Following one of the most exciting season-opening races in years in Australia two weeks ago, Formula One moves to Malaysia, where the sport will try to put on another good show after a promising start to the year. Atlas F1's Craig Scarborough previews the event and all the teams that will take place in the second Grand Prix of the 2003 season

"Seconds out, round two" is the order heard from the FIA given to the teams in preparation for the race in Malaysia. Coming along in the usual two-week intervals, Formula One now visits the superb Sepang track in the second of the three flyaway opening races. Sepang has become a favourite among the teams, drivers, media and fans alike; purpose built for the 1999 season, new standards were set in facilities and track layout.

Teams and the media alike are still evaluating the effect of the rule changes and the teams' comparative competitiveness from Australia. As the opening race, Melbourne never provides an accurate reflection of the season ahead, and neither does Malaysia, which is a weekend dominated by heat, humidity and monsoons on a track with every type of corner laid around the new smooth tarmac.

A wet start to the Melbourne race did not give an accurate indication of who has the best car so far, although it did highlight the limitations placed on the teams, which need their cars race ready by lunch time on Saturday, well over twenty fours hours before the race, during which track and weather conditions can change extensively. Melbourne did show us who was trying hard to get quick qualifying laps in and who had a smooth drive in the race; many drivers were overdriving, and in the race few drivers enjoyed as clean and error free a race as eventual winner David Coulthard. The resulting order flattered some teams and showed up others; Malaysia will possibly see a different order, and Brazil may well see anther order in a few weeks time, before the European season brings some logic to the rankings.

Some teams were able to test spare or old chassis in two tests in Europe in between the races; most of the race drivers remained in the Asian region and let the test drivers carry out the work. All of the drivers that remained were busy in fitness preparation for the 36 degree centigrade conditions expected during traditionally the hottest race of the year.

Meanwhile the race teams rebuilt the cars from Melbourne and set them up for Sepang; along the way understanding the reasons for any reliability issues detected in Australia, such as the gearbox malfunction that made Raikkonen's car change up a gear and break the pitlane speed limit, the drive shaft failures at Jaguar, and more gearbox maladies at Jordan. This level of preparation is tough without the option of a return to the resources of the factory, but is critical for one of the most demanding tracks of the year; remember last year we actually saw a Ferrari have a race engine blow up (admittedly for Rubens), and the track claims many victims.

As recent events have shown, some drivers are sensitive to what goes on in the outside the world of Formula One. The possibility of military action in the Middle East may well see adverse reactions for some drivers, who feel sport shouldn't be a fun event during difficult times. The Schumacher brothers were open about their feelings at Monza after September 11th, and could also be expected to be distracted this weekend.

Set-Up and Layout

Although considered a technical track, Sepang lacks any big name corners or any one type of dominant corner, having a mix of straights, fast and slow corners. The challenge is to set the car up with a compromise to meet the majority of the track demands to complete a quick lap time. The track is smooth and grippy, freeing the chassis to run very low and stiff, and the tyre manufacturers tend to go for a soft yet durable tyre to last the preferred one stop race strategy.

This is the historic set up and strategy; with the new Parc Ferme rules the cars will need to qualify with a lot of fuel on board, and this will lead the teams to run more wing and even firmer suspension in order to maintain the cars attitude on the track, with the extra weight of fuel rolling the car around on its springs. With this extra set up the tyres will be ruined before the end of the qualifying lap and later be wrecked in the race.

Ferrari proved in Melbourne that choosing the right wing level is key for allowing overtaking in the race. A team may run more wing in the expectation of a clear run, but with the need for extra straight line speed to re-take lost positions, Sepang's long straights will need lower wing level for overtaking in the race. This single bit of set up will as pivotal in race/qualifying pace as fuel level.

Fuel and tyre strategy will be more mixed than is usual for Malaysia. Teams have a broader choice of compounds and constructions to explore to find the tyre that provides grip and durability, and some teams may find that a combination is more suited to a two-stop strategy. With track temperatures of over 47 degrees centigrade the tyres will have a lot to cope with; last year Michelin were expected to deliver the better tyre, and did. A season of development now sees Bridgestone just as likely to have a tyre to cope with hotter track temperatures. This year it may be down to the teams individual tyre choice matching the chassis which is the decisive factor, rather than the tyre manufacturers range as a whole.

With hot weather expected throughout the weekend the cars will be decked out with plenty of extra cooling outlets. Many teams brought new outlets to Australia, and many had unopened sections of bodywork in readiness for a hot race; these will undoubtedly be pressed into service this weekend. Drivers and mechanics will also feel the heat; scoops set into the cockpit access panels and the slot in the tip of the nose cone will be open, to relieve the driver of both the ambient heat and that of the electronics and power steering systems inside the cockpit.

A Lap of Sepang with Alex Wurz

Crossing the start line at the Sepang circuit, you reach 190mph/303km/h in seventh gear on the long pit straight before braking dramatically for the tight complex, which incorporates a downhill gradient. As the track is fairly wide at this point of the track there are often good opportunities for overtaking under braking.

Accelerating out, the track leads to the long right-hander of turn three that sweeps you round onto a short straight. Pushing hard on the throttle, you reach some 180mph/290kmh in sixth gear before braking sharply, dropping down to 64mph/103km/h in second for the tight right-hander of turn four.

The sweeping esses of turns five and six follow, and require that you maintain as much speed as possible before you slingshot down to the two right-handers of turns seven and eight. Turn seven is taken at 120mph/193km/h, the slightly more open turn of eight sees your speed increase by 10km/h.

As you exit the corner, you continue to push hard on the throttle along the straight that leads to the very tight turn nine. Braking hard as you enter the complex at the back of the circuit, the left-hander, is negotiated in second gear at 50mph/80km/h.

On the throttle as you exit, you build and maintain your speed through the long, right-hander of turn ten before braking for the 90-degrees right hander of turn eleven. The sharp right of turn fourteen swings you round almost 180-degrees onto the straight that runs parallel to the start-finish straight, separated by the massive grandstand.

Powering along the straight and 181mph/290km/h in seventh, you then braking sharply to negotiate the hairpin which flips you back onto the start-finish straight to begin another lap.

Team by Team

Ferrari

Ferrari was disappointing in the race in Australia, which saw both drivers out manoeuvred strategically and out raced by their rivals. Barrichello later complained that his HANS collar was too painful to drive with, and the weather in Malaysia could well exacerbate that this weekend. On sheer pace the drivers should be top of the field this weekend, especially during qualifying with the F2002. The chinks shown in their armour, strategy and driving, may well be specific to the peculiarities of the Australian race, but their rivals will see this as a good sign of a closing gap.

With good straight-line speed in qualifying, excellent cooling, and durable Bridgestone tyres, the F2002 has all the ingredients to bring home a one-two race finish. Melbourne's two qualifying sessions proved there is little to choose between the drivers in speed.

Williams

All through the Melbourne weekend Williams were explaining the problems with the car, and yet they turned in a top performance in the race. Windtunnel figures not matching the on track performance was the vague answer. It seems inconceivable to a layman that a top team could suffer this way, yet the correlation of simulated tests against reality is incredibly hard.

This lack of relationship between the tunnel and the car can be down to the several reasons. Wind tunnels are massively complex devices; each is unique and needs its own bespoke sensors and software. Each run in the tunnel is done at least twice to ensure repeatability, and control tests are also carried out; this confirms the tunnel readings are is reliable. The second explanation could be the windtunnel tests are not representative of the flow on the real car.

On the actual car, data logging and straight-line or fixed speed tests allow the engineers to gather comparative data. The data from the car and tunnel should match each other with a small percentage of error; when these figures do not match then there are a number of possible reasons. Windtunnel models, although half the size of the actual car, do not replaces its every function; radiator cores are hard to scale down, the effects of hot radiator and exhaust flows are not regularly carried out, and some aerodynamic pieces simply behave differently when on track.

The lower rear wing mount has been identified as a part that rarely correlates to wind tunnel results. Williams are working through these problems, and the result may not even be a visual change to the car; the basis aerodynamic philosophy is sound, and the problem may simply be a curve in the wrong place, or something unexpectedly flexing.

For Sepang Williams can expect a similar weekend to Melbourne; practice and qualifying will need to be focussed on getting the basics and race package sorted, letting qualifying slip down the list of priorities. For the race strong straight-line speed and careful tyre management could see the Williams ahead on strategy if not pace.

As with all the top teams the drivers will be hard to separate; Schumacher had a poor weekend, blighted by bad luck and not by his driving, and he will need to regain his composure and perform this weekend; while Montoya had an unusual spin in the race, typifying his erratic form, although he recovered well and will also need this weekend to run smoothly to monopolise on his points from Australia.

McLaren

Warmed by the pace of the revised MP4/17 against the Ferrari, and with teamwork winning the race, McLaren can look positively towards Sepang. McLaren should accept the Ferrari is quicker over a single lap and work towards outright qualifying pace for race preparation. As both drivers were in a position to win the Melbourne race they should both feel Sepang could also go their way.

Raikkonen still lacks a little calmness under pressure, his untidy driving defending from Michael a reminder of his relative youth, while Coulthard's relentless pressure throughout the race reminded of his maturity. Coulthard is keeping his eye on the title; if he can convert his lap-by-lap consistency into a race-by-race consistency he only needs the new car to be near equal with the new Ferrari to be fighting for the title at the seasons end.

Renault

Renault produced pretty much the race weekend expected of them in Australia. Errors in the qualifying runs compromised race strategies, and disappointing speed trap figures will cause race day problems for the drivers. With a cleaner weekend Renault can clearly have their eye on the struggling Williams, with Alonso's aggressive driving grabbing the headlines, leaving Trulli's calmer style to bag the points.

Sauber

Qualifying in Melbourne showed Sauber was content to run lower fuels for a multi-stop race. Sepang will offer greater rewards for this strategy if the right Bridgestone tyre can be found. Both drivers put in solid performances; Heidfeld's fighting opening laps uncovered a spirit as yet unseen in his F1 career, while Frentzen's more circumspect approach to overtaking in the opening laps were characteristic of the driver. This weekend will no doubt bring more points for the team.

Jordan

Jordan's choice to hire an inexperienced driver to pair with Giancarlo may be hindering the cars development, increasingly believed to be a package with potential. The EJ13 needed a lot of set up alterations to rid it of the handling problems seen during qualifying. New boy Firman struggled to learn the track, the race weekend format and the car, leaving Fisichella with the lion's share of the set up to evaluate. Firman has some experience of Sepang in GT cars, and this should free his concentration up to focus on the car. I doubt if the Jordan has the straightline speed and handling to quickly negotiate Sepang, but Fisichella can be expected to drive home near the points.

Jaguar

Jaguar are keen to tell everyone the car is OK and responds well to the teams input; after the troubles of last year that might be enough for the team at this stage. In Australia both drivers looked out of their depth during qualifying, with Webber under pressure at his home race and Pizzonia in his first F1 race; both drivers over-drove and never had the car's set up understood. In the race Webber made a better display of his undoubted talent, but a pair of related retirements brought an end to the team's race. This weekend Jaguar will be bunched with Jordan, having an under-performing package with inexperienced drivers. No points are likely, but a solid race driver for one car must be the goal.

BAR

When is a team not a team? When the press say the drivers aren't getting on. Whether the Button/Villeneuve conflict is real or not press intrusion and silly errors like bugled pit-stop timing threaten to distract the team from its potential. Light fuel qualifying meant a three-stop race, and this was not a great choice for the team with hindsight. Villeneuve's pace on his qualifying runs was amazing, and Button's consistency proved the team do not need artificial methods to boost pace. This weekend a conservative strategy should reveal the teams speed, and both drivers are equally likely to come out on top.

Minardi

Minardi didn't figure enough in the opening weekend to make judgements about the car. Although tidy and near the pace the car was still slowest and displayed reliability issues; most worryingly for this weekend was one related to cooling. Neither driver proved himself strongly, as Wilson was still learning F1 and more should have been expected from the experienced Verstappen. The jury is still out on Minardi this year; the team need to make the most of the benefits of the Cosworth engine, but a weekend of keeping up with the Jaguars will be the goal for this weekend.

Toyota

Both the car and the drivers proved this year's package could be lightening fast, especially with the qualifying pace from da Matta. What was worrying was the inconsistent progress made by Panis in the race and, the two subsequent retirements. If last years handling and stability problems are sorted then Sepang should be ideal for the Toyota; it was handling well in Australian qualifying, and was as fast as anyone on the straights.

In a major corporate team suggestions are now being made about too many heads and not enough direction. There are a lot of important Toyota people on the pit wall, yet despite this the car seems to be well sorted and the right strategy calls were made in Australia. Toyota may need more time to mature into a successful F1 team but they appear to be doing well, and this should continue if they can be left alone to develop.