MOTORSPORT: Three things about Formula One

Also today, Will Power has won the second round of the IndyCar championship in America and taken the lead in that series, while Marcos Ambrose has scored his second best finish of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season - sixth in Texas.

And Geoff Uhrhane, from the Gold Coast, has celebrated his 20th birthday by winning one and finishing second in another of three races at the opening round of the British Formula Ford Championship at Silverstone.

But F1 firstly …

Sebastian Vettel is still almost three months from his 24th birthday, yet he has been on pole position and won both grands prix so far this season.

He has won the past four GPs straight and five of the past six – and in the other he was leading, on course for victory, when his engine failed.

Not only is he heading towards another world title this year, he will quickly have a place among the greatest of all F1 drivers.

We are seeing a genius at work, with the prospect of better to come – and for many more years – although it's too early to start contemplating him bettering his compatriot Michael Schumacher's records of 91 GP wins and seven world titles.

Vettel's teammate, Australia's Mark Webber, hasn't been on the podium at either of this year's GPs but his drive in Malaysia after a terrible start was proof of his fighting qualities and a sure sign that it won't be long before he is back up there.

It is eight months, and eight GPs, since Webber last won, the pressure is on him with Vettel in such superb form and talk of Red Bull recruiting Lewis Hamilton next season, but it is when the going is toughest that Webber often gets going.

He set the fastest lap of the Malaysian GP as he chased down third-placed Nick Heidfeld's Renault, almost catching the German without the benefit of the extra power boost that KERS could have given him.

It was the failure of his KERS that cost him so dearly at the start, dropping him to 10th from his third place on the grid.
He used a four-stop strategy after that and his pace quickened after each.

"It was a great recovery drive from him with a different strategy - he really made it work and ultimately he was very unlucky to miss out on the final podium position," Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner said.

And Webber said: "I drove every lap on the limit.

"It was tough to clear people when I didn't have KERS.

"I fought back with a good strategy and got some good points at least.

"My car was very fast in my final stint and I was able to make quick progress.

"I thought I could finish on the podium because I was much faster than Heidfeld through the corners, but he was very quick on the straights and I couldn't get a run on him.

"It wasn't our day and I was disappointed not to get on the podium.

"It was close, but not close enough.

"It will come … I'll keep boxing. I'll keep swinging."

While Vettel's wins have overshadowed him, Webber could be within three points of the German next Sunday night if he were to win in Shanghai and his teammate not finish.

A McLaren driver has finished ahead of Webber in both races so far, yet he is level on points with Hamilton - who was dropped a place, to eighth, in the Malaysian race - and just four points behind Jenson Button, who was second to Vettel in Malaysia.

Unlike Melbourne, where the new Pirellis lasted surprisingly well, tyre wear was a big factor yesterday – contributing to the 63 pitstops compared with 22 in last year's race at Sepang.

Red Bull's design guru Adrian Newey claims to be at a loss to know why his team's KERS is not working as it should yet, and that a solution may take time (see here), but just imagine when it is.

The RB7 is already the class of the field and a fully-functioning KERS is only going to improve it

The McLaren-Mercedes is closest to it, and that team has shown a greater ability than any other to improve a car over the course of a season, but overhauling the RB7 is going to be a tall order.

Ferrari, expected pre-season to be Red Bull's main challenger, has not had a podium yet but is potentially good enough for that, although victories are a lot further away.

It needs to substantially improve its pace in qualifying and races for Fernando Alonso, sixth in Malaysia, and Felipe Massa, fifth yesterday, to come into serious contention.

Renault, as it has done in the past, is performing above expectations, with a driver on the podium at both races.

Nick Heidfeld was its star this time, rocketing from sixth to second at the start.

His third-place finish was his first podium since he did it with BMW two years ago in Malaysia.

Vitaly Petrov's steering wheel broke off in his hands as he landed after hitting a kerb at Sepang, sending him into some track signage, but he reckoned both Renaults would have been in the points.

"We clearly have the pace needed to compete this season," he said.

Sauber has regained its competitiveness and its Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi was one of the stars in Malaysia with a brilliant pass of Michael Schumacher.

Schumacher finished ninth this outing, scoring his first points for the season – two more than the Mercedes teammate who showed him up last year, Nico Rosberg.  

Mercedes is eighth in the constructors' championship, with Sauber, Force India and Toro Rosso ahead of it.

Daniel Ricciardo, the 21-year-old Australian reserve driver for Red Bull's two teams, was 12th in his second Friday practice for Toro Rosso – ahead of the team's Spanish race driver Jaime Alguersuari and in the top half of 24 drivers on track.

Perth's rising star is doing everything asked of him.

Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost has reiterated to Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, who both finished a lap down in Malaysia, that they must deliver or risk being replaced by Ricciardo.

It is believed both race drivers only have contracts for the first half of the season.

"It's very simple and clear," Tost told Autosport.com "We are responsible in forming and educating drivers for Red Bull Racing. If we do not believe a driver can succeed at Red Bull Racing, he has no room in Scuderia Toro Rosso either.

"Buemi and Alguersuari must prove now what they can do. Both of them improved very much over the (northern) winter, physically and mentally, but now we must see results.

"Ricciardo has made a very good impression. He has a lot of talent, and his output for the engineers is very good and useful.

"If one of our race drivers does not fulfil his expectations during this season, we will put Ricciardo into the cockpit."

"But, on the other hand, RBR might have to fill a vacancy at the end of 2011 (if Webber retires or his contract is not rewewed), so this would be a big chance."
 

It was the first Indy race for more than a year in which a driver had led from start to finish.

Fellow Australian and Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe started alongside pole man Power on the front row but was caught up in a crash for the second time this season.

American Ryan Hunter-Reay bounced off a curb trying an over-ambitious overtaking move and took Briscoe out.

"It wasn't a passing zone and he drove straight into me," Briscoe said.

"He's sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong."

Hunter-Reay was penalized for avoidable contact, dropping him from fifth to 18th.

For Power, who came close to winning the series last year, his 3.38-second victory was "one of the most relaxing" races of his Indy career.

Ganassi drivers Scott Dixon and Franchitti filled the other podium positions.

The Penske team's race report is here while a Sports Illustrated interview with Roger Penske, done before this race, is here.

Ambrose said after edging maiden pole winner David Ragan by a car length that he felt he was "starting to really click on these intermediate ovals".

"It's great to be running out in front of the pack and it gives us a lot of confidence moving forward," he said.

"Sadly we didn't quite have the package together in that last run to challenge for the win.

"Talladega (the world's longest super-speedway) next week is another challenge."

Fords powered by the FR9 motors developed by Roush Yates Engines took five of the top seven places, with Matt Kenseth breaking a 76-race drought by winning with one of four Roush Fenway Racing entries among them.

Kenseth led about half the race for his 19th Cup victory, ahead of Clint Bowyer (Chevrolet), Carl Edwards (Ford), Greg Biffle (Ford) and Paul Menard (Chevrolet).

Edwards leads the series, while Chevrolet star Tony Stewart ran out of fuel on the last lap and fell from fourth to finish 12th, while Dale Earnhardt Junior was ninth in his Chevrolet – stretching the sport's most popular driver's winless streak to 100 races (since Michigan three years ago).

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