Who will win?

 

Vettle..... and I always say button so it has to be right

 

I voted for Vettel, again. I'm thinking of starting a "Vote for who you think Massa will take out in Malaysia" poll.

 

FIFY

 

And Sato is off to an early lead in the poll...
Sato: 2
Vettel: 1

Sato has more votes than Alonso. It's a good day to be alive.

 

It's hard not to pick a Mercedes powered car for this race because of the twin long straights. The Renault engine just doesn't have the hp of the MB.

Then again, this is a track where Vettel and the RBR chassis should do better than Australia.

My gut is telling me Nico Rosberg for his first ever F1 victory in the MB powered car, but with the heat of Malasia, Button has to be considered a favorite with his tire management skills.

Button for the win.

 

I'm sure you have a better feel for this than I, but keep in mind Brawn mentioned they were really having trouble with tire management. Not so sure about MB.

 

I'm voting Button again for reasons stated above, this years McLaren seems to suit his driving style very well too, plus his team mate still seems a bit off upstairs.

James

 

It would be nice to start seeing shumi do well again. I think mercs are going to be strong but sadly Id have to say that I think vettel is going to take it. seb will be hungry to win this one and I think JB will have been spending the week in sunshine with the girlfreind. who know tho, cant wait to see what happends

 

My vote was for Kimi but Button mut have a good shot out of the MB cars

 

Oh ****, I missed the Sato option & voted for Button. Maybe he will pull it out anyway.


Seriously, I think that Button is the man with the fast car & hot hand so he probably has the best chance. Development-wise I think that RBR and McLaren will stay on the same pace, so until the circuis moves to more twisty, shorter tracks, the edge will stay with McLaren.

 

My heart says Sato but my head says Hamilton.
Those McLarens look quick.

 

I picked Button in Australia but will go with Lewis in Malaysia. He has a better quali record and if he doesn't spin off the line at the start the race will be his to lose. Expect to see more teams using the Mercedes DRS activated f-duct which might diminish Schumi and Nico's advantage.

 

It seems to be the conventional wisdom that Hamilton would have beaten Button if he had gotten off the line first. If tire management continues to be of paramount importance, then it really negates Hamilton's aggressiveness. And at the end of the Austrailian race, Button was just toying with everyone. He pulled out a 3 second lead in 2 laps after the re-start and then just stayed there, despite Vettel's best efforts. If Hamilton had been in the lead, it seems likely that Button could have passed him, but of course that is IMHO.

 

Yes, Hammy has a hard time with tire management for sure and still seems to have a hard time getting his head around how to do it. My suspicion is it's how he sets his car up as well which plays in to the tire wear problem.

It was Hamilton's race to lose in OZ and he dropped the ball on the start...