F 1: Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Immediately after the 2012 season opener in Australia, the Formula 1 circus moved to Malaysia for the second race of the year. In contrast to Albert Park, which uses public roads that are closed in order for the Grand Prix to take place and is a relatively easy track, the Sepang Circuit features an unusual layout, with a tight hairpin leading from the very long back straight to the pits.
In Australia, we got a first taste of each team’s pace during tge race. Apparently, the Malaysian GP qualifying session proved that the picture it painted was an accurate one.
Both McLarens will once again start from the front row of the grid, with Lewis Hamilton beating his teammate to claim his second pole position in as many races.
Jenson Button, however, commented that Hamilton is not his only concern for Sunday’s race. That’s because a resurgent Michael Schumacher brought his Mercedes in third place, the best result since his 2010 return. “The Mercedes is renowned, especially Michael, for getting good starts so it’s going to be a fun Turn One I think”, said Button.
For the second race in a row, Lotus was also very strong. This time it wasn’t Romain Grosjean but Kimi Raikkonen who looked like he never left the F1 tracks.
In fact, the “Iceman” said that even though he made a couple of mistakes on his fastest lap, it was good enough for fifth place: “Without that, we were in with a shout for pole today”, he added. Unfortunately for him, a gearbox replacement meant that he got a five-place penalty, so he’ll start from 10th place.
That was good news for Sebastian Vettel. The 2010 and 2011 world champion complained that he was “struggling to find a balance” with either the medium or the harder compound tires, but after Raikkonen’s penalty he gained one place on the grid and will start fifth, right behind the other Red Bull of Mark Webber.
Ferrari’s qualifying session was a mixed bag. The F2012 is clearly inferior to the front-runners, struggling to beat both Williams and Sauber, and Felipe Massa didn’t even make it to Q3. Fernando Alonso will start from eighth place after Raikkonen’s penalty.
The Scuderia’s technical director Pat Fry was full of praise for Alonso, despite his lap time being 1.34 seconds slower than Hamilton’s pole. “As usual, he squeezed every drop of performance out of the F2012”, said Fry. “We had a KERS problem right in the final stages of the session, when Fernando set out for his last timed lap in Q3, but I don’t think without it he would have got a different position on the grid.”

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F 1: Australian GP Qualifying Results

At the inaugural race of every Formula 1 season you never really know where each team stands in terms of performance. Sure, there are the favorites, the also-runs, the back markers and oftentimes, the wild cards. Well, the qualifying race of the Australian Grand Prix that kicked off this year's F1 season certainly had all of the above. But not necessarily in the way most seasoned F1 fans might have expected.
Lewis Hamilton claimed the 20th pole position of his career and Jenson Button lined up right beside him, making it an all-McLaren front row. Not too surprising, as despite the fact that Sebastian Vettel took most pole positions last year, the McLarens had proved to be very fast during testing.
“It’s an incredible feeling to get off to such a good start”, said Hamilton. His team-mate Button added, “Obviously, this is only the beginning, but I think we have done a good job this winter and we have proved that today.”
For the rest of the official qualifying session, it’s hard to say which was the biggest surprise.
Romain Grosjean, who many mistake as a rookie, has in fact raced in F1 with Renault, albeit his last event was in 2009. Nevertheless, he brought Lotus to third position, justifying many like Red Bull Racing’s Christian Horner who believe that Lotus could be this year’s outsider.
Unfortunately, Horner’s own drivers were clearly off the pace compared to the McLarens. Mark Webber recorded the fifth fastest lap, despite facing a KERS malfunction, while reigning champion Sebastian Vetell was sixth.
Michael Schumacher posted his best qualifying result since his 2011 return to Formula 1 by claiming fourth place. The seven-time world champion was happy with the performance of the Mercedes W03: “Our performance is a huge step forward, considering where we were in qualifying here last year”, said the German referring to his 2011 start from 11th place.
If Ferrari thought that last year’s performance was a fluke and 2012 will signal a return to form, they might have to reconsider. Fernando Alonso spun on Q2 and did not make it to Q3! So he will start from 12th place, while Felipe Massa was a second slower than his teammate and ended up 17th.
Apparently, Scuderia’s technical director Pat Fry was simply being candid when he said that the Ferrari’s performance is way off the pace setters.
Team principal Stefano Domenicali commented: “I understand that at the moment our fans are disappointed but I would urge them to be cautious before making any definitive judgment. We have a lot of work to do and our engineers are well aware of that, as indeed they were before even leaving for Melbourne.”
With the two HRT’s being disqualified for failing, for the second year in a row in Melbourne to achieve a lap time within 107 percent of pole position, as mandated by the rules, 22 drivers will start tomorrow’s race.

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Lotus Goes Rallying with the Exige R-GT

Six Drivers' and seven Constructors' Formula 1 World Championships won by legends Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti are enough to secure Lotus' place in the history of F1 racing, even if it currently isn’t ranked among the title contenders. Yet, the Hethel-based sports car maker has another world title to show for itself in a completely different form of racing: it won the 1982 World Rally Championship with the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus.
Confirming previous reports, Lotus is returning to special stages in partnership with the Italian team United Business, which won the 2011 title. It will enter the FIA European Rally Championship with the Exige R-GT painted in its iconic black and gold colors.
"This will be the first GT car to be homologated by the FIA", says Lotus Racing Director Claudio Berro. "Lotus, of course, has been successful in rallying before, so in many ways we’re going back to our roots."
The Exige R-GT will undergo its final test next week before it is subjected to the FIA homologation process, and if everything goes by plan, it will enter the Mille Miglia rally on April 19-21, driven by former Super 2000 World Rally Champion Bernando Sousa.
Lotus will also compete in the GTE Pro class of the 2012 European Le Mans Series with the Evora GTE. The factory-prepared car will be run by the Lotus Guidici Racing outfit. Lotus’ factory driver Johnny Mowlem has already been confirmed, while two other drivers that will comprise the one-car team will be announced later.

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Renault Wind in F1 Colors

Albeit a little late to the party as Renault and Lotus parted ways in F1 at the end of 2011, German tuning firm of all things related to the Renault Group, Elia, has presented a Formula 1-themed version of the Renault Wind. The small French roadster is dressed in the former Lotus Renault GP team's colors with decorative livery placed throughout the body of the car.
The tuner also upgraded the Wind with a new sports exhaust system and a set of a multispoke alloy wheels shod in low-profile tires. No word if the project car features any performance modifications.

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Was This a Dangerously Close Call or a Ballsy Move?

A minor spat has broken out on Youtube over whether or not a Lotus Exige GT3 traveling close to 250km/h [155mph] should have passed in between a Mazda MX-5 and a Porsche Boxster during the Production Sports Cars CUE Enduro Series held at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia.

If you watch the first video shot from an inboard camera on the MX-5, it looks like a rocket ship flew by inches away from the Japanese roadster. In fact, it all happens so fast that you have to actually pause the video to see the Exige GT3 driven by Barton Mawer.
According to the Philip Island Circuit's official website, the driver in the No66 MX-5 was Michael Hall. Here's what he said on Youtube:
"I'm chasing down a Porsche Boxster in the #66 Mazda MX5 whilst trying to hang onto the lead of Class E. Meanwhile Barton Mawer is trying to hunt down Alan Simonsen in the Lambo for the overall lead, and obviously not in the mood to waste any time."
Asked by a commentator if Mawer made a "safe pass" in his opinion, Hall answered:
"From my footage you'd certainly say it was touch and go, but I'd like to see the footage from his car before making that call. I did see him coming onto the front straight as I pulled up beside the Boxster but I was surprised by the speed at which he caught us. The car does get buffeted around at those speeds for sure, so it wouldn't have taken much for either of us to drift a few inches one way or the other."
Shortly after, the owner of the Exige GT3 being driven by Mawer, who we only know by his Youtube handle "GT3CR1", uploaded a video filmed from inside the car that shows the view from within the Lotus. 
 
He went on to reply on Halls's video:
"Hey, I'm the owner of the lotus that Bart was driving. I thought I'd wait to get my hands on my in-car footage before I responded to some of these posts, but from Bart's perspective, the 2 slower cars, which should have seen him coming left him no choice but to run straight down the middle. It was a ballsy move, but every time you pass a slower car, you're depending on them not to make any sudden moves. Everyone held their line, a spectacular move was made, and the race went on!"
And here's Hall's response:
"Hey Angelo, thanks for posting your video footage. I did see Barton coming around the last turn onto the front straight just as I pulled out to pass the Boxster, but was a little surprised at just how quickly he caught us. From your footage, it seems that Bart had enough time to size us up, realize that there was enough space and that both cars were holding their line to make the pass. I never posted the footage to make an issue of it, just thought people would enjoy the video."
You can have a look at both videos and have your say in the comments section below.

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