{"id":3259,"date":"2026-10-02T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=3259"},"modified":"2026-10-02T14:34:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T17:34:38","slug":"why-sepangs-rough-asphalt-left-f1-over-four-seconds-slower-than-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/why-sepangs-rough-asphalt-left-f1-over-four-seconds-slower-than-expected\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Sepang\u2019s rough asphalt left F1 over four seconds slower than expected"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Friday\u2019s fastest lap was more than four seconds slower than Pirelli\u2019s qualifying simulation reference.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sepang\u2019s abrasive, dusty surface increased sliding and tyre overheating.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The uncertainty extends to Sunday, with the hard compound still untested.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sepang\u2019s return to <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/\">Formula 1<\/a> produced a surprise that went beyond the order of the teams: <strong>Friday\u2019s fastest lap was more than four seconds slower than Pirelli\u2019s qualifying simulations had predicted<\/strong>. The circuit\u2019s rough surface and limited grip left drivers struggling to extract performance as the championship returned to Malaysia after nine years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Max Verstappen recorded the day\u2019s benchmark of <strong>1:37.520 in FP1<\/strong>. Charles Leclerc subsequently led FP2 with 1:37.528, meaning the quickest afternoon lap was 0.008s slower despite another session of running. The <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/verstappen-ends-sepang-friday-fastest-full-combined-f1-practice-results\/\">full combined Friday practice results<\/a> underline how little the outright benchmark changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The four-second deficit is a comparison with a simulation, rather than a measure of how much slower the cars are than in 2017.<\/strong> It also compares Friday practice with an anticipated qualifying reference, rather than two equivalent competitive sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why was Sepang slower than expected?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pirelli identified dust, abrasion and insufficient rubber on the surface as the main obstacles. Its chief engineer, Simone Berra, explained after Friday\u2019s running that the expected benchmark could remain difficult to reach even in qualifying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe benchmark time was more than four seconds slower than the qualifying simulation reference, a mark that the cars may struggle to approach tomorrow,\u201d Berra said. <a href=\"https:\/\/press.pirelli.com\/leclerc-tops-fp2-on-a-day-of-high-tyre-degradation\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"> <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The challenge was compounded by intense heat: air temperature reached <strong>38\u00b0C<\/strong>, while the track climbed to <strong>54\u00b0C<\/strong>. An abrasive surface therefore did not translate into dependable grip. Instead, sliding helped generate additional tyre temperature and accelerated performance loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reporting from Sepang also identified deterioration of the track surface during practice. That created another complication for teams already adapting their cars to a venue absent from the championship since 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why a softer tyre could be more consistent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The usual assumption that a harder compound will necessarily deliver a more stable stint proved unreliable. Pirelli observed occasions when the soft tyre\u2019s additional grip reduced sliding sufficiently to make it more consistent than the medium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>That makes compound selection a question of controlling the car\u2019s behaviour as well as managing tyre life.<\/strong> A tyre that struggles to generate grip can lose performance through overheating even if it is nominally the more durable option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hard compound remains a major uncertainty because nobody used it on Friday. Pirelli\u2019s initial assessment leaves <strong>two or more pit stops<\/strong> as a possibility, subject to further analysis and changing conditions. <a href=\"https:\/\/press.pirelli.com\/leclerc-tops-fp2-on-a-day-of-high-tyre-degradation\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"> <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does this mean for qualifying and the race?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Friday\u2019s results provide an incomplete picture of the competitive order. Teams prioritised understanding degradation, while Verstappen\u2019s FP2 programme differed from those of drivers who completed soft-tyre qualifying attempts. That limits direct comparisons between their best laps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Red Bull technical director Pierre Wach\u00e9 identified degradation as a central consideration for the weekend. The emphasis on collecting race data also leaves more uncertainty over qualifying performance than a conventional Friday programme would. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Saturday, the key questions are whether grip improves and which teams can prepare their tyres most effectively for a flying lap. Sunday will demand a different judgement: <strong>how much pace a driver can sustain without accelerating the decline of the tyres<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Formula 1 continues this weekend, from 2\u20134 October, in Malaysia, which hosts the Bahrain Grand Prix. <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> will cover all the action at Sepang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">F1 today: FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why did F1 cars lose power before the Bahrain GP in Malaysia?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The FIA identified a combination of low engine speed, low grip, wet-weather energy management settings and Sepang\u2019s sector configuration. It distributed a software update before the race and announced a full review with teams and power unit manufacturers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can Kimi Antonelli win the F1 championship in Singapore?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. Antonelli leads George Russell by <strong>84 points<\/strong>, but even a Singapore Sprint and Grand Prix double would not secure the title. <strong>Austin on 25 October is his earliest possible opportunity<\/strong>, depending on his results and those of the remaining contenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When is the next F1 race, and is Singapore a Sprint weekend?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next race is the <strong>Singapore Grand Prix on 11 October<\/strong>, with track activity beginning on Friday, 9 October. It is a <strong>Sprint weekend<\/strong>: Sprint qualifying takes place on Friday, followed by the Sprint and Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why was F1 slower than expected at Sepang?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pirelli identified a dusty, abrasive surface and low grip. Friday\u2019s best lap was more than four seconds slower than its qualifying simulation reference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pirelli found less grip and greater tyre degradation than anticipated on Formula 1\u2019s return to Malaysia, leaving teams with a difficult balance between qualifying speed and race consistency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020316703,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Cadillac","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Cadillac","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":4,"location":""}],"footnotes":"","42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[630,696,303,113],"42wp_author":[4],"class_list":["post-3259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-bahrain-grand-prix-in-malaysia","tag-f1-tyre-degradation","tag-pirelli","tag-sepang","42wp_author-evelyn-guimaraes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3259"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3260,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3259\/revisions\/3260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020316703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3259"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=3259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}