Sepang International Circuit layout & records

Sepang Circuit Details

Location:Kuala Lumpur, Sepang Circuit Layout & lap record Malaysia
Event:Malaysian Grand Prix
Used Since:1999
Type:Closed Circuit
 Lap Dist.:5.543 km

Lap Record

Lap Record:1:34.080 min
Date:1 October 2017
F1 Driver:Sebastian Vettel
F1 Car:Ferrari SF70H
Speed:212,104 km/h

Pole Record

Record Pole:1:30.076 min
Date:31 September 2017
F1 Driver:Lewis Hamilton
F1 Car:Mercedes W08
Speed:221,533 km/h

Onboard Lap F1 Video</4>

Benetton B199 Renault driven by Alexander Wurz on Sepang, Malaysia(1999)Sepang Circuit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Sepang Circuit Layout

Sepang Circuitcircuit-legend

 

Description

 

Sepang Circuit History


Luciano Burti Arrows Malaysia 2002

Luciano Burti Arrows Malaysia 2002

The Malaysian Grand Prix has become one of the most popular races on the calendar since its debut in 1999. The venue was the catalyst for a surge of Asian races that now dominates the F1 season, but it remains the most popular, alongside the historic Japanese Grand Prix.

Held just outside the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, its long straight and technical fast corners make it an attractive circuit and one that provides plenty of overtaking opportunities.

The race is traditionally held at the beginning of the season and it always provides plenty of drama and excitement.

This is largely due to the spectacular weather conditions. March is storm season in south-east Asia and heavy rain is frequent on race day.

Sergio Perez Sauber C31 Malaysia 2012

Sergio Pérez racing the Sauber C31 to the 2nd place finish at Malaysia 2012

This can cause excitement but it is also a massive hindrance. The rain is often too heavy for the cars to manage and the race has been stopped before. In 2009, the race was abandoned half-way through due to the freakish conditions.

However, when the rain stays away the sun beats down and it is one of the hottest events of the year. Drivers have been known to lose up to a stone in weight during the race, due to the extreme heat.

The changing of conditions is more frequent now, due to the change in start time on race day, which has become 4pm locally to make it more convenient for European viewers.

Ferrari has been the most successful team at the Sepang circuit as they dominated the first few years.

Mark Webber & Sebastian Vettel on the podium at Malaysia

Mark Webber & Sebastian Vettel on the podium at Malaysia (2013)

However, the most memorable race was in 2013 when Red Bull hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. Now referred to as ‘Multi-21-gate’, Sebastian Vettel overtook his team-mate Mark Webber to win the race in the final stages of the race.

This was seen as a dirty trick, as Webber had been assured that Vettel wouldn’t attack him and the cars would finish 2-1, in reference to the numbers on the front of their cars with Webber winning.

Malaysia still remains popular with both drivers and fans, as it is a blend of old and new F1. Modern, challenging and popular tracks are hard to come by but Malaysia has got the balance right.

In the fast changing world of the sport, Malaysia is growing in popularity and is now seen as an essential fixture of F1’s calendar.

Three Corners in Detail


Turns 1 & 2
Turn 1 is a big engine braking zone, coming directly after the pit straight where the engine has been at full throttle for a touch under 11secs. The driver will brake down from 7th to 2nd gear and just 80km/h for the entry of the turn before lightly applying the throttle between T1 and 2. At this point the engine needs to have good torque response as the revs drop to 9,000rpm. Engine engineers will do this through the pedal maps, giving enough sensitivity when the pedal is low.

Kimi Raikkonen driving the Lotus E21 for 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix - Friday

Raikkonen with Lotus E21 turn 6

Turns 5 & 6
Turns 5 and 6 are two of the fastest corners on the track, taken at an average 225km/h, with only a small lift off between corners. The high speed changes of direction put the internals of the engine under a lot of pressure, particularly the oil system, where the fluids are 'squashed' to one side by the g-forces. In contrast to T1 and 2 where the pedal sensitivity is required is at low opening positions, the driver will mainly be modulating the pedal towards its maximum travels. The driver needs to have confidence in the torque and pedal maps at these high pedal positions, particularly over the kerbs, to maximise his speeds through these two fast corners.

Pit straight

Start of 2013 Malaysian F1 GP

Start of 2013 Malaysian F1 GP

Top speed will peak at the end of the straight at around 310 km/h with DRS activated. Getting the right balance between a high top speed and appropriate acceleration is critical, making the choice of gear ratios crucial: you want to hit top speed just before the end of the straight to take advantage of greater acceleration. How the car behaves at this cruise speed will also be important for the driver. It needs to be smooth, so as not to affect the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle. A smooth engine behaviour at the end of straight will ensure that reaching the top speed will be as transparent as possible for the driver and make overtaking easier. However, this can sometimes be difficult to calibrate, especially at Sepang where you have two long straights of opposite directions, which can mean that the wind can come into play.

Podiums

 

F1 Podium Winners on Sepang Circuit

YearRaceDateTop 3 DriversTeamsLaps
20172017 Malaysian F1 GPOctober 1Netherlands Max Verstappen
United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
Australia Daniel Ricciardo
Austria Red Bull
Germany Mercedes
Austria Red Bull
56
20162016 Malaysian F1 GPOctober 2Australia Daniel Ricciardo
Netherlands Max Verstappen
Germany Nico Rosberg
Austria Red Bull
Austria Red Bull
Germany Mercedes
56
20152015 Malaysian F1 GPMarch 29Germany Sebastian Vettel
United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
Germany Nico Rosberg
Italy Ferrari
Germany Mercedes
Germany Mercedes
56
20142014 Malaysian F1 GPMarch 29United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
Germany Nico Rosberg
Germany Sebastian Vettel
Germany Mercedes
Germany Mercedes
Austria Red Bull
56
20132013 Malaysian F1 GPMarch 24Germany Sebastian Vettel
Australia Mark Webber
United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
Austria Red Bull
Austria Red Bull
Germany Mercedes
56
20122012 Malaysian F1 GPMarch 25Spain Fernando Alonso
Mexico Sergio Pérez
United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
Italy Ferrari
Switzerland Sauber
United Kingdom McLaren
56
20112011 Malaysian F1 GPApril 10Germany Sebastian Vettel
United Kingdom Jenson Button
Germany Nick Heidfeld
Austria Red Bull
United Kingdom McLaren
France Renault
56
20102010 Malaysian F1 GPApril 4Germany Sebastian Vettel
Australia Mark Webber
Germany Nico Rosberg
Austria Red Bull
Austria Red Bull
Germany Mercedes
56
20092009 Malaysian F1 GPApril 5United Kingdom Jenson Button
Germany Nick Heidfeld
Germany Timo Glock
United Kingdom Brawn
Switzerland BMW Sauber
Japan Toyota
31
20082008 Malaysian F1 GPMarch 23Finland Kimi Räikkönen
Poland Robert Kubica
Finland Heikki Kovalainen
Italy Ferrari
Switzerland BMW Sauber
United Kingdom McLaren
56
20072007 Malaysian F1 GPApril 8Spain Fernando Alonso
United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
Finland Kimi Räikkönen
United Kingdom McLaren
United Kingdom McLaren
Italy Ferrari
56
20062006 Malaysian F1 GPMarch 19Italy Giancarlo Fisichella
Spain Fernando Alonso
United Kingdom Jenson Button
France Renault
France Renault
Japan Honda
56
20052005 Malaysian F1 GPMarch 20Spain Fernando Alonso
Italy Jarno Trulli
Germany Nick Heidfeld
France Renault
Japan Toyota
United Kingdom Williams
56
20042004 Malaysian F1 GPMarch 21Germany Michael Schumacher
Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya
United Kingdom Jenson Button
Italy Ferrari
United Kingdom Williams
United Kingdom BAR
56
20032003 Malaysian F1 GPMarch 23Finland Kimi Räikkönen
Brazil Rubens Barrichello
Spain Fernando Alonso
United Kingdom McLaren
Italy Ferrari
France Renault
56
20022002 Malaysian F1 GPMarch 17Germany Ralf Schumacher
Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya
Germany Michael Schumacher
United Kingdom Williams
United Kingdom Williams
Italy Ferrari
56
20012001 Malaysian F1 GPMarch 18Germany Michael Schumacher
Brazil Rubens Barrichello
United Kingdom David Coulthard
Italy Ferrari
Italy Ferrari
United Kingdom McLaren
55
20002000 Malaysian F1 GPOctober 22Germany Michael Schumacher
United Kingdom David Coulthard
Brazil Rubens Barrichello
Italy Ferrari
United Kingdom McLaren
Italy Ferrari
56
19991999 Malaysian F1 GPOctober 17United Kingdom Eddie Irvine
Germany Michael Schumacher
Finland Mika Häkkinen
Italy Ferrari
Italy Ferrari
United Kingdom McLaren
56

Driver Ranking

 

Driver Ranking Sepang Circuit

DriverGP  1st  2nd  3rd  Pod  Pole  FL  Avg GridAvg PosPoints
1Germany Sebastian Vettel104015216.77.7127
2Spain Fernando Alonso163115219.88.088
3Germany Michael Schumacher113115525.26.151
4Finland Kimi Räikkönen142013027.09.966
5United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton111326525.15.2116
6United Kingdom Jenson Button171124119.49.454
7Netherlands Max Verstappen31102003.73.349
8Australia Daniel Ricciardo61012007.510.041
9Germany Ralf Schumacher91001009.210.022
10Italy Giancarlo Fisichella1110011011.511.813
11United Kingdom Eddie Irvine410010010.310.811
12Brazil Rubens Barrichello130213009.39.027
13Australia Mark Webber120202126.810.163.5
14Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya60202026.07.224
15Germany Nico Rosberg110134025.59.375.5
16Germany Nick Heidfeld110123019.59.336
17United Kingdom David Coulthard100112008.512.016
18Mexico Sergio Pérez601010110.79.536
19Italy Jarno Trulli120101008.29.625.5
20Poland Robert Kubica40101005.810.820
21Finland Mika Häkkinen30011023.34.38
22Finland Heikki Kovalainen600110015.213.77
23Germany Timo Glock500110014.016.03
24Brazil Felipe Massa1500002010.78.652
25Finland Valtteri Bottas500000011.46.834
26Germany Nico Hülkenberg70000009.910.021
27Germany Adrian Sutil700000015.316.110
28Brazil Bruno Senna200000018.011.08
29France Romain Grosjean600000011.814.38
30United Kingdom Paul di Resta300000014.312.77
31Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne10000007.07.06
32Japan Kamui Kobayashi400000014.016.36
33France Jean-Eric Vergne300000014.712.35
34Canada Lance Stroll100000013.08.04
35Spain Carlos Sainz300000015.012.74
36Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen500000011.49.84
37Canada Jacques Villeneuve700000010.612.14
38United Kingdom Johnny Herbert20000008.59.03
39Russian Federation Daniil Kvyat300000010.311.03
40Spain Jaime Alguersuari200000013.511.52
41Denmark Kevin Magnussen300000013.013.72
42France Esteban Ocon200000013.013.01
43United Kingdom Jolyon Palmer200000015.512.51
44Austria Christian Klien30000009.312.01
45Malaysia Alex Yoong100000022.017.00
46Netherlands Giedo van der Garde100000022.015.00
47Spain Roberto Merhi100000019.015.00
48Brazil Luciano Burti100000015.010.00
49Italy Gianmaria Bruni100000016.014.00
50Ireland Ralph Firman100000020.010.00
51United Kingdom Allan McNish100000019.07.00
52France Pierre Gasly100000015.014.00
53Japan Yuji Ide100000018.017.00
54Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio100000022.019.00
55Italy Luca Badoer100000021.015.00
56Austria Patrick Friesacher100000020.020.00
57United Kingdom Will Stevens100000020.020.00
58India Karun Chandhok100000022.015.00
59Brazil Lucas di Grassi100000024.014.00
60United Kingdom Damon Hill10000009.021.00
61Brazil Antônio Pizzonia100000015.014.00
62Italy Alessandro Zanardi100000016.010.00
63Italy Giorgio Pantano100000018.013.00
64Japan Toranosuke Takagi100000022.018.00
65Brazil Tarso Marques100000020.014.00
66Hungary Zsolt Baumgartner100000017.016.00
67United Kingdom Justin Wilson100000019.015.00
68Brazil Pedro Diniz200000018.517.50
69France Charles Pic200000020.517.00
70Brazil Ricardo Zonta200000012.017.00
71Spain Marc Gené200000020.013.00
72Japan Kazuki Nakajima200000016.514.50
73Finland Mika Salo200000013.510.00
74Brazil Enrique Bernoldi200000019.018.50
75Portugal Tiago Monteiro200000017.012.50
76United Kingdom Max Chilton200000021.015.50
77Argentina Gastón Mazzacane200000020.512.50
78Germany Pascal Wehrlein200000019.516.00
79France Jules Bianchi200000019.016.50
80Brazil Felipe Nasr200000017.014.50
81Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr.200000015.012.00
82United States Scott Speed200000014.515.00
83France Sébastien Bourdais200000016.516.00
84Brazil Cristiano da Matta200000010.510.00
85India Narain Karthikeyan300000021.318.70
86United Kingdom Anthony Davidson300000018.016.70
87Russian Federation Vitaly Petrov300000012.717.30
88Mexico Esteban Gutierrez300000013.016.00
89Switzerland Sébastien Buemi300000015.013.30
90France Jean Alesi300000015.39.00
91Netherlands Jos Verstappen300000017.010.00
92Netherlands Christijan Albers300000018.015.30
93Austria Alexander Wurz300000010.38.00
94Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi400000015.516.50
95Spain Pedro de la Rosa400000018.316.30
96Sweden Marcus Ericsson400000016.815.80
97Venezuela Pastor Maldonado500000014.819.80
98France Olivier Panis500000012.818.20
99Japan Takuma Sato500000017.013.40

Team Ranking

 

Team Ranking Sepang Circuit

TeamGP  1st  2nd  3rd  Pod  Pole  FL  Avg GridAvg PosPoints
1Italy Ferrari1973313736.76.7237
2Austria Red Bull1353210325.97.3243.5
3United Kingdom McLaren192349157.99.0145
4France Renault122125319.09.480
5Germany Mercedes81348434.26.9164
6United Kingdom Williams1912140210.211.890.5
7United Kingdom Brawn11001114.53.07
8Switzerland BMW Sauber50202017.410.622
9Japan Toyota80112009.29.125.5
10Switzerland Sauber1401010014.013.133
11United Kingdom BAR700110011.414.210
12Japan Honda300110014.09.86
13India Force India1000000012.412.250
14United Kingdom Lotus F1400000111.512.624
15Italy Toro Rosso1200000014.313.418
16United Kingdom Stewart10000005.54.55
17Ireland Jordan700000013.012.54
18United Kingdom Jaguar500000012.913.61
19Netherlands Spyker100000020.521.50
20Russian Federation Midland100000015.512.50
21United States Haas200000014.516.30
22United Kingdom Virgin Racing200000020.818.00
23Spain HRT300000022.819.20
24France Prost300000016.214.60
25Japan Super Aguri300000017.815.20
26Italy Benetton300000011.510.20
27United Kingdom Arrows400000017.314.60
28United Kingdom Caterham500000019.916.00
29United Kingdom Manor500000020.116.70
30Italy Minardi700000019.714.60

Official website: https://www.sepangcircuit.com/

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