engine changes dominate qualifying

[sepang]

sepang is definitely the toughest race on the calendar. not just for the drivers, but definitely to their engines as well.

as of the point i write this post, five cars have received penalty for changing their engines. those engines are ferrari for michael schumacher, massa, and coulthard, ralf's toyota, and the latest to bite the dust is barichello's honda. seems like sepang is really an engine killer.

at his point, jenson button, klien, and trulli (and maybe the midland boys) should really be worrying. it seems like their engines will most probably break during the race. i can't see how they'll be able to push really hard and not be thinking about their engines blowing. i would say their chances of finishing are in serious doubt.

i am very impressed with renault, mercedes, and cosworth's engines, all of them holding up. in fact, i'm very very impressed with williams' performance. they have effectively put two cars up there in the second row. they are very fast, and of course very reliable. it is such a big turn from last year, now they are right in contention and they'll be pushing for a five-way fight for the championship.

anyways, here's how the grid looks right now. however, i can't guarantee this will be the starting grid tomorrow. i'm expecting to see more movements by the time the race starts.

furthermore, i believe many more cars will blow up during the race tomorrow. those cars that do not have a fresh engines, might be gambling their race if their engine can't hold up. and for those who have fresh engines, they might have the last laugh.

looking at the current grid, i'm predicting the podium to be fisichella, montoya, and nico rosberg (!), in no particular order. we'll find out soon enough.

oh yeah, be ready for the alonso-kimi tussle tomorrow. that'll be very exciting.



previous posts:
bahrain: thrilling bahrain
bahrain: an exciting start to 2006

[tagged: renault, sepang, nico rosberg, formula 1]