17/03/2002

Malaysian Grand Prix Race Report

Panasonic Toyota Racing impressed even more in the second round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship at Sepang in Malaysia even though Allan McNish only just missed out on points in only his second Grand Prix start.

Mika Salo who had qualified 10th was having a good battle with Jenson Button's fifth-placed Renault before he was forced into the pits for attention to electrical problem.

"The early laps were very good and I was keeping up easily with the guys in front of me and making some passes " Mika commented. "I had an electronic problem with the traction control after the first pit stop which ruined my race really. But it is encouraging to see our two cars finish and good for the team".

"It was a big shame for him " said chief designer Gustav Brunner. "Basically the electrical problem was causing the engine to lose power. We plugged the diagnostics in and tried to reset it but after he went back out again there were further problems." When Salo rejoined he found that sometimes the traction control was working and sometimes it wasn't. Then close to the end he started to lose gears again related to the electronic problem and he eventually crossed the line in 12th place three laps behind.

Allan McNish meanwhile made up for the disappointment of yesterday- when he was forced to qualify in the spare car - when he made a stunning start. From 19th on the grid he came round 11th at the end of the opening lap!

"Obviously I am pretty happy considering where we started on the grid " McNish said. "The car felt more comfortable to drive - a lot more than it was in qualifying and on Friday. Today I was able to race with cars that I didn't think I'd be racing with at this stage. We can now look ahead to Brazil with a lot more confidence".

Allan's pace was highly competitive and as the race approached two-thirds distance he was in a points position ahead of Felipe Massa's Sauber which finally took sixth place. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding in the pits and Allan made his second stop just after Mika had left. His tyres weren't quite ready for him and he suffered a lengthy delay.

At the front Williams-BMW scored a 1-2 victory with Ralf Schumacher coming home in front of team mate Juan Pablo Montoya. Unfortunately for Montoya though he was given a 'drive through' penalty imposed by race stewards for causing what the stewards described as 'an avoidable accident' with Michael Schumacher at the first corner.

Schumacher also lost the nose of his Ferrari in the contact and had to pit for a replacement. He drove through the field to finish on the podium taking advantage of a mechanical problem to relieve the luckless Jenson Button of third place on the last lap. Rubens Barrichello led the race but suffered a mechanical failure as did both McLaren-Mercedes drivers Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard.

Nick Heidfeld brought his Sauber-Petronas home in fifth place ahead of team mate Felipe Massa who scored points in just his second Grand Prix.