Kimi Raikkonen believes that Ferrari has made progress in 2015 and can provide a much stronger challenge to Mercedes compared to last year. Raikkonen qualified in fifth position in Australia but had to retire after his second pit stop when his wheel was not firmly attached. "Obviously we are in a much better position than we were say even at the end of last year so in that way it's a nice place to be but obviously we still have to improve quite a bit," […]

After a low-key opening round to 2015, the Formula 1 circus moves on to the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia for the second race of the campaign. In Australia it was Lewis Hamilton who got his title defence off to the perfect start as Mercedes dominated proceedings. 12 months ago the Briton claimed his first victory in Malaysia as he controlled the race from start to finish; he’ll be seeking another win to increase his early championship advantage over team-mate Nico Rosberg. Malaysia is also […]

Fernando Alonso says he is ready to make his return to Formula 1 this weekend in Malaysia following his testing crash at Barcelona last month. Alonso suffered a concussion in the crash and missed the Australian Grand Prix on advice from doctors, with Kevin Magnussen lining up alongside Jenson Button for the opening event of 2015. Alonso has been provisionally cleared to race this weekend but needs to pass final FIA assessments on Thursday before he is given the green light. "I watched the weekend […]

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas is sure that he will be deemed fit to race in Malaysia this weekend after sitting out the first round of the year in Australia. Bottas complained of back pain after qualifying in sixth place for the race and was taken to hospital, where it was discovered that he had suffered a small tear in the annular part of a disc in his lower back. While Bottas was eager to race, he did not pass a final medical examination and subsequently […]

Sauber reserve driver Raffaele Marciello will make his Grand Prix weekend debut for the squad during the first practice session in Malaysia this weekend. Marciello will replace Felipe Nasr for the opening 90 minute session and will become the first Italian to participate in a Grand Prix weekend since Jarno Trulli and Vitantonio Liuzzi both exited the sport after the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix. "It will be exciting to drive the Sauber C34 for the first time," he said. "That will also be the same […]

McLaren has confirmed that Fernando Alonso will return to action at this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, subject to a final FIA assessment at Sepang on Thursday. Alonso was replaced by Kevin Magnussen for the Australian Grand Prix after the Spaniard suffered a concussion during a testing crash in pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. McLaren revealed that Alonso recalls a sense of 'heavy steering' just before the crash and consequently an extra sensor has now been fitted to the MP4-30. "McLaren is pleased to […]

Manor team principal John Booth says that the squad has take a leap forwards as it prepares to compete in Malaysia this weekend. Manor was present in Australia but neither Will Stevens nor Roberto Merhi took to the circuit all weekend. Booth is hopeful that the situation can be rectified at Sepang after a difficult period for the re-born team. "After the disappointment of not meeting our objectives in Australia, we head to Malaysia this week hoping for a more typical race weekend," he said. […]

Nico Hulkenberg is wary that the next sequence of races could be 'tough' for Force India after he claimed points in the first event of the year in Australia. Force India is behind schedule after only introducing its VJM08 at the final pre-season test but Hulkenberg capitalised on the misfortune of others to claim seventh place, with team-mate Sergio Perez in 10th. But despite claiming a handful of points in Australia, Hulkenberg is aware that the squad could face a challenging string of races before […]

Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli is expecting strategy to play a bigger part in this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, after the majority of drivers adopted a one stop strategy in Australia. Pirelli will bring the two hardest compounds - the Medium and Hard - to Sepang due to fast corners with big lateral loads, rough asphalt, high ambient temperatures and a bumpy surface. "The Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago confirmed what we saw in testing: lap times that are two seconds or more faster […]

Sepang is considering its future on the Formula 1 calendar after organisers were given the go-ahead to negotiate a new contract. Sepang has played host to Formula 1 in Malaysia since 1999 but the current contract expires next season. "We have been given the green light from the government to begin negotiation with Formula 1 management, so we are doing that right now," Sepang's chief executive officer Dato' Razlan Razali told Crash.net. "Of course there are a lot of factors involved: Price is one, other […]

Lewis Hamilton laid down a marker to Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg with a crushing performance in the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang. But will they now face a threat from Red Bull?

We rate the drivers for their performance during the second round of the season, the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.