Malaysian GP Preview

After Lewis Hamilton took a surprising victory and extended his championship lead to 28 points on the streets of Singapore as both Ferrari’s stumbled, round 15 of the 2017 FIA Formula 1 World Championship returns to the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur this weekend for the 2017 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix. This will be the 19^th and final scheduled Malaysian Grand Prix as the contract has not been renewed from 2018 onwards.

A look at the Sepang International Circuit

The Sepang International Circuit is a permanent racing facility in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located near the Kuala Lumpur Airport approximately 60km south of the capital city Kuala Lumpur.

The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke and was opened on March 7 1999 just in time for the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix which took place in October later that year. Since then the Malaysian Grand Prix has been held 18 times. The circuit is also used for the FIM MotoGP.

The circuit runs in a clockwise direction and is 5.543km (3.444 mi) in length with 15 corners.

The race distance is 310.408 km (192.879 mi) with 56 laps in total.

Juan Pablo Montoya holds the fastest lap record from 2004 with a 1:34.223 set in his Williams-BMW FW26.

Sebastian Vettel holds the most victories at the Sepang International Circuit with four to his name.

Scuderia Ferrari are the most successful constructor with seven victories at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Last Five Winners

2016: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing. 2015: Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari. 2014: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2013: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing. 2012: Fernando Alonso, Scuderia Ferrari.

Weather

The weather plays a hectic role every year at the Malaysian Grand Prix with hot temperatures and humidity which makes it one of the most demanding races on the calendar. Thunderstorms and rain are predicted as usual for the race weekend and can happen at any time. As the race has always has often been affected by downpours in the past, the race time was brought back to 4pm local time.

Tyres

Due to the abrasive nature of the track surface, it will punish the tyres due to the heavy loads. With many high-speed sweeping turns, lateral loads are high and the front left tyre takes the most beating

Pirelli will be bringing with them the red-branded Super Softs, the yellow-marked Softs and white-branded Medium rubber along with the green-branded Intermediates and the blue-marked Full Wets in case of rain.

Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen have opted for nine sets of the Super-Soft rubber while both Williams and McLaren went even more aggressive with the softest compound in the range choosing ten sets.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton will have seven sets of the Super Softs, five sets of the Softs and one set of the Medium compounds whereas Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas has gone with seven sets of Super Softs, four sets of Softs and two sets of Medium rubber.

DRS Zones

As in 2016, there will be two DRS Zones at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang. The first detection point will be 54 metres after turn 12 with the activation point 104 metres after turn 14. The second detection point is 16 metres after the turn 15 apex followed by the activation point 28 metres after turn 15 on the main-straight.

Pitlane Speeds

Pitlane speeds will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.

The Situation

Lewis Hamilton has been on a great run of form, picking up a hat-trick of victories in Spa-Francorchamps, Monza and surprisingly Marina Bay after a dramatic opening lap tangle between title-rival Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, which saw both Ferrari’s double DNF for the first time in 11 years, putting a dent in Vettel’s title aspirations. Singapore was a race Vettel was expected to win and reclaim the championship lead with the circuit and temperatures suiting the characteristics of the shorter wheel-based SF70H while it was meant to be a damage limitation race for Hamilton whose F1 W08-Hybrid EQ Power+ has the longest wheelbase in the field, with its narrow setup window and normally struggles on high downforce circuits with shorter straights. Hamilton capitalised on Vettel’s misfortune to claim his seventh victory of the season under the bright lights of Singapore comfortably over Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton comes to Sepang on top of the Driver’s Championship with 263 points and a 28-point gap over rival Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas is a further 51 points behind his Mercedes team-mate in third on 212 points.

Mercedes returns to Malaysia sitting on top of the Constructors Championship with 475 points and a 102-point lead over nearest rival Ferrari with Red Bull Racing a further 245 points behind the Silver Arrows in third place on 230 points.

2017 World Drivers Championship Standings – Top 10

1. Lewis Hamilton – 263 Points
2. Sebastian Vettel – 235 Points
3. Valtteri Bottas – 212 Points
4. Daniel Ricciardo – 162 Points
5. Kimi Räikkönen – 138 Points
6. Max Verstappen – 68 Points
7. Sergio Pérez – 68 Points
8. Esteban Ocon – 56 Points
9. Carlos Sainz – 48 Points
10. Nico Hulkenberg – 34 Points

2017 World Constructors Championship Standings

1. Mercedes AMG F1 – 475 Points
2. Scuderia Ferrari – 373 Points
3. Red Bull Racing – 230 Points
4. Force India F1 Team – 124 Points
5. Williams Martini Racing – 59 Points
6. Scuderia Toro Rosso – 52 Points
7. Renault Sport F1 – 42 Points
8. Haas F1 Team – 37 Points
9. McLaren-Honda F1 – 17 Points
10. Sauber F1 Team – 5 Points

The 2017 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix weekend kicks off Friday September 29 with Free Practice 1 and 2, Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday September 30 and the 56 lap Race concluding the weekend Sunday October 1.