{"id":183522,"date":"2013-03-22T10:28:57","date_gmt":"2013-03-22T10:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/opinion\/malaysian-grand-prix-day-one\/"},"modified":"2019-09-19T08:29:42","modified_gmt":"2019-09-19T07:29:42","slug":"malaysian-grand-prix-day-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/articles\/single-seaters\/f1\/malaysian-grand-prix-day-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Malaysian Grand Prix – day one"},"content":{"rendered":"
The HP sauce bottle and Marmite jar are reassuring symbols of a Williams media breakfast \u2013 a Friday custom whose traditional British overtones contrast with the oppressive warmth outside.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n The Sepang International Circuit\u2019s grandstands are thinly populated when the opening free practice session commences soon afterwards. I\u2019ve always wondered about the Malaysian GP\u2019s sustainability, although the present contract runs until 2015: a few years ago I tracked a stream of comments on a regional newspaper website, wherein cash-strapped locals discussed the best places to climb the track\u2019s perimeter fencing and thereby avoid having to pay. Had this been Monza, they\u2019d simply have used wire-cutters.<\/p>\n There is evidence of a significant tourist element among the select gathering \u2013 including a few replica football shirts (not the usual British brands that percolate, but Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town and thus worn by proper fans).<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Initially there isn\u2019t a great deal for anybody to watch. Following an installation lap or two, the track remains largely silent for more than half an hour during the opening free practice. Restricting each weekend\u2019s tyre allocation might help to contain costs, but it can also have a detrimental impact on the show \u2013 particularly at circuits that take a high toll on rubber. This one, for instance. There is a moment of levity towards the session\u2019s end, when Adrian Sutil\u2019s race engineer instructs his charge to avoid the kerbs. The German thinks he\u2019s being told not to use KERS. \u201cNo,\u201d comes back the message, \u201ckerbs, the things by the edge of the track.\u201d<\/p>\n The second session confirms that the Lotus E21 will be no less brisk here than it was in Australia \u2013 on one side of the garage at least, although Romain Grosjean continues to be plagued by a mysterious handling imbalance. Kimi R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen sets fastest time of the day, shading Sebastian Vettel by a couple of hundredths, but a short, sharp shower compromises teams\u2019 scheduled long-run plans. Such interruptions are likely to be a motif for the weekend: the forecast hints at dry mornings, with isolated afternoon downpours a daily possibility. Hardly news in this part of the world, but Sunday\u2019s 4pm start risks casting the sport into the eye of an electric storm.<\/p>\n