Background
The 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix was held at the Sepang International Circuit near Kuala Lumpur on 8 April, with practice and qualification for the race held on the two preceding days. It was preceded by a test session at the Sepang circuit attended by all the teams except the small Dutch team Spyker , who believed that it would not be possible to try upgrades on their car in time for the race. The test was scheduled to begin on 27 March 2007 and last for three days. The teams, which are all ... The issue of teams using 'customer cars', that is cars obtained from other teams, surfaced before the race when Spyker protested the Scuderia Toro Rosso (STR) team's use of cars they claimed had been designed by STR's sister team, Red Bull Racing . The Concorde Agreement , which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in the Formula One world championship, requires teams to design their own cars. The Malaysian stewards rejected the protest, with the Fédération Internationale de l'Au...
Practice
Dennis's lack of concern was vindicated on Saturday, with Hamilton setting the fastest time in practice with a lap of 1:34.811. Massa finished the session a tenth of a second behind, with third placed Alonso a further half second behind. Kubica, Räikkönen, Rosberg and Heidfeld followed, with Super Aguri driver Anthony Davidson eighth fastest. Super Aguri are regarded as a sister team to the Honda F1 works team, who set only the 17th and 19th fastest times. The 2007 Super Aguri is widely t... During the early laps, Massa appeared to have a faster car than Hamilton, and repeatedly tried to pass the McLaren on the inside of turn four. His first attempt was on lap three, but Hamilton braked late and kept ahead of Massa into the following corner. Massa tried again at the same place on the next two laps. He passed Hamilton briefly into the turn on lap five, but overshot the corner and ran wide onto the grass. He dropped to fifth, behind teammate Räikkönen and BMW's Nick Heidfeld. Hamilton... While the two Ferraris were delayed behind Hamilton, Alonso was pulling away at the front, setting fastest laps on laps seven and fifteen. On lap 12, Robert Kubica was the first man to pit for fuel and fresh tyres, however he reported traction control problems four laps later and lost places. Alonso had extended his lead over Hamilton to 15 seconds by the first round of pitstops. He had experienced radio problems before refuelling, but these were fixed during the stop. The Renaults ... Kubica dropped to 13th as his traction control fault worsened, and a train of cars that wanted to pass developed behind him. Kovalainen's performance was much better than at the previous round in Melbourne , and he attempted to pass Jarno Trulli for eighth. The top five again remained the same after the second round of stops. However, Hamilton's short first stop necessitated a relatively early second stop, allowing Räikkönen to reduce the gap and Alonso to extend his lead to 18 seconds. [ ...
Qualifying
Rain threatened during the second part. Although it did not materialise, all the drivers posted quick laps early on to avoid having to set a time on a wet track. Alonso was again fastest with a 1:34.057. Hamilton, both Ferraris, BMW Saubers, and Toyotas, as well as Rosberg (Williams) and Webber (Red Bull) also passed through to the final part. Kovalainen (Renault), Fisichella (Renault), Coulthard (Red Bull), Sato (Super Aguri), Button (Honda) and Liuzzi (STR) were eliminated. 2006 champions Rena... Notes:
External links
2°45′39″N 101°44′18″E / 2.76083°N 101.73833°E / 2.76083; 101.73833
Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Mercedes | 56 | 1:32:14.930 |
| 2 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 56 | +17.557 |
| 3 | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 56 | +18.339 |
| 4 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 56 | +33.777 |
| 5 | 5 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 56 | +36.705 |
| 6 | 3 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Renault | 56 | +1:05.638 |
| 7 | 12 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 56 | +1:10.132 |
| 8 | 4 | Heikki Kovalainen | Renault | 56 | +1:12.015 |
| 9 | 17 | Alexander Wurz | Williams-Toyota | 56 | +1:29.924 |
| 10 | 15 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 56 | +1:33.556 |
Qualifying
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:35.340 | 1:34.454 |
| 2 | 1 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:34.942 | 1:34.057 |
| 3 | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:35.138 | 1:34.687 |
| 4 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:35.028 | 1:34.650 |
| 5 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 1:35.617 | 1:35.203 |
| 6 | 16 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 1:35.755 | 1:35.380 |
| 7 | 10 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 1:35.294 | 1:34.739 |
| 8 | 12 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1:35.666 | 1:35.255 |
| 9 | 11 | Ralf Schumacher | Toyota | 1:35.736 | 1:35.595 |
| 10 | 15 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1:35.727 | 1:35.579 |
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
Hold on to your helmets! The Sepang air crackles with a tension you could cut with a knife – Alonso, relentless, slicing through the field, a tactical master. Hamilton, a furious shadow, stalks his teammate, the sheer horsepower of the McLaren MP4-23 demanding respect. That Ferrari-developed 2. 0-liter V8, churning out 670 horsepower, couldn't quite match McLaren's aerodynamic aggression today, could it? A brutal display of engineering prowess, and the championship battle just intensified!
Hold on to your helmets! The Sepang air is thick with it – the tension, the roar, the sheer, unadulterated *battle* for supremacy! Alonso, a titan, claws his way to the front, snatching victory from the jaws of second place. Hamilton, a blur of blue, follows close behind, a testament to McLaren's raw speed. A staggering 18% of all races in which McLaren held pole position ended with a one-two finish – a statistic that screams dominance, doesn't it?
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
Here we go! "HEIDELD! He's swallowed Massa! The German's exploiting every inch of Sepang's asphalt, a brutal surge that rips the Brazilian from pole position! McLaren's strategy – or lack thereof – is unraveling before our very eyes! Hamilton, still reeling from the initial chaos, is a sitting duck, a prime target for the relentless McLaren duo! This isn't just a race; it's a psychological war waged at 200 kilometers per hour! The championship implications are already screaming! Alonso, sensing blood, is closing the gap—can he seize this opportunity or will Hamilton hold firm?
The rain, a venomous serpent, had just begun to coil around Sepang. Hamilton, a young man possessed, wrestled with his McLaren, a savage grin plastered across his face. He wasn't merely chasing Alonso; he was *devouring* the track, a hungry wolf sensing weakness. That first lap – a brutal, chaotic ballet of rubber and ambition – confirmed it: this wasn't just a race; it was a declaration. Alonso, a titan of the sport, responded with calculated aggression, a predator mirroring his rival's intensity. The tension! You could taste it, thick and metallic, hanging over the circuit. This, my friends, was the kind of warfare that defines Formula One.