Formula 1...

['Dale]

Come now already, let's race...

[nathrix]

From twitterdom https://twitter.com/#!/AbsaCapeEpic/status/179130424914751489

 

"Very excited to announce that 4-time F1 champion Alain Prost is riding the #absacapeepic this year. Link to press release available shortly."

[Wyatt Earp]

From twitterdom https://twitter.com/...130424914751489

 

"Very excited to announce that 4-time F1 champion Alain Prost is riding the #absacapeepic this year. Link to press release available shortly."

Come with some fresh news Bru

[Agteros]

No TheHubSA F1 Superbru pool this year?

[covie]

No TheHubSA F1 Superbru pool this year?

 

dont care hami has pole .... Thataboooooy.

['Dale]

Go, Hammie.

Go, Mclaren!

[SeaBee]

Hopefully now everybody can change their cars' noses...?! Not a McLaren fan, but never been so happy to see one win! That was the way I interpreted the rule changes as well - could not understand why everybody else went for these hideous stepped noses.

[Wyatt Earp]

Happy for Button, so glad to see a white boy on the podium.

Comes across as a real nice guy too.

[covie]

Missed the Race due to my little addiction, but man Im so happy Mclaren starts a season with a win for a change.

[Baldrick]

A decent first race of the season. I enjoyed the midfield battles.

 

(All I need to do now is to get permission from the mrs to watch the other 19 races)

['Dale]

A decent first race of the season. I enjoyed the midfield battles.

 

(All I need to do now is to get permission from the mrs to watch the other 19 races)

 

['Dale]

Schumi in 3rd on the starting grid in Malaysia.

 

Mclaren 1 and 2.

Yeah!

[Heckflosse]

Bahrain GP did happen!! Heres the front row

HAHAHA!!!!! NICE

[Agteros]

Lap 9

Hamilton is told the rain could last for another thirty minutes. But I haven't heard a reliable weather forecast yet this weekend.

http://img.espngp.com/flags/red_flag.jpg Red flag. The race has been stopped. The cars will now return to the grid and line up in race order of where they are now. Hopefully we'll get the race started soon, but if the McLaren forecast is correct we could have a 30 minute wait at least.

Under this year's regulations a race cannot go longer than four hours (including race stoppages) but in Malaysia the bigger time restraint is sunlight with the sunset due in three hours. The teams rush out to their cars with unbrellas as the drivers stay in their cockpits.

Lots of activity on the grid as the teams check over the cars. Those who watched the Monaco Grand Prix last year will remember Hamilton had his rear wing repaired during a red flag period. So damage can be addressed.

McLaren have set up full awnings over its cars. Several other teams have similar systems for keeping their precious vehicles dry.

Nigel has written in to say: "For KL, if you insist to run the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix during the rainy season, which is a mistake, as we see again this yr, at least the race has to start early in the day, when the probability of rain is lower-- but still highly probable.

"Analysis of the weather over decades indicates that this is the wrong time of yr to hold this race in Malaysia (ie statistics for the no. of rainy days, rain per day, etc.) In contrast, late March -early April you have the most perfect racing weather for Japan and South Korea. When the races are held in Jpn and SoKorea it is actually far from the best time of yr. as it is when Japan is subject to typhoons, -as we have seen during races in Jpn in recent yrs, and Korea often gets the residue of such storms.

"It seems that the race schedule was decided by people who maybe do not know Asia well, and are more aware of European weathern patterns."

Meanwhile, Ferrari has assembled its awnings for Alonso and Massa. They weren't quite as quick to pitch their tents. Poor old Karthikeyan has no such luxury. He has to hold his own umbrella. But he is tenth so I imagine there will be a smile behind that helmet.

The rain is still coming down hard and rivers are still running across certain corners of the circuit.

I was unlucky enough to be on live commentary for last year's Canadian Grand Prix so I've had practice in trying to keep you entertained. I'll do my best... did you know "race car" is a palindrome.

More importantly, if the race is stopped at this stage - and we hope it isn't - the drivers will receive half points. 75% of the race has to be completed for full point to be dished out.

Some of the drivers are getting out of the cars. They should get ten minutes warning before the race restarts so they can pop out for a "comfort break" if they wish to do so.

Edited March 25, 2012 by HEman

[Agteros]

Vettel was just talking to his engineers about changing his set-up to stop the car aquaplaning, but Red Bull tell him it will be tough to do anything to stop it.

Leighton says: "Why is everyone getting so upset about the rain? If every race was scheduled for sunny weather then the season would get pretty boring at times. It's Nice to know that there is always going to be a few wet races throughout the year."

Vettel is one of the only drivers still in his car. He's still talking to his team about what can be done to help with the wet weather set-up.

Camilio via Twitter: "What happened to races where you could see wet track specialist drivers? Boo to FIA"

Edited March 25, 2012 by HEman

[Agteros]

Miriam says: "Drivers should take a coffee break now instead of an ice cream break! It would be cold so a nice warm honey lemon should do the trick. It's not raining at the north side of the same state where Sepang is now but it is cloudy. Usually in March it is still a monsoon season. They should try adjusting the Malaysian GP once in a while in the calendar to find the suitable time. Yes, the racing planners should get in touch with me! "

There are signs that the rain might be clearing to one side of the circuit. When it does stop raining it should dry quite quickly because it's still very hot.

Nitesh asks: "How do the teams and drivers manage the water entering the open cockpits of the cars during wet races?"

They currently have tents pitched over the cars to stop the rain coming in. That or an umbrella for some of the smaller teams. During the race the airflow over the cockpit actually keeps the drivers pretty dry.

The rain is now easing off and the images from the circuit are showing that some of the rivers running over the circuit aren't quite as full as they were.

Benjamin says: "I am sure the person that decide to race in Malaysia this time of the year did their homework. Unfortunately the rain came down hard this time earlier than expected. But then again it is because of all this unpredictable situations that make F1 interesting and keep everyone from the drivers to the viewers at home on their toes. THAT'S WHY WE LOVE F1."

The medical car is out on track to try to gauge the conditions. That's a good sign for a restart.