It was a hot blisteringly afternoon that Saturday, as we made our way down to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), with all hopes of catching a glimpse of highly respected drivers and perhaps to even to rub shoulders with them, but more importantly we were able to attend, all thanks to Infiniti (Proud sponsor for the Red Bull’s Formula One racing team) providing us a pass to the F1 Paddock Club that a certain Tom Goh managed to win!
Although we arrived earlier in the day, way before the qualifying rounds began in the late afternoon, there was nothing short of the hustle and bustle of F1 mechanics running around trying to get their job done as quickly and as perfectly as possible.
Sure it was hot and humid, but they did go about their business unfazed and undaunted by the humid heat. Clouds were lacking and it was simply just clear blue skies all around us.
The sun’s rays were merciless but that just meant the track was soaking up a lot of heat, eager to transfer it onto the slick Pirelli tyres just so it could lay down some overheated rubber around the track.
Thankfully, we had access to the F1 Paddock Club that’s located above the pits and were able to catch glimpses of what seems to be some form of orchestrated chaos around the driver and their cars. Ultimately, this meant that our vantage points were quite limited.
Of course you always know when something’s about to go down as a F1 engine takes a rather loud breath of life. Very few things out there can stir the soul as much as a F1 engine can, resonating and permeating all the way through your flesh, leaving you simply in awe and then followed by and after-taste of pure amazement and respect.
At the end of the day, Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber and Sebastien Vettel had to start from fourth and fifth respectively, with Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and; believe or not, Michael Schumacher were the top three men to line up on the grid on Sunday, all powered by Mercedes-Benz.
However, at the end of the race on Sunday, it wasn’t the top three qualifying driver that were on the podium with Lewis Hamilton having dropped to 3rd at the end of the race, Jenson in 14th and Schumi just making it into the points with a 10th place finish.
Instead, drivers got fairly shuffled around thanks to the rain, with Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) taking the chequered flag followed by Sergio Perez (Sauber-Ferrari) and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes).
The Red Bull boys of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel finished 4th and 11th respectively.
