Sepang International Circuit layout & records

Description

Sepang Circuit History

Luciano Burti Arrows Malaysia 2002

The Malaysian Grand Prix has become one of the most popular races on the calendar since its debut in 1999. The venue was the catalyst for a surge of Asian races that now dominates the F1 season, but it remains the most popular, alongside the historic Japanese Grand Prix.

Held just outside the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, its long straight and technical fast corners make it an attractive circuit and one that provides plenty of overtaking opportunities.

The race is traditionally held at the beginning of the season and it always provides plenty of drama and excitement.

This is largely due to the spectacular weather conditions. March is storm season in south-east Asia and heavy rain is frequent on race day.

Sergio Pérez racing the Sauber C31 to the 2nd place finish at Malaysia 2012

This can cause excitement but it is also a massive hindrance. The rain is often too heavy for the cars to manage and the race has been stopped before. In 2009, the race was abandoned half-way through due to the freakish conditions.

However, when the rain stays away the sun beats down and it is one of the hottest events of the year. Drivers have been known to lose up to a stone in weight during the race, due to the extreme heat.

The changing of conditions is more frequent now, due to the change in start time on race day, which has become 4pm locally to make it more convenient for European viewers.

Ferrari has been the most successful team at the Sepang circuit as they dominated the first few years.

Mark Webber & Sebastian Vettel on the podium at Malaysia (2013)

However, the most memorable race was in 2013 when Red Bull hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. Now referred to as ‘Multi-21-gate’, Sebastian Vettel overtook his team-mate Mark Webber to win the race in the final stages of the race.

This was seen as a dirty trick, as Webber had been assured that Vettel wouldn’t attack him and the cars would finish 2-1, in reference to the numbers on the front of their cars with Webber winning.

Malaysia still remains popular with both drivers and fans, as it is a blend of old and new F1. Modern, challenging and popular tracks are hard to come by but Malaysia has got the balance right.

In the fast changing world of the sport, Malaysia is growing in popularity and is now seen as an essential fixture of F1’s calendar.

Three Corners in Detail

Turns 1 & 2
Turn 1 is a big engine braking zone, coming directly after the pit straight where the engine has been at full throttle for a touch under 11secs. The driver will brake down from 7th to 2nd gear and just 80km/h for the entry of the turn before lightly applying the throttle between T1 and 2. At this point the engine needs to have good torque response as the revs drop to 9,000rpm. Engine engineers will do this through the pedal maps, giving enough sensitivity when the pedal is low.

Raikkonen with Lotus E21 turn 6

Turns 5 & 6
Turns 5 and 6 are two of the fastest corners on the track, taken at an average 225km/h, with only a small lift off between corners. The high speed changes of direction put the internals of the engine under a lot of pressure, particularly the oil system, where the fluids are 'squashed' to one side by the g-forces. In contrast to T1 and 2 where the pedal sensitivity is required is at low opening positions, the driver will mainly be modulating the pedal towards its maximum travels. The driver needs to have confidence in the torque and pedal maps at these high pedal positions, particularly over the kerbs, to maximise his speeds through these two fast corners.

Pit straight

Start of 2013 Malaysian F1 GP

Top speed will peak at the end of the straight at around 310 km/h with DRS activated. Getting the right balance between a high top speed and appropriate acceleration is critical, making the choice of gear ratios crucial: you want to hit top speed just before the end of the straight to take advantage of greater acceleration. How the car behaves at this cruise speed will also be important for the driver. It needs to be smooth, so as not to affect the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle. A smooth engine behaviour at the end of straight will ensure that reaching the top speed will be as transparent as possible for the driver and make overtaking easier. However, this can sometimes be difficult to calibrate, especially at Sepang where you have two long straights of opposite directions, which can mean that the wind can come into play.

Podiums

F1 Podium Winners on Sepang Circuit

Year	Race	Date	Top 3 Drivers	Teams	Laps
2017	2017 Malaysian F1 GP	October 1	Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Mercedes Red Bull	56
2016	2016 Malaysian F1 GP	October 2	Daniel Ricciardo Max Verstappen Nico Rosberg	Red Bull Red Bull Mercedes	56
2015	2015 Malaysian F1 GP	March 29	Sebastian Vettel Lewis Hamilton Nico Rosberg	Ferrari Mercedes Mercedes	56
2014	2014 Malaysian F1 GP	March 29	Lewis Hamilton Nico Rosberg Sebastian Vettel	Mercedes Mercedes Red Bull	56
2013	2013 Malaysian F1 GP	March 24	Sebastian Vettel Mark Webber Lewis Hamilton	Red Bull Red Bull Mercedes	56
2012	2012 Malaysian F1 GP	March 25	Fernando Alonso Sergio Pérez Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari Sauber McLaren	56
2011	2011 Malaysian F1 GP	April 10	Sebastian Vettel Jenson Button Nick Heidfeld	Red Bull McLaren Renault	56
2010	2010 Malaysian F1 GP	April 4	Sebastian Vettel Mark Webber Nico Rosberg	Red Bull Red Bull Mercedes	56
2009	2009 Malaysian F1 GP	April 5	Jenson Button Nick Heidfeld Timo Glock	Brawn BMW Sauber Toyota	31
2008	2008 Malaysian F1 GP	March 23	Kimi Räikkönen Robert Kubica Heikki Kovalainen	Ferrari BMW Sauber McLaren	56
2007	2007 Malaysian F1 GP	April 8	Fernando Alonso Lewis Hamilton Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren McLaren Ferrari	56
2006	2006 Malaysian F1 GP	March 19	Giancarlo Fisichella Fernando Alonso Jenson Button	Renault Renault Honda	56
2005	2005 Malaysian F1 GP	March 20	Fernando Alonso Jarno Trulli Nick Heidfeld	Renault Toyota Williams	56
2004	2004 Malaysian F1 GP	March 21	Michael Schumacher Juan Pablo Montoya Jenson Button	Ferrari Williams BAR	56
2003	2003 Malaysian F1 GP	March 23	Kimi Räikkönen Rubens Barrichello Fernando Alonso	McLaren Ferrari Renault	56
2002	2002 Malaysian F1 GP	March 17	Ralf Schumacher Juan Pablo Montoya Michael Schumacher	Williams Williams Ferrari	56
2001	2001 Malaysian F1 GP	March 18	Michael Schumacher Rubens Barrichello David Coulthard	Ferrari Ferrari McLaren	55
2000	2000 Malaysian F1 GP	October 22	Michael Schumacher David Coulthard Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari McLaren Ferrari	56
1999	1999 Malaysian F1 GP	October 17	Eddie Irvine Michael Schumacher Mika Häkkinen	Ferrari Ferrari McLaren	56

Driver Ranking

Driver Ranking Sepang Circuit

	Driver	GP	1st	2nd	3rd	Pod	Pole	FL	Avg Grid	Avg Pos	Points
1	Sebastian Vettel	10	4	0	1	5	2	1	6.7	7.7	127
2	Fernando Alonso	16	3	1	1	5	2	1	9.8	8.0	88
3	Michael Schumacher	11	3	1	1	5	5	2	5.2	6.1	51
4	Kimi Räikkönen	14	2	0	1	3	0	2	7.0	9.9	66
5	Lewis Hamilton	11	1	3	2	6	5	2	5.1	5.2	116
6	Jenson Button	17	1	1	2	4	1	1	9.4	9.4	54
7	Max Verstappen	3	1	1	0	2	0	0	3.7	3.3	49
8	Daniel Ricciardo	6	1	0	1	2	0	0	7.5	10.0	41
9	Ralf Schumacher	9	1	0	0	1	0	0	9.2	10.0	22
10	Giancarlo Fisichella	11	1	0	0	1	1	0	11.5	11.8	13
11	Eddie Irvine	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	10.3	10.8	11
12	Rubens Barrichello	13	0	2	1	3	0	0	9.3	9.0	27
13	Mark Webber	12	0	2	0	2	1	2	6.8	10.1	63.5
14	Juan Pablo Montoya	6	0	2	0	2	0	2	6.0	7.2	24
15	Nico Rosberg	11	0	1	3	4	0	2	5.5	9.3	75.5
16	Nick Heidfeld	11	0	1	2	3	0	1	9.5	9.3	36
17	David Coulthard	10	0	1	1	2	0	0	8.5	12.0	16
18	Sergio Pérez	6	0	1	0	1	0	1	10.7	9.5	36
19	Jarno Trulli	12	0	1	0	1	0	0	8.2	9.6	25.5
20	Robert Kubica	4	0	1	0	1	0	0	5.8	10.8	20
21	Mika Häkkinen	3	0	0	1	1	0	2	3.3	4.3	8
22	Heikki Kovalainen	6	0	0	1	1	0	0	15.2	13.7	7
23	Timo Glock	5	0	0	1	1	0	0	14.0	16.0	3
24	Felipe Massa	15	0	0	0	0	2	0	10.7	8.6	52
25	Valtteri Bottas	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	11.4	6.8	34
26	Nico Hülkenberg	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	9.9	10.0	21
27	Adrian Sutil	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.3	16.1	10
28	Bruno Senna	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.0	11.0	8
29	Romain Grosjean	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	11.8	14.3	8
30	Paul di Resta	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	14.3	12.7	7
31	Stoffel Vandoorne	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	7.0	7.0	6
32	Kamui Kobayashi	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	14.0	16.3	6
33	Jean-Eric Vergne	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	14.7	12.3	5
34	Lance Stroll	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.0	8.0	4
35	Carlos Sainz	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.0	12.7	4
36	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	11.4	9.8	4
37	Jacques Villeneuve	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	10.6	12.1	4
38	Johnny Herbert	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	8.5	9.0	3
39	Daniil Kvyat	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	10.3	11.0	3
40	Jaime Alguersuari	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.5	11.5	2
41	Kevin Magnussen	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.0	13.7	2
42	Jolyon Palmer	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.5	12.5	1
43	Esteban Ocon	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.0	13.0	1
44	Christian Klien	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	9.3	12.0	1
45	Luciano Burti	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.0	10.0	0
46	Gianmaria Bruni	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	16.0	14.0	0
47	Alex Yoong	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22.0	17.0	0
48	Ralph Firman	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.0	10.0	0
49	Allan McNish	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	19.0	7.0	0
50	Yuji Ide	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.0	17.0	0
51	Lucas di Grassi	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	24.0	14.0	0
52	Luca Badoer	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	21.0	15.0	0
53	Patrick Friesacher	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.0	20.0	0
54	Giedo van der Garde	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22.0	15.0	0
55	Roberto Merhi	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	19.0	15.0	0
56	Antônio Pizzonia	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.0	14.0	0
57	Damon Hill	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	9.0	21.0	0
58	Giorgio Pantano	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.0	13.0	0
59	Alessandro Zanardi	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	16.0	10.0	0
60	Pierre Gasly	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.0	14.0	0
61	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22.0	19.0	0
62	Tarso Marques	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.0	14.0	0
63	Zsolt Baumgartner	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	17.0	16.0	0
64	Toranosuke Takagi	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22.0	18.0	0
65	Karun Chandhok	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22.0	15.0	0
66	Will Stevens	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.0	20.0	0
67	Justin Wilson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	19.0	15.0	0
68	Pedro Diniz	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.5	17.5	0
69	Jules Bianchi	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	19.0	16.5	0
70	Felipe Nasr	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	17.0	14.5	0
71	Ricardo Zonta	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.0	17.0	0
72	Kazuki Nakajima	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	16.5	14.5	0
73	Mika Salo	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.5	10.0	0
74	Marc Gené	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.0	13.0	0
75	Gastón Mazzacane	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.5	12.5	0
76	Enrique Bernoldi	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	19.0	18.5	0
77	Tiago Monteiro	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	17.0	12.5	0
78	Charles Pic	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.5	17.0	0
79	Nelson Piquet Jr.	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.0	12.0	0
80	Max Chilton	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	21.0	15.5	0
81	Sébastien Bourdais	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	16.5	16.0	0
82	Cristiano da Matta	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	10.5	10.0	0
83	Scott Speed	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	14.5	15.0	0
84	Pascal Wehrlein	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	19.5	16.0	0
85	Narain Karthikeyan	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	21.3	18.7	0
86	Anthony Davidson	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.0	16.7	0
87	Sébastien Buemi	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.0	13.3	0
88	Jean Alesi	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.3	9.0	0
89	Vitaly Petrov	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.7	17.3	0
90	Jos Verstappen	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	17.0	10.0	0
91	Esteban Gutierrez	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.0	16.0	0
92	Christijan Albers	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.0	15.3	0
93	Alexander Wurz	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	10.3	8.0	0
94	Marcus Ericsson	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	16.8	15.8	0
95	Vitantonio Liuzzi	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.5	16.5	0
96	Pedro de la Rosa	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	18.3	16.3	0
97	Olivier Panis	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.8	18.2	0
98	Takuma Sato	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	17.0	13.4	0
99	Pastor Maldonado	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	14.8	19.8	0

Team Ranking

Team Ranking Sepang Circuit

	Team	GP	1st	2nd	3rd	Pod	Pole	FL	Avg Grid	Avg Pos	Points
1	Ferrari	19	7	3	3	13	7	3	6.7	6.7	237
2	Red Bull	13	5	3	2	10	3	2	5.9	7.3	243.5
3	McLaren	19	2	3	4	9	1	5	7.9	9.0	145
4	Renault	12	2	1	2	5	3	1	9.0	9.4	80
5	Mercedes	8	1	3	4	8	4	3	4.2	6.9	164
6	Williams	19	1	2	1	4	0	2	10.2	11.8	90.5
7	Brawn	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	4.5	3.0	7
8	BMW Sauber	5	0	2	0	2	0	1	7.4	10.6	22
9	Toyota	8	0	1	1	2	0	0	9.2	9.1	25.5
10	Sauber	14	0	1	0	1	0	0	14.0	13.1	33
11	BAR	7	0	0	1	1	0	0	11.4	14.2	10
12	Honda	3	0	0	1	1	0	0	14.0	9.8	6
13	Force India	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.4	12.2	50
14	Lotus F1	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	11.5	12.6	24
15	Toro Rosso	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	14.3	13.4	18
16	Stewart	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5.5	4.5	5
17	Jordan	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	13.0	12.5	4
18	Jaguar	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.9	13.6	1
19	Spyker	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.5	21.5	0
20	Midland	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	15.5	12.5	0
21	Haas	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	14.5	16.3	0
22	Virgin Racing	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.8	18.0	0
23	HRT	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	22.8	19.2	0
24	Prost	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	16.2	14.6	0
25	Super Aguri	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	17.8	15.2	0
26	Benetton	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	11.5	10.2	0
27	Arrows	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	17.3	14.6	0
28	Caterham	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	19.9	16.0	0
29	Manor	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.1	16.7	0
30	Minardi	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	19.7	14.6	0