Ferrari is ready for the Grand Prix on the Sepang circuit

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro is already hard at work at the Sepang circuit, outside the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, preparing for the third round of the world championship, which it currently leads in both the Drivers' and Constructors' categories. "We are happy with the Melbourne result, even if, on Sunday morning, we might have expected a slightly better one," said Stefano Domenicali. "Considering what happened in the race, we can be pleased with finishing third and fourth, partly because our closest rivals either failed to score, or at least did not pick up many points. We are surely not the only ones to be pleased with the afternoon's work in Albert Park: F1 fans the world over can tell themselves they watched a truly spectacular motor race and those who made such a fuss about Bahrain being dull, should now think again. I have always maintained it is impossible to draw conclusions about the state of our sport after just one Grand Prix, but that does not mean we should now claim that Formula 1 has returned to some sort of golden age, if indeed there ever was one!" A new driver pairing always takes time to break in, but in Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, the Scuderia seems to already have a strong partnership: the Brazilian had a difficult weekend throughout, but he made the best of it, getting a very good start, before adopting a sensibly cautious approach when dealing with a lack of grip. As for the Spaniard, he drove a truly fantastic race, demonstrating not only his skill in going from last to fourth, after his first lap spin, but also the fact that he knows how to be a team player.

"Back-to-backs," the term applied to Grands Prix on consecutive weekends present a tough logistical challenge, which all the teams undertake in conjunction with FOM, (Formula One Management) who are responsible for shipping cars and equipment from one race to the next. Late on Sunday night in Albert Park, the entire team set about re-preparing the two race cars and packing everything into containers. "Once packed, all the containers are positioned in the pit lane, from where trucks take everything to the airport," explains Massimo Balocchi, the team's head of logistics. "We provide all the Customs documentation and FOM does the rest. "Then, in Sepang, the reverse process takes place with the equipment delivered from Kuala Lumpur airport, ready for the team to start work on Tuesday. Not all the material we use goes by air. In order to save time and money, at the start of the year, in January, we send four separate container loads to Bahrain, Australia, Malaysia and China. These contain much of the infrastructure we need to use, but not the technical equipment or car parts. These containers then return by sea to Europe, where they are repacked and then dispatched again to the last races of the season." Balocchi is also in charge of all personnel movements for a team of around 65 people - the 45 permitted to actually work on the cars and the additional press, marketing and Paddock Club staff. "We always try and stay in a maximum of two hotels at each race," says Balocchi. "That makes the logistics easier in terms of how many cars we use to move around. We have an agreement with Europcar and the local FIAT importers also help on this front. As for the hotel bookings, I normally do this one year in advance, so for example, I have already discussed our 2011 requirements in Melbourne with the hotels this week."

This will be the twelfth edition of the Malaysian Grand Prix and when the circuit was first used in 1999, it was absolutely state-of-the-art and is still one of the best facilities on the calendar. Ferrari's Malaysian adventure got off to a good start, with a trio of wins; Eddie Irvine being first past the flag in the inaugural 1999 event, followed by two victories for Michael Schumacher over the next two years. The German won again in 2004 and Kimi Raikkonen was victorious in 2008. Current driver Fernando Alonso rates the Sepang circuit as one of his all time favourites and the Spaniard stood on the top step of the podium in 2005 with Renault and in 2007 for McLaren.

Sepang provides a challenging track, with the added difficulties of coping with very hot conditions and extreme humidity, two factors which can have a debilitating effect on both car and driver. With that in mind, the F10s will have some further updates aimed at dealing with the unique characteristics of this event. Last year's race started at five in the afternoon, to better suit global TV viewers, however, fairly predictably this meant the inevitable tropical storm disrupted the event, with it being stopped after just 31 of the scheduled 56 laps, so that only half points were awarded, as required by the regulations. Therefore, Sunday's race start has been brought forward by one hour: whether this will be enough to miss the storm is another matter, even if, after Melbourne, the viewing public would appreciate the added spice of a wet track.

Australian Grand Prix - Preview

Round two of the 2010 FIA Formula 1 world championship takes place in Melbourne at the Albert Park street circuit. Teams arrive knowing this temporary track presents particular challenges, such as a little-used and therefore changeable surface, and close barriers. In previous years these factors have frequently combined with the fickle local climate to make the Australian Grand Prix eventful: in 2002 only eight cars finished and fifth-placed Mark Webber became the first, and to date only, Australian to score points at his home grand prix.



Located near Melbourne’s beachside St Kilda district, Albert Park is one of the most accessible
of all current grand prix venues, with many fans and F1 personnel choosing to walk to the circuit. As in 2009, this weekend’s racing schedule has been adjusted to help accommodate the needs of international broadcasters. Please note the later-than-usual start times for the race, qualifying and practice sessions. The FIA media schedule has been revised accordingly, as detailed below.



CIRCUIT DATA: ALBERT PARK


Australia Circuit Graphic



CHANGES TO THE CIRCUIT SINCE 2009



A new combination kerb has been installed on the apex of turn 9.



The kerbs and artificial grass have been extended downstream on the exit of turns 2 and 12.


FAST FACTS: AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX





1980 World Champion Alan Jones was the last grand-prix winning Australian (before Mark Webber) to take part in an Australian Grand Prix, in 1986. In his 117th and last F1 race, Jones qualified his Team Haas Lola-Ford 15th, but retired on lap 16 with engine failure.



Melbourne is only the second city to host the Australian Grand Prix. Adelaide staged the grand prix from 1985-1995, with Melbourne taking over from the 1996 season-opener.



Michael Schumacher will this year challenge for his fifth Australian GP win. Gerhard Berger, David Coulthard, Damon Hill, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna all won the race twice, while there are 11 one-time Australian GP winners.



Ayrton Senna took six pole positions at the Australian GP between 1985 and 1993. Closest to the late three-time champion’s record are Mika Hakkinen, Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher, all of whom have three Australian poles.



The 1991 Australian GP, held in torrential rain at the Adelaide circuit, holds the record for the shortest-ever grand prix. The Nov 3 race was stopped after 16 laps and less than 65km and the result was declared, for half-points, on positions at lap 14. Ayrton Senna won, while second-placed Nigel Mansell was unable to take the podium, as he crashed after the chequered flag and required hospital treatment.





CIRCUIT DATA



Length of lap:
Lap record:
Start line/finish line offset:
Total number of race laps:
Total race distance:
Pitlane speed limits:




5.303km
1:24.125 (Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004)
0.000km
58
307.574km
60km/h during practice sessions;
100km/h during qualifying and race

























•




Qualifying: All drivers eliminated in Q1 or Q2 will be available for media interviews immediately after the end of each session, as will drivers who participated in Q3, but who are not required for the post-qualifying press conference. Where? At the back of the FIA garage, paddock side.



Race: Any driver retiring before the end of the race will be available for media interviews after his return to the paddock. In addition, all drivers who finish the race outside the top three will be available for media interviews immediately after the end of the race, at each team’s individual garage/hospitality.



During the race every team will make at least one senior spokesperson available for interview by officially accredited TV crews. A list of those nominated will be made available in the media centre.

Australian Grand Prix preview

Formula 1 arrives in Australia under pressure to entertain following the waves of criticism directed at the season opener in Bahrain.

The Sakhir race just under a fortnight ago was far from the most tedious grand prix in F1 history, and it might even have been building up to a thrilling conclusion had Sebastian Vettel's engine not wilted.

Many teams' simulations had predicted that the Red Bull's tyres would fade and Ferrari insisted its drivers were biding their time for a late surge.

Had we seen Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa spectacularly wheel to wheel in the last three laps, no one would have remembered the 46 static tours beforehand.

But being realistic, we're probably clutching at idealistic straws even suggesting that a frenzied denouement was in prospect - every time Alonso had got close to Vettel earlier in the race the turbulence from the Red Bull's rear end left the Ferrari struggling for grip and eating its tyres.

And remember that same turbulence prevented Nico Rosberg from getting close enough to pass Vettel even when the Red Bull was struggling for power in the closing laps.

The problem of 'dirty air' isn't a new one, it's been frustrating drivers' passing attempts for years, but there are three reasons why it was such a spectacle killer at Sakhir.

In the refuelling era, even if an on-track overtake was unlikely, there were two or three chances to shake up the order in pit stops, and the last of these often came late on.

Fans could cope with everything being settled by the final dozen laps - what was depressing in Bahrain was that all the major stops were completed by lap 17, which meant a strong likelihood of nothing else happening in the remaining 32 laps, a whole hour of tedium given the Sakhir circuit extension.

The need to nurse tyres through such a long stint didn't help either.

Rather than burning through their rubber and then sliding around and changing positions, the drivers were urged to stay conservative and save tyre grip, especially if they were stuck behind a rival.

And most critically, with all the excitement about the ultra-close top eight battle, the fascinating line-up changes and renewed rivalries, and the return of Michael Schumacher, there were a lot more expectant eyes on F1 than usual.

Exactly the same rules will apply in Melbourne this weekend, so is there any hope of things improving?

Hopefully there is.

Despite the organisers' best efforts, Bahrain was a very flat venue for an opener, with its massive expanses and lack of local motorsport passion.

Albert Park's wall-lined confines, ultra-slippery temporary track surface, unique layout and huge crowd of motorsport-mad Aussies instantly raises the excitement level.

Weird things happen in Melbourne - it tends to be a race of high attrition and crazy incident.

The winner is very often the same man who emerges as champion, but behind him, this is one of the venues most likely to see an underdog on the podium.

It doesn't quite have Montreal's reputation for entertaining thrills and spills, but it's not far behind - think of Martin Brundle rolling in 1996, Jacques Villeneuve fighting for victory on his debut that year, David Coulthard giving the McLaren-Mercedes partnership its first win in 1997, Eddie Irvine's maiden victory, the 2002 startline carnage, Juan Pablo Montoya spinning away a certain win in 2003, 2005's topsy-turvy grid, or last year's late clash between Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel...

In Bahrain there was a lot of caution and tyre paranoia as no one really knew how the first race of the new era was going to unfold.

Now the teams are more confident that they can keep their Bridgestones alive through a long stint, and that will hopefully encourage a more gung-ho approach.

With the points gap between winning and merely being a frontrunner bigger than ever this year, those not on the podium in Bahrain can't afford to sit around gathering points - they have to take the fight to Fernando Alonso and Ferrari right now.

And as we've seen often enough in recent years - think some of Jenson Button's charges from poor grid spots late last year, the crazy 2003 British GP or 2005 Japanese GP - when drivers really have to overtake to salvage a title or recover from being put out of their deserved position, they do tend to find a way, turbulence or no turbulence.

The issue of on-track entertainment is set to remain a hot topic all weekend, and countless theories and suggestions are likely to be thrown into the mix.

But perhaps if Melbourne lives up to its reputation for action, the race will hopefully make all the post-Bahrain panic seem unnecessary.