MALAYSIAN GP RACE
Flag to flag win for Fisichella
Starting from Pole Position, Giancarlo Fisichella dominated the Malaysian Grand Prix in his Renault, taking the win by five seconds from team-mate and Championship leader Fernando Alonso. The result marks Renault’s first one-two result since the 1982 French Grand Prix and moves the team firmly ahead in this years constructors’ championship.
Fisichella never looked under any real threat as he led away at the start of the race, quickly dropping Jenson Button from his mirrors while Alonso made a stunning getaway from seventh position on the grid. The Bahrain winner watched the battling Williams duo squeezing each other on the run down to the first turn and simply drove around the outside to run third.
With a heavy fuel load on board Alonso was unable to challenge the pace of either Button or his team-mate until he made his first stop and with fresh tyres picked up the pace and come the second stop, exited the pits ahead of Button. Job done.
Honda did not have the pace to match Renault on race day but will be relatively happy to make the podium.
McLaren Mercedes had a race to forget with Kimi Raikkonen eliminated on the first lap following contact with Christian Klien who hit the rear of the MP4-21 resulting in a suspension failure that sent the Finn into the wall. Klien too sustained damage and his race too was effectively over.
That left McLaren’s hopes with Juan Pablo Montoya who has started fifth. The end result was far from what was desired as the package showed no real race pace and Montoya finished a distant fourth half a minute behind Button.
Nick Heidfeld was all set for a fine fifth position in his BMW Sauber until his engine failed eight laps from home handing the position over to Felipe Massa who has a fine race in his Ferrari from the back of the field. Using a one stop strategy well, Massa took the chequered flag less than a second ahead of Michael Schumacher who started in 14th position and ran the usual two stop strategy. It was however a very low-key run from the seven-time champion.
Jacques Villeneuve had a good race in his BMW Sauber to take seventh position while the final point went to Ralf Schumacher who was another one to start his race at the back of the field. In contrast to team-mate Jarno Trulli who finished in ninth with a broken diffuser, Schumacher was able to push hard throughout the race and has brought the beleaguered Toyota team its first point of the season.
Rubens Barrichello’s rotten start to his career at Honda continued as he finished tenth following a drive through penalty after speeding in the pits in his one scheduled stop while Tonio Liuzzi brought his Toro Rosso home 11th after a slow start to his race. Over at MF1 Racing, Christijan Albers finished two laps behind the race winner and the team also had to work hard in the early stages of the race as they trailed the Super Aguri Honda of Takuma Sato. Albers eventually found a way past the former BAR Honda racer and quickly pulled away followed by team-mate Tiago Monteiro. Sato would be the final finisher in 14th.
For Williams Cosworth, the race promised a great deal, but a Cosworth engine failure ended the race for Nico Rosberg on lap seven, while Mark Webber retired with a hydraulics problem later in the race.
It was a similar story at Red Bull Ferrari with a double retirement. David Coulthard pulled his RB2 into the pits with a hydraulics problem while Klien’s race was effectively over with front left suspension damage from his contact with Raikkonen on lap one.
Scott Speed was running well in his Toro Rosso until a mechanical problem sidelined him in the closing stages while Yuji Ide was running before he retired his Super Aguri Honda.
While not the most exciting race ever, the Malaysian Grand Prix was a great race for Renault and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Starting from Pole Position, Giancarlo Fisichella dominated the Malaysian Grand Prix in his Renault, taking the win by five seconds from team-mate and Championship leader Fernando Alonso. The result marks Renault’s first one-two result since the 1982 French Grand Prix and moves the team firmly ahead in this years constructors’ championship.
Fisichella never looked under any real threat as he led away at the start of the race, quickly dropping Jenson Button from his mirrors while Alonso made a stunning getaway from seventh position on the grid. The Bahrain winner watched the battling Williams duo squeezing each other on the run down to the first turn and simply drove around the outside to run third.
With a heavy fuel load on board Alonso was unable to challenge the pace of either Button or his team-mate until he made his first stop and with fresh tyres picked up the pace and come the second stop, exited the pits ahead of Button. Job done.
Honda did not have the pace to match Renault on race day but will be relatively happy to make the podium.
McLaren Mercedes had a race to forget with Kimi Raikkonen eliminated on the first lap following contact with Christian Klien who hit the rear of the MP4-21 resulting in a suspension failure that sent the Finn into the wall. Klien too sustained damage and his race too was effectively over.
That left McLaren’s hopes with Juan Pablo Montoya who has started fifth. The end result was far from what was desired as the package showed no real race pace and Montoya finished a distant fourth half a minute behind Button.
Nick Heidfeld was all set for a fine fifth position in his BMW Sauber until his engine failed eight laps from home handing the position over to Felipe Massa who has a fine race in his Ferrari from the back of the field. Using a one stop strategy well, Massa took the chequered flag less than a second ahead of Michael Schumacher who started in 14th position and ran the usual two stop strategy. It was however a very low-key run from the seven-time champion.
Jacques Villeneuve had a good race in his BMW Sauber to take seventh position while the final point went to Ralf Schumacher who was another one to start his race at the back of the field. In contrast to team-mate Jarno Trulli who finished in ninth with a broken diffuser, Schumacher was able to push hard throughout the race and has brought the beleaguered Toyota team its first point of the season.
Rubens Barrichello’s rotten start to his career at Honda continued as he finished tenth following a drive through penalty after speeding in the pits in his one scheduled stop while Tonio Liuzzi brought his Toro Rosso home 11th after a slow start to his race. Over at MF1 Racing, Christijan Albers finished two laps behind the race winner and the team also had to work hard in the early stages of the race as they trailed the Super Aguri Honda of Takuma Sato. Albers eventually found a way past the former BAR Honda racer and quickly pulled away followed by team-mate Tiago Monteiro. Sato would be the final finisher in 14th.
For Williams Cosworth, the race promised a great deal, but a Cosworth engine failure ended the race for Nico Rosberg on lap seven, while Mark Webber retired with a hydraulics problem later in the race.
It was a similar story at Red Bull Ferrari with a double retirement. David Coulthard pulled his RB2 into the pits with a hydraulics problem while Klien’s race was effectively over with front left suspension damage from his contact with Raikkonen on lap one.
Scott Speed was running well in his Toro Rosso until a mechanical problem sidelined him in the closing stages while Yuji Ide was running before he retired his Super Aguri Honda.
While not the most exciting race ever, the Malaysian Grand Prix was a great race for Renault and Giancarlo Fisichella.
posted by Cegu Semut at 2:31 PM
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