gums

Hey twenysix, that's some avatar, where'd you take that?

As for Massa, if and when they do replace him, I'll be you see Alonso continue to shine.

My993C2

Kimi is going to need a mighty fine effort to podium. If I am not mistaken he's going to need to take a 5 spot grid penalty for having to change his gear box. My prediction for the podium:

1) Button (just better on the tires than Hamilton)
2) Hamilton
3) Vettel

I see Webber blowing his start ... again and until proven wrong something tells me Mercedes race pace won't be good enough to podium so the elder German (Schumacher) will be hard pressed again? Of course what do I know. My crystal ball was made in China and it is beginning to ooze this slimy sludge, likely some interesting chemicals only the Chinese like to build their children's toys with.

ltc

By starting on the prime (hard), perhaps Vettel is looking to run long enough for one less pit stop?

Running long on a set of tires is usually associated with Webber.

Should be an interesting race if it stays dry, just to see the strategy.

ilko

I'm still pretty comfy with my earlier prediction.

Everybody's beating on Massa, but in all fairness he was only 0.3 off Alonso during qualy. We'll see how he does in the race.

Considering the lap time difference between the hard and medium compounds is pretty small I think Vettel made an interesting gamble. I bet now he's praying for clear skies tomorrow!

Good to see Schumacher in 3rd, well done, and beat Rosberg. Webber also outqualified his teammate for the second time in a row. And was seen later in the day lobbying Bernie for a rolling start tomorrow...

Lotus is up there too. During the Sky commentary they said that last weekend during Q1 Kimi drove into the garage and changed his helmet on the fly. Which is great except he told nobody that he was coming in. His race engineer was screaming at him on the radio to get back in the car which of course Kimi couldn't hear because he took off his helmet... Classic! And that explains his 18th position on the grid, haha.

Can't wait for the race, should be great! Loving this season so far

333pg333

Lol...as a Webber fan I have to concede that I'd also prefer this option...

multi21

As president of the Michael Schumacher fan club, we've already begun to chill the champagne!!! It just looks right with him interviewed in the press room! He's now outqualified Rosberg both race weekends this year.

I'll still stick to my prediction, however. Even Hamilton mentioned that he needs to be easier on tires during the race.

In totally dry conditions, Button will overtake Hamilton in the pit rotation by staying out longer.

Unfortunately, Schumacher's Mercedes as well as that of his teammate are hard on rear tires and will not podium in dry conditions.

Vettel actually improved his starting position with the hard tires and if dry at the start, will leap over everyone during their first pit stops. It's literally the ONLY way he can win tomorrow.

Alonso/Ferrari can only win if it rains, but there are so many good drivers in the rain that it's almost impossible to predict a podium for a wet race.

McLaren is so strong right now that only rain will prevent them from getting 1st and 2nd and it still might not be enough to keep them off podium.

DanR

Did not see an Alonzo win coming!!!! Perezndid a great job and could / should have won! (hopenhe tells his engineer to stfu) silly mistakes from button and vettle!

Interesting race!!

Flying Finn

Crazy Malaysia again...

Pretty dicey as usual with those conditions, even though Hamilton got 3rd, McLaren reall threw this away where as Ferrari and Alonso did the opposite. Of course luck plays part (in both ways) but well done. With such poor qualy performance from Alonso, methinks they had a bit of a intermediate setup.

Great job also from Perez & Sauber, made it interesting, really well done.

Kimi & Lotus otherwise good except the pit stop that gave one position to Webber.

Red Bull was ok but not that good, and if course Vettel's problems in the end made it worse.

Good for Championship overall with Ferrari getting points and RB losing them.

RajDatta

Hail to the Greatest Driver in current F1!!!!!
He proves once again, how great he is. Perfect race for Alonso and Ferrari. And just in case people want to throw luck in there, there was no luck. It's not like any of the guys he passed was due to their mistake, besides Button. He passed them all either during pits or on the track. The equalizer proved who is the best!!

Sorry guys....

ZAPmobile

What a race. This could be the most exciting year in F1 in a long time.

RajDatta

+1. Very impressed with Kimi as well. He did not show any rust like Scumi. He is right up on speed and scoring valuable points.
Its nice that people keep swapping top spots. Will make for a more fun championship later in the yr.

My993C2

Congrats to Alonso. I don't recall seeing him make any mistakes. Also a great drive from Sergio, too bad he didn't win because a win was within his grasps. Why did he stay out that extra lap? Big mistake from him and his race engineer? or orders from his engine supplier? LOL ... nevertheless, as I said, I do not recall seeing Alonso make a mistake while plenty of other drivers did.

Next up China.

RajDatta

Are you serious. That was the best you could come up with? It was a call from the Engine supplier... Keep making excuses. Sergio was ahead of him in the race and Alsonso passed him. The position was Sergio's to lose and he did and even though he had the faster car, and the one pressuing, he is the one that made the mistake.
Ferrari and Alonso ran a perfect race, Period!

My993C2

I could have sworn I said "I did NOT see Alonso make any mistakes" and yet the Alonso faithful still rip into you saying you said something different. Of course if you want to ignore that little detail where Perez stayed out there an extra lap, you can. Once again I thought I said "was this a mistake made by Perez and his race engineer?" I could have sworn I said that. That other part about getting a message from the race supplier was also said with a LOL certain amount of sarcasm. Not once in this thread (as well as the entire 2011 season) did I ever criticize Alonso. You need to grow some thicker skin when it comes to this sport. It's only a sport. Who wins and does not win is not the end of the world.

Again ... congrats to Alonso for the win. I DID NOT SEE HIM MAKE ANY MISTAKES WHILE PLENTY OF OTHERS WERE SEEN MAKING THEM ... happy now? LOL

RajDatta

Hey Buddy, so what you are telling me is Perez stayed out an extra lap cause of Ferrari? What will it be next? McLaren spent additional time in the pits on Hamilton's car cause of Ferrari. McLaren was told by Ferrari to have Button turn into Karthikeyan? Grosjean hit Scumi cause of Ferrari's call? The excuses never end. I guess you see black helicopters as well. You just had to throw in that doubt in there, didn't you. You must be one of those sore losers that always has to have an excuse.
What's your excuse for not being a paid member? I see around here often. Has this placed not given you enough to support it? Please come up with a good excuse for not paying for a membership now.
Have a nice day.