Malaysia preview: The same but different

If you’re a casual fan of F1, you may think tracks are much the same from one year to the next, with a few new advertising stickers plastered on the barriers.

Well, that ain’t necessarily so. Malaysia’s Sepang circuit is a case in point.

It was circuit designer Hermann Tilke’s first go at a proper F1 track, in 1999, and he did a pretty good job.

But there have been some significant tweaks to the place for this year’s race which could help spice things up a little.

For example…

Stone me, they’ve brought back gravel traps

Well, sort of. Some of the asphalt at Turn 1 has been replaced with gravel.

While plenty of F1 fans might be hoping this is the beginning of the end for the huge tarmac run-off areas which rescue drivers when they make a mistake, in actual fact it’s to make the circuit a bit more suitable for motorbike racing as well as cars.

Still, for those of us who like to see a bit of gravel lurking to trap careless drivers, it’s a rare treat. Whether anyone actually ends up in the stones is another matter altogether but, in this era of never-ending run-off areas, I’ll take this as a positive. More please.

Banked curves? Is this the new Monza?

Fair enough, they’re not that banked. But Turn 5 has a bit more gradient – the track designers have changed the shape of the track to do this, but haven’t altered the racing line, clever fellows that they are – and there’s a bit more slope on the inside of the last corner, as well as some challenges from the camber. The idea is to entice more overtaking by offering several racing lines.

It’s always encouraging to see changes like this at tracks, as opposed to the relentless addition of chicanes and other track tricks to slow the action down. It will be fascinating to see what impact the changes at Turn 15 in particular have, as it has all the makings of being a corner that will be very easy to botch.

There’s been plenty of other work on the track too – there’s a nice new surface, which has the potential to alter grip levels up and down, with the grippier track potentially offset by oils emerging from the new covering. This can become a real headache for drivers if it rains.

And a new track is usually darker in colour than the one it replaced; dark surfaces absorb heat energy more efficiently, and the resulting high track temperatures can play havoc with tyres.

The dip at Turn 2, long popular with fans, has gone, alas, to help drivers see the inside kerb. I’m not sure Tilke-designed tracks need sanitising this way but at least Sepang offers up entertainment elsewhere.

There have also been changes to improve drainage – a lot – though, to be quite honest, in a Malaysia downpour, Race Director Charlie Whiting is more than likely to stop the racing anyway. Maybe it will help the race re-start more quickly (though hopefully not while there are still marshals on the track, as in Singapore…).

It’s tough, but it’s going to get tougher

Like the Singapore Grand Prix that precedes it, Malaysia is a beast from a driver’s perspective.

It’s hot, it’s humid, it’s horrible in the cockpit.

It could be worse, of course: drivers are seldom flat-out, thanks to the thrill-a-minute crowd pleaser that is tyre and fuel management.

But they’ll still sweat off 3kg, and they have only 1 litre of onboard fluids to replace that.

If any of the drivers looks the worse for wear after this event, they may be wise to spend more time at the gym before next year’s race: rule changes which could cut three to six seconds off a lap will make Sepang a brutal test of fitness.

Thanks for the memories, Seb

Sepang has a special place in the heart of Sebastian Vettel, and not only because he took a surprise victory here last year.

It’s where he infamously ignored Red Bull’s ‘Multi-21’ order not to overtake his team-mate, in 2013, resulting in a particularly awkward set of post-race appearances with a fuming Mark Webber.

Vettel has the best record of any driver at this circuit, with four wins.

This weekend, it’s hard to see past a Mercedes 1-2 which, if Ferrari and Red Bull stumble, will see them take the Constructors’ Championship. Yes, we’re already into that particular window, even with five races remaining after Malaysia.

The new track is smooth, which will help Mercedes, and could see them equal McLaren’s 1988 record of 11 wins on the trot. Bear in mind that they had a chance to do this earlier in the season … and then Hamilton and Rosberg collided at Barcelona, paving the way for Max Verstappen’s famous maiden win.

Rubber, chicken

The threat of rain always hangs over Sepang and the forecasts suggest a bit of dampness … but, frankly, the only way to forecast accurately here is to look up.

As far as the dry-weather tyres are concerned, all teams are majoring on the yellow-striped softs, with a few sets of hards and mediums.

There is plenty of gossip around the remaining drives available for next season as teams and drivers play chicken with their contracts.

Sergio Perez has said he’ll quit F1 if his Force India contract is not sorted by the end of next week, and Kevin Magnussen is ‘frustrated’ that Renault haven’t made a decision on their drivers for next year. These are drivers who really need to put in a stellar performance this weekend, to maximise their chances of remaining in F1 for another 12 months.

F1 bosses are also playing chicken with some circuits – the provisional calendar for 2017 has been released and Brazil, Germany and Canada are all ‘subject to confirmation’ – Brazil for economic reasons, despite a contract that appears to guarantee racing until 2020; Germany because the Nurburgring needs to sort its finances out; and Canada because the track isn’t up to scratch, according to the F1 head honchos.

Talking of the dangers of playing chicken, Marcus Ericsson (pictured) will be nursing a few cuts and bruises after ‘hitting a big chicken doing 45km/h’ while on his bike.

We assume it was Ericsson doing 45km/h and not the chicken but, either way, it sounds like the chicken came off best – Ericsson said: ‘Believe it or not, the chicken kept on running!’

A battered beastie that keeps on running against all odds… sounds like a metaphor for Ericsson’s struggling Sauber team.