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Russ Bond Motorsport Report: Ferrari Hot in Malaysia

Two countries, two vastly different results... that has been the 2008 Formula

Kimi Raikkonen stormed back into the championship hunt with a win in Malaysia. (Photo: Ferrari)
1 season in a nutshell, so far. In Australia, site of the season opener, it was all Lewis Hamilton and McLaren, while in Malaysia the boys in red – Ferrari – showed up the rest of the field.
Kimi Raikkonen dominated after passing teammate Felipe Massa during the first round of pits stops, who later spun out and didn't finish.

The grid for the start was a little mixed up as both McLarens were moved back five spots for blocking in qualifying. In truth, both drivers seemed out to lunch as they cruised back in on their cool down lap, but in actuality they were going as slow as possible to save on fuel - more than just the McLarens were following this strategy, but the others weren't at the most dangerous spot on the course while Nick Heidfeld attempted his one last shot at pole in his very quick BMW, slowing him down. Other cars were still on flying laps too The penalties should end teams taking advantage of the rules, or in this case the lack of a regulation for minimum track speed.

Given the speed and lack of reliability of Ferrari in Australia, a McLaren win was still in the cards on race day.

That went out the window, as Massa and Raikkonen set off into the distance.
BMW is very quietly making its stake to join the top four. Nick Heidfeld finished sixth, and was credited with the fastest race lap, while

The podium at Malaysia looked different from Australia, but there still was one BMW driver on it. (Photo: Ferrari)
Robert Kubica came home a very strong second, beating Heikki Kovalainen – the best of the McLaren lads on Sunday, partially due to Hamilton's team blowing his pit stop, dropping him back in the field by 12 seconds.

When Raikkonen is on form, and his car lasts, he is unbeatable, and the same could be said for Hamilton. The question is when will we see them go head to head?

For now, both of the top teams are focused on each other, but they should also keep one eye on BMW and another on Toyota, the latter which showed some decent pace in Malaysia, with Trulli finishing 4th. Red Bull also seems to be a contender, if not for early reliability problems from its Ferrari engines.

Like most of the previous years, we'll really have to wait until they get back to Europe to see who really has the goods, and the first of the serious car updates will come in Spain – we'll know more then.

Bahrain is next, and Ferrari has tested there in the winter, so expect another cakewalk for Raikkonen. Massa still is in with a shout, but his mistake at Malaysia said volumes about his skill. He can say what he wants, but the truth is he chucked it off the road while all by himself. For sure, this fact is not lost on the Ferrari management, and giving up 8 points will not sit well with them.

Felipe Massa didn't help his cause by spinning out of second place. (Photo: Ferrari)

Hamilton left Malaysia with a three point lead over Raikkonen, thanks to crawling back through the pack a second time for a 5th place finish. That will be gone after Bahrain.

Malaysian GP - Sunday - Race Results
Malaysian Grand Prix Results - 23 March 2008 - 56 Laps
POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT LAPS TIME/RETIRE
1. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari 56 1h31m18.555
2. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 56 19.570
3. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 56 38.450
4. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota 56 45.832
5. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 56 46.548
6. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 56 49.833
7. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 56 1m08.130
8. Fernando

The two Ferraris went at it on the start. Massa came out on top... for a while. (Photo: Ferrari)
Alonso Spain Renault 56 1m10.041
9. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Renault 56 1m16.220
10. Jenson Button Britain Honda 56 1m26.214
11. Nelson Piquet Brazil Renault 56 1m32.202
12. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Ferrari 55 1 Lap
13. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Honda 55 1 Lap
14. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 55 1 Lap
15. Anthony Davidson Britain Super Aguri-Honda 55 1 Lap
16. Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 54 2 Laps
17. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 54 2 Laps
R Sebastian Vettel Germany Toro Rosso-Ferrari 39 Hydraulics
R Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari 30 Spin
R Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Ferrari 5 Hydraulics
R Timo Glock Germany Toyota 1 Damage
R Sebastien Bourdais France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0 Spin
FASTEST LAP:
Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 55 1:35.366

Kennington 34th at Nashville
With it being an off weekend for the Sprint Cup series, the Nationwide Series

was in action at Nashville. Like usual this year, Kyle Busch was the man to beat. And like usual, Busch had problems – this time driver induced – to ruin his day.

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