Tyre management vital as Vettel, Button and Heidfeld take Malaysia podium

As Championship leader Sebastian Vettel noted after his win at the Malaysian Grand Prix, it is still early in Formula One’s race calendar, but Pirelli’s PZero F1 tyres appear to be having the manufacturer’s desired effects of placing tyres at centre-stage and aiding overtaking. For the second race in succession, Red Bull’s Vettel converted pole position to a win, with tyre strategy proving crucial. The drivers who best looked after their tyres in the punishing conditions of Malaysia were rewarded with the top positions, with McLaren and Lotus Renault, driven respectively by Jenson Button and Nick Heidfeld, who went from Pirelli test driver to podium finisher in less than six months, having held off a strong last-ditch challenge by Mark Webber.

The top three finishers all selected a similar three-stop strategy, running the soft tyre for the first two stints before switching to the hard tyre for the final stint. Button conserved his rubber to maximum effect, running to the end of the race on the hard tyre following his final stop on lap 38. Heidfeld was also able to showcase his tyre management skills, using hard tyres that had covered 18 laps to fend off Webber’s Red Bull, which stopped four times. Heidfeld consequently stood on the podium for the first time since the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2009.

Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi was the top finisher to complete the race on just two stops, making the hard tyre last for 20 laps following his switch from the soft tyres on lap 36. The Japanese driver finished eighth, picking up his first points of the year. All drivers started the race on the soft tyres. The race was characterised by plenty of overtaking including notable battles between Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button on lap 17, Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa on lap 27, and Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso on lap 45.

Pirelli’s Motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “If we thought the Australian Grand Prix was good, then Malaysia was something else! Thankfully the weather stayed dry, which meant that we were able to see our tyres performing without the rain factor. The Malaysian Grand Prix turned into a battle of strategy and bravery from start to finish, where choosing the right tyres at the right time was absolutely crucial. Once those vital decisions had been made, it then became a question of looking after the tyres in the best way possible, to make the choices really count in these very punishing conditions.

“All three drivers on the podium today were able to underline their extraordinary talents in this area, with the tyres playing a vital role in setting up a series of battles that went down to the very final lap. In particular I’d like to congratulate Nick Heidfeld who was our very first test driver when our Formula One tyres first took to the track in August last year. After such a breath-taking race though there’s no actual time to draw breath, as now we head straight to China for yet another new challenge – and hopefully just as thrilling a spectacle.”

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