2007 Malaysian Grand Prix

The 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix, otherwise known as the 2007 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix, was the second round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia, on 8 April 2007.'Malaysia 2007: Alonso delivers the old 1-2.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 08/04/2007), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/58252/1/malaysia-2007-alonso-delivers-the-old-1-2, (Accessed 12/02/2020) The race would see Fernando Alonso lead teammate Lewis Hamilton to a one-two, defeating the two s.
Ahead of the race there had been several clarifications by the FIA and race organisers, the most major being a protest by against . The former's complaint was that Toro Rosso's 2007 car, the STR2, was essentially the Red Bull RB2 from with minor upgrades, although this protest was thrown out.
McLaren, meanwhile, would ask for clarification about systems that circumvented flexible floors, after the two Ferraris were noted as showing floor movement at high speed in Australia. This was appeased by the FIA, who mandated several floor mounting designs, which both Ferrari and complied with before the race.
Into the race weekend and those changes to the floor seemed to have little impact, for Felipe Massa swept to pole position for Ferrari in qualifying, ahead of Alonso's McLaren. Kimi Räikkönen and Hamilton would then share the second row, while Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica got their BMW Saubers into fifth and seventh respectively.
The start of the race would see everyone bar Jenson Button, Jarno Trulli and the two Red Bulls start on option tyres, with Massa initially making a good start. However, the Brazilian racer would take a cautious approach into the first corner, and hence allow both Alonso and Hamilton, who had out-dragged Räikkönen, to sweep past.
Later around the lap Adrian Sutil would have a spectacular exit, a suspension failure entering turn four sending the Spyker into the side of Button's . Vitantonio Liuzzi and Takuma Sato came together in the wake of that collision, with everyone bar Button involved in the accidents retiring on the spot.
The early stages saw Alonso establish a small lead, while Massa threw everything he had at Hamilton to try and reclaim second. Hamilton's resistance appeared to have finally broken on lap five, with Massa screaming past the McLaren into the first corner, only to overshoot the corner and slip back down to fifth.
All that fighting allowed Alonso to build a fifteen second lead by the time the first round of stops began, with the Spaniard pitting a lap after Räikkönen. Hamilton made a shorter stop than the rest to get himself back out ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella, who held up Räikkönen, while Massa remained stuck behind Heidfeld's BMW Sauber.
With less fuel than his teammate there was little surprise that Hamilton was able to close the gap to Alonso and drop Räikkönen, recording several fastest laps during the second stint. However the trade off was the fact that he had to stop earlier than the rest, take on more fuel, and use his third set of tyres for longer.
Yet, the order at the head of the field remained the same once the second round of stops was completed, although Alonso had increased his lead and Räikkönen had regained some ground on Hamilton. He duly spent the rest of the race closing in on the rookie's McLaren, moving into striking position with a handful of laps to go.
Hamilton's resistance was not to be broken, however, and so the Brit would hang on to secure second behind teammate Alonso, who held a comfortable lead to the flag. Räikkönen hence had to settle for third, less than a second behind the #2 McLaren, while Heidfeld was a distant fourth ahead of Massa. Fisichella, Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen claimed the remaining points.
==Background==
It was Kimi Räikkönen who had opened the season with victory and the lead in the Championship, leaving Australia with ten points to his credit. Defending Champion Fernando Alonso began his title defence in second, with new teammate Lewis Hamilton and impressive third after his debut. Nick Heidfeld and Giancarlo Fisichella completed the opening day top five, with Felipe Massa, Nico Rosberg and Ralf Schumacher also on the board.
In the Constructors Championship it was who led the way, a point ahead of in second after the opening race. An eight point gap followed before appeared in third, with , and the factory completing the scorers.
===Entry list===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Fernando Alonso 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-22 	 	FO 1080T 2.4 V8 	
2 	Lewis Hamilton 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-22 	 	FO 1080T 2.4 V8 	
3 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	ING Renault F1 Team 	 	R27 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
4 	Heikki Kovalainen 	ING Renault F1 Team 	 	R27 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
5 	Felipe Massa 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F2007 	 	056 2007 2.4 V8 	
6 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F2007 	 	056 2007 2.4 V8 	
7 	Jenson Button 	Honda Racing Team 	 	RA107 	 	RA807E 2.4 V8 	
8 	Rubens Barrichello 	Honda Racing Team 	 	RA107 	 	RA807E 2.4 V8 	
9 	Nick Heidfeld 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.07 	 	P86/7 2.4 V8 	
10 	Robert Kubica 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.07 	 	P86/7 2.4 V8 	
11 	Ralf Schumacher 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF107 	 	RVX-07 2.4 V8 	
12 	Jarno Trulli 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF107 	 	RVX-07 2.4 V8 	
14 	David Coulthard 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB3 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
15 	Mark Webber 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB3 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
16 	Nico Rosberg 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW29 	 	RVX-07 2.4 V8 	
17 	Alexander Wurz 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW29 	 	RVX-07 2.4 V8 	
18 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR2 	 	056 2006 2.4 V8 	
19 	Scott Speed 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR2 	 	056 2006 2.4 V8 	
20 	Adrian Sutil 	Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team 	 	F8-VII 	 	056 2006 2.4 V8 	
21 	Christijan Albers 	Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team 	 	F8-VII 	 	056 2006 2.4 V8 	
22 	Takuma Sato 	Super Aguri F1 Team 	 	SA07 	 	RA807E 2.4 V8 	
23 	Anthony Davidson 	Super Aguri F1 Team 	 	SA07 	 	RA807E 2.4 V8 	
Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only
35 	Sebastian Vettel 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.07 	 	P86/7 2.4 V8 	
38 	Kazuki Nakajima 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW29 	 	RVX-07 2.4 V8 	
 	Giedo van der Garde 	Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team 	 	F8-VII 	 	056 2006 2.4 V8 	
 	Fairuz Fauzy 	Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team 	 	F8-VII 	 	056 2006 2.4 V8 	
Source:'Malaysia 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/engages.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)
* Giedo van der Garde and Fairuz Fauzy were both announced as third drivers for Spyker, but were postponed to give Christijan Albers and Adrian Sutil more track time in their upgraded cars.https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/spyker-likely-to-alter-third-driver-plans-4408536/4408536/
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
===Q2===
===Q3===
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	Grid
1 	5 	Felipe Massa 	 	 	5 	1:35.340 	 	2 	1:34.454 	 	1 	1:35.043 	1
2 	1 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	1 	1:34.942 	 	1 	1:34.057 	 	2 	1:35.310 	2
3 	6 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	3 	1:35.138 	 	4 	1:34.687 	 	3 	1:35.479 	3
4 	2 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	2 	1:35.028 	 	3 	1:34.650 	 	4 	1:36.045 	4
5 	9 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	 	6 	1:35.617 	 	6 	1:35.203 	 	5 	1:36.543 	5
6 	16 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	11 	1:35.755 	 	8 	1:35.380 	 	6 	1:36.829 	6
7 	10 	Robert Kubica 	 	 	4 	1:35.294 	 	5 	1:34.739 	 	7 	1:36.839 	7
8 	12 	Jarno Trulli 	 	 	7 	1:35.666 	 	7 	1:35.255 	 	8 	1:36.902 	8
9 	11 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	 	10 	1:35.736 	 	10 	1:35.595 	 	9 	1:37.078 	9
10 	15 	Mark Webber 	 	 	8 	1:35.727 	 	9 	1:35.579 	 	10 	1:37.345 	10
11 	4 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	 	14 	1:36.092 	 	11 	1:35.630 	 	 	 	11
12 	3 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	 	12 	1:35.879 	 	12 	1:35.709 	 	 	 	12
13 	14 	David Coulthard 	 	 	9 	1:35.730 	 	13 	1:35.766 	 	 	 	13
14 	22 	Takuma Sato 	 	 	16 	1:36.430 	 	14 	1:35.945 	 	 	 	14
15 	7 	Jenson Button 	 	 	13 	1:35.913 	 	15 	1:36.088 	 	 	 	15
16 	18 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	 	 	15 	1:36.140 	 	16 	1:36.145 	 	 	 	16
17 	19 	Scott Speed 	 	 	17 	1:36.578 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	23 	Anthony Davidson 	 	 	18 	1:36.816 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
19* 	8 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	 	19 	1:36.827 	 	 	 	 	 	 	22
20 	17 	Alexander Wurz 	 	 	20 	1:37.326 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
21 	21 	Christijan Albers 	 	 	21 	1:38.279 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
22 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	 	22 	1:38.415 	 	 	 	 	 	 	21
Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'2007 FORMULA 1™ Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2007/races/809/malaysia/qualifying.html, (Accessed 12/02/2020)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
*Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
** Barrichello was awarded a ten place grid penalty for changing his engine.
===Grid===
** Barrichello started the race from the pitlane.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	1 	Fernando Alonso 	 	56 	1:32:14.930 	2 	10
2 	2 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	56 	+17.557s 	4 	8
3 	6 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	56 	+18.339s 	3 	6
4 	9 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	56 	+33.777s 	5 	5
5 	5 	Felipe Massa 	 	56 	+36.705s 	1 	4
6 	3 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	56 	+1:05.638 	12 	3
7 	12 	Jarno Trulli 	 	56 	+1:10.132 	8 	2
8 	4 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	56 	+1:12.015 	11 	1
9 	17 	Alexander Wurz 	 	56 	+1:29.924 	19 	
10 	15 	Mark Webber 	 	56 	+1:33.556 	10 	
11 	8 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	55 	+1 Lap 	PL 	
12 	7 	Jenson Button 	 	55 	+1 Lap 	15 	
13 	22 	Takuma Sato 	 	55 	+1 Lap 	14 	
14 	19 	Scott Speed 	 	55 	+1 Lap 	17 	
15 	11 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	55 	+1 Lap 	9 	
16 	23 	Anthony Davidson 	 	55 	+1 Lap 	18 	
17 	18 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	 	55 	+1 Lap 	16 	
18 	10 	Robert Kubica 	 	55 	+1 Lap 	7 	
Ret 	16 	Nico Rosberg 	 	42 	Water leak 	6 	
Ret 	14 	David Coulthard 	 	36 	Brakes 	13 	
Ret 	21 	Christijan Albers 	 	7 	Engine 	20 	
Ret 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	0 	Collision 	21 	
Source:'Malaysia 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)	Source:'Malaysia 2007: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie/classement.aspx, (Accessed 12/02/2020)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
==Milestones==
* Twentieth race entries for Nico Rosberg and Scott Speed.[Archived] '2007 Malaysian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190409234516/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2007&gp=Malaysian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 12/02/2020) - Original
* Felipe Massa recorded the 100th pole position for a car using Bridgestone tyres.
* Sixteenth career victory for Fernando Alonso.'2. Malaysia 2007', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2007/malaisie.aspx, (Accessed 13/02/2020)
* scored their 149th win as a constructor.
** powered a car to a 54th victory.
* Maiden points finish for Heikki Kovalainen.
* Lewis Hamilton recorded his maiden fastest lap.
** Also the 130th fastest lap to be recorded by a McLaren chassis.
** Mercedes claimed their 70th fastest lap as an engine supplier.
==Standings==
Victory, combined with second place on the opening day, meant it was reigning Champion Fernando Alonso who led the title hunt after the Malaysian Grand Prix, holding eighteen points to his name. Kimi Räikkönen had been forced to make way for him, a first and a third in the opening races leaving him two behind on sixteen, while Lewis Hamilton had retained third on fourteen. Nick Heidfeld, Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa had likewise held station behind, as Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen had added their names to the scoresheet.
In the Constructors Championship it was status quo at the head of the pack, as had opened out a nine point lead in Malaysia. retained their spot in second as the Anglo-German alliance's closest challengers, before a thirteen point gap back to in third. and completed the early top five, the latter having overhauled customers in Sepang.
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Fernando Alonso 	18 	1
2 	Kimi Räikkönen 	16 	1
3 	Lewis Hamilton 	14 	
4 	Nick Heidfeld 	10 	
5 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	7 	
6 	Felipe Massa 	7 	
7 	Jarno Trulli 	2 	2
8 	Nico Rosberg 	2 	1
9 	Heikki Kovalainen 	1 	1
10 	Ralf Schumacher 	1 	2
World Championship for Constructors*	World Championship for Constructors*	World Championship for Constructors*	World Championship for Constructors*
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	32 	
2 	 	23 	
3 	 	10 	
4 	 	8 	
5 	 	3 	1
6 	 	2 	1
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
** Includes points scored by before their exclusion prior to the 2007 Belgian Grand Prix.
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2007 Grands Prix
Category:Malaysian Grand Prix