SEPANG, Malaysia — The front suspension of David Coulthard’s Red Bull buckled in an alarming way after he went flying off the track in practice on Friday and then came smashing down.
The accident led the FIA to investigate the car’s suspension components to see if they were safe. The technical regulations stipulate that the integrity of the suspension should not be deemed “of dangerous constructions.”
Shortly before Saturday morning’s practice session began, the cars were given the all clear to run.
“The FIA is happy with the way the team has dealt with the issue and the information we have provided them from our proof testing and laboratory testing back in the UK,” said Team Principal Christian Horner.
Coulthard’s accident was triggered when a front suspension track rod broke because a titanium bond on to a carbon rod failed. The car slid off the track at speed and then hit the steep backside of a concrete curb at the next corner. That launched his RB4 into the air and when it slammed down the suspension broke.
Coulthard also suffered major suspension damage after his crash with Felipe Massa in Australia, and Mark Webber’s car retired from that race when the suspension broke after he brushed a wall.
Red Bull, however, had faith in the strength of its cars.
“The key thing is that the cars are not designed to fly over bumps off track,” Horner said. “We have done thousands of miles with three different drivers at several different tracks during the winter with very heavy curb strikes and bumps without a single issue.”

• Jackie Stewart says that Lewis Hamilton has had a worldwide impact on par with sporting greats such as Tiger Woods and Muhammad Ali. Hamilton laughed when he heard that.
“That is a bit unreal,” he told The Times. “I wouldn’t put myself in the league of the likes of Muhammad Ali. If I ever could be as good as him, that would be my aim.”

• Ferrari’s two engine breakdowns in the Australian Grand Prix were caused by in-take-valve failure triggered by fuel feed problems created by the extremely hot conditions.

• Jenson Button has not, as rumored, signed a three-year contract extension with Honda.
“I’d like Jenson to be with us until the end of his career,” said Nick Fry who declined to say when Button’s deal expires. “At the moment we don’t have a contract until the end of his career, so obviously we are having some discussions. It [Button’s current contract] was a long-term deal, but it is always good to make it longer still when you think someone is that good.”

• The organizers of the Brazilian Grand Prix have extended the contract to host the race at Sao Paulo’s Interlagos circuit through 2015.

• David Coulthard celebrated his 37th birthday March 27. Timo Glock turned 26 on March 18. Glock did not have the best of birthdays as various delays turned an eight-hour flight from Australia to Malaysia into 40 hours of misery.

• Williams sponsor Air Asia painted one of its Airbus A320 jets in the livery of the Williams F-1 car. The area around the cockpit is painted in the colors of Nico Rosberg’s helmet.

• Alastair Gibson, the chief mechanic at Honda and BAR for the past 10 years, attended his last Grand Prix in Malaysia. While he is retiring from F-1 to pursue a career as a sculptor, he will still work part time for the team as a consultant.

• Starting from the back of the field, Michael Schumacher beat 26 other competitors to win an amateur superbike motorcycle race in Hungary last week.

• Some familiar former F-1 faces were in the paddock as Jean Alesi, Johnny Herbert, Ukyo Katayama, Giancarlo Morbidelli, Stefan Johansson, Christian Danner and J.J. Lehto competed in the new Speedcar Stockcar series race in Malaysia.

• Sebastien Bourdais copped two speeding fines in 12 minutes in practice Friday morning — one for 1,000 euros [$1,543] and one for 3,000 euros [$4,628].

• Future Malaysian Grand Prix races may not necessarily be run at night as the organizers are still studying all the logistical and financial ramifications.

• Felipe Massa won the 10th pole of his career, the 196th for Ferrari and the seventh in 10 starts for Ferrari in Malaysia.

• Ron Dennis had planned not to attend the race as he had to go to England after the Australian GP for some family matters. It would have been the first Grand Prix he had missed since taking over McLaren in the early 1980s. But he managed to get to Malaysia by Saturday.

• Former Ferrari racing boss Jean Todt was the highly visible guest of his old team in Malaysia, home of his film-actress partner Michelle Yeoh. In interviews, he condemned press speculation about his future, but signally failed to deny that he might be interested in becoming Max Mosley’s successor as President of the FIA. Todt has stepped down as CEO of Ferrari but remains on the board of directors.