Yes it was! One of the better races that I've watched lately.
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Agreed, that was a great race, if the rest of the season is like this then its going to be great.
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what an awesome opening set of races! Australia was definitely an exciting race. Glad its back on this continent this year, too!
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Watching Malaysia right now. Will be exciting if the big boys can make their way through the field.
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Malaysia was my first ever Formula One race to watch, it was AWESOME! I was inspired by Alonso's performance considering the gearbox or what ever was going out, he fought hard and then to have it go in the last 2 or 3 laps :-) damn that has got to suck!
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Good race....wasn't quite as exciting as Australia but a good race none the less. Finally Red Bull Renault was a able to cash in and put the reliability issues to rest. Pretty cool to see three different manufactures win. Shaping up to be a really good season.
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Definitely a good race. This one just reinforced that adopted the inverted order start used occasionally in NASCAR would be make for some interesting races as it would forced the fastest cars to have to work their way up from the back of the pack like the McLaren's and Ferrari's did in Malaysia. Not something to do often or in the last third, and never on the classics like Monaco, but one or 2 races a year would mix things up nicely.
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That would only be fair if they awarded points for Qualifying. It was a decent race, but the top 5 was little change, and the top 3 did not change after the 2nd lap.

Malaysia can push the engine to the limit as we saw. Mercedes GP has to do some quick thinking. MSC's rear suspension-transmission issue is a serious issue if a simple curb caused it.
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glad to see redbull get the reliability issues dealt with. after 3 races, the top 7 drivers are split by a mere 9 points.
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If I had cable or dish TV, and if I could stay awake, I might just catch a race or three. But seeing how I don't, and can't, I guess I'll just have to wait until these drivers graduate to NASCAR. :-)
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Red Bull is integral to my speedtv fantasy league. I have Vettel as one of my three drivers and Red Bull as the Constructor.
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They'll be there just as soon as, like JP Montoya, they've lost the mental acuity to drive in real racing and can only remember how to turn left :-) :-)

I don't see how it wouldn't be fair if it was a published rule change at the beginning of the season. All teams would be treated equally, and as we saw in the last race (especially with Hamilton), the faster cars are always going to work their way to the front and it makes for more exciting racing to have a lot of passing. The key is to randomize the races which run an inverted order and not to let the teams know until after qualy's completed so no "slow qualy" strategy's develop.

The FIA has been trying for several years to figure out how to make the racing more exciting by creting the opportunity to for passing allowing. Unfortunately passing is always going to be more difficult on open wheel cars that it will in closed cars like NASCAR due to the aero package but this is one of the very very few times when F1 can learn from NASCAR. A faster car and driver skill while still put the top guys to the front while giving the underdog teams a chance to spoil, the excitement would be watching how those battles play out.

I don't actually mind if the leader goes pole to pole or if the top few places don't change around much during a race as long as there's the excitement throughout the pack that there has been in the last couple GP's. What I don't like is when it becomes a parade like it was in Bahrain.
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I totally disagree. The fastest car should be awarded with the pole position simple as that. Just run mid pack and you’ll always start mid pack. Talk about boring.

Hamilton and Schumacher pass people because they are the best drivers and when they are against the best drivers in the front, there is not as much passing. Who cares if Schumacher passes Petrov to 15th place.

FIA has succeeded in making at least Qualifying more exciting. The format works great. As for the racing, the effort has been on making F1 less expensive than making the show better. They have failed at making less expensive and drove the manufacturers away. Making the show better is Bernie’s problem, not Max’s.
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That is exactly what leads to the parades for which F1 has become all too well know for of late. The race itself is becoming secondary to qualy, might just as well turn it into an individual timed spirit like WRC and give the trophy out at the end of Saturday's session forgetting about Sunday altogether. The point that I'm trying to make is that the drivers and teams wouldn't know before the end of Qualy if it was an inverted race so there'd be no point in trying to go either slow (to grab the inverted pole) or mid-pack.

If you look at almost every race over the last couple years the coverage is almost NEVER the lead car, it's always in the pack where Schmacher is trying to pass Petrov etc. Why? It's simply not exciting to watch one car rip around a track, even if that car happens to be leading the race. The excitement is in the battles. And don't forget, those are the top 24 drivers in the world on that grid..... they all have the ability to both win on any given day and to spoil the day of a higher ranked driver. Cases in point; Schumacher in almost every race this year, Button vs Kobayashi last year. It was Kobayashi's first start in an F1 car and he managed to prevent Button from passing for how long? That was one of the most exciting battles I've seen in a very long time and it was for what, 14th position?

No, while it would be nice to have every exciting battle occur at the front of the pack the reality is that usually whoever has the right setup that weekend is running his own race well ahead and the real excitement is in the pack. Forcing the fast cars to run their way up through the pack to the front in one or two races per season would make for VERY exciting racing.

Qualy should NEVER substitute for the race itself, that's completely stupid yet it's what F1 has become in many cases.

I agree that the focus on reducing cost was idiotic, however they've also had a huge focus on trying to increase passing. It's why they dropped from V10's to V8's and why the aero packages have been so heavily reduced. The problem is still finding a way to overcome the dirty air that trails .5 - .75 sec behind these cars and kills the performance of when trying to catch up enough to get into slipstream. Unfortunately I don't think physics will ever allow passing in the same manner as you get in stock car, and FIA needs to realize this and move on. Exploit the strengths of the sport instead of trying to force it into something it's not.
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Great Race in Malyasia, its shaping up to be a great season. Boring at times, but for the most part this year has been more interesting than the last couple IMO.
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Why wouldn't running mid-pack be the best game plan. You know where you are starting no matter the decision?



That is not true. The last two seasons, it came down to the last one or two races and plenty of the camera was up front on Hamilton, Massa, Alonso, and Vettel. Only during Schumacher's last couple of years, but that was due to how great the Ferrari was. More was done to take away Schumacher's strength, than anything else. The best driver will still win, as he did.

No, while it would be nice to have every exciting battle occur at the front of the pack the reality is that usually whoever has the right setup that weekend is running his own race well ahead and the real excitement is in the pack. Forcing the fast cars to run their way up through the pack to the front in one or two races per season would make for VERY exciting racing.

It's always been a complement never a substitute, but forcing to keep the car in parc ferme has lead to the current format. The race weekend is a good schedule for the fans and TV.



The focus has not been on increased passing, just reduced costs. The fans talked about it, bur FIA did little. Elminating side view mirrors, split rear wings, launch control, traction control, two way telemetry are all things that increase passing, yet all they have done is finally added slick tires and one season of KERS. If passing was still a priority, KERS would still be in use. FIA is not interested in more passing or the entertainment aspect of F1, just the rules.
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Cool video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9V8oAOUMSs
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Not much action on this thread so I thought I would give it a bump.

I am new to F1, and I am really loving it! The first race I ever watched was the second of the season, Australia. I didn't really like the Australia race but I went ahead and gave it a second chance in Malaysia and have been hooked ever since! This last weeks race, Monaco was AWESOME! I wish there was more passing up front but still an exciting event to watch. I want to see one in person now! :-)

I am not sure who I like yet, (who to root for) but I am having a good time just watching the races. My daughters and I were rooting for Kubica this weekend cause they liked the yellow car! :-) My daughters are kinda hooked too!

Are the G2 races televised?
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GP2 is televised in Europe but rarely, if ever, in North America. Some of the races are posted to usenet, and I imagine off torrent as well, so you can download them there if you use it but I've never really tried.
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Most of the GP2 races are telivised right before the F1 Race pre show starts
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