One race into the nineteen race 2011 Formula One World Championship and I don’t think that the picture is any clearer. Some of the expect frontrunners were slow off the mark in Australia. Some of the midpack teams, like Sauber and Toro Rosso, had surprising runs which could have them thinking points in every race. So who looks good heading into this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix? This week’s Power Rankings takes a stab at it.

#1 Sebastian Vettel (Last Race #1)
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Sebastian Vettel topped last week’s Power Rankings based on his pre-season testing pace and being the reigning world champion and took the win. Let’s combine last week’s two criteria with that unchallenged win last at the Grand Prix and it’s easy to see why people consider him the favourite to repeat at World Drivers’ Champion.

#2 Mark Webber (LR #3)
One of the more interesting stories out of the last race was all the talk about Red Bull’s “mini-KERS” device that they may or may not be running. I’ve read that they don’t have any KERS at all, they’re running a small KERS that doesn’t have either the power or capacity of everybody else’s KERS and that they have a KERS to give them a start line launch and shut it down for the subsequent 300 km. Basically, the Red Bull is carrying comparatively dead weight onboard and still stomping the rest of the field. Everyone else should worry about them installing a proper system this year.

#3 Lewis Hamilton (LR #7)
One of the more interesting discussions over the last few weeks was the potential of Hamilton joining forces with Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull. Red Bull team principal said that the lineup just wouldn’t work because of past driver lineups like Alonso and Hamilton or Prost and Senna which blew up because of egos. I’d actually like to see this lineup happen if only for the chance that the blowup would give a new team a shot at the title.

#4 Fernando Alonso (LR #2)
You’ve got to love blind faith. Alonso thinks that the 150th Italia will have more speed magically pour out of it when they reach Malaysia. Ferrari won’t be bringing any improvements to this race… So how does Alonso figure that Ferrari will magically catch Red Bull and McLaren this weekend? Like I said, you’ve got to love a race driver’s blind faith.

#5 Jenson Button (LR #5)
So… How’s Button’s tire preservation? I would’ve thought that JB’s talent for going easy on his tires would have helped him stay in the hunt for the win. However, it seemed to be the guys that attacked the whole way that got more out of their tires and more speed as a result. I think everyone thought that quickly degrading tires would have favoured Button over Hamilton. Shows how much you really know before the season starts.

#6 Vitaly Petrov (LR #16)
Here’s the thing about early season Power Rankings: When you really haven’t seen much of proper racing action out of the teams and drivers, you don’t know how they’ll stack up against each other. The Aussie GP would have you think that Petrov is going to be pestering the front-runners for podium finishes every time someone falters. But that was a street circuit where Renault usually runs well. This week is the true test for Lotus Renault GP.

#7 Felipe Massa (LR #6)
So Kimi Raikkonen is going to NASCAR. I can’t say that I’d ever thought I’d write that sentence after 2001. I know that he never looked like he had the passion for the sport but he had the talent and drive to succeed. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have mounted that epic comeback for the 2007 title. Going to rallying seemed like a good fit for a Finnish driver. Going to NASCAR, though? I’m very disappointed I’m going to miss the Charlotte NCWTS race because that one should be interesting.

#8 Nico Rosberg (LR #4)
Interestingly, McLaren isn’t looking forward right now so much as looking back. Press clippings I’ve read in the run up to this weekend’s race say that McLaren aren’t focusing on the charge to Red Bull but the potential challenge from behind from Ferrari and Mercedes. While the Silver Arrows may not have found the mark last race, at a real circuit, they might be able to replicate their speed from the final pre-season test.

#9 Kamui Kobayashi (LR #11)
While his teammate got all the attention for his performance at the last Grand Prix meeting, Kobayashi held his own fairly well. He ran in the top ten for most of the weekend but finishing behind he rookie teammate (before the disqualification) got his performance overlooked. I think the quick Malaysian track will suit the quick-in-a-straight line Sauber and a top five finish could be within reach for Kobayashi with a bit of luck.

#10 Sergio Perez (LR #14)
A minor rules violation was all that really prevented Perez from earning points from what was the drive of the weekend. But the team didn’t get the rear wing quite right and rules are rules. Still, to Perez’s credit, he managed to go the entire race distance with only one tire change which allowed him to take an impressive, if temporary, 7th place.

#11 Sebastien Buemi (LR #13)
I’m kind of shocking myself by putting Buemi outside the top ten on the Power Rankings. He was 8th in the last race and the surprise driver to make Q3 last time out. The Toro Rosso looked good during testing so it shouldn’t have surprised anyone that Buemi had that sort of pace. A points finish is well within reach this weekend, even without help from the Sauber factory and FIA inspectors.

#12 Michael Schumacher (LR #8)
Schumacher on the Aussie GP: “There is absolutely no doubt we want to do better than in the opening race, which was a disappointment for all of us. We clearly see that as a challenge and it is much too early to write us off. Everybody in the team remains positive and is in a fighting mood. So I expect a better weekend for us to come; a weekend we can build on.”

#13 Jaime Alguersuari (LR #12)
Alguersuari was never really too far off the pace of his teammate Buemi but he was never consistently on his pace either. I thought he had found some pace over his teammate during pre-season testing. Now, I’d say he’s already driving for his job with developmental driver Daniel Ricciardo poised for a race seat in 2012. That’s a tough spot to be in after only one race of nineteen.

#14 Nick Heidfeld (LR #9)
And here we all thought that Heidfeld was going to fill in admirably for Kubica at Lotus Renault. I don’t think anyone expected him to lay an egg. He was slower than Petrov in all three practice sessions. He was the seventh man out (along with the three new teams) in Q1. And while Petrov made the bottom step of the podium, Heidfeld finished 12th, one lap down.

#15 Paul di Resta (LR #18)
Di Resta on his first Grand Prix: “It was a fantastic experience, one I have waited many years for, and it was better than I could have imagined. I think it all worked out beyond our expectations in terms of performance and we have some exciting times ahead, hopefully, when we start to see the new aero packages coming through. We have got off to a good start with a double-points finish in the Constructors Championship; we could not have asked for more than that.”

#16 Rubens Barrichello (LR #10)
Barrichello’s pre-race quote: “Malaysia is a really nice place to visit and a track that I really enjoy racing on. It is a real test for the drivers though due to the heat and humidity. Malaysia will be hard on the tyres so it will be important to have a good car set-up. I am looking forward to getting there and to driving on such an incredible track. I hope to do well and my aim is to bring home some points.”

#17 Adrian Sutil (LR #15)
Sutil on last weekend’s race: “It was quite an interesting weekend I think! Everybody thought that it would be challenging with the tyres, wing, all the buttons and everything you had to do. The car was not so bad as we had expected as the pace was not there during testing in Barcelona. But here it was much better; in qualifying and in the race both cars finished in the points, so overall it was a good team result.”

#18 Pastor Maldonado (LR #17)
Somebody get some of what Maldonado is smoking. I said above that I like blind faith but there’s a difference between blind faith and delusion. Maldonado thinks that a reasonable goal this weekend is a points finish. I realize that the Williams is supposed to be a quick car but they showed nothing in Australia. If only half the field finishes, then Maldonado should finish in the points. Otherwise, it’ll be a long day for him. This ain’t GP2.

#19 Heikki Kovalainen (LR #19)
I thought Lotus was making a run at the midfield. Weren’t they supposed to have closed the gap up between them and the established teams? And then Kovalainen goes out and times in two seconds behind slowest of the established teams in Q1. I don’t think that’s quite what they were going for heading into their home GP.

#20 Jarno Trulli (LR #20)
Trulli’s pre-race preview quote: “I’m really fired up for this weekend’s race. This is our home race and we want to do our best to make the fans proud of us. There will be a lot of support for us in the stands and having been here for a week I’ve already seen that the level of support has gone up a lot since last year, so whatever happens it will be a great weekend for us.”

#21 Timo Glock (LR #21)
Glock on the challenges of the Malaysian GP: Malaysia is one of the hardest races on the Formula 1 calendar and one for which fitness is very important. The heat and humidity are really punishing and so this is where the physical training really pays off. I feel like I have got back on track very quickly with the fitness side of things and I am spending the time between Australia and Malaysia making sure I am fully acclimatised and ready for the challenge.

#22 Jerome d’Ambrosio (LR #23)
While HRT didn’t make the grid last race, the boys at Marussia Virgin Racing weren’t too far ahead of the 107% mark. Rookie d’Ambrosio was about four-tenths of a second ahead of the cutoff after Q1. I’m sure there were some anxious moments in the Virgin garage as Q1 came to a close. Given how fast the Malaysian circuit is, I think we might see less than 22 cars on the grid on race day.

#23 Tonio Liuzzi (LR #22)
I don’t think that I’d call it close but given the fact that their adjustable rear wing wasn’t functioning and they only got a few laps of track time, I’d say that Liuzzi did quite well in the HRT. With a bit more track time, they can get closer to the 107% cutoff. Mind you, if the adjustable wing isn’t working at Malaysia, they’re toast in Q1.

#24 Narain Karthikeyan (LR #24)
He got more track time than his teammate and still ended up over a second behind teammate Liuzzi. Granted, Liuzzi has more recent F1 experience but I’d almost figure that an HRT would drive more similarly to a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racecar than the 2010 Force India. Shows what I know.

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