Alonso led Rookie for McLaren 1-2.

So three weeks later Round 2 of the championship in Malaysia the teams were ready to do battle again. With the Spyker vs. Redbull and Super Aguri chassis row rumbling on behind the scenes another area came under scrutiny. Last year it was flexi wings, This year Formula1 welcomes flexi floor rows. Over the 3 week gap Mclaren called for stronger floor tests from the FIA on all cars after suspicions that around 6 teams were using flexible aero dynamics. All terms had to modify there car in some way. Meanwhile the reason cars are actually at the track was underway i.e. racing.

The Sepang Circuit hosting its 8th grand prix. Felipe Massa putting his bad qualifying from oz behind him. Taking pole from Alonso with Räikkönen 3rd Lewis 4th Heildfeld 5th and Rosberg 6th. With the start about to get underway the focus was on the top 4. As the light went out Alonso was able to get past Massa but yet again Lewis Hamilton seem to forget he was a rookie and pulled of a brilliant move. Not only passing Räikkönen but also forcing his way past Massa who being to occupied trying to repass Alonso clumsily left enough room on the in side of turn 1 where Lewis was able to force his nose in and drive round Massa to go from 4th to 2nd. As far as Alonso was concerned this was perfect. Not only was he leading he had his teammate as a buffer between the Ferrari’s. In the early laps Massa desperate to get passed Lewis was ducking and diving all over the back of the No.2 Mclaren whose car seemed very tail end happy and not as glued to the track as Alonso or the 2 Ferraris. On lap 6 Massa tried to stick his car on the inside and pass. Instead he out braked himself where he went out onto the grass getting passed by his teammate and Heidfeld dropping him down to 5th where he stayed until the end of the race. You could imagine that his face was as red as his car. Alonso won easily with his rookie teammate 2nd who in the final laps of the race had closed down on the Mclaren finishing only 0.7 behind. Nick Heidfleld finished 4th after easily holding off Massa in 6th with trulli in 7th and Kovalainen picking up his first point for 8th after a better showing this time round. Other notable performances were that of the two Williams drivers Wurz and Rosberg. Wurz who started 19th after gearbox problems in qualifying was able to fight his way just outside the points in 9th While Rosberg was running a strong 7th when his engine let go with 13 laps left to go. “I gave it everything I had, but it all came to a halt. It was a great shame not to finish but things are progressing and we hope we can do better in a week’s time.” Williams fortunes slowly improving after a torrid 2006.

But for the 2nd race running the talk was of Lewis Hamilton’s amazing performance. In one race alone he had managed to pass both Ferrari’s hold them both off leading Massa to make a mistake, held I gave it everything I had, but it all came to a halt. Held Räikkönen until the finish and set fastest lap on the 22nd lap. "That was the toughest race of my career. I was defending my position for a lot of the time” Hamilton said after the race “ I now have experience of racing in these conditions and will be even better prepared next year” Bad news for his rivals who were already looking towards Bahrain.

Race Bits

• Three weeks is a long time in F1 the cruise and control win of Kimi Räikkönen in Melbourne had some people worrying that 2007 was going to be an all Ferrari affair. But Mclaren with a relentless push and development drive were able to turn the tables at Malaysia. Extending there lead in the constructors championship and Alonso taking the lead in the drivers. Ferrari aim to fight back at Bahrain, There pre race build up was not perfect as there were question marks over kimi's engine that had suffered a small water leak towards the end of the last race. The team not running the engine at full capacity for much of the race. Another problem with the Ferraris that surfaced in Melbourne was cooling. “This weekend we had to make some compromises on the car and that meant we were unable to exploit its full potential” Räikkönen said disappointedly.



• Renault had a tough weekend with neither car getting in to the top 10 in qualifying, Though the team did manage to get both cars in the points with 6th and 8th respectively. “This was the maximum I could do today - and in our situation at the moment, it feels like a podium finish.” Said Fisichella who won this race last year from pole.



• BMW’s had a bitter sweet weekend again with Heidfeld 4th but Robert Kubica finishing 18th 1 lap down with all different kinds of problems ranging from a front puncture to gear box and braking stability. But the team were a clearly 3rd quickest team and Heidfeld only 33 seconds behind the winner by the finish the team are moving n the right direction.



• Bridgestone were happy with there new system for identify tire compounds. A white line was painted in to the outer groove on the softer of the 2 compounds, This it was decided would remain in place for the rest of the season.

Move of the race: Lewis Hamilton and that start. Again!

Chump of the race: Felipe Massa’s move on Hamilton. It was like he was back at Sauber in 2002 all over again.