Sepang Track Guide

As the drivers exit Turn 9 they enter what seems to be a never-ending Turn 10, constantly sweeping right and building up speed, while dealing with g-forces of up to 3g. Then they enter Turn 11, which has a tricky entry as the drivers are braking, turning and downshifting into the corner. Once again, it is important yet difficult to clip the apex of the corner, letting fans and rivals know who has a good setup on their car and who will struggle. It is important to run wide onto the kerb at the exit of the corner as this will allow the driver to build up as much speed to carry into the next corner.

Turns 12 and 13

The second of the fast chicanes may not be as fast as the first, but is more tricky to drive. As the drivers turn left into Turn 12, the track dips away slightly from them, causing the back end to get light and sometimes a bit loose. Then it is straight into Turn 13, which is very similar to Turn 10 as it is a long sweeping right hander, and also the braking point into Turn 13. It is quite easy to make a mistake on the exit of the corner - as Takuma Sato and Fernando Alonso can testify as going off there in qualifying in recent years.

Turn 14

The penultimate corner on the track is quite possibly the most important as it leads into the best overtaking spot on the circuit. As I said before, the braking area for this corner is in the heart of Turn 13, and it is diffcult for the driver to get turned in. However, the drivers must get the car turned in as quickly as possible in order to build up as much speed as possible for the back straight—a good exit from this corner could mean a gain in position going into the next.

Turn 15

The final corner, and the widest part of the circuit at 20 M. The drivers brake heavily into the final corner from 195 MPH and shift down from seventh to second gear, hitting a minimum speed of 54 MPH. It is also the scene of many overtaking moves over the years—the most memorable being Haikkinen on Herbert in 1999, Schumacher on Button in 2002 and 2003, and the three-way battle between Nick Heidfeld, Mark Webber and Ralf Schumacher in 2005. But not all overtaking moves here are successful—Giancarlo Fisichella and Mark Webber had a very messy conclusion to their battle in 2005 with both retiring on the spot. The exit of the corner is vital for two reasons—the first being that the entry to the pit lane is just before the exit and therefore any time gained here will be gained in the pits, and secondly the speed out of the corner determines the speed down the pit straight.

So there it is—your guide to Sepang. It is celebrating it's 11th F1 race this weekend, and with only three previous winners in the field it is unlikely that past form could be a factor here. But after the domination of the Brawn team in Australia, who wants to bet against them again this weekend?

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