PF1's Questions for Maylasia

Tuesday 30th March 2010 - PlanetF1.com
Questions To Be Asked In Malaysia

Will it be hot on and off the track?...

How Will Whitmarsh Deal With Hamilton?
Martin Whitmarsh's handling of an angry Lewis Hamilton will provide an interesting insight into his style of management and how it differs to that of his predecessor, Ron Dennis.

It was noticeable on Sunday night in Melbourne that Whitmarsh refused to offer the sort of pacifying apology to Hamilton that would, based on his past history, have been instantly forthcoming from Dennis. Given that McLaren's podium-preventing error was made with the best of intentions, Whitmarsh had no obligation to apologise, publicly or otherwise. But a principal remit of a team principal is facilitating the maximum performance from his drivers, so it will be fascinating to learn how Whitmarsh goes about dealing with Hamilton's discontent. Does he attempt to mollify his driver? Does he leave him to stew in the hope that Hamilton will effectively harness his rage on the track? Or does he remind Hamilton who is the boss and tell him to get on with it?

The psychology of the situation is further complicated by Whitmarsh describing Hamilton as mentally fragile in Melbourne and then publicly contradicting Hamilton's insistence that his tyres were "in great condition" by announcing they were "graining". True or not, Hamilton is unlikely to have appreciated that comment. It hardly requires a fragile state of mind to interpret Whitmarsh's implication that he had been unable to nurse his tyres with the same skill as his team-mate as a significant sleight on his driving ability.

Will Hamilton Make His Own Calls?
If there was a criticism to be made of Hamilton's outstanding on-track performance on Sunday then it was that, in contrast to the self-made decision of his team-mate to ditch his intermediates after six laps, he acquiesced to the call of the McLaren pitwall without a murmur of enquiry, let alone consultation.

Two immediate qualifications of mitigation should be stated at this juncture: 1) Button's call was motivated more by necessity than actual strategy because his inters had stopped working and he was losing around two seconds a lap to the rest of the field. 2) Button has seven years of additional F1 experience compared to Hamilton and the younger man's "trust" in his engineers has never been an issue in the past three years when they have, by and large, made the right calls on his behalf.

But that 'trust' in their wisdom must have been severely shaken by their near-incomprehensible misjudgement on Sunday and the consequential wreckage to what Hamilton termed the "drive of my life". Moreover, it's not uncommon for drivers to be involved in strategy calls, even when a race is being run. One reflection Hamilton ought to take from Melbourne is that his non-participation is a weakness in his armoury that he should vocally seek to challenge.

Will Anyone Make Two Stops?
Not that there is likely to be much of a debate about strategy in Malaysia. The message received loud and clear from Australia was that, with track position now king, two-stopping is a suicide mission. Which is why Button, Kubica, Massa and Alonso all finished in the top four and Hamilton, Webber and Rosberg did not.

A possible exception to the new golden rule of F1 is if a team has two drivers out in front and they wish to cover both strategies - which seems to be the explanation given to Hamilton by his McLaren team for why they made him stop twice. But if the numbers don't add up, they don't add up. Which is precisely why Ferrari kept both of their drivers on an identical one-stop strategy in Australia - and why they both then finished ahead of the only two-stopping McLaren.

Will It Rain?
Following last year's wash-out and a chorus of local meteorologists revealing it always rains in the late-afternoon of an April day in Malaysia, this year's race has been moved back for a local start-time of 4pm. Will the rescheduling keep F1's favourite ingredient away? Judging by the forecasts, probably not - and although Sepang's long, wide straights are conducive to overtaking, we're probably speaking for the majority when we state we're willing to wait at least a couple more weeks to learn whether overtaking is possible in 2010 even when it is dry.

Will The Red Bulls Be Reliable?
It's anticipated that Sepang will suit the Red Bulls and maybe Ferrari, but not McLaren. We'll see. But whatever the actual pecking order in terms of speed, what Red Bull need above all else is a problem-free weekend. They'd probably happily sacrifice a tenth or two in return for reliability and two sets of points-finishes. Even though the new points system makes the discrepancy appear far larger than it actually is, their number one goal in Malaysia must be to narrow their current 50-point deficit to those hitherto bullet-proof Ferraris.

Will Kubica Still Be To The Fore?
There are of course a multitude of similar performance-related questions to be asked for Malaysia: Will Ferrari prove they are the team to beat? Will the Red Bulls continue to dominate qualifying? Will McLaren find some one-lap pace? Will Schumacher find his 2010 feet?

A near-identical list of questions could have been asked before Australia and very well might be asked again before China. But one fresh enquiry being made after Melbourne is whether, to quote one independently-minded review, 'another potential winner must be added to the list'?

Robert Kubica was undoubtedly impressive in Melbourne. Very impressive. But is he really a potential race winner? The suspicion remains that Renault's podium finish was principally the result of circumstances and Kubica's status as an Albert Park specialist. Yet the intriguing postscript to Renault's race was their confidence-induced vow to push harder in races having realised that tyre degradation is the red herring of 2010. In view of that promise, and the talk of Renault possibly winning this season, Malaysia has thus became a massive weekend for the team and one in which the onus is on them to prove that they are closer to being the real deal than a flash in the Australian pan.

Will The Stewards Get Tough In Qualifying?
'Traffic' in qualifying is an issue that seems to be boiling to the surface, especially now that an additional six cars have been added to the field and it has become clear that a strong starting position is all-important in these overtaking-light days. Michael Schumacher's 'chat' with Fernando Alonso on Saturday was followed by a trip to Charlie Whiting to voice his disquiet. Expect the stewards to be extra vigilant this weekend - with the strong possibility that a driver or two will be made an example of.

What Sort Of Change Will Be On The Agenda?
According to reports, the answer is the 2011 kind. Instead of pushing through reform for this year, Australia's entertainment has apparently persuaded team bosses to take a seat on the 'wait-and-see' fence for Friday's FOTA meeting.

Though Stefano Domenicali has been sat there since Bahrain - and his argument that "All the FOTA teams need to address the real issue, which is having cars perform less efficiently in the wake" is irrefutable - it is a surprise to read that Martin Whitmarsh will be sharing the fence with his Ferrari counterpart on the basis that "I don't think [Australia] was a one-off."

This, after all, is the same Martin Whitmarsh who was quoted as saying on Friday that "I am personally worried by the prospect of the racing at the moment but I respect others who say 'Hang on, there has only been one race'. Hopefully we have a stunning race this weekend. If, we do, then the likelihood of pushing through changes is reduced. But if we have a less than stunning race then the likelihood of pushing through changes is enhanced. Personally I want a stunning race and changes."

The McLaren boss then continued by warning that unless change was pushed through in Malaysia then it was unlikely to occur later in the season once the leading positions in the standings became entrenched: "The problem is that after one race, the frame of mind is that if you feel you are competitive, you start thinking you can win the championship and say, 'I don't want any changes'."

Less than a week later, can it really be true that, after just one successfully competitive race, Whitmarsh has already changed his tune on change?

Pete Gill