F1 Mid-week Roundup: Massa, the DRS and a typical weekend at Sepang

Helmut Marko: "Hamilton must always be a topic"

5. Renault still in the fight in Malaysia

The surprise podium of Renault's Vitaly Petrov in Australia was a remarkable feat when you consider that he finished in front of both Ferrari's, the Red Bull of Mark Webber and also the McLaren of Jenson Button. Now, team boss Eric Boullier believes they can once again mix with the top three teams in F1. "We were in a good position in Australia and I can see us continuing to fight with the big teams," Boullier said. The Renault had looked pretty solid and the team believe it is something that they can keep up. Coming into Malaysia the team will be applying an upgrade package to the tune of a few tenths of a second. The team is hoping this will be enough to keep them in the mix with the likes of Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

4. Silverstone gets a face-lift

Silverstone's new pit complex named "The Silverstone Wing" has been previewed by several lucky people including Red Bull's Christian Horner. The complex, which will cost about £27 million, is set for launch on the 17th of May and is aiming to give the circuit a much needed upgrade. Bernie Ecclestone once referred to the track as "a country fair masquerading as a world event." The organisers of the Grand Prix are hoping that this will give the circuit a much needed face-lift to bring the track into the 21st century. Christian Horner certainly likes it, he says that "It puts Silverstone right up with the best in the world."

3. Massa and the DRS

The 2008 F1 World Championship runner-up has expressed a hope that the Drag Reduction System will not be used on both straights in Malaysia. The rear-wing system, which was designed to increase overtaking potential, gives the car approximately 14mph extra and can be used on certain straights on a track and only if the driver behind is within a second of the driver in front. The Ferrari driver has said that if the drivers will be able to use the system on both straights then overtaking will become too easy and artificial. The FIA are yet to announce the policy for the DRS in Malaysia but Felipé Massa has his fingers crossed.

2. Talk of Hamilton at Red Bull

Red Bull team advisor, Helmut Marko, has said that McLaren's Lewis Hamilton always has to be a topic at Red Bull. "With his aggression and his speed, Hamilton must always be a topic," the Austrian said. "Our philosophy is to have the quickest drivers together in our team." This comes after Lewis expressed that he wants to be in F1 to win several championships. So far he has missed out on four twice because he just did not have the quickest car, maybe Red Bull could be an option?

1. Wet Malaysia

In the words of Cilla Black, "Suprise, Suprise" it is set to rain heavily at Sepang this weekend. Malaysia has a strange climate which mixes torrential rain, storms and extreme temperatures and it looks like this race weekend will be no exception. Weather forecasters are predicting heavy storms for the majority of the weekend and this can cause one of two scenarios. Firstly, like last year we may well see a mixed up grid. In 2010 Hamilton and the two Ferrari's of Alonso and Massa did not make it into Q2 whilst Button scraped through but could not take part after he ended up in the gravel. Watching those cars race through the pack made the race pretty exciting, maybe we can have that this year? Or, we could just have horrendous rain, the only running being some painfully slow tip-toeing followed by some shots of engineers standing around, maybe even a 2009-like red flag. Let's hope not!

Posted by Sean Russell - Follow him on twitter @SeanRussellF1.

Like us on Facebook! »

More F1 Posts »

• 2012 Spanish GP: Hamilton and that 31 lap stint!
• Williams F1 Fire: Photos and video from dramatic post race inferno
• Lewis Hamilton blasts the rest away with pole in Spain
• An absolutely mega F1 prize you can win with the Lotus F1 Team
• Remembering Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna
• 2012 Bahrain GP: Vettel returns to the top, and Rosberg escapes penalties
• Sebastian Vettel takes his first pole since 2011
• 2012 Chinese Grand Prix: Thrilling late overtaking and tyres falling off the cliff
• Nico Rosberg takes his first pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton
• 2012 Malaysia GP: Sergio Perez 2nd in Malaysia – but does the race need to start earlier?

Last Comment Posted »

• don't worry, I'm sure your prayers will be fulfilled as since the race will be starting late to accomodate European viewers Malaysia is also well...
  by Jon
  [ click here to read in full ]