By Michael Lamonato
michael@boxofneutrals.com
With the threat of thunderstorms in Sepang, the sport is being clouded by a storm of a different kind after Red Bull threatened to withdraw from F1 should Mercedes’ domination continue unabated by the FIA.
Red Bull Racing’s posturing was precipitated by its unravelling relationship with engine supplier Renault, which designed a 2015 engine far worse than its 2014 offering, resulting in two engine failures in just one weekend of racing in Australia.
Renault, on the other hand, blames Red Bull for demanding an unreasonable development pace.
Battle of the Powertrains
While the Australian Grand Prix is an unusual circuit in testing the limits of a car, Sepang allows for a more representative evaluation of the field.
Of concern is that Mercedes, which was 1.5 seconds quicker than anyone else in qualifying at Albert Park, will only stretch its advantage in Malaysia with the aid of two long straights in the final sector.
The Mercedes engine dominated Sepang last year, its fastest lap of 1 minute 43.066 seconds was a 1.1 seconds faster than the nearest non-Mercedes car. All signs point to a comfortable Silver Arrows win, reliability pending.
The fight for scraps will be left to Ferrari and Williams. The Italians made huge leaps forward with its engine during the off-season, and Melbourne proved that the Scuderia has resumed its place at the front of the field — barring Mercedes, of course.
Rejuvenated by Sebastian Vettel and a reinvigorated Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari’s biggest worry is Williams running the same engine propelling Mercedes to its dominant form.
Aiding the independent British team is a low-drag chassis package that excels on long straights like those in Malaysia. Sunday will decide whether blistering pace down the front straights counterbalances the necessary surrender of pace in Sepang’s long, fast corners.
Meanwhile, expect Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso to languish at the back with their Renault engines. An appalling two seconds off the fastest race lap in Australia and very poor speed trap times will translate badly for them in Malaysia, even if Adrian Newey’s expert chassis design will help Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat make up some time in the twisty first and second sectors.
Alonso returns to woeful Mclaren
Round two of the F1 world championship will bring some positive news for McLaren, engine performance aside, with the scheduled return of Fernando Alonso.
Knocked unconscious by a pre-season testing crash, Alonso’s doctors advised him to miss the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but a medical check last weekend declared the Spaniard fit to race pending the mandatory FIA safety assessment at the circuit.
It will be a weekend of intense scrutiny for the driver and his team, with rumours continuing to suggest McLaren has avoided telling the whole truth about the circumstances of the crash.
His transition back to racing will be made only more difficult by McLaren’s woeful performance in Australia, where it lapped a stunning five seconds off Mercedes’ qualifying pace.
Honda tuned down its engine to the tune of 200 horsepower in Melbourne because it didn’t believe its power units could cope with the warm weather on race day, which reached 18°C.
Malaysian weather conditions present a significantly greater challenge, with high humidity, thunderstorms, and temperatures in the low 30s expected. It’s likely to be another tough weekend for McLaren.