Formula 1 in chaos after first two races
Traditional power McLaren has scored just a single point this season.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Formula One season has lurched to a chaotic start after two races.
The sport’s power teams are in crisis, one of the races finished prematurely due to contentious scheduling, and there is still no decision on whether results from the races in Australia and Malaysia will stand.
The Malaysian Grand Prix was cut short just past the halfway point on Sunday, when a tropical storm hit the Sepang circuit, making conditions undriveable.
It was predictable that starting the race at 5 p.m. local time — to suit European television audiences — would increase the likelihood of it being hit by a torrential downpour, which generally arrive in the late afternoon or early evening in Malaysia.
The late start also meant that once the storm had largely passed after almost an hour’s wait, encroaching darkness made a restart unfeasible.
Malaysian’s new prime minister said immediately after the race that he would look at moving the event back to its regular afternoon start.
Whether that happens remains to be seen. Generally, races that suggest changes that run counter to the wishes of F1 authorities don’t tend to stay on the schedule for long.
Brawn GP’s Jenson Button won both races, making Brawn the first new team to win its opening two GPs since Alfa Romeo won the sport’s first two races in 1950.
The results from Australia and Malaysia remain provisional pending a ruling of the FIA’s International Court of Appeal in Paris on Tuesday.
Ferrari, BMW, Renault and Red Bull have lodged appeals against stewards’ decisions in Australia and Malaysia to allow Brawn, Toyota and Williams to race with what the four teams claim are rear diffuser designs that breach new aerodynamic regulations.
The three teams have dominated the time sheets in the opening two races because the diffusers, an undercar device that channels the flow of air from the front to rear, help create greater downforce in the corners.
At the other end of the standings are the power teams: McLaren, with a single point, and Ferrari, which has gone through the opening two races of the season without earning a point for the first time since 1992.