McLaren Used Old Engines in Malaysia

It appears McLaren Mercedes have been the only team in the F1 paddock not to replace their engines for the Sepang race. Although all other teams have opted for a new set of power plants for the Malaysian Grand Prix, the Woking-based outfit chose to equip their MP4-24s with the same engines used in Australia.

McLaren officials are yet to explain themselves, especially since replacing their engines for last weekend's race seemed like the logical thing to do. The main argument for the change was the high temperatures at Sepang, as well as the two long straights soliciting the engine to a maximum.

Under these conditions, it would have been wiser to use different power plants at Sepang, while the Melbourne engines would have been re-used at a less arduous track. Under the new FIA rules, a team is allowed to use a number of 8 engines per driver any way they want through the duration of the entire 2009 season. Starting the 9th engine onwards (if used), the driver will face a FIA penalty.

Before the Malaysian event the past weekend, Scuderia Toro Rosso were also believed to tackle the second round of the F1 calendar with the same engines used in Australia. However, the Faenza-based team switched back to a new set of power plants just before the Saturday action.

Using one-race old spec engines might have added to the poor weekend for McLaren in Malaysia. Neither Lewis Hamilton nor Heikki Kovalainen managed to qualify for the Super Pole on Saturday, clinching only the 13th and 14th times respectively. In the race, Kovalainen was sidelined after a few corners due to a on-track incident while Hamilton finished the race on a lucky 7th place (result of a good pit strategy and rain-shortened race).