The Australian Grand Prix left many questions unanswered. But will they be resolved in Malaysia this weekend? Atlas F1's technical writer Craig Scarborough serves the most comprehensive and complete Grand Prix Preview - including a look at the circuit layout, the demands from the drivers and the teams, and a full analysis of all participants in the upcoming event

After the trials of the Australian Grand Prix, the teams have headed off to Malaysia and the stunning track at Sepang. The newly built circuit, hosting only its fourth Formula One Grand Prix, has set the modern standard in facilities in F1, accommodating over 100,000 fans.

The circuit can be summarised as two long straights with a mix of hairpin and high-speed corners, but as important as the circuit layout is the equatorial climate. The extreme heat and humidity make Sepang the most physically demanding race.

"The track has very quick corners, and is quite technically demanding, but has a relatively smooth surface so it is nice to drive," Heinz-Harald Frentzen concludes . "The very hot and humid weather can sometimes make it difficult in the race."

The climate also produces frequent and sudden rain, sometimes turning into torrential downpours, as Olivier Panis graphically puts it: "In the wet, grip levels are quite good, but when it rains hard - wow, it really does rain! You almost need a boat, not a car!"

This creates question marks for set up and strategy. The metaphorical cloud hanging over the teams is the threat of more mixed weather conditions as in Melbourne. The teams are in urgent need of track time to learn the new car's characteristics and tailor them to the circuit, so if sessions are washed out by rain this could play into the hands of Ferrari. Again running their older car, as in Australia, Ferrari performance so far was flattered by their extra car knowledge.

The other major question on the teams' performance over the weekend will again be tyres, and more specifically: which tyres will be best suited to the Sepang circuit and climate. Tyre choice for the qualifying and the race will be chosen as late on Saturday as possible, and the number of tyre and fuel stops for the race will also be decided at the last minute after long debate.

The teams have been challenged to complete all the repairs to the cars from Australia and pack them off on the seven-hour flight to Malaysia. This has given the drivers and some team personnel the chance to take a holiday in the region; Bali, Phuket and Lankawi being popular destinations. At the same time, the senior staff had to take gruelling long haul flights back to Europe to direct development for this race.

The lack of testing time will prevent the teams from creating new developments that can be added to cars for this race. Some testing has occurred between the races, but as the 2002 cars are in Malaysia, only BAR has run a 2002 chassis, as a result of the early launch of the new car. Tyre testing has been going on at Silverstone and Paul Ricard, with Ferrari running as usual at Fiorano and Mugello.

Circuit Layout and Set Up

The circuit is purpose built for F1 by renowned German architect Hermann Tilke in close co-operation with the FIA. The resulting track is fast, wide and allows the rare treats of excellent racing and spectator viewing.

Being one of the widest tracks on the calendar, it provides plenty of overtaking opportunities. The surface is smooth and quite low grip, and this will also be the first time the teams have run at the circuit with traction control. The circuit is not quite as green as the Melbourne track, but the surface will improve over the weekend as the cars lay down rubber onto the track.

"Like the Melbourne track, it is a long lap," says Jacques Villeneuve. Of four straight sections, it's the two long straights sandwiching the spectator grandstands that reward engine power. Speeds up to 320km/h (200mph) are achieved depending on the car's set up, which also needs to cope with plenty of slow speed hairpins that lower the speed to just 80km/h (50mph). There are also fast corners like turn 5 that challenge the cars set up even further.

Despite the long straights, it's the low grip track surface and mix of low and high speed corners that demand the cars are run with almost as much downforce as Monaco and Hungaroring require. Teams further down the grid will opt to run much lower wing levels to gain pace on the circuit, while the front running teams with powerful engines will have much more camber on their wings.

Teams will adopt a range of extra winglets and try out new wing formats to gain more efficient downforce (which is more grip for less drag). The compromise in adding lots of wing is on engine cooling - the large cooling ducts required in the Malaysian climate add a lot of drag and limits placement of sidepod winglets. Moreover, the large front wings affect cooling flow into the sidepods.

Mechanical set up will focus primarily on damping and altering weight distribution with ballast, to gain grip in the slow corners and balance in the faster corners. Third dampers will be needed to maintain ride height on the fast straights, while remaining compliant for grip in the slower sections.

"It isn't easy to get a perfect set-up," BAR's Panis says. "The straight is so long and you need to have good speed to overtake but you also need good mechanical grip for the low-speed corners."

It's a common practice for the teams to remove wing for the race to gain speed on the straights to allow (or prevent someone else from) overtaking. The team will also add more cooling outlet area, as the cars will not have run for such a prolonged period earlier in the weekend. If the race is wet or threatens rain, then the set up will resort to the usual wet race compromises, and the teams will want a lot more downforce and ground clearance at Sepang to prevent aquaplaning on the long straights.

Tyres

The Sepang circuit demands a lot from the tyres. Bridgestone cites grip, responsiveness and stability as the requirements. A softer compound is needed for the smooth surface, but the track is still demanding on tyres, especially the front tyres.

Temperature will be the deciding factor in each of the suppliers' competitiveness. Michelin still have the reputation for poorer performance in colder conditions, which remains despite new tyres tested at a cold Silverstone last week, where Renault test driver Fernando Alonso confirmed the new tyres are now working much better in the cold conditions.

Michael Schumacher was the only driver on Bridgestone tyres to finish the Australian Grand Prix, but Bridgestone believed the tyres taken to Melbourne were perfect for the circuit. The common view is that Michelin will have the upper hand in Sepang, although Michael Schumacher argues this point. "I think we will still have the better tyre, although maybe not to the extent we saw in Australia," the World Champion said, adding he feels the other people's view is based on Bridgestone's performance in the earlier hot races last year, when he suggests they "suffered a bit in the hot weather."

Bridgestone will take one dry-weather tyre from Melbourne and new tyre developed for the higher temperatures in Sepang in order to provide improved grip and durability. In order to have tyres for all conditions, Bridgestone is taking more than 1,500 tyres to Malaysia - 820 tyres for dry conditions and 720 for wet weather. The supplier is happy they have tyres that perform well in any weather and temperatures.

Melbourne was important for Michelin, as they picked up a lot of vital data. More importantly, it was "in a race that took place on a dry, consistent track," as tyre boss Pierre Dupasquier explains. This was also significant as Michelin also had the most drivers finishing the race.

Gerald Brussoz, who manages the F1 tyre development programme at Michelin, boasts the factory in France has a "super-quick reaction time," which allows him to change tyre specification between races. Following Australia, he continues, "we were able to work out the best constructions and compounds." And with Michelin's data from the previous Malaysian race, new tyres were developed and produced.

The production process ended in the early hours of Saturday morning, just eight days before the race. The tyres then left by road for Amsterdam, where they were put on a flight to Kuala Lumpur.

Team by Team

Ferrari

The team have again decided to bring the 2001 car along. This again brings the old car benefits: the F2001 suits a high downforce track, keeps its tyres in good condition and has an efficient cooling package. The developments to the car have proven reliable, but the car was slow off the start in Australia and may lack straight-line speed over the updated competition.

The way the team set the downforce versus straight-line speed level will be crucial in the race, but the team still retain the set up experience for their car over their rivals. Should the weekend have poor weather, Ferrari will have an advantage, but otherwise can expect the opposition to be closer if not in front for this race.

Both Ferrari drivers had an excellent weekend in Melbourne. Rubens Barrichello's start line accident hid his race performance, but throughout the weekend - and especially in qualifying - he proved he is up on his game this year.

With the old car running in the GPs, the new car is still being tested in Italy. There are still only two chassis and as Rubens Barichello stayed in Asia between races, he still hasn't driven the car. Rumours suggest the third new chassis is being delayed while additional developments are engineered into it, but these are not expected to be major visual changes.

McLaren

McLaren haven't tested the new car since Melbourne, but instead Jean Alesi carried out a 3-day tyre test, as a one-off in an MP4-16B (an updated version of the 2001 car). The mammoth test had Alesi run more than four Grand Prix distances in three days, according to Norbert Haug.

The new car has run well, but the team have yet to unlock its potential and also learn how to find its set up quickly. The car needs some developments to aid its engine cooling - the small outlets seen so far are unlikely to be adequate for the heat in Asia. Mercedes engine development also needs to come on if the team are to maintain a good straight-line speed. Reliability was mixed in the last race, with Coulthard having a one off gearbox problem.

The Scot was disappointed not to get points in the first race, and his overall better performance than Kimi Raikkonen's suggests he is more comfortable with the car and team so far. Raikkonen produced his first podium with a strong mature drive, also setting the fastest lap of the race, and his confidence will be up this coming weekend. Either driver could expect to be fighting for both pole and win in Malaysia.

Williams

Whereas last year the aero set up and long wheelbase stymied Williams's performance on tighter tracks, this year's car seems to have overcome these limitations and still retained the car's blinding straight-line speed. As a consequence, Sepang seems designed for the car and the climate designed for Michelin. Juan Pablo Montoya's reliable run to the finish at the Australian Grand Prix also suggests the 2001 BMW's frailty has been sorted.

Ralf Schumacher's car that crashed at the start of the Australian GP will again race in Malaysia. The car suffered serious scoring to its under tray and damage to its impact structures, two of which have been replaced. The team have also run an older car in a tyre test at Silverstone, concentrating on longer runs with the new Michelin tyres.

While the car has the performance to win the race, which driver accomplishes it is an impossible question. Ralf put in the mature timed qualifying performance to beat Juan Pablo, but the start line crash was partly his fault. Montoya in turn produced a fighting but controlled drive, dicing fairly with Michael Schumacher and fending off Raikkonen for a spell. If the two Williams drivers are left to fight it out for the race, it is doubtful the racing would be as clean.

Sauber

As Sauber left Melbourne with the remains of their heavily damaged cars, technical director Willi Rampf had to fly back to the team's Swiss base to supervise the production of spare parts - the factory has been under huge pressure as they had already experienced extra work after two accidents in the final pre-season test at Mugello.

Even though the team face the pressure of producing the parts, they can go to Sepang expecting a good result, if luck rejoins them. The car has good handling, a reliable engine with an efficient cooling system. They also have two drivers who can clearly produce good qualifying results, and Nick Heidfeld's known race performances will be a good guide to Felipe Massa's first full race.

Jordan

As Eddie Jordan puts it: "we need to get on and do the job in Malaysia." The team suffered continuous problems in Melbourne, some related to vibration from the Honda engine affecting things like electronics, but have worked hard to fix the problems, including the one that forced Takuma Sato to retire. On top of this workload, the team have had to return a large amount of parts damaged in accidents to the UK and an even larger number of spares that need to return to Malaysia. But the team say they are fully prepared.

While it's still too early to characterise the car's handling, it's clear the EJ12 is not yet a perfect car. More track time during the weekend should allow the team to establish a better set up. Jordan usually produces a low drag car that performs well on the straights. But equally, their cars do not like lots of downforce; the developments on the EJ12 from the EJ11 should address this problem. The team's relative performance to BAR will be a perfect measure of their position in the pecking order.

Both drivers are capable of a good result, and while Takuma Sato has only driven at Sepang in a Honda NSX sports car after winning at Macau last year, he coped well with the problems and new circuit in Melbourne. Giancarlo Fisichella is expected to lead the team and a points finish in the race is not beyond hope, but could come at a price. As he explained: "last year I lost nearly 3.5 litres of water during the course of the race!"

BAR

BAR have worked hard in between the races. Team principal Dave Richards has been critical of the team's first GP under his control. The team ran a three day aerodynamics test at Silverstone with Anthony Davidson - the flatter front wing was run in preparation for Brazil and different wing settings were tested. Honda also tried some new launch and traction control software and have also carried out a lot of preparation for this hot race in their R&D facilities' "ambient" dynamometers, which simulate various meteorological conditions.

The "Step 02" Honda engine is still lacking in comparison to other teams, and BAR are expected to lack straight-line speed, especially if the team need to add lots of wing to compensate for a poor chassis set up. The new car has proved good in slower corners this year and the drivers can be expected to produce some good overtaking moves given the chance in the race.

The wing failure in Melbourne has been put down to fatigue - probably brought on by vibration from the newer engine - but it highlights BAR's inability to produce a reliable chassis. Overall, Jacques Villeneuve feels that "our car should be fairly competitive," and Olivier Panis also feels both drivers should be able to produce a stronger performance this weekend.

Renault

Renault had nothing to show for after an otherwise good weekend in Australia. The car worked well and very quickly got up to speed. The team's strategy to design a car close to its predecessor may reap benefits now, but the car's overall potential may be lower and may struggle as the season develops. Running new Michelin tyres should also help the team get on the pace in Asia; the test in Silverstone last week left the team feeling very positive for the Malaysian Grand Prix and beyond.

The circuit suits the car, which ran so well in high downforce format last year. Allied by its good mechanical grip, the team can expect to be right behind the top three, if they can find the top line speed for the straights and cope with cooling the car in the heat. Jarno Trulli feels that "qualifying in Australia was pretty representative of where we are. I do not expect a podium in Malaysia, but I am sure reliability will count in the race."

Trulli's spin in the race is still being investigated. The team's current stance is that "we have not yet reached a firm conclusion as to the cause of that spin." Thus, Trulli's poor race reputation is still waiting to be disproved. His teammate Jenson Button's weekend was more positive than in 2001, but again his race performance was hidden by the first corner incident.

Jaguar

With rumours suggesting the old R2 car may run at the next GP while major revisions are carried out on the R3, the team are yet again in a crisis. The R3 needs more aero work now that the basic mechanics have been updated, but the R2 will also need development in order to run to the rules in 2002, which may take up too much time and resources.

According to Niki Lauda, "it is a matter of whether the drivers would rather run the R2B without power steering or continue with the new car." Lauda adds that few developments will be on the car in Malaysia, "but only after Malaysia will we have an opportunity to modify the car and do a proper post-mortem on the package."

For Malaysia, the team can only hope to run well on the straights and get the Michelin tyres to carry them through the corners, as the car's set up is unlikely to unleash large amounts of speed. In this situation the team's motivation can be expected to be low, as Eddie Irvine is not known for his leadership qualities and Lauda prefers to talk "no nonsense" rather than mothering his team. It will be a hard weekend for Jaguar, but any hope of a good result will be seized upon, as in Australia.

Arrows

Arrows did not attend any tests between the races, instead the data from the running in Australia was "fed back to the factory to provide the team with valuable information to work with in order to minimise set-up work and maximise running time."

However, the lack of running in Australia and the problems preventing the cars' running in the race means the team are still desperate for track time. They need to understand the car's handling and set up to extract performance from the promising looking package. Both drivers failed to shine in the mixed Australian conditions and both are capable of much better form.

The team's recent form and new, more powerful engine suggest the low drag car should be fast on the straights without sacrificing corner speed. This year's car has a bigger fuel tank which should allow the team to retain track position during the stops. The battery problems causing the cars to stall on the grid are not expected to resurface. Mike Coughlan suggests: "It's a track that should suit our car well," and adds that the car's cooling is efficient to cope with the high temperatures.

Minardi

A historic finish for the team in Australia was partly the result of circumstances, but both cars were running well all the way to the end of the race. The team extracted the potential from the car, even with the lack of set up time. In Malaysia - where straight-line speed is as important as downforce - the car may not display the same character, as the power coming from the Asiatech engine will need to be matched by the low drag bodywork.

The team informs us that a few small modifications have been incorporated into the cars as a result of the information gathered in Melbourne; this is a case apart from 2001, where development was strictly limited throughout the season. Mark Webber produced a fine debut weekend powered by his local fans; he needs to reproduce this performance. Alex Yoong, who was the slower of the two drivers, now has the home advantage.

Toyota

While Australia exceeded the teams' expectations, they are not fooled into thinking every race will produce points finishes. What did come out of the weekend was the team were quickly able to set the car up for the conditions and get good laps in when it counted.

The team proved they can run with the midfield and proved the car is reliable. The car should run well in Sepang, as the team have already run there late last year in a private test. The cooling layout looks like it can cope with the heat, but the car has yet to appear with a high downforce configuration.

The team have continued their heavy testing commitments with a test at Paul Ricard concentrating on electronic set-ups, launch and traction control system, as well as new engine specifications. Additionally, new aerodynamic parts were tested.