MOTOR SPORT: FORMULA ONE:SEBASTIAN VETTEL made it two for two yesterday as he charged to a comfortable Malaysian Grand Prix victory, despite losing his KERS power boost for the latter phases of the race.
Two weeks ago, in Australia, Vettel swept to victory without ever using the energy recovery system, but coming to Malaysia, his Red Bull Racing team had insisted that after the winding Albert Park circuit, where KERS had little effect, Sepang’s long straights would mean the power boost it affords would be crucial.
Once again, though, the system gave problems, and despite holding the lead afforded by his pole position – thanks in large part to sensational starts by the Renaults of Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov, who soon provided a bulwark to any incursion on his lead – Vettel later had to rely solely on the raw pace of his RB7 car as his team radioed through advising him not to use the system again during the race.
The McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button had begun to gain ground after the first of many pitstops, and the duo were soon joined by Ferrari’s Alonso in chasing the defending champion. For a handful of laps midway through the drivers’ second stint it looked like Vettel might have a race on his hands, but as his pursuers’ tyres began to fade, Vettel seemed to find another surge of pace, stretching his lead over then second-placed Hamilton to eight seconds.
Button, who later inherited second after team-mate Hamilton faded on worn tyres, began to exert pressure in the closing stages but Vettel always had a reserve of pace and, despite taking the chequered flag just three seconds clear of Button, admitted he had been able to control proceedings. “It was quite difficult and it was tight with Lewis, but I always had a couple of seconds in hand, so we could control that. But still it was never easy until the last stint,” he said.
For Button it was a “complicated” race and one he admitted he was happy to have negotiated successfully.
“It was a really confusing race, trying to understand the pit-stops and whether it was worth looking after the tyres or not through the stints so it was pretty tricky,” he said. “In the last stint, when we put the prime (harder) tyre on, the car came alive and I had so much more grip.
“I’m happy to come away with a second,” he added. “I had the team telling me to back it off and look after the tyres but in a racer’s mind you want to push as hard as you can as you want to try and catch the leader. Even though it was not really on, you have still got to give it a go.”
It was an equally rewarding afternoon, mentally at least, for Renault’s Nick Heidfeld. The German, deputising this season for the injured Robert Kubica, had a nightmare start to the season in Australia, qualifying 18th in traffic and then finishing 12th and a lap down on the leaders.
In the wake of that race he opted to change chassis and the move has revitalised his campaign. In qualifying here, the former BMW-Sauber driver blasted to fifth and as the lights went out yesterday an immaculate start catapulted him to second after turn one.
Heidfeld lost ground after a flawed first pit stop but later on profited as misfortune struck both Hamilton and Ferrari’s Alonso.
Webber’s fourth place was a good return, as unlike his team-mate his KERS was inactive for the whole race. Three stints on the softer tyre should have led to better pace but with the degradation high, the Australian failed to make an impact, only climbing into contention in his final stint on the harder tyre.
After colliding with Hamilton during a miscalculated overtaking move for third place, Alonso was forced to make an extra stop which eventually saw him finish sixth, behind team-mate Felipe Massa. Alonso was later docked 20 seconds after the race for causing an avoidable accident, though the penalty did no affect his points haul.
Hamilton was similarly penalised after the race, adjudged to have weaved too aggressively in defending position on the main straight and dropped to eight place, Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi inheriting seventh and six points.
Malaysian Grand Prix
1. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull 1h 37m 39.832s
2. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren +00:03.261
3. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Renault 00:25.075
4. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull 00:26.384
5. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 00:36.958
6. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 00:57.248.
STANDINGS: Drivers: 1. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 50 points; 2. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 26; 3. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 22; 4. Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull 22; 5. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 20; 6. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 16.
Constructors: 1. Red Bull - Renault 72 points; 2. McLaren - Mercedes 48; 3. Ferrari 36; 4. Renault 30; 5. Sauber - Ferrari 6; 6. Force India - Mercedes 4; 6. Toro Rosso - Ferrari 4.
