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| Cars on track during the 2014 Malaysia Grand Prix. — Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas |
Formula One heads to Malaysia on Sunday with Lewis Hamilton in control of the points so far. The Briton won the event last year on his way to claiming his second world driver’s championship. He’ll be looking for more of the same this year.
Schedule:
- Qualifying: Saturday, 5 a.m. ET
- Race: Sunday, 3 a.m. ET
The notoriously high temperatures we see each year at Sepang could also spark reliability concerns this week. Five cars retired from last year’s Grand Prix due to reliability issues. They were mainly engine and brake issues. McLaren’s tightly packaged aero design won’t have an easy time in Malaysia. And they may be forced to turn down their engine power again just to get through the race.
Saturday will be an important day in deciding who comes out on top in Malaysia. Out of the 16 Formula One races that have been run at Sepang (dating back to 1999), the winner of the race has started on pole nine times. Furthermore, 14 of the winners started in the first two rows. The only drivers to start from further back are Raikkonen (P7, 2003) and Alonso (P8, 2012). Malaysia is a tough track to win at if you don’t start up front.
Off The Track
After the Australian Grand Prix, Christian Horner said that he wants the FIA to change engine and car regulations to rein Mercedes in. Horner said that “the FIA, within the rules, have an equalization mechanism; I think it’s something that perhaps they need to look at.” Renault’s power unit, which was said to be improved from 2014, had a poor showing in Australia. Do you think the FIA should help equalize the competition to make the sport more exciting? Let us know in the comments below.
Current Points Standings
The Single Seater 