F1 notebook: Heat challenges drivers at Malaysian GP

SEPANG, Malaysia — Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber says his drink became so hot while racing in tropical Malaysia that he might as well add some tea leaves next time.

Kubica, who finished on the podium for only the second time in F1, was 20 seconds behind winner Kimi Raikkonen. He said he was sick coming into the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday. Besides, the team’s new car “is very hot inside,” he said.

The drink didn’t exactly cool things down, either.

“Our drink was already hot from the beginning of the race (and it was) extremely hot in the cockpit. I didn’t drink a lot because it was already hot. Next time I will try to put hot tea inside my bottle,” he joked.

The track temperature at Sepang hovered around 118 degrees.

FINNISH FINISH: It was a great day for Finland in Formula One: two Finns on the podium.

Kimi Raikkonen won the race for Ferrari and Heikki Kovalainen finished third, two spots ahead of his McLaren-Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

“For sure it was a good day for Finns. But it is still early in the season. Hopefully sometime we will see one and two,” said Raikkonen, who has 48 podium finishes in 123 races.

Since beginning his Formula One career in 2001, Raikkonen has won 15 races and captured the drivers’ championship last year.

Motor racing, especially Formula One, is one of the most popular sports in Finland after ice hockey and skiing. The nation of 5 million people has had at least one driver in Formula One for the last 20 years.

“Let’s see if we can carry on like this,” Kovalainen said when asked if Finland can repeat Sunday’s performance. “There are other good drivers and it won’t always be like this. But I wouldn’t complain if it happens more times.”

Finland’s previous best result in a single F1 race was last year in Japan when Kovalainen finished second and Raikkonen came in third.

SPEEDING TICKET: Just because he is a high-speed race driver doesn’t mean Rubens Barrichello can break the speed limit or jump the red light.

Barrichello was handed a drive-through penalty Sunday for speeding in pit lane. He finished 13th in his Honda.

It was not the first traffic infraction by the 35-year-old Brazilian, who is the most experienced driver on the F1 circuit this season.

In the circuit-opening race in Melbourne, Barrichello was caught entering pit lane under safety car. Then he was penalized for exiting the pit lane when the red light was still lit.

TODT’S DENIAL: Former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt has denied that he wants to be president of F1’s governing body, FIA.

Todt told reporters Saturday that current FIA president Max Mosley — who has not said if he will contest the post in elections next year — is a “a great FIA president and a good friend.”

“I really hope that he will remain in the office for a long time to come,” said Todt, 62.

Todt, who is married to Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, is in Malaysia to observe his former team.

He also dismissed reports that he was forced to step down as Ferrari CEO because of problems with the team’s president, Luca di Montezemolo.

“So much nonsense goes around in this business,” he said, before denying that he is going to buy another Formula One team, Toro Rosso.

“I heard that I will be presented as a team owner in Bahrain — nonsense!” Todt said. “We live in a world where people prefer to complicate things when they are simple.”

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