287 lines
8.2 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
287 lines
8.2 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sport
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motorsport
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formulaone
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8439894
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# Malaysian Grand Prix 2011: Red Bull's Sebastien Vettel on pole position at
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Sepang, Lewis Hamilton starts second
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## Was this the day when the 2011 championship came alive? A riveting
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qualifying session that went down to the wire and the prospect of a
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fascinating duel between Red Bull and McLaren in Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix
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had the Sepang paddock buzzing on Saturday night.
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![Malaysian Grand Prix 2011: Red Bull's Sebastien Vettel on pole at Sepang,
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Lewis Hamilton starts second][1]
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Speed racer: Sebastien Vettel pulled it out of the bag at the last moment
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Photo: EPA
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[![Tom Cary][2]][3]
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By [Tom Cary][4] 10:26AM BST 09 Apr 2011
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[Follow Tom Cary on Twitter][5]
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[Comments][6]
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There remain plenty of questions left unanswered, chief among them whether Red
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Bull are still holding something back. But it seems clear that, whatever
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transpires, the championship is looking a whole lot more competitive than it
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did a fortnight ago.
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What a couple of weeks for McLaren. Pole winner Sebastian Vettel raised a few
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laughs afterwards with his observation, in response to a question as to
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whether he was holding something back, that in qualifying you "pull your
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trousers down and show what you have got".
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If he was telling the truth he will not have been laughing on the inside.
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It took a blistering lap from the young German world champion, right out of
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the top drawer and with just seconds to spare, to snatch P1 for Sunday's race
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by a 10th of a second from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.
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The Briton claimed afterwards that did not even produce the perfect lap. "You
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can never get it that perfect," he said. "But I don't think we can be
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disappointed. We feel very proud that we're even up with the Red Bulls. Of
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course we would have loved to be P1 but clearly we have closed the gap a bit
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-- so it seems anyway."
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## Related Articles
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* [Hamilton quickest in final practice][7]
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09 Apr 2011
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* [Webber fastest in Malaysia][8]
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08 Apr 2011
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* [Webber fastest in first practice][9]
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08 Apr 2011
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* [Red Bull scoff at McLaren moans][10]
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07 Apr 2011
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* [Hamilton: weather won't cost us][11]
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08 Apr 2011
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* [Button: Sepang will be chaos][12]
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07 Apr 2011
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So it seems. What that means is that, effectively, and contrary to all
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expectations, McLaren have turned around a two-second per lap deficit to Red
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Bull in just a fortnight. A staggering effort.
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What is more, Red Bull no longer have the excuse that they are not using KERS,
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the energy boost device which is reckoned to be worth up to 0.3sec per lap and
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which they left off the car in Australia a fortnight ago, figuring their
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advantage was so great they did not need to take the risk with a system which
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can cause reliability issues.
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Both Vettel and team mate Mark Webber, who qualified in third place, just
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ahead of McLaren's second driver Jenson Button, were using the device on
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Saturday. In fact, Vettel admitted that without it McLaren would have taken
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pole. "I would say so, definitely," he said. "The gap is quite a lot smaller
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than it was in Australia."
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No kidding. Vettel was nearly a second clear of the field in Melbourne and
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McLaren were more than thrilled with their efforts there. Now they are
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positively breathing down Red Bull's necks.
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It is all set up for a great race -- perhaps the closest since Turkey last
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year when the Red Bulls managed to collide with each other under severe
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pressure from McLaren.
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How Red Bull fare with KERS, a system which has caused them problems in
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testing through overheating -- and which they have never before used in a race
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-- is one of many intriguing sub-plots which will reward an early morning
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alarm call.
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Hamilton has huge experience of how to use the device, which is particularly
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effective off the start line, and he could well be leading into turn one.
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Then there are the new Pirelli tyres, which threaten to degrade at a rate of
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knots in the 31C heat. Up to 50 pit stops are expected in the race -- three to
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four per car -- and that is before you factor in any potential rainstorms.
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Every driver's objective will be to get right up behind the next man, to put
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pressure on him so that he uses his rubber up more quickly.
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The moveable rear wing -- another device new for this season which aids
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straight line speed -- will aid them in this regard. Forbidden for the first
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two laps of the race, it could prove a boon on Sepang's long straights
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thereafter.
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Whether the casual fan is able to follow what the hell is going on is another
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question altogether.
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"There is going to be a bit of a difference with strategy and pit stops, but
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generally I think it will be a straight fight between ourselves and Red Bull,"
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said Hamilton, before adding "although you can never discount Ferrari."
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It was another dispiriting day for fans of the Prancing Horse. A winter of
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optimism has turned into a spring of despair although Fernando Alonso, who did
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will to claim fifth on the grid, was bullish.
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"There is no secret we need to improve," he said. "but to be fifth, starting
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from the clean side, with the race in front of us.. I think if we finish the
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race we will be on the podium. We have to be really concentrated."
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At least he is not driving a Mercedes, another team who talked up their
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chances pre-season. Both Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher encountered
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problems with their rear wing and will start ninth and 11th respectively.
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They, like Ferrari, have a lot of work to do.
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For now, it is all about Red Bull and McLaren. Bernie Ecclestone said last
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month that races are always more fun with a bit of rain. It is testament to
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the battle we have in store that the thunderstorms forecast for Sunday, which
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usually do so much to spice up proceedings, would be most unwelcome.
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**Leading positions after qualifying: **
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1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1mins 34.870secs
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**2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:34.974**
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3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:35.179
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**4 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:35.200**
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5 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:35.802
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6 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Renault 1:36.124
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7 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:36.251
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8 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 1:36.324
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9 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:36.809,
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10 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 1:36.820
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11 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:37.035
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12 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.160
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13 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.347
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14 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 1:37.370
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15 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams 1:37.496
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16 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.528
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17 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:37.593
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18 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams 1:38.276
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19 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Lotus F1 1:38.645
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20 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Lotus F1 1:38.791
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21 Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin Racing 1:40.648
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22 Jerome d'Ambrosio (Bel) Virgin Racing 1:41.001
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23 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) HRT-F1 1:41.549
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24 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) HRT-F1 1:42.574
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[X][13] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][14]
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* Share: [Share][13] [ ][15] [ ][16]
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[Tweet][17]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/8439894/Malaysian-
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Grand-Prix-2011-Red-Bulls-Sebastien-Vettel-on-pole-position-at-Sepang-Lewis-
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Hamilton-starts-second.html
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Telegraph
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## [Formula One][18]
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* ### [Sport »][19]
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* ### [Motorsport »][20]
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* ### [Lewis Hamilton »][21]
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* ### [McLaren »][22]
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* ### [Red Bull »][23]
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In sport
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[![][24] ][25]
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### [Red Bull rule in Turkey][25]
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[![Formula One 2011: drivers' and constructors' world championships standings
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- Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton][26] ][27]
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### [F1 2011: standings][27]
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[![][28] ][29]
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### [F1 2011: full race schedule][29]
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[X][13] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][14]
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Share:
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* [ ][13]
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* [ ][15]
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* [ ][16]
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* [Tweet][17]
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* FORMULA ONE ACTION PHOTOS
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Advertisement
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![][30]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][31] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][32]
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Formula 1 Drivers' championship: Latest standing in the Formula One drivers'
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