2011 Malaysian Grand Prix Results
After Australia, the F1 teams and drivers headed over to Malaysia for the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit. This was the season’s second race and Sebastian Vettel continued to dominate from qualifying to race. In searing Malaysian heat, Vettel took first place for Team Red Bull, followed by Jenson Button for McLaren-Mercedes and Nick Heidfeld for Renault.
Vettel continued his domination during qualifying in Malaysia. This time, the time difference between pole position and second, was just one-tenth of a second, a major improvement from the Australian Grand Prix. The first four grid positions were Red Bull-McLaren-Red Bull-McLaren, by driver: Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Button. This brought up hopes for a win for McLaren-Mercedes, which was not to be. Luckily this time, no one was eliminated from qualifying by the 107% qualifying rule.
The Malaysian Grand Prix basically came down to tyre management and pit strategy. The heat, combined with slight rain and Pirelli’s soft compound, made tyre wear fast in this race. This was the downfall of Hamilton, who was looking strong starting in second place and was able to stay right behind Vettel, even make up some time, but then had to make a fourth pit stop, as his tyres wore down too quickly. This relegated him to a disappointing eighth place finish, even receiving a 20 second penalty post-race for weaving. Vettel on the other hand went from pole position to podium, with no major hiccups and it looks like nothing can stop him!
Paul di Resta continues to show promise, by coming in tenth place again, gaining his second point in two races. This is especially impressive, as he finished one place before his team mate Adrian Sutil, who is a much more experienced driver. This leaves three drivers with two points: di Resta, Sutil and Michael Schumacher. Eleven drivers are yet to score a point, including veteran Rubens Barrichello, who had to retire in lap 22, due to hydraulics problems. 17 drivers completed the race, with seven retiring.
Several issues were raised during the race. First, apparent issues with Pirelli tyres. Several drivers were complaining that rubber pellets or marbles hit them during the race. These pellets are apparently worn rubber pieces from the tyres. However, Pirelli is vehemently denying any problems with the tyres. Second, fans complaining that the new pit regulations and softer tyres (Pirelli was asked to make the new tyres softer than the old Bridgestone tyres to increase pit stops) is making F1 racing too technical and difficult to follow – there were an unprecedented 55 pit stops. Some racers even commented that they didn’t know who had placed in what position, until race results were posted. FIA is going to have to address these issues before the next race, the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Malaysian Grand Prix further solidifies Vettel’s lead. With his first place finish, Vettel now has 50 points, followed by Button with 26 points. Hamilton and Webber are tied for third place with 22 points. Alonso is in fifth place with 20 points. On the Constructors’ Championship standings Red Bull goes from strength-to-strength, with their first and fourth place finishes in Malaysia. This puts them in a solid lead position with 72 points. McLaren-Mercedes is in second place with 48 points, followed by Ferrari with 36 points.
Full Race Results
- Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing-Renault) 1:37:39.832
- Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) +3.261s
- Nick Heidfeld (Renault) +25.075s
- Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) +26.384s
- Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +36.958s
- Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) +57.248s*
- Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber-Ferrari) +1:06.439
- Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) +1:09.957**
- Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) +1:24.896s
- Paul di Resta (Force India-Mercedes) +1:31.563s
- AdrIian Sutil (Force India-Mercedes) +1:41.379s
- Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) +1 lap
- Sebastian Buemi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) +1 lap
- Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) +1 lap
- Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus-Renault) +1 lap
- Timo Glock (Virgin-Cosworth) +2 laps
- Vitaly Petrov (Renault) Retired, lap 52
Vitantonio Liuzzi (HRT-Cosworth) Retired, lap 46
Jerome d’Ambrosio (Virgin-Cosworth) Retired, lap 42
Jarno Trulli (Lotus-Renault) Retired, lap 31
Sergio Perez (Sauber-Ferrari) Retired, lap 23
Rubens Barrichello (Williams-Cosworth) Retired, lap 22
Narain Karthikeyan (HRT-Cosworth) Retired, lap 14
Pastor Maldonado (Williams-Cosworth) Retired, lap 8
* Alonso was penalised by 20 seconds after the race, for touching Hamilton during an overtake manoeuvre
** Hamilton was penalised by 20 seconds after the race, for weaving when Alonso was overtaking him