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I'll post some of the pictures when we get on to the next page [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] don't want to slow things down too much for anyone with dial up.


SCHUEY WINS AS BUTTON BREAKS HIS DUCK
Last Updated: Sunday, 21 March , 2004, 11:32

Michael Schumacher kept his cool in the Malaysian humidity to take his second win of the season.

But the big news for British race fans was the fact that Jenson Button finally ended his 68-race wait for a podium with a brilliant third position.

Schumacher was kept honest throughout the race by second-placed Juan Pablo Montoya, but the German delivered yet another consummate performance and never looked in serious trouble.

There was a serious sense of deja-vu when Schumacher and team-mate Rubens Barrichello made flawless starts. Not so Mark Webber who, from second on the grid, got bogged down and was swallowed up by the field.

As at Melbourne, the Ferraris made serene progress in the first couple of laps – but a brief shower soon shook things up.

Schumacher was able to cope but Barrichello, on the harder Bridgestone tyres, was all over the place and dropped to fourth behind Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen.

Although Michelins grip better than Bridgestones in damp conditions, the rain actually played into Schumacher’s hands by helping to lower the track temperature.

Schumacher had gambled on soft compound tyres and the risk paid off, in part because temperatures stubbornly remained a full 10°C lower than during Saturday’s qualifying.

However, this should not detract from Bridgestone’s achievement in producing a tyre capable of living with the Michelins in what were still hot conditions.

Schumacher pitted relatively early but it swiftly became evident that all the leading runners were on three-stop strategies.

Montoya briefly closed to within three seconds of the German after the first round of stops but had overcooked his tyres and Schumacher stretched his lead out again.

The Colombian was unbowed but every time he edged back into contention, Schumacher responded. And when Montoya fed out of his final stop behind the other Ferrari of Barrichello it was all over.

The Brazilian had to stop again, eventually finishing fourth, but it sealed Montoya's fate.

Back in the midfield, Webber fought back strongly from his terrible start until he was tagged by Ralf Schumacher, puncturing his right rear tyre. That ended the luckless Aussie’s hopes and he later spun off.

Raikkonen initially looked comfortable in third place, holding off first Barrichello then Jarno Trulli. But Button, who had been running fifth, got the jump on the lot of them when he delayed his second stop and emerged in third.

Things were to get worse for Raikkonen when his McLaren ground to a smoky halt on lap 40. Another Mercedes engine failure? Whatever, the Finn’s championship hopes now look all but over before the season has even begun in earnest.

David Coulthard at least salvaged some pride for McLaren with sixth but the gloomy atmosphere in their garage was in marked contrast to the riotous celebrations over at BAR.

Third place did not just represent the best result of the Briton’s career, it probably also goes down as the pinnacle of the team’s achievements thus far. Although Jacques Villeneuve scored two podiums for BAR, they both owed something to good fortune. This one was achieved on merit.

Among the teams BAR outpaced were Renault. Jarno Trulli had looked a good bet for the podium in the early stages while Fernando Alonso rocketed through the field, going from last place to eighth in a matter of laps.

But Pat Symonds’ tactical calls failed to pay off for once and the team eventually had to settle for fifth and seventh places, probably less than they were expecting at the outset of the weekend.

Eighth place looked like it was heading to BAR’s Takuma Sato, one of the few drivers to opt for a two-stop strategy but the Japanese driver suffered an engine failure just four laps from the finish.

Instead, Felipe Massa of Sauber claimed the final point. It was deserved reward for the Brazilian, who had raised eyebrows by outpacing team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella all weekend.

It is a toss-up whether the day belongs to Schumacher or Button but two things seem certain. One, this race was a vast improvement on the sterile procession of Melbourne and, two, both Schuey and Jense can expect more of the same in the rest of the season.


JPM TARGETS CONSISTENCY
Last Updated: Sunday, 21 March , 2004, 11:27

Juan Pablo Montoya believes Williams need a consistent car to take the challenge to Ferrari.

The Williams driver had to settle for second place in the Malaysian GP after failing to catch race winner Michael Schumacher.

While closing the gap to the German to just a few seconds at one point, the Williams driver was unable to put Schumacher under any real pressure.

He said: “I had a good first few laps and I managed to get in front of Rubens. Then I had quite a smooth race. Towards the end I was trying to catch Michael because I felt my car was just getting better and better.

“Unfortunately, after my third and last stop I exited the pitlane behind Rubens. I tried to pass him but then I preferred to back off as I did not want to compromise a good second position.

“I realised at this point that the most important thing was taking home some valuable points for the team and for myself.”

Asked if he thought Williams could take the challenge to Ferrari, Montoya said: “It’s hard to say. It’s very early days, the car still needs quite a bit of work.

“We need to be at their level or above and to get above you need a car that is consistent enough to win everywhere and we are close in some places but we still nee to do quite a bit of work, but I think we did a good job here.

Team-mate Ralf Schumacher, a previous winner at Malaysia, had an eventful day after hitting Jaguar’s Mark Webber. His race came to an end on lap 28 after he suffered an engine failure.

He said: “I had a reasonable start but got trapped in traffic, so I lost several positions and dropped to 9th place.

“At the third lap I had contact with Webber and my front wing was damaged, causing massive understeer, especially in sector two which was obvious from my times.

“I was trying to overtake Mark but then I realised there was not enough room and I backed off, trying to avoid the collision, however Mark didn't give me enough space.

“Finally I had a technical failure, which caused an early end to my race.”

Chief operations engineer Sam Michael added: “The team did a good job today with excellent pit stops.

“We were happier with our race performance than we were in qualifying.

“However, we still have a lot of work to do on the chassis, engine and tyres. The whole package needs improving and we will be pushing hard to close the gap in the championship.

“Juan had a good start and drove a fighting but cool-blooded race. Ralf struggled after the start and then had the engine failure.”

LUCKLESS KIMI STAYS POSITIVE
Last Updated: Sunday, 21 March , 2004, 11:30

Kimi Raikkonen was determined to look on the bright side despite suffering another retirement in Malaysia.

Raikkonen suffered a transmission failure while running fourth at Sepang. The retirement means he is already 20 points adrift of Michael Schumacher in the championship.

However, the Finn was philosophical about the blow and insisted he was heartened by the progress the team has made since the first race of the year in Melbourne.

He said: "It's never nice not to finish a race, not only for me but also for the team.

However, whilst we need to become even more competitive at least we have taken a step in the right direction, and I know everybody will continue their efforts to improve even further.

“We were close to getting on the podium today, but in my second pitstop we struggled to get the fuel nozzle to come off, so we lost important time to BAR and Jenson could take third.

“A few laps later something broke in my transmission, and that was the end of that. I'm now hoping that we can take another step in time for the next race in Bahrain."

Team-mate David Coulthard did make the finish, but had to settle for sixth place.

He said: "We can take some satisfaction from the fact that we have improved our package since Melbourne, but we still have some way to go.

“Sixth place is not brilliant, but at least we have improved and I know that everybody in the entire team will continue to work hard until we are where we want to be which is at the front."

And Coulthard sportingly sent his congratulations to fellow Brit Jenson Button, who clinched his maiden podium with third place.

He said: “I’m very happy for him. We get on very well off-track, and he’s obviously a hard racer on track, as I would be.

“He’s been a little bit quicker in the first two races and he’s been close to getting a podium for quite a while now so I think it’s a great day for him and John and the rest of the family.

“I’m looking forward to joining him for a little celebratory drink with a bottle of champagne.”

ECSTATIC BUTTON CRAVES MORE
Last Updated: Sunday, 21 March , 2004, 12:43


He's broken his duck, now podium-sitter Jenson Button wants more of the same.

Button relished his first trip to the podium in Malaysia – the first in his 68-race career.

The Briton drove a sensational race in the heat of Sepang to bring his car home in third place behind Michael Schumacher and second-placed driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

Button had missed out on a podium on five occasions, having to settle for fourth.

At the same race last year the BAR driver was in third place before his suspension broke. This year he as gone one better and is delighted to finally mix it with the big boys.

“Amazing! It’s as much as the team’s as it is mine, they’ve worked so hard for this.

“It’s not the pinnacle of what we want but it’s a step in the right direction. I’m ecstatic and I can’t wait to get back to the team and congratulate them.”

But it wasn’t plain sailing for the Briton who clashed wheels with Renault’s Jarno Trulli at the start and then just laps from the end team-mate Takuma Sato retired with an engine failure, causing Button and team members alike to wonder if the same demise would end his race.

He added: “I touched Jarno [Trulli] after the start and I thought something might me wrong, but everything felt fine.

“I had a good fight with him in the first few laps and it was nice to have a gap behind me.

“For the past two years I’ve had cars breathing down my neck for the last lap so it was nice to have a bit of a gap.

"It's a great feeling we've worked so hard, and I have in my career, and this is the first time I have been on the podium in four years so it's been a struggle but with a lot of hard work it is a fantastic feeling to be here.”

Button insists there’s still more to come from the 005 and has called for more consistency.

He said: "It would be nice if we could be as consistent as we have been here, that is what we have been fantastic at.

“Qualifying we seem to be pretty consistent but I don't know, we have to wait and see.

"Things can change within the season as we saw with Williams last year, they seemed to be able to make a huge step forward.

“We hope we can move forward at the same time as all the other teams."

Team boss David Richards - who has not seen a team podium since the German GP in 2001 - was delighted with his charge and admitted he has always had a strong faith in Button.

He said: “I would describe it as another step up the ladder. This year we’ve always thought a lot of the car, Honda have done a great job with the engine and the switch to Michelin tyres.

“I’ve also always had great confidence in Jenson’s ability so to see him on the podium today is great for his father and for myself.

“It’s his first ever podium and it’s been niggling at him for a few years ever since he’s been in F1: ‘Why haven’t I been on the podium?’ Great opportunities have always just gone by but today was the day.”


BRIATORE EXPECTED MORE
Last Updated: Sunday, 21 March , 2004, 10:35

Renault boss Flavio Briatore was not satisified with fifth and seventh in the Malaysian GP.

Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso both scored points to continue the team’s 100 per cent record this season but Briatore made it clear he had expected more from this weekend.

He said: "It is a disappointing result for us after we had expected to fight at the front here in Malaysia.

“When Fernando was stuck in the pack, we decided to change his strategy but unfortunately, the result didn't match up to our expectations.

“As for Jarno, he had an eventful race and he fought well for his fifth place.

“The team worked very well all weekend, and we will learn from our mistakes in order to achieve our full potential in Bahrain in two weeks' time."

Trulli and Alonso were both happier with the way the race had gone than their boss.

The Italian said: "It's a satisfying result, given that I started eighth and all our competitors were very strong today.

“After my first stop, the front tyres started graining, and I lost time in the second and third stints relative to my closest rivals. The car was understeering a lot during this part of the race.

“Having said that, we were reliable and once again have two cars in the points: we can't be too disappointed."

Alonso, who started last after spinning in qualifying, added: "I am pleased to score two points after what happened yesterday. Obviously, everything changed for us after qualifying and in that perspective this is a pretty positive result.

“ It is always difficult here in Malaysia, and our mistakes during the weekend didn't make life any easier. But when you finish seventh after starting last, things could be worse."

Renault’s tactical guru Pat Symonds was disappointed that his strategy calls did not produce bigger dividends.

He said: "Jarno found himself among very competitive opposition, and when everybody is running similar strategies, it is hard to be creative.

“Fernando soon found himself among potentially slower cars and we decided to change to a two-stop strategy to try and help him past them. Unfortunately, this didn't work, but neither did he lose any positions."

WEBBER: WE'LL KEEP ON LEARNING
Last Updated: Sunday, 21 March , 2004, 10:26

Mark Webber was philosophical after a string of disasters at the Malaysian GP.

The Jaguar driver qualified in a spectacular second place for the Sepang race only for his efforts to be thwarted after his Jaguar made a slow start off the grid.

He quickly found himself swallowed up by the rest of the field and had his work cut out to make his way through the pack.

But then his charge was scuppered after contact with the Williams of Ralf Schumacher causing a puncture to his rear tyre.

Webber had to nurse his car round for nearly a lap to get to the pits. To add salt to an already seeping wound, he was then giving a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane.

But he fought back with a determination that will have been noted by the big brass at Williams only for his race to come to a premature end on lap 26 when he spun.

He said: "I couldn't get away and then Ralf drove into the back of me because he was p***ed off that I'd overtaken him.

"I got a puncture from that and had to stop and then I spun out. It is absolutely frustrating.

“I had a lot of rear tyre wear but that was my fault because I've got to drive in those conditions. But we'll keep on learning.”

Team-mate Christian Klien was also slow off the mark and the team have admitted they will hold an investigation into the problem.

Klien, who finished the day 10th, said: "My start was not good and I am certainly frustrated with this.

"I did however, actually enjoy the race and it was good for me.

"Before Bahrain we will be looking to understand more about why I had a slow start and why the fuel cap did not open.

"The main thing for me is finishing after what has been an incredibly tough ninety minutes but also rewarding for me."

Mark Gillan, head of vehicle performance, added: "This has been a very unsatisfactory finish to the weekend for all of us.



"Both R5s were slow pulling away at the start and after many good practice starts this weekend we will be investigating this throughly on our return to the factory."



"We at Jaguar Racing have a lot of hard work ahead of us between now and Bahrain as we know that we have a competitive package and getting both drivers to the finishing line and scoring points is what we are capable of."


MASSA TAKES POINT AT 'HOME' RACE
Last Updated: Sunday, 21 March , 2004, 12:57

Malaysia was a suitable venue for Felipe Massa to score his first point since returning to F1 with Sauber.

The Swiss team are sponsored by Malaysian national oil company Petronas and have a good record at the track, having scored points on each of F1’s last two visits to Sepang. Massa himself was sixth at the 2002 event.

The Brazilian overcame a clutch problem to clinch eighth place and said: “In the end this was a really good result for us.

“I scored my first point here in 2002, so it's good to come back and do the same two years later. This was very important for us, to score a point for Petronas."

Team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella had to settle for 11th place after his engine stalled twice during pitstops.

But the Italian insisted: “The car wasn't too bad in between all that."

Another driver to suffer pit dramas, albeit of a different kind, was Olivier Panis.

The Frenchman expained: “I was running quite strongly in tenth place until a radio communication problem resulted in an unscheduled pitstop.

“It is a real pity because the car felt good and was handling well. The final result showed that we could have been in contention for a point today.”

Panis’ frustration was doubled by the fact that he was caught speeding in the pitlane during his stop that never was and received a further drive-through penalty. He signaled his disgust to team bosses with a series of gestures to the pit wall.

Team-mate Cristiano da Matta unluckily finished just shy of the points in ninth spot and admitted: “It is a bit frustrating.”

The word ‘frustrating’ also came to Jordan engineering boss James Robinson’s mind when asked for his verdict on his team’s race.

Nick Heidfeld ran strongly early on before retiring with a transmission problem while Giorgio Pantano could manage only 13th.

Robinson said: “It was disappointing not to get Nick across the line at the end as he did a fantastic start and was running high up the order and one of the last ones to pit which, strategy-wise, was good.

“It's encouraging although somewhat frustrating that we may have had the chance to score a point with Nick as he was fighting with Massa at the beginning and he finished in the points.”

Minardi managed to get both cars to the end of the race in 14th and 16th place - but not without some dramas. Zsolt Baumgartner suffered from a chassis imbalance all race while Gianmaria Bruni had to drive the last 30 laps without power steering.

Team boss Paul Stoddart said: “14th and 16th positions probably don’t do justice to gutsy efforts from both our drivers today.

“With the reliability enjoyed by most competitors, it was the best we could do, but having said that, it’s always good to get both cars home.”


SCHUEY HAILS BRIDGESTONE TYRES
Last Updated: Sunday, 21 March , 2004, 11:26

Michael Schumacher praised tyre supplier Bridgestone after taking victory at the Malaysian GP.

The Ferrari driver led from the start with his only real challenge coming from the Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya. But the German always had him covered.

It was expected that the hot temperatures and humidity would favour the Michelin runners as the teams headed to one of the most challenging grands prix of the season.

But Bridgestone have obviously been working hard over the winter to produce a tyre to suit the hotter conditions earning praise from Schumacher.

He said: "The difference we had compared to last year was one of the reasons, and Bridgestone did a fantastic job.

"To win in such conditions is a good result. When we needed to be quick we were, but the beginning of the race was tough and unpredictable where the water was.

"I had to be cautious. It was a tough fight until the end. It was pressure all the way."

Schumacher is now seven points ahead of his nearest rival, team-mate Rubens Barricehllo, in the championsip, but he refuses to get carried away and knows there is still a lot to play for.

He added: No doubt, it's only two out of 18 races - 16 to go.

"I have 20 points in my pocket, which is more than last year. But relaxed would certainly be the wrong word. It was pressure all the way."

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn was likewise delighted with the Japanese manufacturer and put the win down to their meticulous work.

He said: "Bridgestone did a fantastic job. This win is down to them. It was a close race.

“The tyres were great towards the end of the stints and it is a real tribute to Bridgestone and the job they have done.

"These are conditions in which we would have struggled, but I think we had the best tyre. For us it is a measure of what we managed to achieve over the winter, tyre testing, car testing and to have won in Australia and here is really very, very good.

"I can't praise Bridgestone enough - they are doing a great job this year."

Team-mate Rubens Barrichello had a less successful day and while chasing third-placed driver Jenson Button hard towards the end, the Brazilian had to settle for fourth spot.



Rubens Barrichello: “I pushed hard all race long, doing as much as I could. I made a different tyre choice to my team-mate and it did not pay off.



“On top of that, in the opening laps, when it rained, my tyres quickly lost temperature and that’s why I lost a few places.



“Unfortunately, the two seconds that kept me away from Button in the fight for the podium were lost when I was overtaking Baumgartner.



“In any case, I’m satisfied with the car, which confirmed its potential.



“Of course, I would like to have won, but at least I brought home five points which will be important for the championship.”