Red
Bull had the fastest car on track in China but in a thrilling race McLaren
out-performed them on strategy - so where and why did it suddenly all go wrong
for the world champions?

Vettel
was dominant in qualifying, some 0.715 seconds faster than the lead McLaren,
and his advantage was similar to what it had been at the opening race of the
season in Australia.

In
the season opening race, however, Vettel and second-placed Hamilton both chose
the same soft/soft/hard tyre strategy and Vettel won easily. In China, the
drama unfolded when the lead pair did not match each other in race strategy -

Ferrari's start to 2011 has not followed the script suggested by pre-season testing so far — but after showing some potential in Malaysia can the Italian giants mount a quick recovery?

The pressure on Ferrari means question marks are already forming over the team's performance so far this year, but it's easy to see where their problems lie. Whether they can solve them, however, is a different matter.

The team's qualifying performance in the opening two races has been nothing less than a disaster. Red Bull and McLaren locked out the front two rows in Australia and Malaysia and although Alonso

Malaysia is one of the least predictable races on the F1 calendar when it comes to the weather - but this year if rain pours down or the sun bakes the track it could be McLaren who win the lottery...

The Malaysian Grand Prix has always been a little more unpredictable than most events thanks to the region's weather patterns, which create a high likelihood of a downpour, particularly in the latter part of the day. That has been accentuated by later start times in recent years, with the race rained off in 2009 and the qualifying session affected in 2010, despite a move to a slightly more

The controversial Kinetic Energy
Recovery System (KERS) returns to F1 this season - but is it now achieving what
it was set out to and how much will it affect the championship battle this
season?

The sight of the McLaren cars flying
past their rivals on track was a relatively common occurrence in 2009 thanks to
their efficient KERS system, which proved more effective than that of their
rivals. Yet by the end of the year the 'green energy' solution, which used
normally wasted energy from braking for an extra power boost, was no longer in
service.

Having seen the high cost of development
and

Sebastian Vettel admitted Red Bull's
unreliable KERS system almost cost him victory in Malaysia - but what is causing
the problems and how can they be solved?

With their low-running front wing and
one of the most efficient exhaust-fed diffuser layouts on the grid, Red Bull
appear to have developed the best car at least for the start of this season -
but as their rivals copy to catch up, their fundamental failure on KERS
development is starting to become a serious worry.

McLaren's rapid turn-around from their
pre-season disasters to become contenders for pole and race victory in Malaysia
has

Sebastian Vettel dominated the season-opening race in Australia but that may not have painted the full picture of F1 in 2011 - so as the teams head into round two why could things be about to change?

It may simply be optimistic thinking by those hoping Red Bull do not go on to dominate the season, but the untypically cool temperatures in Melbourne, the unique nature of the Albert Park circuit and the catch-up tactics employed by some of the leading teams have left a few question marks over how things will truly pan out in 2011.

TYRE TACTICS

Predictions that the Pirelli tyres would fall apart

Four drivers made their Formula One debuts in Australia last weekend but just how
tough is it to hit the track running - and which of the newcomers made most of
a mark?

The seats at the front of the Grand Prix grid may have been
relatively stable this year but further back the sport welcomed Pastor
Maldonado (Williams), Sergio Perez (Sauber), Paul di Resta (Force India) and
Jerome D'Ambrosio (Virgin) as well seeing Narain Karthikeyan (HRT) return after
five years off the grid.

No matter how much preparation a driver has, making a race debut is
never easy. The pressure of on-track performance

Fernando Alonso came within a few laps of the title in
his first season at Ferrari and firmly established himself as the team number
one - but can the Italian stable give him what he needs to win this year?

One of the biggest developments at Maranello over the
winter has not been the new F150th Italia machine but actually the structure of
the team itself, and the arrival of former McLaren man Pat Fry on pit wall.

Fry is an experienced player and, coupled with the
strategy expertise of former Red Bull man Neil Martin in a newly-created 'Operations Research Department', should make a difference