The 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix Thread

[Ed]

This is the place to discuss everything related to the second round of the 2013 season taking place in Malaysia

To submit your 10 'n' Pole Picks for Malaysia click here, to register in the competition click here

Track Layout



The event timetable for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Friday
1st Practice 10:00 local time - 02:00 GMT
2nd Practice 14:00 local time - 06:00 GMT

Saturday
Practice 13:00 local time - 05:00 GMT
Qualifying 16:00 local time - 08:00 GMT

Sunday
Race 16:00 local time - 08:00 GMT

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[Thaddeus]

Based on a combination of radio coverage and the live updates here (thanks for those, by the way) I went for Hulkenberg. Strong performance in his first race start, and he had a decent finish.

[jacfan]

Very surprised that no one is discussing the Red Bull situation!!
It was the most miserable podium for a long time.
Personally I think RB need to make sure that Vettal understands that his actions have been extremely selfish. He expects the team to stand behind him and issue orders to whoever his team mate is but doesn't seem to understand that it goes both ways.... give and take.
I just hope that his actions have not created a situation that cannot be fixed.

[Ed]

In Malaysia we saw 2 contrasting situations, one were Vettel took matters into his own hands and decided to attack Webber on the final stint despite agreeing before hand that they will hold position and the second were Rosberg was asked to hold position behind Hamilton who was running out of fuel and had to go slow.

Team orders are never pleasant but they are there, some teams clearly show it while others pretend they don't exist in their teams.

Whilst Vettel seemed to ignore the order, he didn't hesitate and he kept trying until he managed to pass. It does appear that he would only do this if he has strong backing from the very top and it seems that when he agreed to hold position if they were 1-2, he always thought it would be him in front.
This will make things very tough between the 2 from now on. The problem is that it is very early in the season and Red Bull don't need this. Webber will make life difficult for Vettel and things could get worse and they could end up taking each other out.

As for the Mercedes situation, it was really hard to understand why Rosberg was told to hold position. They swapped places a couple of times after the last stop but then Rosberg was told to stay behind. It is very early in the season, Hamilton had a problem with his fuel load and Rosberg should have been allowed to pass him. Wolff and Lauda openly criticized the decision so this will probably hurt Brawn more than Rosberg and has the potential of splitting the team into two camps

[jacfan]

Yes two entirely different situations. While I am not really in favour of team orders, it is a team sport and obviously the teams want to maximise the points for team rather than the individual. Since all teams issue orders it may as well be out in the open.
In the Red Bull case they had two drivers in the top two positions and it is better to have them finish in the way than risk taking each other out of the running, especially if either has to look after tyres or watch fuel consumption etc. I just hope that Vettal has made the situation impossible for Mark.
His ego is out of control (Seb's not Mark's).
As for the situation at Mercedes I agree that Rosberg should have been allowed to take the lead but again without taking his team mate out.

[Thaddeus]

Indeed, it's odd to have a podium where every driver is unhappy.

Red Bull need to either severely punish Vettel or they'll be shown to be spineless *and* hypocritical. Team orders means you can have an overt number one driver, but they've always claimed equality. If Vettel isn't punished that'll be shown to be an utter sham.