Shortly after the rain-affected and highly-spectacular Australian Grand Prix, the media started taking a sudden interest in how the weather will treat the F1 drivers in Malaysia. Logically enough, the outcome of last year's race at Sepang had a lot to do with it also. And the initial prediction of heavy rain hitting this weekend's race seems to be closer to the truth that some of us might have suspected.
“With the F1 circus bustling around the Sepang paddock late on Thursday afternoon, the skies opened. There was thunder, lightening, and reams of driving rain, and similar conditions - rain in the late afternoon after a hot and humid day - have been observed in and around Kuala Lumpur for the past few days,” said a report from the GMM news agency.
The deal between the Sepang International Circuit and monsoonal thunderstorms seem to run on a day-to-day basis, as this type of weather has been quite common in the area for the past few weeks. Curiously enough, it usually doesn't start raining until around 4 PM in the afternoon, which is the exact prediction for this weekend also. The rain apparently lasts for 2 hours.
“The rain is expected to start around 4pm and normally lasts two hours," said a spokesman of the Malaysian Meteorological Department, according to the aforementioned source.
Last year's Malaysian Grand Prix was stopped after only 31 laps, as heavy rain and low visibility – due to twilight conditions – made it impossible for the race to be ran under normal, safe circumstances.
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