A question of balance

While surprising given Mercedes dominance in Australia, Sebastian Vettel's victory in Malaysia relied on a series of tangible facts.

For starters, Sepang is very different from Melbourne. With two longs straits and cars submitted to 60% full load the engine's power naturally plays an essential part. But the track's fast sweeps (with extensive downforce sections compared to the chicanes of Albert Park) also emphasize a chassis' efficiencies. On this type of layout a well balanced chassis is fundamental in order to minimize tyre degradation: in this respect, the Ferrari appears more stable than the Mercedes (with Hamilton acknowledging chronic understeer during the entire race).