2004 Malaysian Grand Prix Review
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By Pablo Elizalde, Spain
Atlas F1 News Editor
World Champion Michael Schumacher dominated the Malaysian Grand Prix from start to finish, just like he had done two weeks earlier in Australia. This time, however, Juan Pablo Montoya made sure the German had to sweat for his victory while Jenson Button also pushed hard to score his maiden F1 podium. Atlas F1's Pablo Elizalde reviews the events and results of the Sepang race
One of the most difficult things in Formula One is to try and see the full picture of what is going on and what is going to happen during the rest of the year after just two races. Things can change so quickly in this sport that predictions are always close to impossible.
The 2004 Grand Prix season is no different in that respect, although the people's take of the current state of things is, like almost everything in life, open to different interpretations.
Following last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, the half-empty-glass view suggests that it looks unlikely that Ferrari and Michael Schumacher will be stopped in the German's chase of a mind-blowing seventh World Championship crown this year. The signs are there for everybody to see.
The Australian Grand Prix, almost everyone agreed, was not the true picture of Ferrari's current form: the coolish weather had played into the Italian team's hands all weekend, and as a result the Bridgestone tyres were the ones to have. As a consequence, Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello dominated the race from start to finish and came close to lapping the entire field.
Malaysia would show a truer picture, everybody said, Ferrari and their rivals included.
So came the sweltering heat of the Asian country, and Schumacher again dominated the Grand Prix from lights to flag without putting a foot wrong, and having started from pole position. It was a race that Schumacher had not won since 2001, and the one were the Michelin runners were supposed to have the upper hand.
In reality, all of Schumacher's main rivals were a lot closer than they were in Australia, but there was not a single moment in which the German's lead was actually challenged. Finishing some five seconds behind is a step forward for Williams after they were almost lapped in Melbourne.
Sepang was, in theory, Williams' track, and it is true the British squad were much closer than in Australia. But a lesson the past year has taught is that, when the races are close, Schumacher emerges as the winner most of the time. A team will need to be superior to Ferrari to beat Schumacher, and two races into the season it's the World Champions who have the leading package.
After the race, Michelin boss Pierre Dupasquier raised a very interesting point against Ferrari's rivals when asked if Schumacher could be stopped this season. "I don't see how," answered the Frenchman. "We also have another handicap in that since our partners are close to each other, they will share the points. And all the red points will go to Michael."
If Bridgestone are superior at any given track, then Ferrari are likely to win. If Michelin are superior, then Williams, Renault, McLaren, and now BAR will be fighting against each other, to Ferrari's benefit. If anyone still wonders why Ferrari are sticking with Bridgestone, that's one of the best answers you could get.
However, the half-full-glass view offers a brighter prospect for the season ahead, as the Sepang race offered hope for Ferrari's rivals after the Australian Grand Prix debacle.
Williams, or rather Juan Pablo Montoya, followed Schumacher closely for the whole race, and there were moments in which the Colombian looked set to catch the German, especially when he set the fastest lap of the race, which was more than half a second quicker than what the Ferrari driver managed. Had Montoya not been slowed down by Barrichello following his third pitstop, the Williams driver could have caught Schumacher.
"In a non-Ferrari, it's better to back off than to go out of the race. It's better to go home with eight points," said a grim-faced Montoya after the race. "As soon as I went to move he moved and there was no point even trying to pass. There were 12 laps to go, I had new tyres so I just backed off and cruised."
If Montoya pressured Schumacher all the way, the Colombian himself was also chased closely by the BAR of Jenson Button, who completed another impressive race following the promise of Australia. The Briton was fast and consistent all weekend long and was rewarded with his first ever podium, which was also BAR's first top three finish on merit following a couple of lucky podiums. If the Honda-powered team can keep up with the development rate of their rivals, their first victory could be not far away.
In Malaysia, BAR seemed to take Renault's position following the troubled weekend the French squad had, which in the end did not reflect their true pace. Jarno Trulli and especially Fernando Alonso made a mess of their qualifying laps and paid the price for it. The Spaniard's chances to fight at the top were null starting from the back of the grid, and the wrong strategy did not help him either. In the end, Renault showed good pace and reliability, but the result wasn't even close to what they had hoped for.
For McLaren, the Malaysian Grand Prix left a bitter-sweet taste; although it was probably more bitter than sweet. After their dismal performance in Australia, the silver cars, and especially Kimi Raikkonen, fared better during most of the weekend. Raikkonen would have been unable to finish on the podium, but the gap to their rivals did not look as alarming as in Melbourne.
Nonetheless, Raikkonen's second retirement in a row was a reminder that McLaren have still a long way to go before returning to winning ways. This time last year, the Finn was in the lead of the Championship with 16 points. After the Sepang race - which marked a year since McLaren's last win - Raikkonen is yet to see the chequered flag and trails the Championship leader by 20 points. The European season, and with it new developments, cannot come quick enough for the Finn.
Qualifying
After two weeks full of talk and speculation, the very unpopular two-run qualifying stayed for the Malaysian Grand Prix if only for the sake of seeing, as McLaren boss Ron Dennis put it, what the reaction was. And even himself admitted that change is knocking on F1's door.
"Perhaps there is some argument that says let's wait two or three races until we know exactly what the reaction is but there appeared to be quite significant reaction coming after Australia so maybe it is a case of better sooner rather than later," Dennis said.
The FIA already announced a change in schedule for the Bahrain Grand Prix "in order to facilitate television scheduling". In other words, it seems the networks want to know the exact time the second qualifying session will start so they can skip the first one and show the important stuff.
Unlike in Australia, the second qualifying session for the Malaysian Grand Prix showed some excitement, even if not for pole position, but the first hour again highlighted the drawbacks of this new system, which made qualifying last for a massive 124 minutes, which was almost what the Grand Prix and the post-race press conference put together lasted. |
