FORMULA 1 - 2014

[OZCUBAN]

Eddie Jordan takes delivery of his $52-million superyacht

Ex Formula 1 team owner Eddie Jordan is now the new owner of the first ever Sunseeker 155 Yacht after officially launching his £32-million ($52-million) new superyacht at a function in Poole.

The Jordan Family Trust worked closely with the Sunseeker team throughout the design process and took full advantage of the bespoke element of the yacht.

Jordan who was boss of his eponymous F1 team until 2005, and famously gave Michael Schumacher his F1 debut back in 1991, said, “I dreamed about building racing cars and then Formula 1 cars and that happened. And then I dreamed about this boat and now here it is. This dream is probably seven or eight years old in my head.”

He added, “I am a big fan of Sunseeker. I cannot tell how much of a fan I am. They are just a fabulous brand, fabulous family and a great workforce. This boat has taken Sunseeker as a brand and British shipbuilding in general to a new level, and it gives them a great opportunity now to roll this out and sell it all over the world.”

Daily Mail reports that Jordan now plans to sail the boat, called Blush, to Monaco where he owns a home, in time for the Monaco Grand Prix at the end of May. The boat will be available for hire for an eye-watering one million pounds a month – and is already booked up for three months.

Jordan is currently a Formula 1 pundit for BBC.

This boat would be great for the year after nexts Havanathon

[MIKA27]

Sepang Practice 1: Hamilton fastest from Raikkonen

Mercedes’ early season strength was again evident with Briton Lewis Hamilton going fastest in Friday’s first practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix in a session where many cars struggled for grip.

The 2008 world champion clocked a best time of one minute 40.691 seconds at the Sepang Circuit on a scorching hot Friday where track temperatures reached 44 Celsius (111 Fahrenheit) during the 90 minute session.

However, Hamilton was one of many drivers who encountered the Malaysian gravel after locking his wheels and the Briton said over the team radio the Sepang track was “like driving on marbles”.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was second quickest in a promising session for the Finn who clocked a best time of 1:40.843 just ahead of Hamilton’s team mate Nico Rosberg, who won the season opener in Australia two weeks ago.

Jenson Button was fourth quickest ahead of McLaren team mate Kevin Magnussen, whose car stopped on the track at turn 15 and needed a push from the marshals to get back to the pits with 30 minutes remaining.

The Danish rookie, second in Australia on his F1 debut, was back out on the track later in the session, though, relieving fears of a more serious issue with his car.

However, there was plenty of concern in the Lotus garage with neither Romain Grosjean or Pastor Maldonado able to complete a timed lap as both encountered issues.

The French driver stopped at turn 10 and had to be pushed off the track by marshals early in the session, while smoke billowed out of the back of Maldonado’s car in the final minutes and he was told to switch off the engine by a concerned team.

Jean Eric Vergne was sixth for Toro Rosso but his rookie Russian team mate Daniil Kyvat was 14th after telling his team over the radio the car was “undriveable”.

World champion Sebastian Vettel was seventh quickest, almost a second behind Hamilton, after managing only nine laps, while team mate Daniel Ricciardo managed to clock 20 laps and finished 12th.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was first out of the pits in the session and had set the early pace before ending in 11th as he also suffered problems with grip and spun at turn eight but managed to continue.

The same corner also caught out the Spaniard’s former team mate Felipe Massa but the Williams driver also resumed, while Sauber’s Adrian Sutil ran wide at turn 15 but kept the car going before making it back on the track.

[MIKA27]

Vergne says drivers are quickly adapting to new Formula 1

Toro Rosso driver Jean Eric Vergne believes drivers will get used to the required style of driving the all new V6 turbo Formula 1 cars, including the matter of fuel management during a race.

Vergne told reporters in Sepang, “They [the new F1 cars] might be a little bit more complicated to drive with so many parameters to control, but in pure driving terms there’s not much difference.”

As for the fuel management requirements, Vergne explained, “As a driver, you are not so involved in this. It is mainly down to the engineers, but here at this Sepang track, fuel management will be much easier than at Albert Park, which is much harder on fuel use.”

[MIKA27]

Bianchi sick and Perez sore in Malysia

Marussia driver Jules Bianchi was missing in action at Sepang on Thursday, while Sergio Perez was nursing what appears to be a knee injury of sorts

His team let the Frenchman avoid the Malaysian heat by staying in his hotel, after calling in sick with a throat infection and fever, French television BFMTV and the sports daily L’Equipe reported.

Bianchi was, however, well enough to practice on Friday morning, completing 18 laps.

Meanwhile, Auto Motor und Sport reported that Force India driver Perez was spotted in the paddock icing his knee.

The Mexican had surgery over the winter, but Perez told correspondent Tobias Bruner he simply tweaked the knee whilst training, adding that it is “not a big issue”.

[MIKA27]

Ferrari were 100 horsepower down in Melbourne due to glitch

Fernando Alonso has denied that Ferrari is yet to turn its engine up to full capacity since the start of the 2014 season, and reveals an ERS glitch hampered the team during the Australian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton, a title favourite with the dominant team Mercedes, downplayed the German squad’s superiority when he said at Sepang: “I’m sure Renault have not turned their engine up to max. It’s the same with Ferrari. If you look at their apex speed, they have a good car.”

According to Spaniard Alonso, however, that’s not right. “As far as the electrical side, yes, we are using the full power.

“But in the early laps in Melbourne we had a problem that we were blocked and so it didn’t work fully,” he is quoted by El Mundo Deportivo.

Alonso is referring to the energy-recovery side of the new V6 turbo power unit that, in the opening phase of a Grand Prix, is automatically blocked by the FIA from operating.

But the Ferrari-powered cars in Melbourne were without up to 100 horse power for the entire first stint until the pitstop, due to an FIA glitch.

It is also clear that Ferrari’s power unit is around 13 kilograms overweight.

“Yes,” Ferrari-powered Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez confirmed to Spain’s Marca, “but the positive thing is that this is a new world (in Formula 1) and the possibilities for development are vast.”

Alonso has won at Sepang in a Renault, a McLaren and a Ferrari, but he effectively ruled out a repeat of his surprise 2012 win this weekend.

“This is Formula 1 and anything can happen,” he is quoted by the EFE news agency, “but I think what we saw in 2012 was once in a lifetime.”

Beyond that, he is not willing to talk too much about his 2014 prospects.

“If I say I am happy with fourth place, someone will say that I am no longer hungry for results,” said Alonso.

“And if I say that I am not happy, someone will have something to say about that too.”

[MIKA27]

Constantin appeal rejected but Ecclestone ordered to pay costs

Formula 1 supremo, Bernie Ecclestone’s legal troubles took a turn for the better this week.

After the German media group Constantin filed an appeal against the recent High Court ruling, a judge on Thursday rejected the application.

Justice Newey said if Constantin “wished to pursue the issue it would have to apply to the court of appeal,” the Financial Times reported.

Constantin’s lawyer confirmed the company will indeed be “robustly pursuing its appeal”, having lost the initial case surrounding the Gerhard Gribkowsky bribery affair.

Meanwhile, Formula 1 business journalist Christian Sylt told us that Constantin was on Thursday also ordered to pay substantial legal costs — $10 million of its own, $10m to the Bambino trust and $2.5m to former advisor Stephen Mullens.

Ecclestone, however, was ordered by Justice Newey to pay half of his own whopping $13 million in legal costs as a result of having given “untruthful evidence” and being an “unreliable” witness.

[MIKA27]

Alesi says predicting 2014 F1 champion like winning a lottery

It is almost impossible to predict the outcome of this year’s Formula 1 world championship, according to former Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi.

The popular Frenchman thinks the pecking order in the sport’s all-new turbo V6 era is not as clear as it currently appears, “I think it is easier to win the lottery than say who will win this season.”

Mercedes is undoubtedly the clear title favourite based on winter testing and the results in Australia.

But Alesi told L’Equipe, “It will take more than three grands prix to determine which car is the most reliable.

“Today, the engines are playing a more important role than the chassis, when in previous years it was the opposite.

“I feel that for the moment Mercedes has the best engine, but it is very difficult to say more than that.

“For the drivers, I think it will be between Hamilton, Alonso and Raikkonen, but – again – nothing is certain,” Alesi added.

The 49-year-old former Ferrari and Sauber driver is sure, however, that 2014 will be an exciting season.

“Yes, because we see very clearly that no team is really ready today,” said Alesi. ”Even Mercedes had the technical problem with Lewis Hamilton after only a few laps in Melbourne. So nothing is certain.”

[MIKA27]

McLaren running Esso branding at Sepang

During the season opening Australian Grand Prix weekend, McLaren said the prominent Mobil branding on the sidepods of its 2014 car was a one-off.

However in Malaysia, McLaren’s black sidepods are featuring the branding of Esso, another ExxonMobil brand.

Team communications boss Matt Bishop, “ExxonMobil was delighted by the additional exposure and positive feedback it received following the unveiling of the special livery celebrating the 20th anniversary of the technology partnership between McLaren and ExxonMobil at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix.”

“Based on that success, ExxonMobil is excited about the opportunity for further exposure to Formula 1 fans globally offered by a livery featuring the Esso fuels logo as well as the Mobil 1 brand,” added Bishop.

The British team, have reportedly yet to sign a replacement for departed title sponsor Vodafone.

Also new for the MP4-29 at Sepang is a tweaked anteater nose, as team supremo Ron Dennis said McLaren will not give up on winning this season.

“We are not here to be second or third,” he is quoted by 20min.ch, adding that McLaren expects to have added half a second of pace to the car since Australia.

Lead driver Jenson Button said in Malaysia: “Out of the box the car was what we expected, a little bit low on downforce, but as long as we keep developing the car as we plan to we should be able to catch Mercedes.”

Departed McLaren driver Sergio Perez said he is not surprised the team has bounced back after a dismal 2013 season.

“The development of the 2013 car was given up very early in the season to focus on 2014,” the Mexican told Formula 1′s official website. “That was McLaren’s target — all 2014.”

[MIKA27]

Prac Two: Rosberg pips Raikkonen

Swapping to the medium tyres for qualifying style runs in FP2, Nico Rosberg set the pace ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.

Although it was Ferrari and Fernando Alonso who held the advantage during the hard tyre runs on Friday afternoon ahead of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, it was their team-mates who came to the fore on the medium tyre runs.

Swapping over after the first 30 minutes, Rosberg posted a 1:39.909 to beat Raikkonen to the P1 slot by 0.035s.

Third place went to Sebastian Vettel, who managed his best time on his second flying lap. While others dropped off after the first, the Red Bull racer found more speed to finish up with a 1:39.970.

Hamilton was fourth quickest ahead of Alonso, Felipe Massa and Daniel Ricciardo in a session that saw less than four tenths cover the top seven drivers.

Jenson Button was eighth with Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hulkenberg completing the top ten.

Meanwhile, it was a better session for Lotus in that they managed nine laps - three more than this morning - and even set a time.

While Pastor Maldonado was stuck in the pits with his E22 in pieces, Romain Grosjean managed 14 at the start of the session with a best time of 1:42.531. His first stint came to an end as he limped his way back into the pits while his second, which was five laps, ended on the side of the track.

Kamui Kobayashi didn't set a time despite his Caterham team working furiously to get his CT05 up and running.

[MIKA27]

Ecclestone: I think the sound is a little louder than we thought

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone admitted that the sport’s new-generation V6 turbo cars are actually louder than he first thought after hearing the sound live for the first time at Sepang on Friday.

The Formula 1 chief executive did not attend any of the pre-season tests or the season opening Australian Grand Prix, where a big controversy about the milder tones of the turbo V6 engines kicked off.

“It sounds terrible on the TV,” Ecclestone told Britain’s Sky Sports in the Sepang pitlane during the second practice session on Friday.

He was standing with Ong Beng Seng, the Singaporean magnate who is a leading figure in the city-state’s highly-popular night race.

“Mr Ong was complaining about the noise,” Ecclestone revealed, referring to the Singapore Grand Prix chief.

“We were just saying, I think it’s a little louder than we thought. If we could get it up a little bit more than this, then it would be alright,” he added.

In the wake of Australian promoter Ron Walker’s harsh critique, Ecclestone said on Friday that “all the promoters” are also complaining to him.

“We will have to have a reduction in fees!” Mr Ong laughed.

More seriously, however, Ong revealed that Ecclestone met with a Singaporean government minister on Thursday, because “We are a city race, and we must have the buzz with the noise.”

83-year-old Ecclestone, however, suggested he was somewhat relieved to have actually heard the turbo V6s in action for the first time on Friday.

“People said you couldn’t hear anything, (but) it’s not true,” he said and added, “People buy F1 and when they get what we’ve got at the moment they don’t think it’s F1.”

Asked if the engines can be made louder by tuning the exhausts, Ecclestone replied, “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask the engineers. I’ve asked them and they’ve said no…”

[MIKA27]

Red Bull’s fuel flow problems resurface during Sepang free practice

The Fuelgate saga is continuing in Malaysia a report emerging that, after Daniel Ricciardo’s disqualification in Melbourne, Red Bull spent over $130,000 on five brand new FIA-mandated Gill sensors for the Sepang race.

“We are not taking any chances and we have gone out independently and bought sensors so we know that we will have at least one that works properly,” a team source told The Times.

Red Bull has appealed Ricciardo’s exclusion, and last week at Milton Keynes FIA figures had been invited to inspect the sensors the reigning world champions claim were faulty in Australia.

But the trouble hasn’t stopped there, as Auto Motor und Sport reports that, during the first practice session at Sepang, Ricciardo’s RB10 once again struck fuel flow sensor problems.

And correspondent Michael Schmidt said the similarly Renault-powered sister team Toro Rosso also had problems getting a signal from the sensors.

A new sensor – costing $26,000 at full calibration – was fitted to Ricciardo’s car for second practice.

“So much for saving money,” Red Bull’s Helmut Marko bluntly observed.

More serious, however, is the risk of further disqualifications. What will Red Bull do now if, as in Melbourne, the FIA asks the team to reduce the Renault engine’s fuel flow?

“I don’t know,” team boss Christian Horner answered. ”Maybe two sensors should be installed in different places, and the average value should be read in order to reduce the risk of incorrect measurements.”

[MIKA27]

Lotus: Not a great day, quite far from it in fact

Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado endured a frustrating first day of the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit.

Various glitches of differing magnitudes curtailed running for both drivers in the morning session, the most serious of which being an engine-related issue for Pastor, the resultant engine change precluding him from running in the afternoon.

Romain’s afternoon saw a collection of issues too, with a wiring problem preventing his gearbox from working correctly.

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director – Technical programme notes

• We evaluated a number of upgrades including aerodynamic, mechanical, software and electronic developments today.
• Pirelli’s hard (orange) compound tyre was used in the first session, the hard and medium (white) in the afternoon.
• Pastor did not run in the afternoon due to an engine change.
• Romain stopped because of a wiring problem with his gearbox.

Romain Grosjean, E22-03

• Free practice 1: No time set, 4 laps completed
• Free practice 2: P17, 1:42.531, 14 laps

Romain: “We have to work and try to solve all our issues. We are focusing on every issue we encounter. This morning we couldn’t do any laps, and this afternoon we burnt a cable which stopped the gearbox from working. Of course I don’t get out of the car with a smile when my car is parked out on track and is not working, and you do swear a little bit in your head! But as I’ve said before, it’s only the second race of the season and we always knew we would be starting on the back foot. We will get to where we want to be.”

Pastor Maldonado, E22-01

• Free practice 1: No time set, 2 laps completed
• Free practice 2: Did not run

Pastor: “Our problems today were centred around the power unit. Hopefully we have fixed everything ahead of tomorrow and will be able to do enough for FP3 and qualifying. It’s important for the team and it’s important for me to be able to test the car and push a little bit, as it was not the case in the first race. It’s tough as each time we’re expecting to be better and better. We’ve been working so hard, the mechanics, the engineers, together with Renault Sport F1. We just need to try and be strong enough to accept when we have a problem and as soon as everything is fixed, be ready to be out and attack immediately.”

Nick Chester, Technical Director: “Not a great day, quite far from it in fact. Both cars were delayed in the morning with mapping issues. Pastor then suffered from a turbo-related problem with his car. This meant we needed to remove the engine and subsequently he was unable to run in the afternoon. Romain was able to get some more laps in the afternoon, however a wiring issue caused difficulties with his gearbox. More lessons learnt, and we’ll be focusing on getting as much mileage as possible tomorrow.”

[MIKA27]

Marussia: A good day with much more track time with both cars

Typically fierce heat and humidity once again greeted the teams for today’s opening free practice sessions for Round 2 of the 2014 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, taking place at the Sepang International Circuit near Kuala Lumpur.

This morning’s Free Practice 1 session was largely aero oriented, with an evaluation of different rear wing configurations and a front wing development, along with an exploration of different cooling options.

The team also worked through an ERS development programme examining qualifying and race scenarios. Jules Bianchi had a reasonably productive session, while Max Chilton experienced an electrical issue with his car which prevented him completing more than 10 laps.

The problem, which arose midway through the session, was identified and solved in time to secure one further crucial lap at the end of FP1.

This afternoon’s session didn’t get off to the best of starts for Max again. He spun on his first timed lap and lost time while his car was retrieved from Turn 3, but the Team turned things around sufficiently quickly for him to benefit from plenty of track time during the second half of the session.

Jules enjoyed a trouble-free session once again and was able to work his way steadily through the programme.

Max ended the day in 18th position with a best lap of 1:43.638, while Jules achieved a time of 1:43.752 and was 19th.

Max Chilton #4: “It was good to be back in the car. We learned so much from the masses of data we gathered in Melbourne and there really is so much potential for development with the car that it’s nice to start making in-roads into that. This morning we were compromised quite a lot by an electrical problem and this afternoon ended better than it started. I spun on my opening lap but we got the car back quickly and I was still able to achieve quite a lot of track time, so it was a good recovery. There’s still plenty of work to be done to improve the balance but we ticked a lot of boxes.”

Jules Bianchi #17: “It has been a pretty straightforward day for me. We did some good work looking at the aero options for the rest of the weekend here and also some more general work with the ERS system to help us improve for qualifying and the race. We have made some improvements during the two sessions and I think if we can maintain this good direction we can have a positive time here in the race on Sunday. We have had no major issues, which is good from a reliability point of view.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “Today has been a good day, with much more track time with both cars. Jules completed all of his planned programme and was able to generate a lot of data, which will enable us to make better decisions overnight with regard to improving the performance of the cars. With Max, we did have an issue this morning with the electronics on the car, however the engineers and mechanics worked well together to change parts on the car and get the car running again before the end of the session. This afternoon both cars ran to programme and we have completed the normal sequence of short and long run tyre evaluations. We are once again happy with our reliability and the car is coping well with the heat, so we can be confident for the race in this respect. Tonight will be about gaining more performance, which I’m confident we can find.”

[MIKA27]

Williams: We have had some good feedback from the drivers

Williams team and drivers review the opening day of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend, Round 2 of the 2014 Formula 1 world championship, at Sepang International Circuit.

Rod Nelson, Chief Test & Support Engineer: Like most teams we were concentrating on tyre degradation and tyre temperatures today, and we managed to collect a lot of good information on these elements and know what we need to do for qualifying and the race. We also made a few chassis changes between FP1 and FP2 which have looked successful. It’s looking very tight at the top, with only three and a half tenths separating the top six, so it won’t take much for our drivers to move up. Valtteri had a yellow flag on his first timed lap on his medium tyres and didn’t have a clean run on his second attempt, so there is more pace to come. We have had some good feedback from the drivers who have given us a clear direction on where we need to make improvements so I’m pleased with how today has gone.

Felipe Massa: We completed our run plan and we had no technical issues, so today was a good opportunity to learn more about the performance of the car. It was pretty hot so we could also understand more about how the tyres are working in high temperatures. We managed to do long runs on different types of tyre which has been very useful and the car was performing solidly. There is still more performance to unlock from the car, so we need to work hard tonight analysing the data we have to make some improvements for qualifying and the race.

Valtteri Bottas: We tried many things with the car today and collected a lot of data on the long runs so on the whole it has been a good day. One challenge has been the difference in pace between the prime and the option tyre. The prime was sliding quite a lot and wearing out, so that will be something to watch out for over the weekend. I didn’t have the best lap on my final run on the option tyres, so like most people we still have some more speed to come tomorrow. The car still needs more downforce, particularly in the high speed corners, but we have our own strengths and our top speed is looking strong which is always good in the race.

[MIKA27]

Caterham: We had issues which should be sorted by tomorrow

Caterham team and drivers review the opening day of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend, Round 2 of the 2014 Formula 1 world championship, at Sepang International Circuit.

Marcus Ericsson:“24 laps in FP1 means we started Friday much better than we did in Australia! It was a good first session for me, working through a normal FP1 program which was particularly important with the issues we had on Kamui’s car. At the start of the session the track was ok and as it went on and the grip levels improved so did the car balance, but for most of the time I was having issues with traction although we did improve the driveability of the power unit throughout the session. Overall, understeer was the main balance issue and a flatspot on one of the tyres meant the car was understeering quite a bit in the final two runs, but in general it was an ok session. In FP2 we were again able to get through a lot of laps but I had an issue all afternoon with the engine cutting out at various points throughout each lap. That mean I wasn’t able to put in a representative laptime in the whole session and that’s something we need to look at tonight with Renault. The car was also still understeering, particularly in the mid and high speed turns, and we’ll also have a look at that tonight when we have all the data from today.Overall it’s just good to have a full Friday behind me for the first time, especially here at our home race in Malaysia. I know the team are working as hard as possible to fix the problems on Kamui’s car, but at least we are a good step on from where we were this time in Australia with 55 laps completed on my side of the garage today – that will obviously help us tomorrow, both in FP3 and quali.”

Kamui Kobayashi: “FP1 started ok. We did the normal installation lap and then another three laps of the baseline run but then the power started cutting in and out and we had to box to take a look at the problem. It was pretty quickly identified as an energy store issue which meant we had to change the battery and that was the end of FP1 for me. Unfortunately we also found an oil leak when we took the floor off the car and that meant I wasn’t able to run at all in FP2 as it would have taken too long to fix both issues. This isn’t good, obviously, and I’m not happy that we’ve lost another Friday, but it is important to say that I know how hard everyone is working, in our team and at Renault, to try and fix these problems so we can have a proper race weekend. The fact Marcus was able to run the most laps of anyone in FP1 shows that we can be reliable – we just need to make sure both cars run like that for the rest of the weekend or we’ll have another difficult race ahead.”

Cedrik Staudohar, Renault Sport F1 track support leader: “Marcus had a solid day today, although the whole team has some way to go to unlock the potential of the car in Sepang. After completing a good lap tally in FP1 we had some intermittent issues with driveability in FP2, which prevented him setting a quicker lap time. We will investigate tonight. Unfortunately in the first session we had issues with the energy store on Kamui’s car and needed to change it for FP2. At this stage it takes some time so he could only do very few laps in the morning. Then the team picked up an oil leak from the clutch and he could not go out in FP2 either, due to the time it takes to work on this generation of cars, which is obviously not ideal. These issues should be fixed for tomorrow to give him the opportunity to prepare for qualifying.”

[MIKA27]

Force India: The long run performance looks competitive

Sahara Force India completed a solid day of practice in Sepang in preparation for Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

Nico Hulkenberg VJM07-04: “I think we can be satisfied with what we learned today. We worked through the programme and there were no big issues on my side. Of course, the hot weather here means conditions are tough and we found that tyre management during the long run was quite challenging. It’s even more difficult this year because there is more wheelspin with these engines and the rear degradation is quite high. We collected the usual data for the tyres and the set-up, and I think there is still room for improvement. I need some more grip and we need to tweak the balance before final practice.”

Sergio Perez VJM07-02: “Not an easy day because I missed most of the morning session and that has limited my running on the hard compound. In the afternoon we tried to improve the car, as well as learning about the tyres, but I still feel we need to make a big step tonight to be ready for qualifying. The tyre performance gap between the hard and the medium compound is not that big, but we suffered with high degradation on both tyres.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer: “Apart from some lost track time for Sergio this morning, which resulted from a fuel system issue, our preparation for the Malaysian Grand Prix has gone largely to plan. We met our mileage target for the tyres and signed off the cooling solutions we have in place for this weekend. The long run performance looks competitive, although coping with the high tyre degradation will be critical come Sunday afternoon.”

[MIKA27]

Toro Rosso: We are quite positive and there’s a little bit more to come.

Toro Rosso team and drivers review the opening day of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend, Round 2 of the 2014 Formula 1 world championship, at Sepang International Circuit.

Jean-Eric Vergne (STR9-04)

First Practice Session Best lap: 1:41.402, pos. 6th, 15 laps

Second Practice Session Best lap: 1:40.777, pos. 11th, 33 laps

A really good day in general. I think we have done a nearly perfect Friday and I’m really happy with the performance of the car. We still have to find the best solution for a few little issues that can definitely make us quicker. We look quite strong so far and working hard tonight I’m sure we will have a good car for tomorrow and maybe fight again for Q3. It’s a happy day.

Daniil Kvyat (STR9-03)

First Practice Session Best lap: 1:42.869, pos. 14th, 21 laps

Second Practice Session Best lap: 1:41.325, pos. 14th, 32 laps

Even though I have raced at Sepang before in a junior formula, I have to say this was definitely one of the hottest days I have experienced, but I can’t say I found it a problem to deal with. Today, we had a busy programme, looking at improving performance, doing some long runs and also trying the Medium and Hard tyres for the first time at a race weekend. I’m not completely satisfied yet with the set-up of the car. So tonight we’ll look at all the data with the engineers with the aim of getting as much performance as possible out of our package for the rest of the weekend.

Phil Charles (Chief Race Engineer): A pretty good day. We worked through the programme on both cars. Jev has done a good job right from the start, also thanks to his experience here. Daniil had a lot to learn with the tricky track and he is taking that really well. We have done some testing on his car so for tomorrow we can put together all the bits and I’m sure we can make him faster. We are quite positive and look forward to tomorrow. I think there’s a little bit more to come.

Ricardo Penteado (Renault Sport F1 track support leader): A productive day for us. In the first session we worked to bring the charged air temperature down as that will be our major concern this weekend in the heat and humidity. We got some strong results, which allowed us to work on performance in FP2. So far the driveability seems to be good and both cars are on the pace of the top 10, so overall a positive start to the weekend.

[MIKA27]

Sauber: The measures we took to move forward appear to work well

It was a good Friday for the Sauber F1 Team at the Sepang International Circuit. Both free practice sessions went well for Esteban Gutiérrez and Adrian Sutil, and they were able to complete their programmes without any issues.

The measurements implemented to improve the car worked well. However, there is still some work to do for the team.

Esteban Gutiérrez (car number 21) Sauber C33-Ferrari (Chassis 01/Ferrari)

1st practice: 15th / 1:42.904 min (23 laps)

2nd practice: 15th / 1:41.407 min (34 laps)

I think it was a positive day. We managed to have no problems during the entire day. From that point of view, it is positive. Besides that, we managed to do our planned programme with both cars, so we collected interesting information which we can use to make the right decisions for tomorrow. In comparison to Melbourne, we made a step forward as the braking stability is better. We still have further things to develop and to improve. We have to evaluate the high fuel and find the best compromise for the race.

Adrian Sutil (car number 99) Sauber C33-Ferrari (Chassis 03/Ferrari)

1st practice: 13th / 1:42.365 min (21 laps)

2nd practice: 13th / 1:41.257 min (28 laps)

In comparison to Melbourne, we made a few steps forward. The things we had on our plan partly worked out. However, the car is difficult to control and it is not easy to drive. We have a lot work ahead of us. We made steps in the right direction and it is working better than in Melbourne.

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: Today went well. We were able to work through the planned programme without any issues. The measures we took to move forward appear to work well and brought the expected improvements. However, we are not where we want to be and we still have some work to do. A positive thing is that this track seems to suit our car better than Melbourne did, which is useful. For tomorrow I think Q2 is a sensible target, but here in Malaysia you never know as it might rain and things can get exciting.

[MIKA27]

McLaren: We can make up some ground in terms of competitiveness

After the excitement and intensity of Melbourne, the Formula 1 circus rolls into Malaysia, where the tropical climate and searing temperatures will push the new-generation cars far closer to the limit than the Australian season-opener.

The morning’s session focused on correlating the performance of several new components – including a distinctive new nose-box – with the figures indicated by aero research back at MTC.

During the morning session, Kevin suffered a brief setback when a sensor on his power unit detected overheating and switched the engine into ‘limp-home’ mode.

Although he only made it into the pitlane, the marshals and mechanics pushed him back to the garage, where he was quickly turned around before the end of the session.

In the afternoon, neither driver felt encouraged by the changes made to the car, and both struggled on their long runs. With slightly cooler temperatures forecast for the rest of the weekend, and conditions that should therefore be kinder to tyres, both drivers are making progress during qualifying and the race.

Jenson Button MP4-29-04: We’re finding it tough out there today – especially in the heat. We’re not as strong as we’d like to be in high-speed corners – and, when you have downforce issues, they’re further amplified by the hot weather. So our long runs were tricky – in terms of both tyre degradation and outright pace. We’re now going through the data, but the upgrades we brought here seem to be giving us something – so that’s encouraging – but there’s a lot of work still to be done. I’m sure people are getting excited about individual lap-times, but they don’t count for too much around here because you can usually overtake. It’s the long runs that you need to analyse, and that’s where we’re finding it a bit more difficult.

Kevin Magnussen MP4-29-01: “I’ve never driven a car in these sorts of temperatures – so I learned a lot today. As I say, the track temperatures are so hot here that the tyres are really suffering – but it’s the same for everyone, so we need to try and get on top of things before tomorrow’s sessions. I’m going to try and set the car up in order to protect the rears. There’s always something you can improve, and we’ve currently got a lot to think about and a lot of data to sift through tonight. For me, overheating the rears is my biggest problem – the tyres are behaving very differently from how they did in Australia – so that’ll be my focus. Still, I’m convinced we can make some useful changes to the car overnight.”

Eric Boullier, Racing director, McLaren Mercedes: This morning’s session was an important one for us, because it gave us the first opportunity to carry out on-track correlation of our new nose-box. Initial impressions were positive. Both Jenson and Kevin were immediately able to put in competitive lap-times this morning, and both guys also reported that our car felt good in high-speed and low-speed corners alike. This afternoon was a little trickier. The changes we’d introduced between the two sessions didn’t make the improvements we’d been hoping for, and we’re aware that we’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us tonight to get our cars into a stronger position for tomorrow. Still, today is only the first of three days of running. Moreover, I know how hard our engineers will be pushing tonight, and consequently I think we can make up some ground in terms of competitiveness relative to our nearest rivals before qualifying.

[MIKA27]

Red Bull: We had a decent day, there are still some things to solve

Red Bull drivers review the opening day of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend, Round 2 of the 2014 Formula 1 world championship, at Sepang International Circuit.

Sebastian Vettel:

First Practice Session: Position: 7, Best Time: 1:41.523, Laps: 9

Second Practice Session: Position: 3, Best Time: 1:39.970, Laps: 30

I think we had a good day, obviously Friday timings are not the most important thing in the world but it’s good to be up there and in range of the top guys. I think we had a decent day, not a completely smooth day for both of us, there are still some things to solve on the software side and the programming, but that’s the way it is. I think we have to learn a lot but all in all, I’m quite happy.

Daniel Ricciardo:

First Practice Session: Position: 12, Best Time: 1:42.117, Laps: 20

Second Practice Session: Position: 7, Best Time: 1:40.276, Laps: 29

I think we learned quite a lot about the short run pace this morning. We were pretty pleased with the progress we made, but it could have been better with the long runs. I think we’ve got some room for improvement, but that’s what tonight’s for. Reliability was good today, so I think we’re pretty pleased with that. It’s always warm here, the humidity is probably the biggest challenge about this place, but it’s all good, you know, it toughens us up a little bit!

[MIKA27]

Ferrari honour victims of flight MH370 with helmet stickers

The victims of flight Malaysian Airlines MH 370, which disappeared on 8 March, are very much in everyone’s minds on the opening day of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend.

Scuderia Ferrari drivers, along with all their colleagues, took to the track for Free Practice 1 in Sepang with two stickers on their helmets, one with a message in English “Pray for MH 370” and the other in Malay, “Doa Untuk MH 370.”

The trend has been followed by all the drivers participating this weekend.

On Sunday, the victims will be honoured with a minute’s silence prior to the race start.

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen 'more comfortable' in his F14T

Kimi Raikkonen was much happier with his F14T on Friday but admits there is still a long way to go.

Returning to Ferrari this season, the 2007 World Champion never felt entirely comfortable in the car during pre-season testing.

This continued into the season-opening Australian GP where he was unable to take to the fight to team-mate Fernando Alonso.

That, though, changed on Friday in Malaysia.

Raikkonen posted a 1:39.944 to finish second quickest, just 0.035s slower than Nico Rosberg, while Alonso was fifth quickest.

"I had a better feeling compared to Friday in Melbourne," Raikkonen said.

"I was more comfortable with the F14 T today and even if we had no problems whatsoever, we know there's still a long way to go and a lot to do.

"Our programme concentrated on car set-up and on testing the compounds that Pirelli has brought here.

"The handling seemed to be good even if, as we found on the race simulation, we will have to pay very close attention to degradation, which is particularly high here.

"Now we will spend the evening carefully analysing all the data we gathered over the day, to try and work out how to improve."

[MIKA27]

Button finding it 'tough' at Sepang

Jenson Button admits McLaren need to find more pace over the long distance runs if they want to be competitive this weekend.

McLaren's 2014 Championship got off to a flying start in Melbourne where Kevin Magnussen and Button secured a double podium finish for the team.

It is, however, looking a different story this weekend in Malaysia.

Both Button and Magnussen battled to get inside the top ten in Friday's practice with only Button achieving the feat.

The 34-year-old's 1:40.628 was good enough for eighth place while Magnussen finished P12.

Button revealed that McLaren, whose MP4-29 is sporting a new nose tip this weekend, are finding it difficult in the heat and humidity on both the short and long runs.

"We're finding it tough out there today - especially in the heat," he said.

"We're not as strong as we'd like to be in high-speed corners - and, when you have downforce issues, they're further amplified by the hot weather. So our long runs were tricky - in terms of both tyre degradation and outright pace.

"We're now going through the data, but the upgrades we brought here seem to be giving us something - so that's encouraging - but there's a lot of work still to be done."

The Brit, who won the Malaysian Grand Prix back in 2009 on his way to the World Championship title, added that it is the long-run pace where McLaren really need to up their game.

"I'm sure people are getting excited about individual lap times, but they don't count for too much around here because you can usually overtake.

"It's the long runs that you need to analyse, and that's where we're finding it a bit more difficult."

[MIKA27]

Rosberg: Degradation higher than expected

Nico Rosberg has revealed Mercedes suffered with higher than expected tyre degradation in Friday's practices at the Sepang circuit.

Although the Mercedes driver finished Friday's running at the top of the timesheets with a 1:39.909, like many of his rivals he struggled in the heat.

Following on from his hot lap, Rosberg embarked on a longer stint where the German soon found himself dropping with each passing lap as his tyres degraded.

"It was crazy conditions out there," he said. "In the very, very warm temperatures, it's a huge challenge to get everything right.

"The cars are on the edge and the tyre degradation was higher than expected today - we are sliding a bit more this year, perhaps because of the reduced downforce levels.

"We are still having some small issues and therefore we were not able to maximize everything today."

Rosberg's lead, though, wasn't much as Kimi Raikkonen finished just 0.035s behind while the top seven were separated by less than four tenths.

"The quickest teams seem to be closer together than in Australia, so we still have work to do overnight to improve our level of performance."

[MIKA27]

Hamilton: Too hot for the tyres

Like many of their rivals, Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes struggled at the Sepang circuit as the tyres "aren't working well" in the heat.

With the track temperature reaching a sweltering 54'C during Practice Two at the Malaysian track, the drivers experienced high degradation.

But before the degradation set in, Mercedes managed to claim the fastest lap time although it belonged to Rosberg, not Hamilton.

The German clocked a 1:39.909 while Hamilton had to settle for fourth place, 0.142s slower than his team-mate.

After that initial qualifying style run, the drivers swapped to longer runs where the degradation quickly set in resulting in times dropping with every passing lap.

"It's too hot for the tyres," Hamilton told Sky Sports News.

"The tyres aren't really working well in these conditions and even though we've got the hard tyre and the medium here, the tyres do not feel great.

"But it's the same for everyone."

It was also a close session at the top with the first seven drivers separated by less than four-tenths of a second.

And Hamilton, who claimed pole last time out in Melbourne before an engine issue put him out of the grand prix, is relishing the challenge.

"I never do [look at the Friday order], but it's good that everyone's close," he added. "What matters is what happens tomorrow."

As for his engine, the 2008 World Champion is using the same power unit as he did in Australia as Mercedes were able to fix the problem, saving the engine.

"It saves us perhaps the grid penalty further along the way, so it's good," the 29-year-old said.

"I had that less mileage on the engine so I hope I can push it a bit more."