So the Malaysian Grand Prix didn’t end up a water fest as pretty much everyone predicted. In fact, not a single drop of rain fell during the race. Many also predicted the biggest headline out of the race would be the weather, how awful it was, and how the race time needs to be changed again etc etc.
But that didn’t happen – so the second surprise to pop out was the Red Bull 1-2 finish. Yes, I said finish. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber have both been plagued recently by dodgy cars, causing Vettel in particular to lose two Grand Prix from commanding positions.
Mark Webber has fared better, however he’s had his share of gremlins too in the car, however luckily during practice sessions.
Despite all that, Vettel pipped Webber to the first corner in Sepang after lights out, and the rest they say, was a parade… (well at least for them it was). Neither Vettel nor Webber moved from P1 and P2 respectively throughout the race, and were never bothered at all by the competition.
Vettel’s now infamous “Number 1″ finger pumps told the whole story at the end of the race – he was clearly relieved to have made it (a) to the finish, and (b) in P1 – probably in that order. However, have they just got lucky this time, or have the Red Bull team figured out their issues with reliability? If it’s the latter, we can say goodbye to the championship race – it’ll all be about the Red Bulls.
That said, they were let off a bit this time over. Both Ferraris and McLarens were starting from pretty much the back of the pack, and had some 10+ cars to go through before getting close to the podiums. Lewis Hamilton predictably steamed through the pack, making up a large number of places, with team mate Jenson Button going backwards, forwards, backwards.
The Ferrari boys also rued their decision on Saturday, which ultimately screwed their race on Sunday. Fernando Alonso’s engine blowout on the penultimate lap was the signing off of a terrible weekend for the team, who were hoping to be back up there. The BBC even reported that it almost looked like Alonso forced the blowout after a frustrating race.
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg needs a mention. Other than the rolling headline that never disappears that he finished ahead of his team mate (you know, Schumacher), he actually finished P3, grabbing the first Mercedes GP podium this year.
What this has done is setup an interesting top 3 in the drivers championship. A top 3 which actually holds 5 drivers:
- Felipe Massa (39)
- Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Vettel (37)
- Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg (35)
That’s pretty tight, and hold’s the top 4 teams. It’s anyones game right now, but could we call it this early? Let’s have a vote:
After 3 races, who do you think will take the championship?
- Sebastien Vettel (71%, 12 Votes)
- Fernando Alonso (18%, 3 Votes)
- Lewis Hamilton (12%, 2 Votes)
- Mark Webber (0%, 0 Votes)
- Jenson Button (0%, 0 Votes)
- Felipe Massa (0%, 0 Votes)
- Nico Rosberg (0%, 0 Votes)
- Michael Schumacher (-1%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 17
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