With the first day out of the way in Malaysia for the drivers, you have to wonder if the push to get down to single digit body fat percentage to help hit the new weight regulations will have an impact on the ability to drive flat out for a full race distance.
The very high humidity and air temperatures in the mid thirties, along with the added heat in the cockpit, drivers have to cope with sitting in a 200mph 50-60 degree celsius tiny box of hell for nearly two hours. They will lose 2-3kg in sweat - which will take 3-4 litres of rehydrating isotonic sports drink with minerals and carbohydrates to replace, the in car drink bottle typically holds around a litre and after a few laps is too warm to drink. Throw in around 4G of lateral forces, a heart rate of 160-200 beats per minute and high blood pressure from the extreme physical effort of guiding an F1 car around the circuit and you start to appreciate that this is more than 'just' driving, it's flying a superheated ground missile while you wrestle with an angry crocodile for around 120 minutes.
Weather wise it's typical Malaysia for this time of year - hot, sultry, sweaty and monsoon like with storms a constant threat, especially as the afternoon goes on each day. A shower hit the circuit today at the same time as Q3 is scheduled tomorrow, but it's really a case of nowcasting as the heavy showers and storms can bubble up very quickly, dump a huge amount of rain in minutes and then fade away, or they can linger for hours. Both Saturday and Sunday have a high risk of storms, with a better than 70% chance both days, whether they hit Qualifying and the race itself is up in the air right now. One thing is certain, there will be some very anxious rain radar watchers in every team and with the chance of rain increasing through the afternoon, we could see some early action in Q3 if storms are on the horizon.
Closer to home, the opening weekend of the British touring Car Championship takes place on the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, it's only 1.2 miles long but it's one of the most challenging and exciting tracks in the world, add 31 cars all aiming for the same apex on Paddock Hill bend and it's going to be messy! Thankfully the weather is playing ball, with warmer temperatures expected (it was near freezing for the 2013 races!) and more importantly, no rain in the forecast - there will be a stiff south easterly breeze on Saturday which will make it feel a bit cooler than the 15-16c air temperature, but on Sunday it should be calmer, if a little cloudier and the thermometer may creep up to near 20c in any brighter spells. So pretty much perfect conditions for the first races of the season and you can still
get tickets on the gate if you want to experience over 9 hours of action each day.
Some classes are already on track today for free practice sessions, and there were some patchy showers around earlier, but the rest of the day should remain dry bar a slight chance of a light patchy shower over the next hour or two, after lunch time it should be brighter and dry with temperatures of around 13c.
You can view the full forecast by selecting
Brands Hatch from the drop down menu on the UK Motor sport page.
Satellite picture from Google Maps.
