Zoom Between the rain and the twilight, far from ideal conditions at Sepang

Aside from off-the-track matters, McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton had a race to deal with last week-end. The Malaysian Grand Prix offered much racing action up until the point where the predicted rainstorm broke above the Sepang circuit.

Hamilton, like all drivers, had to work with his team and do some guesswork regarding tyre choices when the rain appeared at first. When conditions became downright undriveable, the race was stopped.

By the time the 32-lap race was red-flagged, Hamilton had moved up from 12th position to reach 5th and was engaged in an exciting battle with Red Bull's Mark Webber when the torrential downpour forced both drivers to ease off. With the final positions based on the preceding lap, Hamilton was ranked 7th in the Malaysian standings.

On his official website, Hamilton takes a look back at his race and relates the difficult driving conditions.

A tough race for you Lewis, are you satisfied with your result in Malaysia?

"Yes, it was a tough afternoon. In the dry, we knew our car wouldn't have the pace to run at the front - and that was clear in the opening laps when we didn't have the downforce to match the frontrunners, and we also knew that the lack of downforce would also have affected us in the rain too. I'm satisfied that I pushed hard for the whole race, and even though seventh isn't the greatest reward, it shows that the team never gives up and that we are still capable of scoring decent results."

How were things going when the track was dry?

"I pushed very hard in those opening laps. I had a very heavy fuel load, so I was quite pleased that I was able to stay in touch with some of the lighter cars, who were already faster than me. But I paid a price for that as my rear tyres started to go off and I wasn't able to keep guys like Vettel behind me. I could see the skies starting to darken so I knew the rain was coming - it was just a question of when?"

Did you feel the team made the right choice on tyres?

"The race was turning into a lottery, so you always need a little bit of luck in those conditions, but I think we played it pretty well. Perhaps the first tyre change, when we switched to full-wets, was the wrong choice - and those tyres went off so quickly that I had no choice other than to change to intermediates - but the other two stops were pretty straightforward. More often than not, the team makes the right decisions and our strategy was good - we were fuelled to the end. If we'd restarted, we'd have been in a good position for sure."

How difficult was it to drive on the track when the rain started falling heavily?

"It was undriveable. I got on the radio and told the team how bad it was - there was standing water and aquaplaning everywhere. It was unbelievable and very dangerous. In fact, I think they weres the most dangerous conditions I've ever raced in."

What were you discussing with Mark Webber when he came over to see you on the grid after the red flag?

"I had been racing quite closely with Mark when the rain really started to fall. We were both driving extremely cautiously and were taking care not to touch each other. He came over to explain that to me and we both talked about the conditions - at that moment, we both agreed there was too much standing water to continue."

Did you want the race to be restarted?

"When you're a racer, and when you're presented with an opportunity to perhaps score a better result than the car is currently able to deliver, then you are always keen to get back on the track. (Sunday), I was looking forward to a restart, and the race had certainly lifted, but it was pretty clear that the daylight was fading - and that was an additional element for the race organisers to consider. It was a pretty tough decision for them, but it was getting difficult to drive in those conditions so it was the right decision to stop."

Finally, are you optimistic about the team's form in the forthcoming races - particularly in China and Bahrain?

"I hope we make some improvements. The engineers are optimistic that we have some good improvements in the pipeline for the next race, but we've got a huge amount of distance to cover so it will be tough."

D.B. © CAPSIS International