Oliver WhiteAfter all the troubles surrounding the result of the Australian Grand Prix, it is nice once again to get stuck into the another race, this time in Malaysia at the Sepang circuit. With drivers voicing concerns about racing in the evening and the possibility of rain, the Malaysian Grand Prix is set to be very exciting. And this morning, Williams once again proved the pace of the FW31, just as they did in Melbourne last Friday.
Nico Rosberg went quickest, but he was closely followed by his team mate, Kazuki Nakajima; the pair only being separated by 0.045s. The Brawns had led the first 90 minute session, but in the final few laps, the Williams stole the top slots and denied Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello the leadership of the timing sheet.
The Brawns therefore finished in third and fourth and the Ferraris fifth and sixth. Felipe Massa got the better of team mate Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn’s lap being about 0.4s shy of Rosberg’s pace. Behind the Ferrari duo sits Lewis Hamilton, who unexpectedly found some speed in the MP4-24. Unfortunately, the second McLaren fared worse and Heikki Kovalainen could only manage seven laps before his car needed work doing to it.
Incidents happening in Malaysia this morning include a rather bizarre one involving Kimi Raikkonen. Apparently his KERS shorted out and this required the team to spend some time working on it. However, it is not entirely known if this caused Raikkonen’s cockpit extinguisher to be fired while Kimi was on the back straight. Autosport have reported both incidents, but any link between the two aren’t yet known to me.
A lot of drivers found themselves in the gravel or trundling over the grass, including Nelson Piquet, Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Timo Glock, Jarno Trulli, Robert Kubica, Sebastien Bourdais and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Malaysia 2009
|
Lap Time
|
Laps Set
|
1. |  Nico Rosberg Williams |
1m36.260s | 27 Laps |
| 2. |  Kazuki Nakajima Williams |
1m36.305s | 25 Laps |
| 3. |  Jenson Button Brawn |
1m36.430s | 20 Laps |
| 4. |  Rubens Barrichello Brawn |
1m36.487s | 22 Laps |
| 5. | Felipe Massa Ferrari |
1m36.561s | 21 Laps |
| 6. |  Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari |
1m36.646s | 18 Laps |
| 7. | Lewis Hamilton McLaren |
1m36.699s | 16 Laps |
| 8. |  Mark Webber Red Bull Racing |
1m36.703s | 23 Laps |
| 9. | Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing |
1m36.747s | 25 Laps |
| 10. | Timo Glock Toyota |
1m36.980s | 27 Laps |
| 11. |  Jarno Trulli Toyota |
1m36.982s | 26 Laps |
| 12. | Giancarlo Fisichella Force India |
1m37.025s | 20 Laps |
| 13. |  Robert Kubica BMW |
1m37.039s | 18 Laps |
| 14. | Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault |
1m37.199s | 20 Laps |
| 15. | Adrian Sutil Force India |
1m37.241s | 18 Laps |
| 16. |  Fernando Alonso Renault |
1m37.395s | 12 Laps |
| 17. |  Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso |
1m37.634s | 22 Laps |
| 18. | Nick Heidfeld BMW |
1m37.640s | 17 Laps |
| 19. |  Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso |
1m38.022s | 19 Laps |
| 20. | Heikki Kovalainen McLaren |
1m38.483s | 7 Laps |
Ollie – couldn’t agree more!