\u201cSepang is a demanding, high-speed circuit that is likely to showcase the performance of those cars with the best levels of grip and downforce, and which can best manage the tyres at what will be their hottest and toughest test so far\u201d – Martin Whitmarsh<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lewis Hamilton<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSepang is a circuit I really love. It\u2019s big, fast and wide with some really demanding high-speed corners where you can find a lot of time if you\u2019re really able to get the car working to its full extent.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the pace we showed in Melbourne, I think we can have another good race in Malaysia. Albert Park is a great track, but a circuit like Sepang is where the differences between the cars will start to become clearer.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to using KERS Hybrid and the DRS too \u2013 the rapid change of direction you experience when the car is really in the groove is phenomenal around here, and I think both systems will make the cars look sensational, especially in qualifying.<\/p>\n \u201cThe team have looked into the floor failure we experienced in Melbourne: it seems like the bond between the bib and the chassis was damaged so the damage looked quite bad by the end of the race. It was good to see that the car could withstand that sort of punishment, but, even so, I\u2019m looking to give it an easier ride in Malaysia next week!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jenson Button<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhen I started in Formula 1, the Malaysian Grand Prix was one of the newest events on the grand prix calendar, but it now feels like an old favourite. I think Sepang\u2019s a circuit that\u2019s definitely improved with age: it\u2019s always been a great track, but it feels like it\u2019s grown into its own skin now, and is all the better for it.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a track where you need a very efficient car \u2013 the corners here are big and will punish any car that lacks downforce. After Melbourne, when I really felt like I had a very solid car beneath me, I\u2019m looking forward to getting out in practice to see how our package can adapt to this circuit.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, one of the main considerations for the drivers is to ensure we\u2019re properly hydrated throughout the race weekend. Until you\u2019ve been to Malaysia, you really can\u2019t appreciate what an oven it is \u2013 it\u2019s the toughest race of the year physically, and a place where good base fitness carried over from the winter will stand you in good stead for the race.<\/p>\n \u201cI won here in 2009 in some of the worst conditions I\u2019ve ever experienced in a racing car \u2013 it was like driving through a river at some spots. Whatever the weather throws at us this year, I think we can have another strong weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Martin Whitmarsh – Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSepang is a demanding, high-speed circuit that is likely to showcase the performance of those cars with the best levels of grip and downforce, and which can best manage the tyres at what will be their hottest and toughest test so far.<\/p>\n \u201cIt goes without saying that Malaysia will be hot. It\u2019s not only a severe test of each car\u2019s cooling solutions, and with track temperatures expected to be between 20 and 30degC higher than anything else we\u2019ve seen this year, tyre management will also be crucial.<\/p>\n \u201cAs with every season, we\u2019re pushing hard to bring developments to the car for every race. We don\u2019t think Melbourne showed us the best of our competitors\u2019 pace, so that only makes us more motivated to bring as much performance to the table as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cOn paper, it looks positive: we were pleased that our Melbourne upgrade worked as expected, and the car\u2019s performance around the high-speed elements of Albert Park suggests it will be able to cope around Sepang.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite this, the reality is that there was a gap to pole position, and we finished second and not first. Our target is to close that gap and get Lewis and Jenson into a position where they can win.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a9 RIF | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cSepang is a demanding, high-speed circuit that is likely to showcase the performance of those cars with the best levels of grip and downforce, and which can best manage the tyres at what will be their hottest and toughest test so far\u201d – Martin Whitmarsh Lewis Hamilton \u201cSepang is a circuit I really …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[3],"tags":[5262,5340,153,154,1178,491,5284,5336],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11769"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11769"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11772,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11769\/revisions\/11772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}