The F1 circus hits Malaysia!!
And this year holds so much promise.. 4 world champion on the grid, hordes of GP2 guys making it into the big league and of course, the return of Malaysian backed Lotus Racing..
As usual, Friday practice session is open to all and it's free access .You don't even have to pay for parking. I reach the track around 9.30am and I can already hear the engines being fired up. It took another 20mins to walk from the main gate to Turn 15 tower. By the time I readied my gears, the 1st practice session begins.. perfect timing..
1st appearance of the Lotus car on home soil as local boy Fairuz Fauzy took over testing duties from regular driver Heikki Kovalainen. Here he is testing the new aero package.
Notice the different engine cover and fin design compared to Jarno Trulli's car.
The Ferrari cars of Alonso and Massa were crowd favourites as usual.
Another "home team" so to speak.. The legend returns after a 3 year absence..
But it's his younger team mate that is delivering the results for the past 2 races..
Another newcomer to the track, the Virgin F1. We now have 3 airlines boys playing in the F1 field..
The "Yellow Teapot" livery returns to the grid..
2 British world champ in the same team. However, I don't think we will see another explosive relationship like the Prost / Senna or Hamilton / Alonso episodes. Unless if Button is able to mop the floor with Hamilton..
3rd time lucky? Blindingly fast but shitty reliability has gifted 2 victories to Ferrari and McLaren.
Ohhh.... how I wished I had the chance to shoot from that spot...
The session ended at 11.30am and was soon followed by the Formula BMW. Lost interest in less than 15 minutes and we made our way back to grandstand to take some shots of the main paddock. Came across this bunch of Ferrari fans..
And also these lovely fans.. Go Prancing Horse!!
The Paddock Club Pit Walk was in progress and these rich and lucky people had the chance to go up close to the garage. Quite a large crowd was hanging around the Mercedes pit, waiting for Schumacher perhaps?
Obviously she is not a big fan of Hamilton..
After a brief rest and a RM25 nasi lemak, we got ready for 2nd practice session. As usual, my fav spot is the Turn 9 hairpin where you usually can get some good shots.
The Senna name lives on in F1..
The most improved team for 2009. No longer the smallest fish in the pond..
This is the first year where Toro Rosso are building their own chasis instead of using the Red Bull's. They must be relived there are other teams occupying the bottoom of the tables.
The reliability demons of Red Bull continues to haunt them. Webber's engine let go during the session.
Memorable quote from Ron Dennis "To finish first, you must first finish"
Maybe Mark should consider a change to MotoGP..
Another team desperate for a good show this year.
Will that "No 1" still be there come 2011?
Never a huge fan of him, but really hoping he can regain his form and shows these young guys how it used to be done...
And also hoping they will make it to the podium at least once this year....
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