2009 Malaysian Grand Prix: Luckless Finns and Another Jenson Button Win

What we learned in Malaysia

Again behind the safety car, Brawn GP driver Jenson Button won his second consecutive Grand Prix in a cut-short, rain filled, terrifyingly thunderous 31-lap race at the Sepang International Circuit.

It was a race in Malaysia that made Ted Kravitz poo in his pants, clearly scared by the thunder. It was also a race that told us many things.

Firstly, it's clear Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, and the Brawn GP team look like the best around so far. No one, not even Glock on the intermediate tires, could catch Button at times.

Secondly, Timo Glock knows what he's doing when he tells the Toyota team to forget the full wets and put on those intermediates!

As the rain started to fall, this proved an inspired choice, as the German zoomed past all others and closed in on first, until the others realised their mistake and soon followed suit.

Thirdly, Heikki Kovalainen just doesn't have any luck, does he? Lap one, he's out. His car failed on him in Melbourne, and this time, well if you forget that it was a driving error, the Finn with no luck is out, again. Shame, as he seems a really nice guy, but clearly the Big Fella upstairs must hate him.

Speaking of luckless Finns, Kimi Raikkonen was rather unlucky today that Ferrari made a real hash of the weather. Full wets several laps too early, no wonder the poor guy was forced down into 14th!

Finally, while it's clear that McLaren aren't even as good as Red Bull (you only need to look at the Mark Webber vs. Lewis Hamilton duel), it almost goes without saying that they do indeed have the best KERS system around.

While I still can't see how it's so good (and I don't think anyone can), Hamilton looked immense down the straights, and although only at that point, Red Bull and Mark Webber were no match for him then. Until the corners came of course; KERS can't help you then, Hammy!

What the top three drivers had to say on all the action in Malaysia

For us spectators it was a very interesting race, and Jenson Button agrees...that the race was "very interesting" of course; he probably doesn't give two cents about the supporters.

The Brawn GP driver claimed victory for the second time in as many races, as the better British driver (sorry Hammy!) led the way right up to when monsoon conditions brought things to rain-sodden standstill, after just 31 of the scheduled 56 laps.

On the race at Sepang, Button said, "My start was pretty bad, I had a lot of oversteer in the car and I don't think I got heat into the rear tyres. I went back to fourth, got back up to third, and eventually got back to the front and I was pretty happy."

"Our pace was good and then the rain started. Choosing the tyres became difficult because when it rains here it usually pours, but it didn't to start with. We went for the full wet tyre and it just destroyed itself."

"I saw Timo flying up behind us on the inter [intermediate tyre] so we put the inter on. Just as he came by I saw his tyres were bald. It was raining out the back so he had to pit."

"I was then able to get one lap in at reasonable pace before I had to pit and was able to get back out in front."

"It was a very interesting race but I still haven't seen a chequered flag without a safety car."

Football is a game of two halves, and for Toyota driver Timo Glock, Formula One appears to be as well.

Starting third on the grid, Glock made a rather slugglish, slow start to the race, and fell behind the likes of Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, and Mark Webber to run eighth in the opening laps.

However, as clouds gathered and the anticipated rain started to fall, the German and his team plumped for intermediate tyres rather than full wets.

It proved to be an inspired choice, as Glock suddenly became the fastest man on the track, moving up to second place before taking over at the front when race leader Jenson Button switched back from full wets to the inters on lap 29.

On the race, Glock said, "It was a tricky race. In the end it was one of the best races I have ever had."

"From the start we struggled, I couldn't believe we lost so many places. Fernando and Kimi were in front of me at the first corner, I didn't know where they came from. I struggled after the first lap and the traffic was really tricky."

"After five or six laps I saw the clouds and I kept asking when the rain was coming and they said it should come in the next few minutes. But it took so long and you could see the big clouds coming."

"It took so long and we were so close to the first pit stop so we decided to take the risk and go for intermediates because Felipe Massa was on heavy wets very early, and I knew they would destroy very easily."

"So we went for the inters and took the risk and it paid off."

The heavy rain which ended the Malaysian Grand Prix came at precisely the right time for Nick Heidfeld; his decision to stay out on track while rivals pitted for fresh tyres brought a fine second-place finish.

"I think it was a very difficult choice in these conditions," said Heidfeld, who nevertheless earned only four championship points, owing to the fact the race was stopped less than 75 percent short of its full distance.

"It was not a perfect tyre choice—I went straight to extremes, as normally it's heavy rainfall here."

"Then the team told me heavy rain was expected, and I told them inters would be a lot quicker now. Just as they told me to pit, it started to rain heavier."

"I was actually just 200 metres from the pit area and I said 'no, no, I'll stay out,' it's starting to rain more heavily."

Despite driving gingerly to save his tyres, Heidfeld nevertheless admitted that the safety car came out at exactly the right time for him.

"As I'd tried to preserve my tyres in the beginning, some other guys were quicker than me on the extreme wets, but I knew if the rain started then hopefully I could stay out," he added.

"That worked, but still my rear tyres were destroyed completely and were basically slicks, and when it started to rain I just tried to stay on the circuit."

Quotes courtesy of www.skysports.com