2017 Malaysia Grand Prix - Sepang, 29 September-01 October

[ringo]

Once hamilton sees the end dfawing close he is going to win the last set of races once the car is reliable.
Vettel has to dig deep and so kimi needs to practice bumper cars and aim for silver car with the red 44.

I think ferrari will be fastest here though.
Expecting tyre wear issues with mercedes.

[Moose]

My expectation of who'll be faster where:

https://i.imgur.com/hFgbrLs.png

To me, this is a pretty clearly Mercedes track.

I'd give 7&8 to Ferrari as well.

Not a chance - 7&8 are one single high speed downforce corner. That's Mercedes territory all the way.

[FrukostScones]

the tyres will be melting... that is for sure.

[Phil]

But not being Ultra Softs will help Merc. Guess it also depends how Pirelli will decide about camber and minimum pressures?

[godlameroso]

My expectation of who'll be faster where:

https://i.imgur.com/hFgbrLs.png

To me, this is a pretty clearly Mercedes track.

I'd give 7&8 to Ferrari as well.

Not a chance - 7&8 are one single high speed downforce corner. That's Mercedes territory all the way.

Where is the apex?

[PlatinumZealot]

the tyres will be melting... that is for sure.

The temperatures should be relatively cool this time of year in Malaysia. Actually it is the rainy season... I wish for rain!

[Bill_Kar]

Where did the tyre issue come from? After Canada I can't remember tyres being a problem. I think they have extended the window of operation especially SS and harder than that (tyre wear wasn't exactly the problem to start with)

[zibby43]

Mercedes is bringing a host of updates and new parts to Malaysia and/or Japan.

Merc's last major aero update was in Spain. Should be very interesting to see what they bring to the table.

We already saw the new shark fin (more surface area) debut in Singapore. Doubt it was a huge help there, but I'm sure Merc wanted to get some real-world data on prior to rolling out the rest of the future upgrades.

[Hammerfist]

My expectation of who'll be faster where:

https://i.imgur.com/hFgbrLs.png

To me, this is a pretty clearly Mercedes track.

Nice graphic, but we have to remember that more time is lost in the slow corners than the fast ones. There are quite a lot of slow corners here. Also Ferrari was better in the fast corners of S2 in Spa. I don't think the track favors Mercedes at all. It should be really close, and it wouldn't really shock me if Ferrari takes pole or wins.

[rscsr]

I'd give 7&8 to Ferrari as well.

Not a chance - 7&8 are one single high speed downforce corner. That's Mercedes territory all the way.

Where is the apex?

On last years pole lap from Hamilton: Apex was the apex from Turn 7.

[NathanOlder]

Id say its 1 big medium/high speed turn.

[Vasconia]

Mercedes is bringing a host of updates and new parts to Malaysia and/or Japan.

Merc's last major aero update was in Spain. Should be very interesting to see what they bring to the table.

We already saw the new shark fin (more surface area) debut in Singapore. Doubt it was a huge help there, but I'm sure Merc wanted to get some real-world data on prior to rolling out the rest of the future upgrades.

Is Ferrari going to bring some updates as well? I think its time to bring the new PU....

[Restomaniac]

Mercedes is bringing a host of updates and new parts to Malaysia and/or Japan.

Merc's last major aero update was in Spain. Should be very interesting to see what they bring to the table.

We already saw the new shark fin (more surface area) debut in Singapore. Doubt it was a huge help there, but I'm sure Merc wanted to get some real-world data on prior to rolling out the rest of the future upgrades.

Is Ferrari going to bring some updates as well? I think its time to bring the new PU....

I made this point just after the last race. If Vettel goes much further behind then Hamilton being able to bring in an extra ICE into play and just taking a penalty starts to be a possibility to negate the new Ferrari ICE.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

Mercedes is bringing a host of updates and new parts to Malaysia and/or Japan.

Merc's last major aero update was in Spain. Should be very interesting to see what they bring to the table.

We already saw the new shark fin (more surface area) debut in Singapore. Doubt it was a huge help there, but I'm sure Merc wanted to get some real-world data on prior to rolling out the rest of the future upgrades.

Is Ferrari going to bring some updates as well? I think its time to bring the new PU....

I made this point just after the last race. If Vettel goes much further behind then Hamilton being able to bring in an extra ICE into play and just taking a penalty starts to be a possibility to negate the new Ferrari ICE.

That is ASSUMING Ferrari PU is superior to Mercedes PU with conforming to reduced oil burning regulations. If that were to be the case, then we would have surely seen the new Ferrari PU making its debut in Monza. Nevertheless, I am eager to see what the new PU holds.

[Restomaniac]

Is Ferrari going to bring some updates as well? I think its time to bring the new PU....

I made this point just after the last race. If Vettel goes much further behind then Hamilton being able to bring in an extra ICE into play and just taking a penalty starts to be a possibility to negate the new Ferrari ICE.

That is ASSUMING Ferrari PU is superior to Mercedes PU with conforming to reduced oil burning regulations. If that were to be the case, then we would have surely seen the new Ferrari PU making its debut in Monza. Nevertheless, I am eager to see what the new PU holds.

True. But like I say Hamilton may well have that option added to the fact that he has 2 engines that have only ran 2 races apiece so far. I wonder if it's because Ferrari have used up their turbo allocation. I always thought an ICE and Turbo were designed as a pair. I could be wrong though.