Having seen off the challenge of the first street circuit on the calendar in Melbourne almost a fortnight ago, the F1 circus is raring to go to take on one of the toughest challenges in modern F1 – the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. An abrasive track surface, hard braking zones, long straights and high temperatures will be a menace for tyre degradation, while high humidity will test drivers' fitness levels to the max like nowhere else on the calendar. Keep an eye out for the notorious Malaysian downpours too!

An interactive track map of the Sepang International circuit can be found here.

Engine/speed
Full throttle: 65%
Longest full throttle: 11.2 seconds
Engine severity: Medium
Average speed: 211 km/h
Top speed: 312 km/h
Average corner speed: 136 km/h
Lap record: 1m34.223s (Juan Pablo Montoya, 2004)
Unofficial lap record: 1m32.582s (Fernando Alonso, Saturday Qualifying, 2005)

Braking
Number of braking zones: 9
Hardest braking zones: Turns 1 and 15 (5.38 g, 2,236 Kw)
Time spent under braking: 13%
Braking severity: Medium
Brake cooling necessity: Medium

Other
Downforce level: High
Cooling requirement: High
Gear changes per lap: 53
Gearbox severity: Medium
Fuel comsumption: 2.7 kg/lap
Fuel laptime penalty: 0.4 s/10 kg (approximately 0.1 s/lap)

Track characteristics
Bumpiness: Low
Kerbs: Smooth/Medium
Straights: 8
Length of straights: 2,900 m
Longest straight: 927 m (Turns 15 to 1)
Pitlane loss: 22 seconds
Pitlane length: 410 m
Altitude: 40 m above sea level

Tyres
Option: Soft (Yellow)
Prime: Hard (Silver)
Tyre energy: Low

Data courtesy of Brembo, Team Lotus, Mercedes GP, Williams and Pirelli.