Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Sepang, 2011

Ferrari stronger in race but Hamilton struggles

2011 Malaysian GP analysis

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Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Sepang, 2011
Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Sepang, 2011

Lewis Hamilton started second but slumped to eighth in the Malaysian Grand Prix after his pace dropped off in the second half of the race.

But Ferrari were much closer to the leaders’ pace in race trim than they had been in qualifying.

Analyse the data from the Malaysian Grand Prix below.

Lap 1

Lap 1 position change
Lap 1 position change

Mark Webber gave a graphic illustration of the risks of starting without KERS, losing six places at the start.

The Renault drivers capitalised, especially Nick Heidfeld, who moved up four places to second.

Pit stops

Drivers' pit stops
Drivers' pit stops

As expected, the Malaysian Grand Prix saw a lot more pit stops.

Webber seemed to do a planned four-stop strategy. But Hamilton’s late extra stop was surely not planned – this was McLaren bringing him in because they were worried his tyres were about to go off in a big way and potentially lose cost him time than a 20-second pit stop.

Fernando Alonso, of course, only made a fourth stop because of front wing damage.

Once again Sauber proved the team best equipped to run fewer stops – Kamui Kobayashi was the only driver to score points using a two-stop strategy.

The Toro Rosso drivers also made two stops, though Buemi made an extra visit for a ten-second stop-and-go penalty.

Tyre compounds

Stint 1 Stint 2 Stint 3 Stint 4 Stint 5
Sebastian Vettel Soft Soft Soft Hard
Lewis Hamilton Soft Soft Hard Hard Hard
Mark Webber Soft Soft Soft Hard Hard
Jenson Button Soft Soft Soft Hard
Fernando Alonso Soft Soft Soft Hard Hard
Nick Heidfeld Soft Soft Soft Hard
Felipe Massa Soft Soft Soft Hard
Vitaly Petrov Soft Soft Hard Hard
Nico Rosberg Soft Soft Soft Hard
Kamui Kobayashi Soft Soft Hard
Michael Schumacher Soft Soft Soft Hard
Sebastien Buemi Soft Soft Hard
Jaime Alguersuari Soft Soft Hard
Paul di Resta Soft Soft Soft Hard
Rubens Barrichello Soft Soft Hard
Sergio Perez Soft Soft
Adrian Sutil Soft Soft Hard Soft
Pastor Maldonado Soft
Heikki Kovalainen Soft Soft Hard
Jarno Trulli Soft Soft
Timo Glock Soft Soft Hard
Jerome d’Ambrosio Soft Soft Hard
Vitantonio Liuzzi Soft Soft Hard Soft
Narain Karthikeyan Soft

Race progress

Hamilton ran close to Sebastian Vettel’s pace in the first two stints but it all went wrong when he put the hard tyres on.

Not only did he fall off the pace, but he couldn’t get them to last much longer either. Team mate Jenson Button fared better and said afterwards he’d increasing his front wing angle in his pit stops to improve the balance.

This chart shows how far each driver was behind the leader (in seconds) on each lap.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
Sebastian Vettel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10.261 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lewis Hamilton 2.432 3.401 3.913 4.423 4.708 4.866 5.321 5.816 7.196 8.151 8.933 13.239 26.93 14.485 6.233 6.318 6.394 5.789 5.643 5.549 4.948 4.414 3.976 6.159 22.663 14.098 3.988 3.987 3.756 4.445 4.494 5.443 6.429 7.208 7.965 8.871 13 34.735 35.266 35.212 33.009 14.586 14.855 16.014 17.558 19.688 21.454 22.325 23.894 25.438 27.221 37.085 55.177 54.697 53.724 49.957
Mark Webber 6.752 8.869 11.802 13.084 14.593 17.171 19.368 22.146 23.545 27.635 43.844 41.221 34.844 22.322 13.952 13.162 13.567 14.409 14.831 15.949 16.77 22.178 38.244 38.16 34.026 23.781 13.245 13.281 12.574 12.863 13.518 17.819 36.344 36.573 36.686 35.405 34.742 35.355 35.706 36.103 33.491 15.179 18.236 35.757 34.256 33.116 31.901 30.246 31.798 31.546 30.585 29.955 28.98 29.469 29.096 26.384
Jenson Button 4.03 5.25 6.142 6.976 8.017 8.666 9.086 9.271 9.692 10.412 11.005 11.669 11.895 17.121 11.15 9.888 12.103 11.783 11.648 11.666 11.304 10.602 12.821 29.067 25.503 16.208 5.954 5.828 5.221 5.796 5.939 6.688 7.631 8.502 9.552 10.443 11.828 15.953 33.024 31.589 27.858 8.859 8.939 8.776 8.154 8.068 7.535 6.909 6.787 6.039 5.744 6.608 6.109 6.525 6.11 3.261
Fernando Alonso 5.529 6.921 8.217 9.418 10.938 11.758 12.165 12.509 12.907 13.287 13.264 12.667 9.321 0 11.487 10.255 10.707 10.225 9.377 8.723 8.324 7.836 7.431 7.356 5.118 0 9.522 9.896 9.614 10.143 11.132 12.332 13.519 13.7 13.697 14.559 14.908 15 15.243 15.819 16.655 16.647 16.147 16.311 17.795 26.343 47.474 45.465 44.164 43.085 42.419 41.768 40.762 40.769 40.002 37.248
Nick Heidfeld 1.939 2.425 2.845 3.291 3.739 4.237 4.709 5.289 6.378 7.472 8.385 9.436 10.786 19.249 12.234 11.983 12.724 13.13 13.512 13.65 13.334 16.918 17.057 17.758 16.701 11.805 20.406 20.815 20.84 21.356 21.516 22.392 23.835 24.554 25.212 25.231 25.19 25.719 29.021 46.735 43.331 24.83 26.532 27.098 27.348 27.348 26.891 26.326 26.678 26.619 27.567 28.392 27.961 28.771 28.489 25.075
Felipe Massa 5.2 6.392 7.591 8.756 9.671 10.379 10.801 10.921 11.387 11.59 11.575 12.133 12.514 26.126 20.127 18.865 18.469 18.165 17.986 17.769 17.464 17.755 18.07 18.493 17.204 9.92 4.795 23.58 23.001 23.204 23.537 24.226 25.257 26.085 26.841 27.228 27.732 30.603 49.335 48.865 45.385 26.588 27.187 28.713 28.883 30.143 30.244 29.803 31.385 34.381 35.042 36.505 37.707 38.597 38.883 36.958
Vitaly Petrov 4.824 5.815 7.057 8.425 12.751 14.518 15.497 16.164 16.52 17.298 17.148 16.751 13.791 3.443 2.236 21.445 21.464 21.387 21.379 21.396 22.07 22.687 22.951 23.581 22.239 16.911 12.745 32.432 32.433 32.968 33.894 36.341 38.554 39.589 40.216 40.674 40.549 40.976 41.661 42.365 41.011 24.266 27.068 34.161 57.887 57.559 56.866 56.422 55.458 54.957 54.045 53.591
Nico Rosberg 8.828 12.064 14.293 16.43 18.488 20.932 22.995 25.328 27.842 30.012 31.745 33.254 32.612 26.87 29.174 50.622 52.157 52.2 52.575 52.942 53.196 53.516 54.034 54.728 53.461 46.266 40.423 44.003 50.629 70.966 72.014 75.093 77.324 79.068 80.771 82.894 85.833 90.035 94.349 102.127 118.293 99.153 98.825 99.03 98.571 100.455 100.419 99.967 103.51 105.691 105.913 106.188 107.381 110.721 111.481
Kamui Kobayashi 7.204 9.617 11.296 12.592 13.948 17.481 19.064 21.479 22.436 23.536 23.978 24.119 20.681 9.836 4.714 7.681 15.834 35.454 35.309 35.369 35.415 36.141 37.529 39.346 38.192 31.525 24.084 26.487 28.247 30.261 32.86 36.109 40.308 43.584 47.317 54.389 74.175 74.369 73.69 73.201 70.48 53.738 53.736 54.407 55.525 56.284 56.406 58.582 59.498 60.211 61.46 62.967 64.525 66.085 67.229 66.439
Michael Schumacher 5.905 8.08 10.08 11.608 13.118 15.878 17.694 19.455 20.848 22.327 23.307 23.821 22.882 19.131 30.778 30.53 32.108 32.754 33.609 34.428 34.818 35.634 36.531 37.948 37.628 30.619 23.747 31.779 51.843 54.82 56.257 57.861 59.634 61.374 62.651 63.593 65.081 66.236 67.242 68.373 66.921 57.858 76.725 77.772 78.026 78.881 79.5 79.432 80.06 80.786 81.372 82.731 83.992 85.522 86.188 84.896
Sebastien Buemi 8.14 10.833 13.238 15.279 17.051 18.966 21.352 23.367 24.721 25.784 26.184 25.986 23.186 15.322 15.74 36.437 36.884 37.147 37.698 41.807 67.906 68.237 68.881 69.976 69.022 61.563 53.758 56.666 60.426 64.467 69.594 80.428 106.098 106.762 107.149 107.104 107.124 107.206 107.701 107.8 105.347 86.938 87.889 89.716 90.865 92.907 95.447 97.366 100.446 106.709 112.291 117.391 123.024 130.062 139.432
Jaime Alguersuari 7.711 10.267 12.822 14.547 16.453 18.66 20.634 24.674 26.622 28.526 30.069 30.93 29.975 22.139 21.029 31.998 53.085 53.089 54.067 54.727 55.402 55.916 56.908 57.733 56.971 50.278 43.112 46.665 50.521 56.403 62.055 72.285 93.88 97.201 99.099 100.458 101.404 104.344 105.968 109.181 108.252 90.796 92.532 94.967 97.225 100.122 105.593 108.764 113.878 117.976 122.185 127.067 133.763 140.005 148.819
Paul di Resta 8.946 12.603 15.283 17.401 19.59 21.851 23.883 26.242 28.528 30.787 36.129 52.23 46.316 32.933 25.745 26.682 27.617 28.362 29.18 29.903 30.859 31.898 33.246 38.048 54.873 46.661 38.21 39.856 41.062 42.599 44.615 47.285 50.455 53.511 56.173 60.347 66.825 89.017 89.545 89.704 87.291 69.09 70.64 72.711 73.938 75.707 77.141 77.278 78.25 79.179 80.253 82.154 83.425 87.843 90.47 91.563
Rubens Barrichello 9.251 14.742 82.229 113.077 117.648 120.728 122.27 123.818 125.136 125.707 126.965 126.938 123.129 113.528 108.797 112.49 124.522 146.915 149.171 151.472 153.905 176.393
Sergio Perez 10.451 14.65 17.858 19.287 20.689 23.009 24.995 27.456 29.564 31.805 33.454 33.979 32.68 23.431 21.406 27.508 37.494 57.106 56.954 56.913 56.801 56.95 57.594
Adrian Sutil 9.862 14.12 24.853 53.872 54.019 54.139 54.334 54.761 54.994 55.063 54.859 54.57 50.098 37.663 34.219 38.166 57.522 58.482 59.38 60.264 61.116 62.121 63.193 64.35 63.615 56.465 48.904 51.917 55.089 59.954 64.574 72.951 94.154 95.124 96.32 97.235 98.028 98.731 99.519 100.487 98.491 80.585 81.824 83.477 84.567 86.17 87.414 88.086 89.432 91.035 92.781 94.39 96.329 99.462 101.419 101.379
Pastor Maldonado 10.642 14.965 19.418 21.085 22.396 26.457 29.741 45.702
Heikki Kovalainen 11.04 15.642 20.113 22.32 24.585 27.39 30.081 32.624 34.668 36.643 38.343 39.031 37.017 28.26 29.949 57.15 60.385 63.027 65.98 68.444 70.948 73.331 75.398 78.113 77.186 70.181 62.638 66.106 69.236 73.512 77.013 81.462 85.9 94.179 117.376 121.739 124.183 126.052 127.682 129.589 128.705 113.714 115.081 117.495 119.334 123.776 126.397 128.073 131.209 134.622 137.061 141.994 145.443 147.565 149.234
Jarno Trulli 11.968 17.225 21.859 24.374 26.149 28.718 31.9 34.524 36.849 39.221 41.378 43.268 45.501 74.344 71.082 73.978 77.099 79.783 82.338 84.672 87.466 89.612 91.445 93.675 93.677 87.807 81.232 85.192 88.665 93.264 102.194
Timo Glock 11.62 17.338 22.572 26.4 29.966 33.707 37.523 41.352 44.455 47.865 50.469 51.968 51.812 42.835 39.55 43.324 51.566 76.04 79.555 83.506 87.127 91.909 95.675 100.026 101.332 96.173 90.048 93.855 97.758 103.064 110.807 117.519 122.954 132.139 157.234 160.158 163.064 165.974 169.306 174.971 177.257 162.221 165.886 170.597 174.763 180.461 185.802 189.742 196.003 199.348 204.704 210.737 215.565 220.933
Jerome dAmbrosio 12.545 18.015 23.041 26.896 31.036 35.044 38.901 42.924 46.899 50.366 54.199 57.705 56.622 48.071 46.024 51.464 62.342 90.085 92.696 95.373 97.864 100.93 105.059 108.531 109.675 104.036 97.993 103.233 108.707 114.255 119.877 126.165 133.136 140.071 151.037 175.468 179.74 182.52 185.187 187.894 187.761 172.059
Vitantonio Liuzzi 13.049 19.276 24.904 30.03 34.756 39.949 44.611 49.542 54.195 60.183 64.388 68.005 67.836 61.191 59.937 66.427 79.341 111.299 120.061 126.241 130.335 134.345 139.807 147.404 148.854 143.815 138.326 143.399 148.636 153.803 158.641 165.113 171.469 177.1 182.761 190.849 197.746 214.867 247.101 255.32 260.35 245.511 250.696 272.986 318.37 333.287
Narain Karthikeyan 13.662 20.466 26.817 32.864 37.871 43.102 48.244 53.671 59.897 67.218 72.395 77.435 79.434 76.96

Lap chart

This chart shows the drivers’ positions on each lap.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
Sebastian Vettel 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Lewis Hamilton 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 6 10 5 4 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 6 5 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 6 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 6 7 7 7 7
Mark Webber 3 9 9 10 10 10 9 10 10 10 11 17 15 14 11 8 7 6 6 6 6 6 7 11 10 8 8 7 5 5 5 5 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 5 5 4 5 8 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 4
Jenson Button 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 7 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 7 7 6 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Fernando Alonso 5 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 2 1 6 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 1 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 5 4 4 4 4 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6
Nick Heidfeld 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 9 7 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 3 4 8 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 4 3 7 7 7 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3
Felipe Massa 7 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 13 10 8 8 7 7 7 7 6 6 5 4 2 3 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 5 8 8 8 8 8 6 6 6 5 5 5 6 6 5 5 5 5 5
Vitaly Petrov 8 5 5 5 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 2 2 9 9 8 8 8 8 8 7 6 5 7 6 10 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 6 6 6 7 7 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 8
Nico Rosberg 9 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 12 14 14 17 15 13 13 13 12 12 12 12 11 11 12 12 12 15 15 14 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 13 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 14 13 13 13 12 12 12
Kamui Kobayashi 10 10 10 9 9 9 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 4 3 3 7 11 11 11 11 11 10 11 10 10 10 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 11 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8
Michael Schumacher 11 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 16 12 11 10 10 10 10 10 9 8 9 9 9 9 13 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 9 9 9 9 9 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 9 9 9
Sebastien Buemi 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 10 10 10 9 6 9 14 12 12 12 12 16 16 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 15 16 16 15 15 15 15 15 14 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 14 14 14 13 13 13
Jaime Alguersuari 13 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 11 11 11 10 11 13 16 14 14 14 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 11 12 12 12 14 15 14 14 14 14 14 15 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 14
Paul di Resta 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 18 17 16 13 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 8 9 12 12 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 10 10 10
Rubens Barrichello 15 15 17 24 24 24 24 24 24 23 23 23 23 23 23 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22
Sergio Perez 16 17 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 13 13 13 12 12 11 13 15 15 15 14 14 14
Adrian Sutil 17 16 15 21 23 23 23 23 23 21 20 20 19 18 17 17 15 17 16 16 16 15 15 15 14 14 14 14 14 14 13 13 13 15 14 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 11
Pastor Maldonado 18 18 18 16 16 16 16 16 20
Heikki Kovalainen 19 19 19 17 17 17 17 17 16 16 16 15 14 15 15 15 19 18 17 17 17 17 17 17 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 13 13 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 15 15
Jarno Trulli 20 21 20 18 18 18 18 18 17 17 17 16 16 16 21 21 21 20 19 19 19 19 18 18 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17
Timo Glock 21 20 21 19 19 19 19 19 18 18 18 18 17 19 18 18 16 14 18 18 18 18 19 19 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 17 17 18 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 16 16
Jerome dAmbrosio 22 22 22 20 20 20 20 20 19 19 19 19 20 20 19 19 18 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 18 18 18 17 18 18 18 18 18 18 18
Vitantonio Liuzzi 23 23 23 22 21 21 21 21 21 20 21 21 21 21 20 20 20 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 18 18 18 18
Narain Karthikeyan 24 24 24 23 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22

Fastest laps

Webber set the fastest lap of the race shortly after his last pit stop.

Rank Driver Car Fastest lap Gap On lap
1 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1’40.571 46
2 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1’40.717 0.146 49
3 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1’41.054 0.483 49
4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1’41.264 0.693 50
5 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1’41.512 0.941 54
6 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1’41.539 0.968 33
7 Nick Heidfeld Renault 1’41.547 0.976 47
8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1’41.778 1.207 45
9 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1’41.999 1.428 41
10 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1’42.095 1.524 39
11 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1’42.491 1.920 45
12 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1’42.659 2.088 36
13 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1’42.883 2.312 48
14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1’42.973 2.402 34
15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1’43.298 2.727 19
16 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1’43.677 3.106 43
17 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1’43.744 3.173 37
18 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1’45.280 4.709 23
19 Jerome d’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1’45.346 4.775 41
20 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1’45.357 4.786 50
21 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1’45.516 4.945 10
22 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1’45.689 5.118 5
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1’46.521 5.950 42
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1’49.385 8.814 5

All lap times

A poor pit stop for Felipe Massa allowed Alonso to get ahead of him. Alonso then drove a surprisingly fast second stint, cutting the gap to leader Vettel.

Alonso said afterwards that his collision with Hamilton cost him a podium and on the strength of this it looks like he was right.

This chart shows all the drivers’ lap times.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
Sebastian Vettel 109.614 104.539 104.209 104.369 104.378 104.265 104.541 104.568 104.782 104.945 105.798 106.893 110.561 125.241 105.211 105.36 104.026 103.993 103.45 103.393 103.52 103.5 103.447 103.435 105.734 122.148 102.582 102.259 102.688 102.043 102.284 101.668 101.539 102.003 102.387 102.704 102.798 102.901 102.774 102.823 105.479 121.36 102.31 101.876 102.237 101.711 102.004 102.746 102.018 102.012 102.072 101.858 102.38 101.992 102.861 105.543
Lewis Hamilton 112.046 105.508 104.721 104.879 104.663 104.423 104.996 105.063 106.162 105.9 106.58 111.199 124.252 105.676 104.079 105.445 104.102 103.388 103.304 103.299 102.919 102.966 103.009 105.618 122.238 103.322 102.733 102.258 102.457 102.732 102.333 102.617 102.525 102.782 103.144 103.61 106.927 124.636 103.305 102.769 103.276 102.937 102.579 103.035 103.781 103.841 103.77 103.617 103.587 103.556 103.855 111.722 120.472 101.512 101.888 101.776
Mark Webber 116.366 106.656 107.142 105.651 105.887 106.843 106.738 107.346 106.181 109.035 122.007 104.27 104.184 105.599 103.961 104.57 104.431 104.835 103.872 104.511 104.341 108.908 119.513 103.351 101.6 101.642 102.307 102.295 101.981 102.332 102.939 105.969 120.064 102.232 102.5 101.423 102.135 103.514 103.125 103.22 102.867 103.048 105.367 119.397 100.736 100.571 100.789 101.091 103.57 101.76 101.111 101.228 101.405 102.481 102.488 102.831
Jenson Button 113.644 105.759 105.101 105.203 105.419 104.914 104.961 104.753 105.203 105.665 106.391 107.557 110.787 123.347 106.36 104.098 106.241 103.673 103.315 103.411 103.158 102.798 105.666 119.681 102.17 102.592 102.589 102.133 102.081 102.618 102.427 102.417 102.482 102.874 103.437 103.595 104.183 107.026 119.845 101.388 101.748 102.361 102.39 101.713 101.615 101.625 101.471 102.12 101.896 101.264 101.777 102.722 101.881 102.408 102.446 102.694
Fernando Alonso 115.143 105.931 105.505 105.57 105.898 105.085 104.948 104.912 105.18 105.325 105.775 106.296 107.215 108.8 123.818 104.128 104.478 103.511 102.602 102.739 103.121 103.012 103.042 103.36 103.496 106.769 122.365 102.633 102.406 102.572 103.273 102.868 102.726 102.184 102.384 103.566 103.147 102.993 103.017 103.399 106.315 121.352 101.81 102.04 103.721 110.259 123.135 100.737 100.717 100.933 101.406 101.207 101.374 101.999 102.094 102.789
Nick Heidfeld 111.553 105.025 104.629 104.815 104.826 104.763 105.013 105.148 105.871 106.039 106.711 107.944 111.911 126.584 105.316 105.109 104.767 104.399 103.832 103.531 103.204 107.084 103.586 104.136 104.677 106.991 121.444 102.668 102.713 102.559 102.444 102.544 102.982 102.722 103.045 102.723 102.757 103.43 106.076 120.537 102.075 102.859 104.012 102.442 102.487 101.711 101.547 102.181 102.37 101.953 103.02 102.683 101.949 102.802 102.579 102.129
Felipe Massa 114.814 105.731 105.408 105.534 105.293 104.973 104.963 104.688 105.248 105.148 105.783 107.451 110.942 131.733 106.332 104.098 103.63 103.689 103.271 103.176 103.215 103.791 103.762 103.858 104.445 104.603 107.718 121.044 102.109 102.246 102.617 102.357 102.57 102.831 103.143 103.091 103.302 105.772 121.506 102.353 101.999 102.563 102.909 103.402 102.407 102.971 102.105 102.305 103.6 105.008 102.733 103.321 103.582 102.882 103.147 103.618
Vitaly Petrov 114.438 105.53 105.451 105.737 108.704 106.032 105.52 105.235 105.138 105.723 105.648 106.496 107.601 107.773 111.124 124.569 104.045 103.916 103.442 103.41 104.194 104.117 103.711 104.065 104.392 106.559 108.677 121.946 102.689 102.578 103.21 104.115 103.752 103.038 103.014 103.162 102.673 103.328 103.459 103.527 104.125 104.615 105.112 108.969 125.963 101.383 101.311 102.302 101.054 101.511 101.16 101.404
Nico Rosberg 118.442 107.775 106.438 106.506 106.436 106.709 106.604 106.901 107.296 107.115 107.531 108.402 109.919 112.379 114.635 126.808 105.561 104.036 103.825 103.76 103.774 103.82 103.965 104.129 104.467 104.692 107 105.839 109.314 122.38 103.332 104.747 103.77 103.747 104.09 104.827 105.737 107.103 107.088 110.601 121.645 102.22 101.982 102.081 101.778 103.595 101.968 102.294 105.561 104.193 102.294 102.133 103.573 105.332 103.621
Kamui Kobayashi 116.818 106.952 105.888 105.665 105.734 107.798 106.124 106.983 105.739 106.045 106.24 107.034 107.123 107.276 107.209 108.327 112.179 123.613 103.305 103.453 103.566 104.226 104.835 105.252 104.58 105.22 105.402 104.662 104.448 104.057 104.883 104.917 105.738 105.279 106.12 109.776 122.584 103.095 102.095 102.334 102.758 104.618 102.308 102.547 103.355 102.47 102.126 104.922 102.934 102.725 103.321 103.365 103.938 103.552 104.005 104.753
Michael Schumacher 115.519 106.714 106.209 105.897 105.888 107.025 106.357 106.329 106.175 106.424 106.778 107.407 109.622 114.37 123.978 105.112 105.604 104.639 104.305 104.212 103.91 104.316 104.344 104.852 105.414 104.878 105.971 110.291 122.752 105.02 103.721 103.272 103.312 103.743 103.664 103.646 104.286 104.056 103.78 103.954 104.027 112.297 121.177 102.923 102.491 102.566 102.623 102.678 102.646 102.738 102.658 103.217 103.641 103.522 103.527 104.251
Sebastien Buemi 117.754 107.232 106.614 106.41 106.15 106.18 106.927 106.583 106.136 106.008 106.198 106.695 107.761 110.257 112.749 126.057 104.473 104.256 104.001 107.502 129.619 103.831 104.091 104.53 104.78 104.428 105.038 105.167 106.448 106.084 107.411 112.502 127.209 102.667 102.774 102.659 102.818 102.983 103.269 102.922 103.026 102.951 103.261 103.703 103.386 103.753 104.544 104.665 105.098 108.275 107.654 106.958 108.013 109.03 112.231
Jaime Alguersuari 117.325 107.095 106.764 106.094 106.284 106.472 106.515 108.608 106.73 106.849 107.341 107.754 109.606 110.285 111.221 116.329 125.113 103.997 104.428 104.053 104.195 104.014 104.439 104.26 104.972 105.194 105.677 105.812 106.544 107.925 107.936 111.898 123.134 105.324 104.285 104.063 103.744 105.841 104.398 106.036 104.55 103.904 104.046 104.311 104.495 104.608 107.475 105.917 107.132 106.11 106.281 106.74 109.076 108.234 111.675
Paul di Resta 118.56 108.196 106.889 106.487 106.567 106.526 106.573 106.927 107.068 107.204 111.14 122.994 104.647 104.738 105.143 106.297 104.961 104.738 104.268 104.116 104.476 104.539 104.795 108.237 122.559 103.675 104.392 103.905 103.894 103.58 104.3 104.338 104.709 105.059 105.049 106.878 109.276 125.093 103.302 102.982 103.066 103.159 103.86 103.947 103.464 103.48 103.438 102.883 102.99 102.941 103.146 103.759 103.651 106.41 105.488 106.636
Rubens Barrichello 118.865 110.03 171.696 135.217 108.949 107.345 106.083 106.116 106.1 105.516 107.056 106.866 106.752 108.52 107.6 109.053 116.058 126.386 105.706 105.694 105.953 125.988
Sergio Perez 120.065 108.738 107.417 105.798 105.78 106.585 106.527 107.029 106.89 107.186 107.447 107.418 109.262 108.872 110.306 111.462 114.012 123.605 103.298 103.352 103.408 103.649 104.091
Adrian Sutil 119.476 108.797 114.942 133.388 104.525 104.385 104.736 104.995 105.015 105.014 105.594 106.604 106.089 105.686 108.887 109.307 123.382 104.953 104.348 104.277 104.372 104.505 104.519 104.592 104.999 104.737 105.282 105.272 105.86 106.908 106.904 110.045 122.742 102.973 103.583 103.619 103.591 103.604 103.562 103.791 103.483 103.454 103.549 103.529 103.327 103.314 103.248 103.418 103.364 103.615 103.818 103.467 104.319 105.125 104.818 105.503
Pastor Maldonado 120.256 108.862 108.662 106.036 105.689 108.326 107.825 120.529
Heikki Kovalainen 120.654 109.141 108.68 106.576 106.643 107.07 107.232 107.111 106.826 106.92 107.498 107.581 108.547 109.364 114.02 132.561 107.261 106.635 106.403 105.857 106.024 105.883 105.514 106.15 104.807 104.882 105.3 105.727 105.818 106.319 105.785 106.117 105.977 110.282 125.584 107.067 105.242 104.77 104.404 104.73 104.595 106.369 103.677 104.29 104.076 106.153 104.625 104.422 105.154 105.425 104.511 106.791 105.829 104.114 104.53
Jarno Trulli 121.582 109.796 108.843 106.884 106.153 106.834 107.723 107.192 107.107 107.317 107.955 108.783 112.794 146.964 109.069 108.256 107.147 106.677 106.005 105.727 106.314 105.646 105.28 105.665 105.736 106.017 106.268 106.219 106.161 106.642 111.214
Timo Glock 121.234 110.257 109.443 108.197 107.944 108.006 108.357 108.397 107.885 108.355 108.402 108.392 110.405 109.144 109.046 109.134 112.268 128.467 106.965 107.344 107.141 108.282 107.213 107.786 107.04 106.728 106.718 106.066 106.591 107.349 110.027 108.38 106.974 111.188 127.482 105.628 105.704 105.811 106.106 108.488 107.765 106.324 105.975 106.587 106.403 107.409 107.345 106.686 108.279 105.357 107.428 107.891 107.208 107.36
Jerome dAmbrosio 122.159 110.009 109.235 108.224 108.518 108.273 108.398 108.591 108.757 108.412 109.631 110.399 109.478 109.57 110.284 110.8 114.904 131.736 106.061 106.07 106.011 106.566 107.576 106.907 106.878 106.248 106.8 107.499 108.162 107.591 107.906 107.956 108.51 108.938 113.353 127.135 107.07 105.681 105.441 105.53 105.346 105.658
Vitantonio Liuzzi 122.663 110.766 109.837 109.495 109.104 109.458 109.203 109.499 109.435 110.933 110.003 110.51 110.392 111.476 111.077 111.85 116.94 135.951 112.212 109.573 107.614 107.51 108.909 111.032 107.184 106.848 107.354 107.332 107.925 107.21 107.122 108.14 107.895 107.634 108.048 110.792 109.695 120.022 135.008 111.042 110.509 106.521 107.495 124.166 147.621 116.628
Narain Karthikeyan 123.276 111.343 110.56 110.416 109.385 109.496 109.683 109.995 111.008 112.266 110.975 111.933 112.56 115.647

2011 Malaysian Grand Prix


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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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58 comments on “Ferrari stronger in race but Hamilton struggles”

  1. Lewis did 3 stints in a row on the hard tyres? Of course the 3 laps at the end didn’t count much but still, and Jenson went Soft 3 times and only hard once.

    Wow.

    1. I think the hards were all he had left

      1. exactly, he ruined some softs on saturday.

    2. Hamilton’s lap times when he went into the pits are terrible compared to his teammate – in the first pitstop he did a 124.25 to Button’s 123.35. Although the times improved by the next stop when he did a 122.24, Button still managed a better lap time of 119.68 – almost 3 seconds better than Hamilton. However the third stop was simply put a disaster. He could only managed a 124.64 against Button’s 119.84 – that is 5 seconds slower!

      From these times, my theory is that so long as Jenson was within a couple of seconds to Lewis, McLaren always knew he was going to take 2nd away from the younger former WDC. They probably knew that he was on a strategy that could not deliver 2nd place anyway or knew something was wrong with how the car was handling the hard tyres from the practise sessions – at least in his hands.

      I will definitely be watching his lap times very closely in China.

    3. So Jenson went soft 3 times and hard just the once, poor Jessica!!

  2. Buemi was right to complain about getting a stop and go instead of a drive-threw. The judges were overstrict today with the exception of Vettel.

    1. yeah u got the likes of vettel and petrov weaving about all over the show.

      and you got lewis and fernando who were racing fair, even despite the small contact. it was a fair battle. yet they get a penalty.

      madness.

      1. UKfanatic (@)
        10th April 2011, 23:32

        you are right, in melbourne no one was penalised for weaving or passing of the racing line today it was only the ones that already had their races ruined

  3. Jenson is my driver if the day,great stuff.

    Would have been Alonso had he not crashed into Hamilton. Alonso drove a frantic last stint. Ferrari race pace was good, both guys were going well, hope fully we can expect a podium next week

    1. Likewise. Compare his ‘gap to leader’ graph to Hamilton’s. Slipped back slightly at the start (looking after the tyres?) but then as Hamilton was just sliding away in the last stint he’s edging towards Vettel.

  4. Interesting to note Seb’s fastest lap, he was a whole second behind race fastest lap. Maybe he had a lot more pace in reserve than he would want us to know?

    1. More than likely yes! No need to burn an engine out.

      1. Laranja Mecanica
        10th April 2011, 20:15

        He also said his tyres weren’t quite all right in the final laps. If Button had come a bit closer we would know.

        1. I remember Vettel complaining of a vibration too, nothing seemed to come of it though.

  5. Keith how can say Lewis had a problem with tires. I am looking at the times above and I see a different story.

    His first sting on hard tires was 11 laps: average 102.76
    Then his next stint also on hard tires, 13 laps with average 103.3
    That’s 0.6sec per lap slower AND carrying 15 laps worth of fuel LESS. Doesn’t make sense to say tires are to blame.

    IN, OUT and Alonso fight times excluded.

    Here is how I see the situation:

    Lap 34/35 (Both above 103sec wheres all other laps are in mid 102) something on his car breaks and he loses a bit of performance.

    Team thinks his tires are gone and calls him in. He then drives around showing the same performance (mid 103, only 2 laps are in high 102).

    I also don’t see why they called him in for extra stop. His was doing steady lap times. Maybe they saw pressure loss from his tyre , that I can only speculate about.

    Conclusion: Car performance dropped or Lewis didn’t feel his best.

    1. Ted Kravitz said on his Malaysia from the pit lane, that Lewis insisted on coming in and it was his call, not the team’s.

      1. That’s why drivers should not be making these decisions, they just don’t have enough information available to them.

    2. This is how I see it.
      The first set of hards is good, the 2nd set is lemon. Basically when Hamilton use his 2nd set of hards he didn’t gain any laptime.

      The last stop according to Kravitz is down to Lewis. The team asking him to stay out, but Lewis want to pit. If that is true, obviously it was not the brightest decision, since he probably only gain a maximum of 15s compared to 22s lost on pit.

      1. Laranja Mecanica
        10th April 2011, 20:23

        Too late obviously but he seemed to be doing well with the last tyre set. A problem with the thirs set seems morte likely than something broken in the car

        1. Laranja Mecanica
          10th April 2011, 20:26

          oops: third, more

        2. Look again on the chart:

          Button 0.3 faster with tires that have been used for 11 laps (thats almost the whole stint) and with 4 laps worth more of fuel. than Lewis with fresh tires.

          1. I thought they carry the same amount of fuel or did you notice any driver refueling?

        3. Oliver, look when the fastest times were set. Button in fact had a reason to save tires, Hamilton didn’t.

    3. Or they gave him a bad set of tyres on his 3rd stop. On his first set of hards his pace was fine he was maintaining the gap to button whilst button was on the softs and vettel pulled away to about 8 secs which is to be expected due to the performance difference in the compounds. So why the hell did they pit him so early? and to top it off they give him the worst set of hards imaginable where he was massively slow from the first lap on them. Lewis needs out of mclaren and sign with the drinks company asap. Mclaren seem to go out of there way to hinder him

  6. Also it looks like Lewis was doing better lap time on hards than Alonso on softs and Button (although he had a car in front so doesn’t really count)

  7. Most excellent analysis – and very fast done, too!

    Just wanted to say: thank you, Keith!

  8. Lewis problem came after his 3rd pitstop. He was 2 seconds off the pace in his 4th stint with the hards tires. I don’t think it had nothing to do with tire management or degradation. He never put not even one decent lap on them. Mclaren need to analyze what happened there. I have a feeling they gave him a wrong set of tires.

    1. Yet Button said he felt his car “came alive” when the hards went on. So it looks like they had each other’s perfect strategies!

  9. Great work Keith, that mainframe you have in your attic churning out endless data.
    If Mclaren wanted lewis to do fewer stops they kept calling him in early which defeats the whole purpose. There was lots of unused tyre life left on his first 2 sets of softs. Thd hards were obviousy trojans.
    I can understand why he would want to pit . The team couldn’t find any fault with the car perhaps, hence it had to be the tyres and how can we tell if his next lap wouldn’t have been 10seconds slower if he had continued on.

  10. Kobayashi did longer stints on any set of tyres. I wonder what Mclaren was smoking when they were talking of Jenson doing the longest stint on the hards. Yet Kobayashi got into several tussles on track and made some spectacular passes. Made Schumacher feel like a juvenile.

    1. Yeah, I was wondering about that when they said that during the race. I was sure Kobayashi had done a longer stint on the tyres he’d qualified on, nevermind the hard tyres, but wasn’t sure at the time.

  11. Clear the gap of lap times and then click both McLaren drivers. I must say Jenson did a good job today, he was often in touch with Hamilton even before his 4th stint.

    Team mate Jenson Button fared better and said afterwards he’d increasing his front wing angle in his pit stops to improve the balance.

    Makes you wonder why they didn’t give the idea to Lewis, or if he did, why it didn’t work or if and why he rejected it.

    I’m really puzzled about the choice to go on hard tyres for the third stint. I can’t think of anything that would explain him having one less set of softs. I know he did a second run late in Q2, but that wouldn’t explain it; he must have used both sets from Q3 during the race, so what was wrong with the Q2 set? There’s no way McLaren would have thought they could have lasted to the end, but did they just want him to get the hards out of the way there and then, so he could do a banzai stint on the softs on the lowest fuel possible, but the hards went off quicker than expected because of balance issues? But then he went back onto hards again, so that wouldn’t explain it. There’s a key piece I can’t work out.

    I hope McLaren give us a full picture of what happened.

    1. that is exactly what I cant understand

      1. also though when looking at the graph with just hamilton and button between laps 27 and 37 their laps were pretty similar but hamilton was on hards and button on softs the quicker tyre, so hamiltons pace was fine in that stint, why no pace on next set of hards for the get go

        1. I get the impression that they asked him to save them but he wasn’t putting enough heat into the tyres so they went off anyway.

        2. Wasn’t Button stuck behind Hamilton at that particular point in time?

  12. really dont understand the lose of performance after the third stop for hamilton, his first stint on the hard tyre was fine. He was in second on hards, button and alonso was on softs and he was maintaining position.

    However after that third stop(which lost him 3 seconds to button which caused button to get the jump) button pulled away comfortably straight away, so this had nothing to do with tyre deg.

    Also I dont understand why hamilton went soft,soft,hard,hard when most others around him went soft,soft,soft,hard which is getting a stint of the quicker tyre

    As for the pen’s for both hamilton and alonso, what are the fia thinking what a joke.
    If hamiltons defending is deemed illegal than how about vettel at the start. When you see it again he goes right,left,then right to block, then left to take line, what is the difference then?
    Also yeah alonso hit hamiton but this was a racing incidentand as brundle said on a tweet, that having to pit for new wing pen enough

    1. Abolutely agree about Vettel at the start: this is not correct.

    2. “Equally, we weren’t able to give him a second stint on Option tyres today because they’d been damaged in qualifying yesterday”
      Martin Whitmarsh

      So theres the answer as to why hamilton used hards instead of softs

      1. Presumably Whitmarsh meant switching him onto options at his second stop i.e. his third stint. Thanks for that, it explains a lot.

        But that does make McLaren’s strategy even more confusing as to why they brought him in so early for his second stop, his times were very consistent.

        His car set-up must have just not liked the hard tyres.

  13. Very impressed with Jenson this weekend, he really showed that preserving his tyres does him well, and without the changes to the front wing, he may have even had the pace to challenge Vettel, but I guess we’ll nevebr know.

    Also interesting to note that Sauber once again did a stop shorter with Kobayashi only stopping twice. Which makes it more of a shame that Perez retired early on.

    1. Perez was never going to make it into the top 10. I doubt he’d have been able to make his tyres last longer than Kobayashi’s either.

  14. Jenson just did his usual casual race that was probably going to get him on the podium, he never challenged any driver hence his tyres were in a better state.
    Lewis on the other hand had several cars to contend with during each of his stints apart from probably the last, deite that he was in contention for the win until he got on the hards.

  15. Great stuff from Kobayashi with the tyres, pity he couldn’t take any more positions than he did.

    A less than 6s gap between Webber and Liuzzi’s fastest laps is very respectable, HRT should be very proud. Take note Virgin, seriously.

    I really love these new analysis pages.

  16. Mr.Zing Zang
    10th April 2011, 21:24

    Tyres were dud tyres. Mclaren were just to ashamed to admit they gave the guy the wrong set. Those tyres probably had 20 laps in them even before they went on Hamilton’s car!

    1. Haha that is a possibility. Mistakes can Happen. The final sets he sent on was much faster it seems.

      1. He was obviously going to go a bit faster on new tyres for the last few laps of the race.

        Hamilton’s first set of hard tyres were brand new.

        1. Yes and they were working fine so why did they bring him in so early??

  17. A single fastest lap does not a race win make.
    Webber set the fastest lap but Vettel finished the race in the fastest time which is what matters. And the chart will show that Vettels average lap time was much faster than Webber’s.

  18. Kers might have helped!!! – webber was the driver of the day, how unlucky to have 2 races in a row with car problems! But he showed his true grit by never giving up and still collecting 4th with a faulty car! Other drivers would have just had a sunday drive. How much would that have hurt emotionally at the start with all these cars just driving by! You’d feel like going home after lap 1! Great effort from a true competitor!

    1. Do agree I thought after the first lap that he won’t be in the points at all but great driver from him.

  19. I do wonder whether Sauber & Torro Rosso are setting up their car less aggressively which will help them to last their car longer?

  20. Hamiltons trouble with his tyres could even mean even more conservation of tyres in qualifying, which is bad news for us viewers.
    I was very disappointed to see only McLaren and Red Bull competing in the first part of Q3. We may not see any cars out in the first 5 minutes next time!

    1. yep exactly, may see them just do one run so have a set of softs for the race

  21. Observations:
    1) Hamilton has been off since about 3/4 the way through last year.
    2) Alonso wrings more out of his car than any other driver, then screws up.
    3) Kobayashi single-handedly provides about 75 percent of the excitement in F1.
    4) The movable wing has put an ended to the rolling roadblock (when it works, as shown by Alonso’s problem).

  22. you always have nice charts and graphs, but the analysis is about 10/15 lines. kinda weak. i think if you put more effort into a proper race analysis, the site would be even better

    1. There are also individual analyses for each of the teams, the first of which has just gone up.

  23. Jenson button has been going on about the 3,2 sec gap between him and Vettel at the end. the gap for 6.1s till the last corner when Vetttel slwed down swerving the car to pass the finish line.

    In the last stint Button only made up 2 secs also becaus vettel was just controlling the pace in the closing stages. don’t know why him and mclaren are making such a big deal of it.

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