With a five-point lead in the constructors' title chase and 13 in-hand over their arch rivals from Maranello,
McLaren is in the driving seat as it heads to Malaysia, but it is equally clear that nobody inside the team is taking even the slightest thing for granted.
Ferrari, meanwhile, are determined to banish the memories of a nightmarish Australian outing with victory in Malaysia. Both
Scuderia pilots made a handful of costly mistakes in Oz, with Raikkonen only lucking into a point following
Rubens Barrichello's disqualification. The Finn is a past winner in Sepang – ironically enough with McLaren in 2003
Team-mate Massa also committed a litany of errors Down Under, with a coming-together with
Red Bull Racing's
David Coulthard that he classified as a ‘racing incident' proving to be the defining moment of what the Brazilian called ‘a crazy race and a very frustrating day'. Following the race he vowed that Ferrari's 2008 world championship campaign would henceforth have to begin in Malaysia, as he bids to erase Melbourne from his memory.
BMW arguably emerged as the third force once more in Melbourne, despite having displayed mixed performance throughout winter testing after the new
F1.08 endured something of a troubled birth.
Whilst
Robert Kubica was the Munich and Hinwil-based squad's qualifying star – only a late error preventing him from snatching pole position away from Hamilton – it was team-mate
Nick Heidfeld who shone in the race, achieving the fourth runner-up spot of his F1 career. The experienced German is now hoping to stand up on the rostrum again in what he describes as one of his favourite races of the year, whilst Kubica is aiming to repay the team's fans' enthusiasm and support with a strong result in chief sponsor Petronas' home event.
