I had completed my ninth Formula 1 weekend as a spectator, and this was my third time in a row visiting Sepang. Having photographed it for three years in a row from the stands, this time I tried to create pictures that were slightly different and hopefully interesting. The following are some shots that I have selected to show my point of view during a grand prix weekend.
Jenson Button's McLaren with aero paint
1/500, f/6.3, 420mm
I was on the main grandstands right at the top, facing the team garages to shoot the first 20 minutes of P1 because usually it's just the installation laps during the first half hour of Friday's first session. As usual I like the livery of the McLaren, so when Button emerged from the team garages I just fired away. However I didn't notice the aero paint until a few days later when I was looking through the images. McLaren must have been busy sorting out the downforce issues and evaluating the flow around the sides of the floor!
Mark Webber's sprint to the line in a rain-drenched Q3
1/800, f/8, 300mm
The final ten minutes of qualifying saw the track drenched in a brief rain shower followed by strong sunlight when the pitlane lights turned green. It was as if someone had watered the track for the top ten to test their intermediate tyres, however this was no test session but a fight for pole position. Here, Mark Webber is sprinting to the finish line on the start-finish straight and there's a yellow-golden cast of light on the straight.
Storm clouds before the Grand Prix
1/400, f/11, 17mm
I had arrived at the circuit at 1pm, just three hours before the start of the race. The temperature was scorching hot, as me and my friends were buying lunch at one of the stalls, we could notice the dark clouds forming up. As I made my way to the first corner 1 hour before the start, the storm clouds started to loom over the grandstands and I underexposed this image to give it a slightly more dramatic feel.
Alonso in the gravel trap with a broken nose
1/1000, f/5.6, 300mm
The series of events happened pretty quickly for this image. Initially I was following Sebastian Vettel in the lead, as he had pulled a gap. In the next instant, I saw Mark and Fernando side by side across the line and I switched my focus to that pair. And the front wing broke. And then Fernando just couldn't stop, and he went straight into the gravel trap. And the crowd suddenly stood up and I had no more chances of taking any more pictures as I was right at the top in the last row!
Marshals recovering Alonso's Ferrari
1/640, f/5.6, 300mm
As soon as we knew that Alonso was beached in the gravel, I rushed out onto the slopes at the side of the grandstand to get pictures of Alonso's Ferrari. Now there was quite a crowd gathered near the front all trying to get pictures of a stationary Ferrari and at the same time, the marshals were quick to put the car onto a flatbed truck and cover it almost immediately, so there was not much time to jostle into position to get a clear shot. I used a long lens and tried my best to shoot through heads, and I got this image of a nicely framed between two people!
Lewis Hamilton passing Jenson Button
1/250, f/8, 420mm
\This was taken on the back straight where I was trying to use a slower shutter speed on cars that were averaging 270kmh at this point. I usually try to spot which cars are trying to overtake each other and then I try to fit two cars in the lens. This image of Lewis passing his former teammate was really funny, as everyone else had thought that Lewis had gone to Mercedes because they had given him a better deal. However it is good to see how he had pushed Mercedes to become one of the faster cars of 2013, and it's really surprising that McLaren are struggling with their current car when they had one of the fastest cars at the end of last season, and the team have admitted there were internal discussions if they were to switch to last year's car at some point in this season.
Sergio Perez being overtaken by a backmarker
1/640, f/6.3, 300mm
In the closing moments of the race, proceeded to the last corner, and went up to the top level of the tower grandstand. There would be cars who would be struggling towards the end, so I was looking out for wheel lock-ups and that sort. However I saw a Marussia trying to pass a McLaren and I just fired away. It sort of sums up the problems that McLaren had, and to be passed by a backmarker unlapping himself just made their day worse.
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