a lot of hard work to do, but if we can give our drivers two cars that can get to the flag, they'll have a good afternoon's race in front of them. We've just got to keep our heads down, improve the car, improve our reliability, and see where we end up."

Tiago Monteiro: "The good news is that my back felt much better today. Our physiotherapist did a great job with the treatment last night, and I was able to drive with a lot less pain. We still have little bit of work to do to fight our way further up the grid, but we knew from the start that we would be at a disadvantage on a high-downforce circuit like this, where aerodynamics play such a key role. There will be at least five cars behind us on the starting grid because of engine changes, and I'm looking forward to mixing it up with them for as long as I can. Hopefully, our reliability issues have been solved and we can be there at the end. After all, just finishing the race here is half the battle."

Christijan Albers: "I really have to give credit to the team, because in spite of our qualifying positions today, they really did a great job. Everyone is working very hard to squeeze more and more performance out of the car, and the gains are coming, slowly but surely. Maybe not as fast as the big manufacturer teams but then again, Formula 1 has probably never been so competitive. A little rain tomorrow wouldn't hurt, either, because we know we have good 'wet' and 'extreme wet' tyres. That would be a great equaliser, from our point of view. Now we have to focus on running the best race we can, and I'm really looking forward to collecting as much data as possible to help us prepare for Australia and the rest of the season."

 

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Qualifying notes - BMW

BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Nick Heidfeld qualified 14th and 15th respectively for the PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang. Because some competitors will lose places on the grid due to engine changes, Villeneuve will start from grid position 10, Heidfeld from 12.

Jacques Villeneuve: Somehow we could not really get the tyres to work on a low fuel load. On old tyres we were quick this morning, but we didn't practice with new tyres then and didn't gain enough from them in qualifying. The result is very disappointing for us.

Nick Heidfeld: Certainly I am not happy with the result. On my second run the first sector time was good. But for the second and third sectors David Coulthard kept driving directly in front of me. That was it. We gain a few positions on the grid because some others need to change their engines, so we'll simply have to make the most of our possibilities come the race.

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): Five to six teams were fighting for the top positions. They were much closer together than before. But we had still expected to make it into the top 10. In the end we missed it by a few tenths of a second. Jacques was not happy with his lap and complained about the level of grip. Nick got stuck in traffic on his quick lap. Nevertheless, I am convinced the new qualifying procedure is a winner for drivers, teams and the fans.

Willy Rampf (Technical Director Chassis): A disappointing result. In the second part of qualifying the times were very close and in a situation such as that if you don't get everything just right, you are out. As we will make some places on the grid, we will adapt our race strategy accordingly.

 

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Qualifying notes - Toyota

Panasonic Toyota Racing goes into tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix with hope of a strong performance despite a disappointing result in today's qualifying. At a sweltering Sepang circuit on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, the Toyota cars showed improved pace compared to last week's Bahrain Grand Prix. Unfortunately Ralf Schumacher suffered an engine failure when he was challenging strongly for the top ten so he will start from the back row of the grid. Jarno Trulli was suffering from understeer, managing 13th quickest in Session 2 but he will start from 9th place due to a number of engine changes by the higher finishers. Toyota will now push hard to salvage a strong result in the race.

Jarno Trulli will start the Malaysian Grand Prix from 9th place on the grid despite struggling with understeer today.

Jarno Trulli: "I'm obviously glad that we are showing a better performance here compared to Bahrain and especially that we're starting to get some information about how the tyres work. Obviously this afternoon was a difficult one for me because I suffered from major understeer throughout the sessions. This morning during free practice I tried some different directions with my set-up for the team. That meant I was unable to prepare my set-up for qualifying and the race as I normally would. Nonetheless I hope we can race well tomorrow. We will analyse the data and I hope we can sort out the balance overnight. That way we can look forward to a better Sunday afternoon than we had in Bahrain."

This afternoon's engine failure will push Ralf Schumacher to the back row of the grid for tomorrow's Malaysian GP.

Ralf Schumacher: "It was a pity how things turned out today because we were showing much better pace than last week. It would have been good to be in the top ten here and I'm sure we could have improved further. We didn't have any warning about the engine until it suddenly let go. That can happen – especially at a tough circuit for engines like Sepang after we put in so much mileage at Bahrain. But at least our pace is looking a lot better. We expected that but now we can be sure about that fact as we can concentrate on tomorrow. Now I'm looking forward to a good race. We're starting at the back but we had some pretty good long runs in practice so we will try our best. It will be difficult but anything is possible."

Toyota will push hard to gain ground in tomorrow's race safe in the knowledge that the cars are performing better.

Mike Gascoyne – Technical Director Chassis: "Ultimately that was a disappointing end to qualifying, but we also showed a lot of promise. The cars today looked much more competitive than we were in Bahrain, and the level of performance we showed is pretty much what we expected from the car before the season started. We made the tyre work better than in Bahrain by a combination of changes we made and the conditions here. Unfortunately Ralf's engine failure means that he couldn't improve after one lap of the second session. Jarno lost some set-up time this morning so we have to accept the blame for him not being in the top ten. Despite the results, it was very good to show that when we have the tyre working we have a competitive package. We now have to make sure we do that 100 percent of the time. Tomorrow we have to look for a strong performance and aim to pick up points."

 

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Qualifying notes - Renault

The second ‘super-pole' style qualifying session of the 2006 Formula 1 season, held in sweltering conditions this afternoon at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, once again saw the Renault F1 Team experience mixed fortunes during the hour. While Giancarlo Fisichella raced to pole position, a fuel rig problem between Heat 2 and the Super-Pole session left Fernando Alonso disadvantaged during the final twenty-minute session.

The World Champion qualified eighth, but will start seventh – and on the cleaner side of the grid – once Michael Schumacher's Ferrari has been demoted ten places following an engine change this morning. With the Michelin tyres performing strongly in the oppressive heat, the team is optimistic that Giancarlo can aim for the race win, while Fernando will be looking to recover from his qualifying difficulties to score a maximum number of points.

Giancarlo Fisichella: I want to dedicate this win to Pietro, a childhood friend of mine who died last Sunday. This is the best pole I have had so far. Last year it was thanks to the rain, but today, everybody was up there and fighting hard for it. The engineers made some changes to the car overnight that really improved the balance, and from the first run this morning, I could feel we had the pace to fight for the first two rows. After that, it was a question of doing the best possible job in the qualifying session, and performing to the maximum at the right time. We did it, and tomorrow, I will only be thinking about the win.

Fernando Alonso: It was obviously a very disappointing qualifying session for me. Fisico showed what the car can do at this circuit, and I should have been up there as well. We had a problem with the fuel rig before the final part of qualifying, and I didn't have the performance on my lap with new tyres at the end. Even so, I am not actually in too bad a position, and I will gain a place before tomorrow. The package actually feels good, and we are consistent with our pace, so I am not ruling anything our for tomorrow.

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: It was fantastic for Giancarlo to grab pole in a very busy and exciting session. His performance this afternoon shows not just the innate performance of the R26, but also his own personal strength of character to bounce back from a difficult weekend in Bahrain. Unfortunately, Fernando was unable to make use of the car's full potential through no fault of his own. We suffered a problem with the fuel rigs which has meant his car does not have the optimum fuel load in it.

Denis Chevrier, Head of Trackside Engine Operations: It is always very satisfying to be on pole, and Giancarlo drove an excellent lap this afternoon in the high-pressure moments of the final session. From the team's perspective, we are in a similar situation to that we encountered in Sakhir, as our two cars were unable to express their full performance this afternoon after the fuel rig problem encountered by Fernando. From the engine's point of view, we have not had any unexpected incidents, and our measurements show that the car is coping well with the hot conditions, in terms of our choice of cooling level and gear ratios. We are ready for an aggressive race tomorrow, and starting from the front row, we have every hope of fighting for the win. As for Fernando, we have seen on numerous occasions that he is capable of extraordinary performances from less than ideal grid positions.

 

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Qualifying notes - WilliamsF1

Sam Michael, Technical Director, WilliamsF1: "It's great for the team to have both cars on the second row of the grid in only the second Grand Prix with our new partners Cosworth & Bridgestone, especially on such an aero-dominated circuit. The qualifying session second time around was a lot calmer as we have had a chance to review the various strategies employed and we ran a slightly different strategy between our cars in terms of tyre use. Nico's lap was fantastic, particularly considering this is only his second GP. Mark drove well and will be well-placed to benefit in tomorrow's race. Everything looks solid on the car for tomorrow reliability-wise and our lap times on long runs look really strong, so we are looking forward to a good race. Just as in Bahrain, it's great to be the fastest Bridgestone team again."

Mark Webber: "The team has done a really good job again bringing a competitive car here, so congratulations to everyone at Williams, Cosworth and Bridgestone. I think the drivers went well too. We decided to run right at the end of the last session and did pretty well. From what we did today, I think we look in pretty good shape for the race tomorrow."

Nico Rosberg: "I am really pleased to be starting from the second row for tomorrow as it is important for me to make a good first impression. The team has worked well and it is very good to have this opportunity to drive a great combination of chassis, engine and tyres and start so far up the grid. Getting here has not been easy at all, but I have been working really well with my engineers and the team generally. Looking ahead to tomorrow, I think we will be strong and maybe have a bit of an edge engine-wise. It might be tough in the heat for some drivers, but I didn't find the conditions in Bahrain a problem at all."

Bernard Ferguson, Cosworth: "We're delighted that the promise seen in Bahrain is continuing and pleased of course to be third and fourth on the grid, even more pleased to have achieved this with the same engines as there have been a lot of changes elsewhere this weekend."

 

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Qualifying notes - Ferrari

Jean Todt: "Considering our decision to have Felipe start from the back of the grid, our qualifying session was basically with only one car. This decision was taken so as to let him start the race tomorrow with a fresh engine, lots of fuel on board and new tyres. Michael was also obliged to change his engine and he'll be starting from the sixth row after having gone well in qualifying. Tomorrow is going to be a very tough race with reliability and a consistent tyre performance being the decisive factors. The championship has only just begun but even if we are now going through a difficult moment with the reliability of the V8 engine, what is important is to try and pick up as many points as possible. All kinds of things can happen for us tomorrow, but this is true for the others as well."

Michael Schumacher: "I'll be starting from the sixth row which isn't too bad considering the penalty inflicted for the engine change. We're satisfied with this position and obviously I hope to end up in the points. I'd be really happy if I could get a podium finish. Considering the circumstances, our objective is not to lose touch with the drivers who presumably will be fighting for the championship. The fact that Alonso and Raikkonen aren't too far ahead on the grid certainly helps me a bit. It'll be interesting to see whether overtaking will be possible and how much fuel the others have on board. During unofficial practice we have seen that our race pace is fine. It's a pity that we've lost ten places on the grid because of this engine problem, but I would rather try and bring home a few points than end up with nothing at all."

Felipe Massa: "Obviously I'm very disappointed because I was convinced that I had the potential to compete with the front runners. We chose to do only the first part of the qualifying session so as to be able and start the race with as much fuel as we want and in order to save our new sets of tyres and keep a fresh engine for the race. This morning, when I was running on used tyres and with quite a lot of fuel on board, I felt that the car in this configuration was performing excellently. Tomorrow is going to be difficult for me, but in racing you never know what can happen: perhaps a weekend that got off to a bad start could end up quite well !"

Ross Brawn: "This is very frustrating for us. We have had various problems with the engine but we'll get over them. I'm convinced of that. It's a pity, because during all the winter testing we were very reliable. Considering the amount of fuel that Michael had on board because of the ten-position penalty, his qualifying session went quite well. The tyres seem to be very consistent in their performance. We can expect a tough race but we'll do everything possible to finish in the points."

 

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Qualifying notes - Red Bull

Despite collecting a ten-place grid penalty for an engine change, David Coulthard was on the pace in the first part of today's qualifying. With just seconds of the first session remaining, David and team-mate Christian Klien leapt up the leaderboard and set the third and seventh fastest time respectively, enough to continue in part two. In the second session, Christian was sixth and went through to the final qualifying sector, but DC finished eleventh fastest and narrowly missed out. Christian went on to finish ninth fastest.

David Coulthard: "The car was a good improvement over what we had in the morning session and each of my runs were pretty consistent. We had a problem with the left rear tyre before the last run so I sat for a long time without the tyre blankets on. The car didn't feel as good on that set and was moving around a little more. Unfortunately I was behind Christian and in front of one of the Williams so I couldn't get any clear space to heat the tyres up. I made a little mistake and dropped the two tenths that I gained in the first sector and that was it, game over. Of course you want to go as fast as you can, but all things considered I'm not disappointed. I'll be pretty much at the back of the grid anyway tomorrow due to the penalty."

Christian Klien: "The first session went well, I did a good lap and was P7, but then the second session was really close. I was on my first set of tyres and thought my lap was okay, but then I saw the others were quicker and I had to go out once more on another set of tyres, which we were saving for tomorrow. Then I could go quicker and that was enough to get to the last session. The final part was a bit frustrating. We stopped in the box early as it was so hot, and amended our race strategy for tomorrow.

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "A pretty positive day today – we qualified ninth and eleventh, but obviously David has his penalty that he has to take and Christian will move up a place, but on low fuel we certainly looked competitive. In the final session with Christian, we elected to take a strategic approach to the race rather than focusing on lap time. With Michael getting his penalty, eighth is a decent place to be starting from and we're looking forward to tomorrow."

 

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Qualifying notes - Super Aguri

Super Aguri drivers Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide will be starting the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix amongst the big guns in the sport. Honda engine reliability has ensured that both Taku and Yuji, although qualifying at the bottom of the table today, will be splitting some of the racing pairs from the Ferrari, Red Bull Racing, Toyota and Honda Racing F1 teams when they arrive on the grid for the start of the race tomorrow.

Takuma Sato: "I believe that we did the best job we could today and I think that we achieved the car's best performance. Unfortunately we are still struggling in the mid-sector due to understeer, but we are running reliably and will have both cars on the starting grid tomorrow which is great. This is a high down-force circuit so we knew that we would have a hard race in Sepang, but we shall do our best tomorrow and hopefully be able to bring our two cars home."

Yuji Ide: "For qualifying the car ran better than it did this morning, but the balance is still not good enough. I went off the track during practice because I tried to push too much but during qualifying the handling of the car felt much better. It is hot but everybody is running in the same condition so it is not such a problem. I will talk to the engineers and see what we can do to improve the car's pace and I hope that I will be able to do better tomorrow and get to the checkered flag. I am really looking forward to my second race here in Sepang."

Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: "There hasn't been a big problem with the car so far, so I am relatively happy. We tried different set-ups this morning for qualifying and the race and we have a number of directions to decide upon tonight.

"We still have a lot of small issues to solve however we are learning so much more about the car by fixing those issues. Our qualifying time is similar to that in Bahrain, but we have more data from the car, so I hope that we will do little better than the last race. Takuma has familiarised himself with the characteristics of the car and is handling it well. Yuji was running our new front wing this afternoon was trying to get the feel for it. He of course still has a lot to learn, but he is doing well and the team has been doing a great job."

 

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Qualifying notes - McLaren

Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen finished qualifying for tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix in sixth and seventh position respectively after setting times of 1:34.916 and 1:34.983 in the final session. Qualifying took place in ambient temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius with track temperatures souring to 51 degrees. In the first session Juan Pablo set the fastest time with 1:34.536, with Kimi's lap of 1:34.667 being second. The second session saw Kimi finish with the fifth fastest time of 1:34.351 whilst Juan Pablo's time of 1:34.568 was the eighth fastest. Juan Pablo and Kimi will start from fifth and sixth on the grid tomorrow after Michael Schumacher will drop 10 places from fourth following an engine change.

Juan Pablo Montoya: "I am happy with our qualifying result today, and we will see tomorrow with the different fuel loads just how well we have done. Hopefully the Michelin tyres will continue to perform, so far they have been good, but it is a very long and hot race. We have worked intensively on the set-up of the car and I am much happier with it. I am looking forward to a good race tomorrow where we can hopefully be challenging at the front."

Kimi Raikkonen: "I had a little bit of traffic on my out lap at the end of the session which disrupted my flying lap. As a result I didn't do as well as I could have, but I am pretty happy with the result. The car could still be better but I think that we have a competitive strategy and we will still be strong in the race tomorrow."

Ron Dennis: "We are very comfortable with the outcome of today's qualifying session and we look forward to our race strategy unfolding."

Norbert Haug: "With Juan Pablo starting in fifth and Kimi in sixth position both our cars are in good position for tomorrow's race. With our strategy we should be in good shape."

 

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Qualifying notes - Honda

The Honda Racing F1 Team's Jenson Button will start tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix from the front row of the grid after posting the 2nd fastest time in today's action-packed qualifying session. After a solid morning of free
practice running, Jenson was happy with the set-up of his Honda and fired up for the crucial knock-out hour. He missed out on pole by just 0.1 sec.

On the opposite side of the garage, Rubens Barrichello has been uncomfortable with the set-up of his RA106 all weekend then suffered an engine problem in this morning's free practice. Faced with a ten place relegation, the team had nothing to lose and decided to switch to the T-car chassis with a fresh engine. Rubens' early pace demonstrated that although he was happier with the new chassis it was not enough and he just missed out on session 3 qualification by 0.1 sec to end the day 12th. However, his engine change puts him further back on the grid.

Jenson Button: "The team has done a fantastic job to get us on the front row of the grid and I have to thank them for that. Things were looking a lot less positive yesterday when we were really struggling to find a good set-up. A lot of hard work was done overnight and tomorrow looks promising, but let's wait and see. This is always a tough race but I'm certainly looking forward to it."

Rubens Barrichello: "This has been quite a difficult day for me. I was still unhappy with the set-up of the car in free practice then we encountered an engine problem and had to change. It was obviously very disappointing for me to know that I would lose 10 places on the grid but we also decided to change chassis to see if this would give us a better chance for the race. I'm starting from towards the back of the grid which means tomorrow will be tough but I'll give it my best shot and see what the race brings."

Gil de Ferran: "We are delighted with Jenson's qualifying session; starting on the front row certainly bodes well for tomorrow. The performance was a real team effort as not only did Jenson do a stellar job behind the wheel but our engineers managed to improve the car tremendously from yesterday. Unfortunately Rubens had a difficult day. We had to change his engine prior to qualifying after a small problem developed in the late stages of free practice and we were unable to adapt the set-up of the car to his liking. We will continue to work hard with Rubens and believe he can still have a good race."

Shuhei Nakamoto: "We had a tough day today but I am very pleased that we got Jenson on to the front row of the grid. I would like to thank the team for their hard work in making that possible. Regarding Rubens, he felt down on power at the end of this morning's free practice session. We located a problem and decided to change the engine, but we were obviously unable to work on the set-up before qualifying. We are very disappointed for Rubens but we will do our utmost to give both drivers the best possible chance in tomorrow's race."

 

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Qualifying notes - Bridgestone

Formula 1 rookie Nico Rosberg and his WilliamsF1 teammate, Mark Webber, will line up on the second row of the grid for tomorrow's 56-lap Malaysian Grand Prix after an impressively consistent qualifying display this afternoon which saw them set the third and fifth fastest times respectively in the final shoot-out. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher was fourth fastest but both he and his teammate, Felipe Massa, have been blighted by engine problems this weekend, both receiving grid penalties. The Toyota team has also had its fair share of problems this weekend but is undoubtedly looking stronger than in Bahrain. For MF1 Racing and Super Aguri it was a tough qualifying with neither making it into the second session but they too will be looking for a strong race tomorrow.

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager - Bridgestone Motorsport: "Three cars in the top five is a very promising start to the weekend and is a good indication that the Bridgestone teams will be strong tomorrow. The drivers experienced extremely hot conditions, particularly in the third part of the qualifying session, but the tyres worked well in these tough conditions. Congratulations to Nico Rosberg, who will line up on the second row of the grid – and to his teammate, Mark Webber, who will actually line up alongside him. The Ferrari pair will be strong tomorrow but have had to contend with engine penalties so will have a hard race. The Toyota pair has been looking stronger this weekend. Ralf Schumacher was unfortunate to end his qualifying with an engine failure but I think he had the potential to be up with the other Bridgestone runners. All in all, we are happy with the performance of the Bridgestone tyres and the outcome of qualifying."

Sam Michael, Technical Director - WilliamsF1: "A fantastic qualifying performance with both cars on the second row in only our second GP with our new partners – Cosworth and Bridgestone. Nico is in the top three in his second ever GP. We had slightly different strategies for Mark and Nico in qualifying in terms of tyre use and should be strong in the race tomorrow based on the lap times from our long runs in practice. The tyres have been solid all week-end, Bridgestone has done a great job and I think we can be strong enough to win tomorrow."

Ross Brawn, Technical Director - Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: "Obviously today is frustrating given the problems we have at the moment. We will get over them but it's disappointing ahead of the Australian GP. The car seems good and considering our chosen strategy due to the grid penalties Michael's time is a good one. The tyres are consistent and it looks as if the Bridgestone runners will be competitive here. We shall be looking to consolidate and get some points."

 

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Qualifying notes - Michelin

Giancarlo Fisichella has qualified fastest for tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix – the third pole position of his Formula One career and Michelin's 101st. The Italian lapped in 1m 33.840s to pip Jenson Button by just 0.146s as Michelin drivers locked out the front row of the grid.

Juan Pablo Montoya, Kimi Raikkonen, world championship leader Fernando Alonso and Christian Klien complete a list of six Michelin drivers in the top 10.

Nick Shorrock, Michelin Formula One director: "We have been working very effectively with all our partners– and the fact there are different Michelin chassis on the front row underlines as much. This is obviously a very pleasing result and it will be interesting to see the race strategies unfold tomorrow.

"I think we could see cars making one, two or three stops. The track has changed quite significantly since the start of the meeting – yesterday's graining problems have vanished completely and we have no worries about undue wear or blistering/ "There are three different types of Michelin in the race– all are quite similar in nature and they have responded exactly as we hoped they would to the prevailing conditions. The temperatures might be a little cooler in the race than they were in qualifying, given the three o'clock start, but we still anticipate track temperatures of 40-50 degrees."

Pat Symonds, executive engineering director, Renault F1 Team: "Many people were wondering where the balance of power might lie in the tyre war when we reached the hotter circuits. By annexing the front row today, I think Michelin has gone a long way towards answering that question."

Fernando Alonso was the fastest Michelin runner in this morning's final free practice session. He lapped in 1m 34.180s – 0.054s adrift of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari.

Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello will be given 10- position grid penalties in tomorrow's race following unscheduled engine changes.

Scott Speed, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Christijan Albers, Tiago Monteiro, Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide were eliminated during the first part of the knock-out qualifying session. The second round accounted for David Coulthard, Rubens Barrichello, Jarno Trulli, Jacques Villeneuve and Nick Heidfeld. Felipe Massa did not run during the session and is expected to make a second unscheduled engine, which will earn him a 20-position grid penalty.

Ralf Schumacher missed the third and final sector of the qualifying session after suffering a spectacular engine blow-up on the pit straight. The German had qualified 10th for the top-10 shoot-out.

Jenson Button set the fastest qualifying lap overall – a 1m 33.527s during the second part of the session.

Rookie Nico Rosberg has qualified third fastest for what will be only his second world championship start.

 

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Post-qualifying press conference - Sepang


TV Unilaterals


Q. Looked like another superlative performance there from Renault; your thoughts and what was it like in terms of the heat?

Giancarlo Fisichella: Yes, it is. Yesterday we ran without any problems and this morning we made some adjustments overnight and the car was much more easy to drive. I felt very comfortable in the three qualifying sessions, and especially in the last one, I was very comfortable with the car. The set-up was fantastic and it's a great result after last Sunday where we already had a problem on the Saturday.

Q. Incredibly high temperatures; what was it like on that longish run prior to the pole there?

GF: It's really tough. It's going to be the toughest race of the season for me, but physically and mentally I am very strong, I feel right and yes, it will be a tough race but it will be the same for everybody.

Q. Interesting to see some of the major opposition - both of the McLaren Mercedes and of course your team mate Fernando – a little bit behind you on the grid.

GF: I don't know why. Fernando is eighth, I think. That's not his position. I don't know what his problem is, but I'm really happy for my performance and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. Jenson, not very happy yesterday but a great performance today.

Jenson Button: No, yesterday we were struggling quite a bit with the car set-up but they did a lot of hard work overnight and we're here. The car is working a lot better today so I've got to thank the team for all their hard work overnight, they did a fantastic job of turning things around really, because it wasn't looking this good. But I'm happy with second, it would have been nice to have been first but that's pretty much all the time we had.

Q. You said from the start how much you were enjoying this new qualifying session, a lot of heat out there, a lot of laps, a lot of work to do.

JB: Yes, but the problem is when you're stuck in the garage more than anything else. Driving the car's not so bad, it's in the garage, but we've done a good job with fans and everything so I haven't got too hot. It's a bit of a challenge, it's good.

Q. We've had some problems with engines this weekend; indeed, we've had one problem with the Honda engine of your team mate. Your thoughts on reliability and what it's going to take tomorrow in these very difficult conditions.

JB: It's going to be tough on everything: on the driver, on the tyres and even on the car. It's never easy around this circuit, it's always very hot and very humid, and luckily we're very well prepared for tomorrow and now we're just going to have to work out if our strategy is the right one and I think it is.

Q. Nico, a fantastic performance; fastest lap in the Bahrain Grand Prix and now third fastest in Malaysia, just ahead of Michael Schumacher.

Nico Rosberg: Yeah, it's not too bad. I'm really really pleased at how it went. I have to thank the team also because I had a great car which gave me the possibility to go so far up to third. I'm really really pleased and I'm looking forward to tomorrow now.

Q. Obviously the Williams Cosworth is a very good package here, but talk about it from your point of view; you are a rookie and yet you make it look very very easy.

NR: Well that's not true, that's for sure. It's not easy at all. It's just going well, I've fitted in well with the team, we're working very well together with the engineers and everything and it's great, especially in the race when we will be extra strong compared to qualifying. Maybe we will have a little bit of an edge in the race and we could look good for tomorrow.

Q. It's a big jump from GP2 to Formula One and very very difficult conditions here; how are you going to fare in the heat tomorrow?

NR: Yeah, it's definitely not going to be easy, that's for sure, but I felt good in Bahrain throughout the race. It was not too hard and also today in qualifying. I was sweating a fair bit but otherwise it was OK so I think it will be alright for tomorrow.

Q. Giancarlo, returning to you, a difficult race here for you last year, and of course a difficult race for you in Bahrain, but everything is looking good for you at the moment.

GF: Yeah, yeah, exactly. The first race of last season was fantastic, it was a fantastic memory for me. I won the first race of the season straight away and this year was totally different for me, but I am looking forward to this race. I've got a great car, a great team and a fantastic package to be looking forward.




Press Conference


Q. Giancarlo, well done, but your timing is not very good: the Italian press is on strike – not here of course!

GF: As usual. It's not the best time to do the pole but anyway it's good for me because it is a great answer after the last race where we made a big mistake. But anyway, the package is fantastic, the performance is good, I'm sure, and a chance during this season to do well.

Q. You were quick this morning; did you think you could be on pole this afternoon?

GF: Already this morning, no, but I was confident I could be in the top four, top two rows, yes and already yesterday we had a good set-up. Overnight we went through with a different set-up and straight away this morning it was much better, even with scrubbed tyres I was quicker. In the qualifying session it was fantastic.

Q. What sort of confidence have the team been able to give you about the engine after last weekend?

GF: Well, they made a mistake with the butterfly and we know what the problem was, so it shouldn't happen again. We fixed it and we are confident not to have any more trouble.

Q. Jenson, second on the grid, an improvement from last weekend.

JB: Yeah, this is great for us because we didn't expect this yesterday. In fact we didn't expect it up until the first qualifying session really, when the car suddenly came alive. We had a few issues yesterday with the set-up, we were quite a long way off what we expected here but I think I need to say thanks to the team who have done a fantastic job overnight and they've really turned the car around.

It's not just on one lap pace, the long run pace is fantastic now. It's a big step forward from yesterday so I'm very very happy to be on the front row and I think we can have a good race.

Q. Just to continue the progression in qualifying through to Australia...

JB: It would be great to be on pole but there's tomorrow first. I think we have a good strategy and that's the great thing. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. It's going to be tough for all of us, the heat, but it's an extra challenge, I suppose.

Q. Your team mate has had to have a new engine; are there any similar worries for you?

JB: No, there are not massive worries that I'm going to have a problem tomorrow. They know the issues with Rubens's engine and it shouldn't be a problem at all, so they're confident that we're not going to have any issues tomorrow which is great. I think with the heat, I think they understand where we are so that's good.

Q. Did you want to make any further adjustments during qualifying? You're only allowed to make very limited adjustments.

JB: No, because when I jumped into the car during qualifying it was a big step forward from what we had in practice so the car felt good. We made a few adjustments to the front wing and that was about it, and then a few adjustments to the differential and the traction control. But the car was good.

Q. Nico I have to say that I was not expecting to see you so soon on either Saturday or Sunday afternoon in here, but congratulations. Well done. And, as Peter said, ahead of Michael Schumacher… You were nine when he won his first World Championship! Is that a bit of a surprise to you?

NR: Well, no. I am just really, really pleased with the way it has gone, the qualifying session and everything, and to be third is special for me. I am really happy and, as Jenson said, I must thank my team because they gave me a great car, and especially my engineers, who gave me the possibilities of going so far up.

Q. What was the feeling after Bahrain? Did you gain a lot of confidence from that?

NR: Yes, of course, because testing is one thing, but then you come to the races and you are starting anew. So it was important for me to give a good impression and I think I managed to give quite a good impression straightaway and that was very important for me and it boosted my confidence also and that is important when you are driving a car.

Q. Well, third on grid is pretty good isn't it?

NR: Thank you.



Questions From The Floor


Q. (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Deutschland): Nico, it is a fantastic job regarding the number of laps you have driven on this track so far. Can you describe how long it took you to learn the track and gain confidence?

NR: Well, It's not easy to learn a new track, but I am normally quite strong at it. So yes I got into it quite quickly on my four laps and soon I got used to it. It may also have been a help that I did not know this track because in Bahrain I have done many many laps with a GP2 and so I just went out with the F1 car and did the same thing and it didn't work at all. You have to learn every corner from new.

Here I didn't have any reference so I just went out and pushed the car to the limit and that helped me a little bit because I didn't know the track. Now I know it pretty well.

Q. (Ottavio Daviddi - Tuttosport) We heard you dedicate the pole to a friend who passed away. Can you say who this friend was?

GF: He was a friend of mine and we started karting (together) when we were eight-year-olds and unfortunately last Sunday he died in an accident and I am pretty sad for that and so I dedicate the pole position to him and hope to dedicate a great race tomorrow, too.

Q. Giancarlo, it seemed to be a very similar situation to Australia last year, but it is the second race and not the first one. It means you are going for racing now and does it mean something important now for the World Championship?

GF: It is just the beginning of the season and the first race, as you know, was a disaster, but it is only the first race and I am only 10 points behind the leader, not 50, so I have still got the possibility to win the race and to do anyway a great result tomorrow and I have a great team and great package to fight for the championship. Why not?

Q. (Frederic Ferret – L'Equipe) For Nico, are you afraid of the heat for tomorrow?

NR: No, afraid no, that would be stupid to be afraid. Bahrain, in the race, I was very surprised that it was quite easy for me, actually, the first race and I think it was the same for everybody. It is quite an easy track, physically. All I know from today is that it is going to be very hard in the race for sure very difficult but where's the problem? I will just push and get to the end for sure.

Q. (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Germany) Nico, what were the first words on the radio from your team after finishing third?

NR: Nothing really, I must say. They just said 'you are P2 but wait for Giancarlo because he is finishing his lap' and that's all they said. But I am sure they are very pleased with the result that I have done in qualifying. I am sure they are happy and I am going to go and see them later.

Q. (Ann Yeow - Hot Magazine) Would you prefer it if it rains tomorrow?

NR: No.

GF: Considering my position on the grid, no, but anyway even in the wet conditions I feel confident.

JB: Wet or dry, it's not an issue, but we've done most of our running in the dry, and we are quick in the dry.

 

[Flibster]

What you been testing, if you dont mind me asking?

Exige 240 Cup.
Sadly - I don't like the new Toymota engine..Shame - the rest of the car is still brilliant - Should have gone with the Alfa V6 instead.

Mazda RX-8 - uprated to around 280bhp
Felt nowhere near as good as the 190bhp I drove earlier this year - felt far too loose and out of control *although 10500rpm. *

Lotus Esprit 350
I LOVE this car! It's a classic. Heavy Clutch, heavy steerign but when you get it in it's element it's V8 sings and the car makes sence

Smart Brabus Roadster-Coupe
I really like this one as well - it's a nice little cruiser - I could happily have a Exige for weekend and one of these for during the week tbh.

Golf GTi
Oh dear...Felt better built that the Focus ST3 I drove - but thats about it...
At the end fo the day - it was still a Golf....

Got a couple of specials lined up for tomorrow though - Morgan Aero8, Porsche GT3, Aston V8 Vantage *1978 version.. *

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

Awesome car isn't it. Driven the 230 and my god

I didn't like the 230 as much as the 190. The 190 felt more balanced and a hell of a lot more useable day to day. *It's got more torque for a start..*

The 6 speed box needed far too much stirring on my normal trip to work and back.

The 230 with the 5 speed from the 190 may be better though - if you can get it done.

But they are great cars. It's looking likely to be my next car *unless I can persuade the other half to buy a Clio for her senibile moments and I can buy the Exige. *

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

Wow, nice selection of cars. New and used? That Morgan should be fun to drive and the Porsche very quick. The Aston, is going to be an Aston, have presence

Dont thrash them around now

Both new and used

Exige was new, RX-8 was used, Exprit350 was used - but only had 2500 miles on it, Brabus Roadster was new, Golf GTi was new.

Morgan tomorrow is a Used car same as the Porsche and the Aston is well loved...

Me? Thrash them around? As if I would..

 

[Flibster]

GPMA not discussing Mosley's entry window

McLaren boss Ron Dennis claims that the GPMA teams have yet to decide on their approach to the imminent entry deadline for the 2008 championship later this month.

Although FIA president Max Mosley wrote to the teams this week indicating that there would be no backing down over his plans to have a one-week entry window for teams later this month, the stance appears to have left the manufacturer teams unmoved.

In fact, according to Dennis, all the manufacturers are currently focused on the imminent decision from the European Commission about whether a buy-out of Formula One shares by investment company CVC Capital Partners will be given the green light on competition grounds.

A decision on that will be made on March 21, which is the day before the FIA World Council meets to discuss the proposals for the 'window of opportunity' for the teams that is expected to be between March 24 and March 31.

Dennis, speaking at the Malaysian Grand Prix, was adamant that no decision was yet taken among the teams about whether they would sign up before the March 31 deadline.

"It's not under discussion at the moment," he explained. "First we want to finalise an agreement with CVC. That's our goal."

When asked whether he believed entries to the 2008 championship should be an issue early in 2006, he said: "It is 2008 - I won't be drawn into it."

 

[Flibster]

Double Fuel Trouble for Alonso

Fernando Alonso’s qualifying misery in qualifying in Malaysia occurred because the team fueled him twice after thinking that the first load hadn’t gone into the car.

In other words he was given enough to run double the distance he intended to in the first stint of the race.

The problem can to some degree be alleviated because he does not have to take on all of the “fuel credits” that the FIA return to him on Sunday morning. He did 12 laps in the third session, so he can now add anything from nothing to 12 laps’ worth to the fuel that is already in the tank.

The problem is that he is now starting from the fourth row rather than the front, so his original strategy has been turned on his head. The team could consider the option of running only one stop, which other cars in the race are believed to be doing.

Alonso, who also suffered an electronic glitch on his crucial final run, admitted that he was disappointed.

“A little bit,” said the World Champion. “The car was performing well all weekend, and now we are not in the position we decided, but there’s nothing we can do. We have to wait and see tomorrow, and try to be on the podium.

“There was an electronic problem in the car, with the gearshift. The traction control, the butterflies in the engine, and so on. We have to check because there were too many things in the software etc.

“Then we had a mistake with the fuel rigs. We had a problem the first time we put fuel, and we had to come in for a second time on the pit stop. We ended up with much more fuel than we expected. We can’t do anything now, and we’ll see tomorrow if it can help in the race.

“The first time we put fuel we thought there was nothing going in. So we went for the second time, but actually the first time it went OK, so we put too much.”

Alonso added the team would have to check the weight of the car after retrieving it from parc ferme, confirming that the engineers didn’t know exactly how much was aboard when it left the pits.

“It will be difficult starting from seventh, but we’ll try. We’ll try to be on the podium and score as many points as possible, and we’ll see how the race develops.”

Alonso says he’s not concerned about the engine for the race itself: “Not really. This morning we sorted out our software problem. We changed it, and it was OK. And now there are still some problems, but I think they know exactly what it is, and it’s very simple to sort out. The thing that worries me more is the fuel more than the electronics.”

However, he admitted that the rash of engine changes among other teams was a little unusual.

“We’ve seen too many changes of engine, eight I think in the first two races. It’s a little bit too much, and I’m sure it’s because it’s because the teams arrived with new V8s, and in two or three races we’ll have more reliability in the cars.”

 

[Flibster]

Qualifying confusion

We’re pretty sure that Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button will start Sunday’s second grand prix of the season from the front row of the grid for Renault and Honda respectively. It also seems likely that the sport’s new Poster Boy, Nico Rosberg will start from P3 (assuming they don’t announce engine changes later.)

But after that, confusion reigns, as getting these new V8 engines to last two race weekends is proving problematic. At the moment, and in no particular order, Michael Schumacher, Felipe Massa, Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and our own David Coulthard all needed engine changes. This means in simple terms they all start at the back. But deciding which driver actually starts at the back of the front, which one at the front of the back and which at the back of the back, is something that the brains of the FIA are currently working on. If one applies the rule about dropping ten places, it would seem that some cars might line up for the start somewhere on Runway 1 at the nearby Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

So the F1 journalists were all busy scratching their heads and counting on their fingers, but we reckon they had an easier time than the man commentating on the Porsche race that followed F1 qualifying. While the relatively straightforward Mr. Oyoung was in the lead, second place belonged to someone by the magnificently tongue-twisting name of Charoensukhawatana. At the back of the field in the race was a gentleman called Proost. He did not seem to have any of the driving skills of famous French racer Alain Prost, but given he was at the back, perhaps he had more in common with famous French writer Marcel Proust, whose most famous work was called “In Search of Lost Time;” something this Porsche racer could definitely do with finding.

 

[Flibster]

Three F1 Drivers Slapped with Fines
Three drivers left Sepang with empty wallets on Friday, after the FIA slapped them with speeding fines.

MF1 racer Christijan Albers was the first to fall foul of the 60kph pitlane limit. The Dutchman nabbed at 61.5 and copping a $250 blow.

Honda's Anthony Davidson did 61.7, incurring a similar fine, but 'Friday' debutant Giorgio Mondini - driving, like Albers, an MF1 car - must have felt ill after accidentally racing up to nearly 80kph in the 60kph zone.

The Swiss-Italian will have to pay a huge $4750.

OUCH!

Makes £60 look like peanuts doesn't it?