German Car Zone

Length 5.543 km
Laps 56 (310.408 Km)
Last Year
1. K. Raikkonen
2. R. Kubica
3. H. Kovalainen
Record Lap J. Montoya - 1'34''223 (2004, Williams)
Record Pole M. Schumacher - 1'33''074 (2004, Ferrari)
Last Year Pole F. Massa - 1'35''748 (Ferrari)

Previous winners
Year Driver
2008 K.Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2007 F.Alonso (McLaren)
2006 G. Fischella (Renault)
2005 F. Alonso (Renault)
2004 M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
2003 K. Raikkonen (McLaren)
2002 R. Schumacher (Williams)
2001 M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
2000 M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
1999 E. Irvine (Ferrari)

Alex Wurz takes us for a spin around Sepang, venue for the second round of the Formula One World Championship this weekend.

The circuit is a great challenge so it's a pretty full-on weekend for the teams.
You arrive at the first corner in seventh gear, at about 310kph (192mph). There is a lot of grip from the asphalt, so you can brake really late before turning in third gear. The rear gets a bit light at this point.
You then have the left hander at turn two, which is the slowest corner on the circuit. It's first or second gear and it has a camber change in the middle, so it's quite difficult to find the right differential set-up for it.
Next comes a long right-hander, which is easy-flat even in the wet, and then you're braking for the right-hander at turn four. The braking area is really bumpy, which makes it a bit tricky, and then comes a really nice part of the circuit.
You enter turns five and six in fifth gear, at 230kph (143mph), and the entry to turn five is almost flat so you really have to squeeze the throttle and make sure you have a very late apex. There's an immediate change of direction and at this point we pull about 4.5g. You might touch the brakes to stabilise the car into turn six, which is incredibly bumpy and the rear gets very light. Don't forget that we are still at 220-230kph (137-143mph), with not much run-off, and I really enjoy it!
Then comes a double right-hander, which is easy to get wrong if you overdrive and it leads to a hairpin. It's first or second gear and it's very important to have a good exit because that gives you pure lap time.
Then we go to another flowing section, which leads to the penultimate corner. It's very difficult here because you enter it very fast and the rear gets very light. You have to brake down to second gear while turning and the car is oversteering the whole time. It's very easy to overdo it.
The last corner is another hairpin and we again brake very late, from 300kph (186mph), down to second gear.

I was there today. It was fantastic. At the last turn of the circuit, PK, Hammi, Nakajima, Rosberg and Rubens were really struggling.

The Williams looked like it was suffering from understeer, so is the Mclaren, while Rubens almost lost it once with oversteer. I'll post some pics real soon.

And oh yea..i think it's a 90% chance of rain this weekend.

Practice 1

Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps
1 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:36.260 27
2 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:36.305 0.045 25
3 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 1:36.430 0.170 20
4 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:36.487 0.227 22
5 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:36.561 0.301 21
6 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:36.646 0.386 18
7 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.699 0.439 16
8 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:36.703 0.443 23
9 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:36.747 0.487 25
10 10 Timo Glock Toyota 1:36.980 0.720 27
11 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:36.982 0.722 26
12 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:37.025 0.765 20
13 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:37.039 0.779 18
14 8 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1:37.199 0.939 20
15 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:37.241 0.981 18
16 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:37.395 1.135 12
17 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:37.634 1.374 22
18 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:37.640 1.380 17
19 11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 1:38.022 1.762 19
20 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.483 2.223 7

Practice 2

Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps
1 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.707 40
2 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.832 0.125 38
3 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:35.954 0.247 40
4 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:36.015 0.308 39
5 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:36.026 0.319 36
6 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:36.161 0.454 37
7 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 1:36.254 0.547 31
8 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:36.290 0.583 35
9 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.397 0.690 40
10 8 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1:36.401 0.694 35
11 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.515 0.808 30
12 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:36.516 0.809 34
13 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:36.628 0.921 32
14 10 Timo Glock Toyota 1:36.639 0.932 29
15 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:36.640 0.933 20
16 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:36.875 1.168 36
17 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:37.267 1.560 38
18 11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 1:37.278 1.571 30
19 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:37.432 1.725 27
20 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:37.930 2.223 37

P3

Pos Driver Car Time Laps
1. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:35.940 19
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:36.048 + 0.108 13
3. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:36.089 + 0.149 13
4. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:36.132 + 0.192 21
5. Glock Toyota (B) 1:36.189 + 0.249 22
6. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:36.194 + 0.254 14
7. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:36.322 + 0.382 14
8. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.325 + 0.385 18
9. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:36.519 + 0.579 19
10. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:36.541 + 0.601 17
11. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:36.563 + 0.623 18
12. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.657 + 0.717 15
13. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.742 + 0.802 13
14. Alonso Renault (B) 1:37.004 + 1.064 16
15. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:37.026 + 1.086 18
16. Piquet Renault (B) 1:37.032 + 1.092 18
17. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:37.118 + 1.178 18
18. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:37.282 + 1.342 17
19. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:37.322 + 1.382 16
20. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:37.398 + 1.458 19

Qual.

Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:35.058 1:33.784 1:35.181
2. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:34.745 1:33.990 1:35.273
3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:34.935 1:34.276 1:35.518
4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:34.681 1:34.387 1:35.651
5. Glock Toyota (B) 1:34.907 1:34.258 1:35.690
6. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:35.083 1:34.547 1:35.750
7. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:35.027 1:34.222 1:35.797
8. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:35.166 1:34.562 1:36.106
9. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:35.476 1:34.456 1:36.170
10. Alonso Renault (B) 1:35.260 1:34.706 1:37.659
11. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:35.110 1:34.769
12. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:35.341 1:34.788
13. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:35.280 1:34.905
14. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:35.023 1:34.924
15. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:35.507 1:35.431
16. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:35.642
17. Piquet Renault (B) 1:35.708
18. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:35.908
19. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:35.951
20. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:36.107

OMG..ferrari are retarded..
lol talk about being ignorant and underestimating everyone else..

It aint schumacher era..when he did 1 lap..and then had a bratwurst to kill the 13min until next lap...

This year is going to be Soooo boring and stressful, just watching Brawn GP take the lead and watching Hamilton get penalized for absolutely everything..

That was a major wake-up call for Ferrari and Mclaren. Qualification has drastically change and Williams, Brawn(former Honda), Red Bull and Toyota have all moved up on the ladder. In 2007 there were only 4 people fighting for top 4 but now there are 16 drivers capable of clinching pole position. Q1 and Q2 are now as competitive as Q3.

Button is close to a second clear of Ferrari and Mclaren, and given his and the team's experience Brawn GP has a highly likelihood of winning this year. Ferrari and Mclaren need around 1.2 seconds of lap time advantage to stand ahead of Brawn GP with a good margin. That performance is impossible to squeeze out during a season in which there is no testing.

Hamilton, Kimi and Alonso aren't that troubled about it. The most bummed driver must be Massa who is desperate to win a championship.

This year, it's something finally good happening for the sport. I've grown tired of the same teams dominating. Now, we have Toyota, Williams, Brawn and RedBull taking the fight to Mclaren and Ferrari.

As for Hamilton's case, he and the team shot themselves in the foot.

Here's some pics from yesterday i took. I will post more soon.

Here's a pic i took yesterday afternoon, about 2pm :



and at the circuit before 7pm :



We could see our first wet race of 2009