Atlas F1 News Editor
World Champion Michael Schumacher dominated the Malaysian Grand Prix from start to finish, just like he had done two weeks earlier in Australia. This time, however, Juan Pablo Montoya made sure the German had to sweat for his victory while Jenson Button also pushed hard to score his maiden F1 podium. Atlas F1's Pablo Elizalde reviews the events and results of the Sepang race
One of the most difficult things in Formula One is to try and see the full picture of what is going on and what is going to happen during the rest of the year after just two races. Things can change so quickly in this sport that predictions are always close to impossible.
The 2004 Grand Prix season is no different in that respect, although the people's take of the current state of things is, like almost everything in life, open to different interpretations.
Following last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, the half-empty-glass view suggests that it looks unlikely that Ferrari and Michael Schumacher will be stopped in the German's chase of a mind-blowing seventh World Championship crown this year. The signs are there for everybody to see.
The Australian Grand Prix, almost everyone agreed, was not the true picture of Ferrari's current form: the coolish weather had played into the Italian team's hands all weekend, and as a result the Bridgestone tyres were the ones to have. As a consequence, Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello dominated the race from start to finish and came close to lapping the entire field.
Malaysia would show a truer picture, everybody said, Ferrari and their rivals included.
So came the sweltering heat of the Asian country, and Schumacher again dominated the Grand Prix from lights to flag without putting a foot wrong, and having started from pole position. It was a race that Schumacher had not won since 2001, and the one were the Michelin runners were supposed to have the upper hand.
In reality, all of Schumacher's main rivals were a lot closer than they were in Australia, but there was not a single moment in which the German's lead was actually challenged. Finishing some five seconds behind is a step forward for Williams after they were almost lapped in Melbourne.
Sepang was, in theory, Williams' track, and it is true the British squad were much closer than in Australia. But a lesson the past year has taught is that, when the races are close, Schumacher emerges as the winner most of the time. A team will need to be superior to Ferrari to beat Schumacher, and two races into the season it's the World Champions who have the leading package.
After the race, Michelin boss Pierre Dupasquier raised a very interesting point against Ferrari's rivals when asked if Schumacher could be stopped this season. "I don't see how," answered the Frenchman. "We also have another handicap in that since our partners are close to each other, they will share the points. And all the red points will go to Michael."
If Bridgestone are superior at any given track, then Ferrari are likely to win. If Michelin are superior, then Williams, Renault, McLaren, and now BAR will be fighting against each other, to Ferrari's benefit. If anyone still wonders why Ferrari are sticking with Bridgestone, that's one of the best answers you could get.
However, the half-full-glass view offers a brighter prospect for the season ahead, as the Sepang race offered hope for Ferrari's rivals after the Australian Grand Prix debacle.
Williams, or rather Juan Pablo Montoya, followed Schumacher closely for the whole race, and there were moments in which the Colombian looked set to catch the German, especially when he set the fastest lap of the race, which was more than half a second quicker than what the Ferrari driver managed. Had Montoya not been slowed down by Barrichello following his third pitstop, the Williams driver could have caught Schumacher.
"In a non-Ferrari, it's better to back off than to go out of the race. It's better to go home with eight points," said a grim-faced Montoya after the race. "As soon as I went to move he moved and there was no point even trying to pass. There were 12 laps to go, I had new tyres so I just backed off and cruised."
If Montoya pressured Schumacher all the way, the Colombian himself was also chased closely by the BAR of Jenson Button, who completed another impressive race following the promise of Australia. The Briton was fast and consistent all weekend long and was rewarded with his first ever podium, which was also BAR's first top three finish on merit following a couple of lucky podiums. If the Honda-powered team can keep up with the development rate of their rivals, their first victory could be not far away.
In Malaysia, BAR seemed to take Renault's position following the troubled weekend the French squad had, which in the end did not reflect their true pace. Jarno Trulli and especially Fernando Alonso made a mess of their qualifying laps and paid the price for it. The Spaniard's chances to fight at the top were null starting from the back of the grid, and the wrong strategy did not help him either. In the end, Renault showed good pace and reliability, but the result wasn't even close to what they had hoped for.
For McLaren, the Malaysian Grand Prix left a bitter-sweet taste; although it was probably more bitter than sweet. After their dismal performance in Australia, the silver cars, and especially Kimi Raikkonen, fared better during most of the weekend. Raikkonen would have been unable to finish on the podium, but the gap to their rivals did not look as alarming as in Melbourne.
Nonetheless, Raikkonen's second retirement in a row was a reminder that McLaren have still a long way to go before returning to winning ways. This time last year, the Finn was in the lead of the Championship with 16 points. After the Sepang race - which marked a year since McLaren's last win - Raikkonen is yet to see the chequered flag and trails the Championship leader by 20 points. The European season, and with it new developments, cannot come quick enough for the Finn.
Qualifying
After two weeks full of talk and speculation, the very unpopular two-run qualifying stayed for the Malaysian Grand Prix if only for the sake of seeing, as McLaren boss Ron Dennis put it, what the reaction was. And even himself admitted that change is knocking on F1's door.
"Perhaps there is some argument that says let's wait two or three races until we know exactly what the reaction is but there appeared to be quite significant reaction coming after Australia so maybe it is a case of better sooner rather than later," Dennis said.
The FIA already announced a change in schedule for the Bahrain Grand Prix "in order to facilitate television scheduling". In other words, it seems the networks want to know the exact time the second qualifying session will start so they can skip the first one and show the important stuff.
Unlike in Australia, the second qualifying session for the Malaysian Grand Prix showed some excitement, even if not for pole position, but the first hour again highlighted the drawbacks of this new system, which made qualifying last for a massive 124 minutes, which was almost what the Grand Prix and the post-race press conference put together lasted.
The Grid
1. Michael Schumacher
First Qualifying: 1:33.865; Second Qualifying: 1:33.074
It's never good news for his rivals when the German himself admits that his flying lap was "mindblowing", but the way Schumacher dominated qualifying made everyone else look like amateurs, and that after going slightly wide at the exit of the final corner. It was clear from the start of the weekend that Bridgestone had done their homework and that their tyres where much better than last year in the extreme heat of Sepang. Schumacher made perfect use of his package and completed a stunning flying lap that was over six tenths of a second quicker than the closest of his rivals to clinch his second pole in a row.
2. Mark Webber
First Qualifying: 1:34.016; Second Qualifying: 1:33.715
If Schumacher's performance was impressive, Webber's showing was no less so after the Australian put a Jaguar on the front row for the very first time. Webber showed positive signs right from the start of the weekend, but his flying lap with the improving R5 was simply astonishing, especially in the second and third sectors, in which he came back to put his Jaguar on top of the timesheets. His team's happiness suggested the Australian was not running an unusually low load of fuel, although his terrible luck in Sunday's event would not allow him to show his real pace in race trim.
3. Rubens Barrichello
First Qualifying: 1:34.132; Second Qualifying: 1:33.756
Unlike in Australia two weeks earlier, in Sepang Barrichello never managed to extract as much as Schumacher from his Ferrari/Bridgestone package, and as a consequence he was unable to stay in touch with the German World Champion. The Brazilian claimed the difference in time to Schumacher - over six tenths after the final qualifying session - had been a result of an error at the final corner and also to some "different choices" that should have made his car better in race trim.
4. Juan Pablo Montoya
First Qualifying: 1:34.941; Second Qualifying: 1:34.054
From the start of the Grand Prix weekend, the Williams team showed the Australian Grand Prix was not a real indicator of their real pace when the conditions favoured them. With over 50 degrees Celsius on track for most of the three days, Montoya was always close to the top of the times, although following the superb performances of Schumacher and Webber, the Colombian was nowhere close to making it to the front row of the grid. Despite a small mistake in the final part of his flying lap, Montoya's lap was good and his third split was especially remarkable.
5. Kimi Raikkonen
First Qualifying: 1:33.452; Second Qualifying: 1:34.164
After their dismal showing in Australia, McLaren arrived in Malaysia with some new parts for the MP4-19, mainly a revised front wing which seemed to create greater downforce and which made the drivers happy. Raikkonen started the weekend on the right foot by setting the fastest time in Friday's practice, which was at least a positive start after the Melbourne nightmare. In qualifying, like everyone else, he was miles away from Schumacher, but the Finn stayed close to Montoya, who was a more realistic target for Saturday.
6. Jenson Button
First Qualifying: 1:34.528; Second Qualifying: 1:34.221
Having qualified fourth in Australia, Button was disappointed with his sixth place on the grid in Malaysia, a reflection of the ambitious goals the BAR leader has set for the 2004 season. The Briton spent a lot time looking for the perfect set-up for his 006 and still in qualifying he was not completely pleased with its handling. Despite complaining of understeering in the final part of his lap, Button put on a solid performance which allowed him to be right in the middle of the action.
7. Ralf Schumacher
First Qualifying: 1:34.777; Second Qualifying: 1:34.235
Like Montoya, Ralf was quick to find the right set-up for his FW26 and was immediately on the pace since Friday, which was a welcome relief for Williams after the problems in Australia. After staying close to the top of the times in almost every session, the German's performance in qualifying, however, was worse than expected, having to settle for a place on the distant fourth row. Ralf's flying lap was pretty clean, except for a small error in the third sector.
8. Jarno Trulli
First Qualifying: 1:33.264; Second Qualifying: 1:34.413
Having dominated last year's qualifying, and following the strong form showed in Australia, much was expected from Renault in Malaysia, especially as the heat intensified to benefit the Michelin rubber. The first qualifying session was very promising for the French squad, with Fernando Alonso in front of Trulli at the top of the times. After that, however, it was all downhill. Trulli made something of a mess of his flying lap, with several small mistakes that cost him a lot of valuable time. In the end, the Italian's second lap was over a second slower than the first one.
9. David Coulthard
First Qualifying: 1:34.321; Second Qualifying: 1:34.602
Although it did not reflect significantly on his starting position, the Scot, like teammate Raikkonen, was much happier with his McLaren than he was in Melbourne. Realistically, Coulthard could have hoped for a place in the top six, but perhaps he was too cautious trying to avoid mistakes. The end result was that the Scot finished nearly half a second behind Raikkonen and, more importantly, four positions lower on the grid.
10. Cristiano da Matta
First Qualifying: 1:35.684; Second Qualifying: 1:34.917
It was not an easy weekend for da Matta. The Brazilian lost almost the whole second hour of practice on Friday after spinning off the track, which meant he only completed seven timed laps during the day. In Saturday's first practice he was still not happy with his car and again spun into the gravel trap. Another spin in the second session saw him coming into qualifying with less than 100% confidence in his car. Nonetheless, his final flying lap was clean and managed a place in the top ten, which was a pleasant surprise for da Matta after all the problems.
11. Felipe Massa
First Qualifying: 1:34.877; Second Qualifying: 1:35.039
In Malaysia, the Sauber team showed slightly better form than in Australia, with Massa shining in some of the sessions prior to qualifying. The Brazilian had problems with the handling of his car early on, but managed to solve them for Saturday, although he complained the balance of his car was poor in the third sector of his flying lap. To Massa's credit, he outqualified his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella for the second consecutive time.
12. Giancarlo Fisichella
First Qualifying: 1:25.928; Second Qualifying: 1:35.061
Fisichella was also happier with the performance of his Sauber C23 in Malaysia, the team's "home" race. The fast Italian's flying lap, however, was a bit of a mess and, after almost losing the back end of his car at the end of the lap, he had to settle for a place outside the top ten. Without the error, Fisichella claimed he would have wound up closer to the top of the times.
13. Christian Klien
First Qualifying: 1:35.618; Second Qualifying: 1:35.158
Since the start of last season it seems that one of the most difficult jobs in Formula One is being Mark Webber's teammate. When you are a rookie and in midfield car, that job is made even harder, as Austrian Klien has found out in two races. The young Jaguar driver drove decently all weekend long, but still finished 1.5 seconds off his Australian teammate's pace, and that's not likely to impress anyone at the team. The Austrian must be hoping for the start of the European season, so at least he can concentrate solely on driving fast, instead of having to learn new circuits.
14. Oliver Panis
First Qualifying: 1:35.247; Second Qualifying: 1:35.617
The Toyota team arrived in Sepang eager to prove that the Australian Grand Prix was not a true reflection of their form, and to some extent they managed to do it. From the start of the weekend, Panis was happier with his car and even claimed that it felt "like a different world". The level of grip improved considerably since Australia, and both Panis and da Matta performed better. Qualifying, however, was not good for Panis, who found himself in a car that was behaving very differently compared to the practice sessions.
15. Nick Heidfeld
First Qualifying: 1:36.769; Second Qualifying: 1:36.569
The efficient Heidfeld again extracted the best from the Jordan package, although that is unlikely to be enough to help him escape the back of the grid this season. The German started the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend with a car that was very difficult to drive, but got more comfortable with it as the weekend progressed. That, however, did not help much, as he was almost a whole second behind the car in front of him. Unless there are drivers who fail to set a time, Heidfeld's realistic goal for the season is likely to be qualifying ahead of his teammate and the Minardis.
16. Gianmaria Bruni
First Qualifying: 1:38.729; Second Qualifying: 1:38.577
If Heidfeld's realistic target is to beat the Minardis and his teammate, Bruni's goal for the season should be qualifying ahead of Zsolt Baumgartner. Everything that goes beyond that will be an added bonus. In Malaysia, the Minardi driver did basically what he is expected to do and outqualified the Hungarian in what was Bruni's first successful attempt to qualify following the fiasco in Melbourne.
17. Zsolt Baumgartner
First Qualifying: 1:39.805; Second Qualifying: 1:39.272
Apart from having a pretty much trouble-free weekend, there were not many reasons for the Hungarian to be too thrilled. He spent the weekend at the bottom of the times and only escaped the final row thanks to the problems to the three drivers behind him. Baumgartner at least managed to stay within half a second of his teammate Bruni.
18. Giorgio Pantano
First Qualifying: no time; Second Qualifying: 1:39.902
Like teammate Heidfeld, the Italian rookie had serious problems with the handling of his Jordan on Friday, although unlike the German, Pantano was unable to escape trouble on Saturday. Before the start of first qualifying, Pantano's racing car suffered a problem with the gearbox that forced the Italian to miss the session. His mechanics could not fix the problem in time for the second session and he had to go out in the spare car. In the end, he finished over three seconds behind Heidfeld.
19. Fernando Alonso
First Qualifying: 1:33.193; Second Qualifying: no time
Last year's pole setter at Sepang, Alonso looked like one of the main challengers to Schumacher in the second qualifying session. The Spaniard had topped the times in the opening round of flying laps with his Renault, but threw it all away on his final lap when he lost control of his car at turn 14 and ended up in the gravel. However, judging by his first two splits, Alonso would have had to settle for a place in the top three or four.
20. Takuma Sato
First Qualifying: 1:34.971; Second Qualifying: no time
Sato had a troubled weekend from start to finish. On Friday he could only complete six timed laps due to a problem with his car's brakes, and while in Saturday's practice things went smoothly for the Japanese, qualifying saw him losing control of his car after hitting a bump at turn 11. Sato, who seemed to be over-driving for most of the three days, spun into the gravel and failed to set a time. To add insult to injury, Sato was always far from Button in most sessions.
The Race
After Saturday's qualifying, Giorgio Pantano became the first victim of the new regulations, when he was penalised for using the spare Jordan with a new engine fitted to it. Others, meanwhile took advantage of their poor positions to replace their power plants ahead of the race. That was how Alonso and Sato began the race with unused engines, which were taken from the spare cars and fitted in their racing machines.
Of course the penalty made no difference to their qualifying positions.
Before the grid was formed, the threatening grey skies opened briefly, which was enough to make the track extremely slippery. So much, in fact, that Raikkonen spun during the formation lap, although fortunately for the Finn, he was able to turn his car around and return to his position before being passed by the last car.
The fear of Webber blocking the field while Schumacher flew away from his rivals disappeared as soon as the red lights went off, the Australian getting stuck at the start due to a problem with the software of his Jaguar. From second Webber dropped down to 15th position, all his chances of fighting at the top gone.
Schumacher did not have much trouble keeping the lead, and he was followed by Barrichello, which was bad news for Ferrari's rivals. Montoya followed, with Raikkonen in fourth, Trulli in fifth, Button sixth, and Coulthard and Ralf completing the top eight. At the back of the grid, Alonso had made the most amazing of starts, overtaking several cars before the end of the straight and completing the first lap in ninth position, which made for an incredible recovery.
With the track still damp following the short shower, the drivers struggled with their cars, and on the second lap Barrichello ran wide and allowed Montoya and Raikkonen to move ahead. The initial track conditions seemed to benefit the Michelin runners, and Montoya got closer to Schumacher before the track dried up completely and the Ferrari driver pulled away from his rival. A little further back, Trulli and Button were entertaining the crowd with their battle, which ended when the BAR driver overtook the Italian for fifth position.
By the fifth lap, Schumacher was over three seconds in front of Montoya, who had pulled away from Raikkonen and Barrichello, the Brazilian unable to get close to the Finn. Button was still fifth in front of Trulli and Coulthard, who had Alonso now breathing down his neck. Ralf was outside the points and trying to keep Webber at bay when the Australian tried to go around the outside at the first corner. His Jaguar's rear right wheel made contact with the Williams's front wing, which resulted in a puncture for Webber, who nursed his car back to the pits, only to be penalised for speeding in the pitlane and later spinning out of the race.
"Ralf drove into the back of me because he was pissed off that I'd overtaken him," said Webber. "I got a puncture from that and had to stop and then I spun out. It is absolutely frustrating. I had a lot of rear tyre wear but that was my fault because I've got to drive in those conditions. But we'll keep on learning."
At the top of the field Schumacher continued to open his gap to Montoya as the Ferrari driver took advantage of his lighter fuel load. When Schumacher dived into the pits for his first stop, he was around five seconds ahead of the Colombian driver, who was still able to stay on track for a couple of laps, suggesting he was running with more fuel than the German in qualifying.
Montoya was, together with Button, the last of the top runners to pit, the Colombian stopping on lap 12 and returning to the race right behind Raikkonen, whom the Williams driver overtook on that same lap. Button dropped to fifth place behind Trulli, after the Italian had jumped ahead of Barrichello in the pitlane.
Initially, the second stint saw Schumacher continuing to increase his lead over Montoya to over six seconds by lap 15, but the Williams driver began to push harder and, with a series of very fast laps, closed in on his rival, the gap reduced by half three laps later. Raikkonen had lost contact with the leading duo, and was followed closely by a charging Trulli. Button and Barrichello were not far behind, with Coulthard in seventh and Alonso right behind in eighth.
After only ten laps on track, Trulli became the first driver to stop for the second time, on lap 20, dropping from fourth to ninth. His Renault teammate Alonso, meanwhile, was putting Coulthard under pressure and finally managed to overtake the Scot with a gutsy move around the outside of turn one. The McLaren driver, however, recovered his position moments later when both men pitted at the same time, Alonso loading a lot more fuel than the Scot as Renault had decided to change their strategy to a two-stopper.
The rest of the top runners completed their second stop between lap 25 and 28, and while Schumacher and Montoya kept their positions, Raikkonen lost out to Button, who moved into third. Barrichello, who had led briefly while the others pitted, regained fifth place from Trulli while Coulthard was still in sixth ahead of Sato and Alonso. Ralf's anonymous race came to an end on lap 28 when his BMW engine let go as the German driver was running outside the point-scoring positions.
Bit by bit, Montoya continued his charge towards Schumacher, in the meantime setting the quickest lap of the race, to reduce the gap to the German to around five seconds with some 25 laps remaining. After the initial on-track action, the order settled, with only Alonso and Sato exchanging positions as the BAR driver, up until then running in eighth, pitted for the second and final time on lap 35. Alonso, meanwhile, was struggling for pace, his two-stop strategy clearly not paying off.
The final round of pitstops began around lap 38, when Coulthard stopped and rejoined in the same position. Montoya, some four seconds behind Schumacher, pitted next and returned to the race behind Barrichello, who had still a few laps to go before going into the pits. The rest of the top runners pitted, and the order stayed the same until Raikkonen retired with a blown engine on lap 41, much to the dismay of the angry Finn, who lost his cool and pushed a marshal who tried to show him the way out of the track.
At the front, Schumacher extended his lead while Montoya was stuck behind Barrichello until lap 44, when the Brazilian finally pitted. The Colombian driver was not amused after the race.
"At the end we backed off the revs, we backed off everything when Rubens got in the way. I went to pass him and he blocked me," he said. "If I hadn't had Rubens in the last stint, I think we could have been quite a bit closer because at the end I was really cruising."
Montoya was unable to challenge Schumacher again, the Colombian settling for second as his rival cruised home to score his second consecutive victory to complete a perfect start to the season. As usual, the World Champion kept his feet on the ground.
"No doubt, it's only two out of 18 races - 16 to go," said the German. "I have 20 points in my pocket, which is more than last year. But relaxed would certainly be the wrong word. It was pressure all the way."
After 68 starts, Button finally made it onto the podium after a flawless drive, beating his rivals fair and square to give BAR their first ever podium scored on pure merit. Barrichello had to settle for fourth, having been unable to catch Button in the final part of the race.
"We are ecstatic," said the Briton. "It's the first time I've been on the podium in four years. It's been a struggle but it's a fantastic feeling to be here," said Button, after his first top-three finish. "Obviously, this is a great step in the right direction but it's not the pinnacle of what we want."
Trulli was fifth for Renault, who scored double points thanks to Alonso's seventh place, but who were disappointed not have achieved a better result. The French cars were split by Coulthard, who brought his McLaren home in sixth in what was not much consolation for the Mercedes-powered team. Massa scored the final point for Sauber, making it three Ferrari-powered cars in the points.
So was the Malaysian Grand Prix further proof of Ferrari's dominance in all kinds of conditions? Or an indication that their rivals will give them a good run for their money all season long? Until time tells the real story, it all depends on how you see the glass.
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1h 31:07.490 2. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) + 5.022 3. Button BAR-Honda (M) + 11.568 4. Barrichello Ferrari (B) + 13.616 5. Trulli Renault (M) + 37.360 6. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) + 53.098 7. Alonso Renault (M) + 1:07.877 8. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) + 1 lap 9. da Matta Toyota (M) + 1 lap 10. Klien Jaguar-Cosworth (M) + 1 lap 11. Fisichella Sauber-Petronas (B) + 1 lap 12. Panis Toyota (M) + 1 lap 13. Pantano Jordan-Ford (B) + 2 laps 14. Bruni Minardi-Cosworth (B) + 3 laps 15. Sato BAR-Honda (M) + 4 laps 16. Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth (B) + 4 laps Fastest Lap: J.Montoya, 1:34.223, lap 28 Not Classified/Retirements: Driver Team On Lap Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 41 Heidfeld Jordan-Ford (B) 35 R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 28 Webber Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 24 World Championship Standing, Round 2: Drivers: Constructors: 1. M.Schumacher 20 1. Ferrari 33 2. Barrichello 13 2. Williams-BMW 17 3. Montoya 12 3. Renault 14 4. Button 9 4. BAR-Honda 9 5. Alonso 8 5. McLaren-Mercedes 4 6. Trulli 6 6. Sauber-Petronas 1 7. R.Schumacher 5 8. Coulthard 4 9. Massa 1
Pos Driver Team Lap Time 1. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 28 1:34.223 2. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 6 1:34.819 + 0.596 3. Button BAR-Honda (M) 28 1:34.967 + 0.744 4. Trulli Renault (M) 12 1:35.039 + 0.816 5. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 12 1:35.156 + 0.933 6. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 7 1:35.350 + 1.127 7. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 10 1:35.607 + 1.384 8. Sato BAR-Honda (M) 13 1:35.679 + 1.456 9. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 26 1:35.852 + 1.629 10. Alonso Renault (M) 7 1:35.888 + 1.665 11. Panis Toyota (M) 23 1:35.951 + 1.728 12. da Matta Toyota (M) 22 1:36.544 + 2.321 13. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 7 1:36.570 + 2.347 14. Fisichella Sauber-Petronas (B) 54 1:36.675 + 2.452 15. Webber Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 9 1:36.922 + 2.699 16. Klien Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 12 1:37.031 + 2.808 17. Heidfeld Jordan-Ford (B) 15 1:37.433 + 3.210 18. Pantano Jordan-Ford (B) 41 1:39.527 + 5.304 19. Bruni Minardi-Cosworth (B) 11 1:39.911 + 5.688 20. Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth (B) 12 1:40.123 + 5.900
Pos Driver Team Time Lap 1. Webber Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 15.220 10 2. Panis Toyota (M) 15.372 48 3. Panis Toyota (M) 15.893 45 4. Trulli Renault (M) 24.763 10 5. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 24.883 12 6. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 24.921 44 7. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 25.062 9 8. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 25.447 24 9. Panis Toyota (M) 25.498 21 10. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 25.532 40 11. Panis Toyota (M) 25.555 11 12. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 25.619 26 13. Alonso Renault (M) 25.760 9 14. Trulli Renault (M) 25.777 40 15. Button BAR-Honda (M) 25.882 26 16. Button BAR-Honda (M) 25.899 12 17. Panis Toyota (M) 25.946 38 18. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 25.956 10 19. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 26.011 28 20. da Matta Toyota (M) 26.053 36 21. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 26.062 39 22. da Matta Toyota (M) 26.140 20 23. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 26.214 26 24. Button BAR-Honda (M) 26.338 40 25. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 26.339 9 26. Trulli Renault (M) 26.344 20 27. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 26.445 11 28. Klien Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 26.585 9 29. Pantano Jordan-Ford (B) 26.639 39 30. Heidfeld Jordan-Ford (B) 26.709 27 31. Fisichella Sauber-Petronas (B) 26.795 8 32. da Matta Toyota (M) 26.836 10 33. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 27.120 38 34. Klien Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 27.292 23 35. Heidfeld Jordan-Ford (B) 27.307 13 36. Bruni Minardi-Cosworth (B) 27.415 9 37. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 27.579 9 38. Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth (B) 27.598 10 39. Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth (B) 27.678 26 40. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 27.709 25 41. Bruni Minardi-Cosworth (B) 27.715 38 42. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 27.847 25 43. Pantano Jordan-Ford (B) 27.937 22 44. Bruni Minardi-Cosworth (B) 28.013 24 45. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 28.085 10 46. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 28.470 40 47. Sato BAR-Honda (M) 29.002 14 48. Heidfeld Jordan-Ford (B) 29.045 12 49. Sato BAR-Honda (M) 29.320 35 50. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 30.300 40 51. Webber Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 30.778 5 52. Alonso Renault (M) 31.468 24 53. Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth (B) 31.839 36 54. Klien Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 45.845 36 55. Fisichella Sauber-Petronas (B) 49.145 26 56. Fisichella Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:03.895 41
The Malaysian Grand Prix, Lap by Lap
The grid lines up with rain clouds threatening the Sepang circuit. Giorgio Pantano is going to start from the pitlane. There is some rain at the back of the track and on the final installation lap Kimi Raikkonen spins his McLaren. Fortunately he is able to retake his grid position because he is able to rejoin before the last car passes him.
Lap 1: At the start Mark Webber gets away very slowly and as the cars head for the first corner, it is a Ferrari 1-2 with Michael Schumacher ahead of Rubens Barrichello. Third is Juan Pablo Montoya in his Williams with Kimi Raikkonen fourth, Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli disputing fifth. Further back Webber has a great lap making up places and crosses the line in eighth place, having made his way up from around 15th place. Also on the move in Fernando Alonso, who has gone from the back of the grid to ninth. The top 10 is completed by Takuma Sato. At the tail of the field Giorgio Pantano spins, probably because he started on cold tyres. By the end of the first lap Michael Schumacher has a two second lead over Barrichello.
Lap 2: With half the race track dry and the other half a little damp, the Michelin cars have an advantage. Barrichello runs wide and this allows Montoya and Raikkonen to move up to second and third places. Montoya closes quickly on Schumacher and gets to within a second of the leader. The Trulli-Button battle continues with Jenson getting ahead. Further back Ralf Schumacher re-passes Webber while Sato has a spin and drops back to 15th place. Giancarlo Fisichella is also in trouble and drops from 16th to 19th.
Lap 3: As the track dries Schumacher begins to pull away again, increasing his lead to 1.6 seconds. Montoya is able to pull away from Raikkonen while Barrichello drops away. Button is next up with Trulli on his tail and Coulthard chasing. Ralf Schumacher is overtaken by Webber and Alonso while Fisichella recovers and is back up to 17th.
Lap 4: As Michael Schumacher sets the fastest lap of the race, increasing his lead to 1.8secs., the battle between Webber and Alonso is very close and Fernando gets ahead. Fisichella moves up from 17th to 15th. Sato is also in trouble and loses three places to end up 18th.
Lap 5: Schumacher increases his lead to 3.2secs.There is drama for Webber, who has a left rear puncture. He is forced to drive slowly around to the pits for a new tyre. This promotes Ralf Schumacher to ninth place and Felipe Massa to 10th.
Lap 6: Schumacher increases his lead again to 4.2secs. The order remains the same although at the back Sato begins his recovery, overtaking Gianmaria Bruni for 16th.
Lap 8: The order has settled down but Giancarlo Fisichella heads for the pitlane for his first pit stop. He drops from 14th to 17th.
Lap 9: Schumacher pits, suggesting that he was running relatively light in qualifying. This puts Montoya into the lead with Raikkonen second, Barrichello third and then the Button-Trulli duo in fourth and fifth. Also pitting are Coulthard, Alonso, Massa, Christian Klien and Bruni.
Lap 10: Montoya stays in the lead and with Raikkonen, Barrichello and Trulli all pitting, this means that Button is second with Ralf Schumacher third and Michael fourth. Trulli rejoins ahead of Barrichello. Further back da Matta stops. Webber pits for a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
Lap 11: Ralf Schumacher stops and loses ground, rejoining in 11th place, behind Alonso. The stops continue with Olivier Panis coming in from eighth place. He drops to 12th.
Lap 12: Montoya and Button both pit, leaving Michael Schumacher in the lead again. Montoya rejoins behind Raikkonen but passes him later in the lap to take second again. Trulli also gets ahead of Raikkonen to grab fourth with Button fifth and Barrichello down to sixth. Sato is seventh but has yet to stop while Coulthard is eighth, Alonso ninth. Nick Heidfeld comes into the pits, leaving 10th place to Ralf Schumacher.
Lap 13: Schumacher�s lead is up to 6.4secs. Heidfeld returns to the pits for a second stop.
Lap 14: Montoya sets the fastest lap and closes the gap to 4.6secs, Schumacher losing a little time passing Webber. Sato comes into the pits and falls from seventh place to 11th.
Lap 15: At the back of the field Webber catches and passes Zsolt Baumgartner.
Lap 18: Montoya has managed to close the gap to Schumacher to just 3.3secs. There is then a seven second gap back to Raikkonen who is under pressure from Trulli. Button follows ahead of Barrichello.
Lap 20: The gap has increased again with Schumacher beginning to pull away. Trulli pits and falls back from fourth to ninth after a very short stint of only 10 laps. Further back da Matta has his second stop.
Lap 21: Panis has his second stop but the Toyotas are not competitive.
Lap 22: At the back of the field Webber catches and passes Bruni for 18th place.
Lap 24: Alonso passes Coulthard on the outside at Turn 1 to grab sixth place but both men pit at the end of the lap. Alonso takes on a lot of fuel and so drops behind Coulthard, Massa and Salo. Webber spins off into retirement.
Lap 25: The second stops continue with Raikkonen pitting, allowing Barrichello to move to fourth place and Ralf Schumacher to fifth. Kimi rejoins in sixth. Also pitting is Massa, who falls from ninth to 12th.
Lap 26: The top three all come into the pits. Barrichello thus leads with Michael rejoining second ahead of Montoya, Ralf Schumacher and Trulli. Raikkonen is sixth. Also pitting is Fisichella down in 11th place.
Lap 28: After leading for two laps Barrichello pits and Schumacher goes into the lead again. Montoya sets the fastest lap. Ralf Schumacher disappears with a blown engine. This promotes Button to fourth and Raikkonen to fifth. Trulli is sixth.
Lap 29: Montoya once again begins closing on Schumacher but the order further back is now set.
Lap 32: Montoya has closed to within five seconds of Schumacher. Further back Heidfeld hits troubles with gears and falls down the order.
Lap 34: Heidfeld retires.
Lap 35: Sato, on a two-stop strategy pits from eighth place. He drops behind Alonso, the Spaniard�s lap times suggest that he is not going to stop again.
Lap 36: Down at the back Klien and da Matta pit for a third time. End of the field, Baumgartner does the same.
Lap 38: Coulthard begins the final stops for the leading cars. He holds on to his seventh place. Further back Panis stops for the third time.
Lap 39: Montoya has been unable to get closer than 3.7secs to Schumacher and as he begins to fade again he heads for pitlane. He rejoins in fifth behind Button, Raikkonen and Barrichello.
Lap 40: Schumacher, Button and Raikkonen all stop. Michael comes out in the lead but Montoya is stuck behind Barrichello. Also stopping is Trulli but he remains in sixth place.
Lap 41: Raikkonen retires with a blown engine. This puts Trulli up to fifth place with Coulthard sixth. Alonso is eighth and Sato ninth.
Lap 44: Barrichello finally pits but by then Montoya is more than nine seconds behind Schumacher and decides to settle for second place. Barrichello rejoins in fourth.
Lap 45: Panis goes into the pits for no obvious reason. The Frenchman drives straight through and rejoins, gesticulating in an unhappy fashion. He is later given a drive-through penalty for speeding in pitlane. This drops him back to 12th.
Lap 53: Sato retires with an engine failure. Losing eighth place. This puts Massa into eighth.
Lap 56: Michael Schumacher wins his 72nd victory. Montoya is second and Jenson Button third, delighted to have scored his first F1 podium finish.
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