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Malaysian Grand Prix Preview

After the last few weeks of what has occurred in the news press over the Malaysian airliner that perished over the Indian Ocean, it is both ironic and coincidental that the next round of the Formula One World Championship will be at the Sepang circuit near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which might include more drama on the race track then the news event that has already happened.

First of all, the recent race in Melbourne, Australia, did not get too many drivers hopes up on how they will fare this season. The new V-6 turbo engines from all manufacturers did so far not live up to expectations, and it will be even harder to all the engineers on improving the situation because of the hot, humid conditions that will be at Sepang this weekend.

The first real test will come from the two long straightaways that are on the track, the first at the Penang straight, which is before the final turn which brings the racers back out onto the main straight, named Kuala Lumpur, which is another long straightaway that takes the drivers up to the first turn at Pankgor Laut, which can slow the cars down to about 60 to 80 miles per hour. From there, the track is composed of sweeping right and left handers, which continues on until Penang, which will increase the speed of the cars. Cooling of the engines here are very important, and these new engines are no exception, for overheating is the worst thing that can happen that could lead to retirements.

With the turbos as well, the engine temperature does not become the only threat as many in the past have found out that this circuit can produce some torrential rain showers that might not only give the engines problems, but also the control of the car.The lack of increased torque and grip is very difficult when these cars get into a problem like the weather, so many should keep as much in check as possible, and if the best driver does this, then it should give that individual the best opportunity to come out on top.

Whether or not most of the teams can begin to play catch up after their failures remains to be seen. Mercedes have begun to start off on the right foot, so it will be interesting to see if the other teams extra evaluations over the last two weeks can determine whether or not their work will begin to pay off.

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