malaysia-gp-bridgestone-motorsport-saturday-petronas-medium-compound-potenza-tyres-hirohide-hamashima-photos

Felipe Massa (Ferrari) will start the second round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship from pole position after using Bridgestone’s medium compound Potenza tyre to go fastest in qualifying at Sepang for the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix.

Massa set a time of 1min 35.748secs and was almost half a second faster than his team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, who will join him on the front row for Sunday’s 56 lap race after setting the second fastest time. McLaren Mercedes team-mates Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton will start on the second row, with Kovalainen the quicker.

Jarno Trulli (Toyota) qualified in fifth and also topped the Q1 session. He qualified ahead of BMW Sauber team-mates Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld. Mark Webber (Red Bull) was eighth fastest, whilst Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Timo Glock (Toyota) were the final drivers to qualify in Q3.

The morning practice session saw Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) go fastest with a 1min 35.019secs time, set on the hard compound. The fastest time of the day was set in Q2 by Raikkonen, with a 1min 34.188secs.

The Malaysian skies over Sepang threatened rain for most of the day, but nothing of any consequence fell during the course of running, meaning that only Bridgestone’s dry weather grooved tyres have been used today.

Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development, said:

"Congratulations to Felipe Massa for his first pole position of 2008. Today it seemed that the medium compound had more grip when cars were running lighter in Q1 and Q2, but in Q3, when cars were running heavier, the difference between the hard and medium was small and some cars were quicker on the hard compound. We had heavy rain last night and the track surface started the day in a similar condition to yesterday after FP1.

We saw a dramatic improvement in lap times as rubber went down on this relatively new surface through practice and qualifying today. Tyre appearance on both compounds was good and teams will have to spend a long time analysing the data we give them to decide which tyre strategy will be best if it is a dry race tomorrow. If we see a wet race, the strategies could be very interesting as we have not seen any wet running here without traction control this weekend."

Stats of the Day

Total amount of laps completed by all drivers: 644 laps

Average number of laps per car: 29 laps

Most laps by a driver: 41 laps – Timo Glock (Toyota)

Fastest lap: 1m 34.188s – Raikkonen in Q2

Compounds: Hard and medium

Malaysian Grand Prix in 2007

Fernando Alonso (McLaren Mercedes) won the last Malaysian Grand Prix by 17.6 seconds from team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Raikkonen finished in third place for Ferrari with Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) finishing fourth. Alonso used a medium-medium-hard tyre strategy to win.

Temperatures Ambient Track Weather

Practice – AM 31C-32C-31C-32C 41C-43C-40C Sunny / Cloudy

Qualifying – PM 30C-29C 37C-33C Cloudy

Rachel Ingham –Andy Stobart – photos Bridgestone

Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes F1 de-brief - Martin Whitmarsh 25.03.08

Following the Malaysian Grand Prix, Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula 1, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, discusses the race and looks forward to the next round of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship in Bahrain. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes was unable to...

Bridgestone Potenza Driver Tyre Strategies 23.03.08

– Malaysia Grand Prix Temperatures Ambient Track Weather Race – PM 32C-33C-31C 44C-42C-44C-40C Cloudy In 2008, the tyre regulations stipulate that the two dry tyre specifications must be visibly distinguishable from each other. At...

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Malaysian Grand Prix report 23.03.08

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) has won the second round of the FIA Formula One World Championship after using a hard-hard-medium compound Bridgestone Potenza tyre strategy in the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang. Raikkonen was joined on the...

Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes F1 - Sepang review 23.03.08

2008 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX Sepang, Sunday 23rd March 2008 Lewis Hamilton, MP4-23 04 Heikki Kovalainen, MP4-23 03 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton finished the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang...

Red Bull Racing F1 - Two finishes, two points ... 23.03.08

... ONE ICE CREAM Car 10, MARK WEBBER, (Finish Position 7th, Start Position: 6th) "The start wasn't fantastic, but we knew a lot of people would be on soft tyres at that point of the race. I got a really good run through Turns one and two and...

Bahrain beckons 23.03.08

Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 Team 2008 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX - SUNDAY 23/03/08 Sebastian Vettel (STR2B-04) Retired "I started to have difficulty shifting gear and with the power steering. And then the back end caught fire as I pulled over to...

AT&T Williams F1 - Race review 23.03.08

MALAYSIA GRAND PRIX – RACE SUNDAY 23 MARCH, 200856 LAPS, 310.408 km / 192.878 milesWEATHER Sun & cloudAir 30-310C, Track 38-460C POS DRIVER TEAM Time / Gap (Fastest Lap) Grid 1 K Raikkonen Ferrari 1:31:18.555 (1:35.405, 2nd) 2 2 R...

Force India Formula One Team - Sepang race review 23.03.08

2008 Malaysian Grand Prix Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/02): DNF: Hydraulic Lap 5 Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05): 12th: 1:31:49.648 (+1 lap) The Force India Formula One Team has finished the Malaysian Grand Prix with Giancarlo...

Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 - Race Round-Up 23.03.08

Malaysian Grand Prix -2008 Sunday 23 March 2008 Today's Weather: Hot with sunny periods, air 30-31C, track 39-46C Constructors' Championship Points: 5 (6th) Drivers' Championship Points: Jarno Trulli 5 (8th) Jarno Trulli (Car 11,...

BMW Sauber F1 Team - GP Malaysia - Rennen 23.03.08

Das BMW Sauber F1 Team erkämpfte sich in der schwülen Hitze von Sepang elf WM-Punkte – das bisher beste Ergebnis für die junge Mannschaft. Robert Kubica wurde nach einer souveränen Vorstellung Zweiter beim PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix. Nick...

Formula1 -Petronas Malaysian Grand-Prix Results 23.03.08

1 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 56 Winner 2 10 2 4 Robert Kubica BMW 56 +19.5 secs 4 8 3 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 56 +38.4 secs 8 6 4 11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 56 +45.8 secs 3 5 5 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 56 +46.5 secs 9...

Provisional grid in Sepang 23.03.08

Kovalainen, Hamilton, Nakajima drop At least three drivers will drop from their original qualifying positions on the grid for Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix. McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton both lose five places for impeding rival...

adrivo.com Interview mit Martin Whitmarsh 22.03.08

Die Strafversetzung der beiden McLaren-Piloten um je 5 Startplätze überschattet ein wenig das gute Qualifyingergebnis von Heikki Kovalainen, der sich schon an seinem zweiten Wochenende für McLaren gegen seinen Teamkollegen Lewis Hamilton...

ING Renault F1 - Sepang Qualifying review 22.03.08

Malaysian Grand Prix, Saturday The ING Renault F1 Team enjoyed a reasonably satisfying afternoon as Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet qualified in 9th and 13th places for tomorrow’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso, R28-03 Q1 1:35.983,...

Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes F1 - Qualifying review 22.03.08

Sepang, Saturday 22nd March 2008 Lewis Hamilton, MP4-23 04 Heikki Kovalainen, MP4-23 03 2008 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix at...

AT&T Williams F1 - Qualifying review 22.03.08

MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING SEPANG, MALAYSIA5.543 KMS / 3.444 MILESWEATHER Storm clouds, no rainAIR 28-290C, TRACK 35-440C QUAL DRIVER TEAM Q1 Q2 Q3 1 F Massa Ferrari - - 1:35.7482 K Raikkonen Ferrari - - 1:36.2303 H Kovalainen McLaren...

BMW Sauber F1 Team - GP Malaysia - Qualifikation 22.03.08

Wetter: bewölkt, aber trocken, 28-29°C Luft, 36-39°C Asphalt Die beiden BMW Sauber F1 Team Fahrer Robert Kubica und Nick Heidfeld belegten im Qualifying zum PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix die Plätze sechs und sieben. Damit hat das Team als...

Force India Formula1 Team Qualifying and Final Free Practice review 22.03.08

Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/02): FP3: 20th 1:36.939 (21 laps) Q1: 21st 1:37.101 (10 laps) Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05): FP1: 14th 1:36.229 (21 laps) Q1: 17th 1:36.240 (9 laps) The Force India Formula One Team again got...

Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 Sepang Qualifying round-up 22.03.08

Malaysian Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up Saturday 22 March 2008 Today's Weather: Cloudy with risk of rain, air 27-29C, track 35-40C Best 2008 qualifying: 5th, Jarno Trulli (Malaysia) Jarno Trulli (Car 11, Chassis TF108-02) Summary:...

Red Bull Racing F1 back on track in Sepang 22.03.08

Car 10 MARK WEBBER, Position 8th Today went better than expected to be honest. We worked hard on the car yesterday and the guys did a great job to make the improvements that they did, so we've laid the foundations ahead of tomorrow's race. Q3...

Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 - Sepang Qualifying 22.03.08

2008 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX - SATURDAY 22/03/08 We played our Joker today, as a driver's first engine change of the season is penalty-free. Sebastian Vettel (STR2B-04) "Today, Q3 was definitely out of our reach. Unlike Melbourne this is...

Sepang Qualifying results 22.03.08

2008 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX 1 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.347 1:34.412 1:35.748 17 2 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.645 1:34.188 1:36.230 13 3 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:35.227 1:34.759 1:36.613 12 4 22 Lewis...

Saturday Practice 3 results 22.03.08

2008 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX 1 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:35.019 18 2 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.262 0.243 17 3 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.388 0.369 17 4 11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:35.389 0.370 20 5 10 Mark Webber Red...

Vodafone Mc-Laren Mercedes F1 Sepang, Friday review 21.03.08

Lewis Hamilton, MP4-23 04 Heikki Kovalainen, MP4-23 03 2008 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX FREE PRACTICE Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton posted the fastest lap of the day in Friday’s Free Practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix at the...

Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 - Sepang Free Practice Round-Up 21.03.08

Malaysian Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up Friday 21 March 2008 Today's Weather: Hot with sunny intervals, air 28-32C, track 40-47C Toyota's Best Malaysian GP qualifying: 2nd, Jarno Trulli, 2005 Toyota's Best Malaysian GP race result: 2nd,...

[:: previous ] [ next ::]