It seems there are only two matters to talk about when it comes to Ferrari's performance in Malaysia: the car's dominance over the opposition and Massa's mistake. The first was not entirely unexpected, considering the team's form in testing, and most observers were predicting that the troubles in Melbourne would prove to be a temporary blip in fortunes. McLaren's lack of pace on this circuit made the Ferrari look even better, if anything.
Felipe Massa
The strange thing is that no-one has examined the apparent reversal of both teams' form in comparison to last year, however. Kimi Raikkonen won easily in Melbourne in 2007 and McLaren could not keep up, this year it was McLaren who seemed to have the better car while Ferrari dropped back; last season Sepang was a McLaren track and it should have come as a surprise that Ferrari had the upper hand in 2008.
It may have been that Ferrari managed to fumble themselves out of contention in Australia, disguising their true capability as a result, and the re-surfacing of much of the circuit in Malaysia has benefited Ferrari more than others; it certainly looked as though the Ferrari used its tires better thn did the McLaren last Sunday. But is this the whole story? Even when the Ferraris were running at their best in Melbourne, they did not look a match for the McLarens and it would be surprising indeed if the resurfacing in Sepang made such a drastic difference to the McLaren's handling.
Could it instead be a wheelbase issue? The new McLaren has a longer wheelbase than the previous model whereas Ferrari have shortened the wheelbase on the F2008. So it may be that the two teams have swapped the characteristics of their cars for those of their main competitor's. That might mean that 2007 Ferrari tracks would become McLaren circuits this year and vice versa. And, extrapolating things even further, it could even produce a McLaren championship instead of a Ferrari one.
That is taking things too far, perhaps, but I did think it amusing that both teams decided to copy their competitor in the length of their new cars' wheelbases. Obviously, it galled Ferrari that McLaren were so quick on the tight circuits but the boys in Woking were determined to be better on the sweeping circuits this time round. There is a lesson there but I'm not certain what it is!
And so, to Mr Massa. The poor guy is getting a lot of criticism for his apparent mistake in Malaysia and the assumptions that he cannot cope without traction control are strengthened as a result. I do not usually find myself defending Felipe but, on this occasion, I think he may be getting a raw deal. His Ferrari flicked so suddenly and inexplicably to the left that it made me think immediately that something had broken at the rear. It was well before the apex of the corner, too, and if Massa caused the rear end to lose grip by accelerating too soon (as most are saying), he must have completely altered his technique for some reason - he had made it through the corner plenty of times before without a hint of trouble, after all.
This is what Autosport has to say on the matter:
"When he clouted a kerb it stalled the car's aerodynamics and caused him to lose control of the rear at the following turn - pitching him off the track and into a gravel trap."
That is an interesting take on what happened - I, for one, did not notice him clip the curb on the preceding corner and it seems odd that doing so would "stall the aerodynamics". All the drivers clip the curbs at times, the McLaren boys more than most, but we do not hear of the aerodynamics being affected. So I take this explanation with a pinch of salt, but note that Autosport do not go along with the majority "lack of TC" verdict.
Ferrari are saying that they can find no mechanical reason for the accident; but then they would, wouldn't they? Part of the fun of watching F1 is in seeing the lengths Ferrari will go to in denying that anything ever goes wrong with their cars. Remember Raikkonen's terrifying accident in Monza practice last year? Not mechanical failure, oh no...
In the end, I can only say what I saw on the TV, and that looked to me like a mechanical breakage in the rear suspension. That sideways step was far too sudden to have been caused by the clumsiness of Massa's right foot.
Of course, I could be wrong and it is a pity that he could not continue after getting bogged down in the gravel; if it had been a mechanical fault, we would soon have known by the Ferrari's subsequent handling. But, for the moment, I think it would be fair to give the little Brazilian a break. There is a whole season yet for him to demonstrate that he is not entirely dependent on TC and we should allow him that.
He did grab pole position too, didn't he?