The war in the Gulf and the spread of a new “killer” ‘flu bug from the East has had an effect on the Formula 1 paddock in Malaysia. Several European newspapers chose to keep their journalists at home and the huge Sepang press room is less than half full. Having failed to show up in Melbourne, FIA President Max Mosley was due to put in an appearance here, but as planned meetings have been cancelled, he too is staying in Europe.

On the subject of the war against Iraq, all drivers quizzed were against it. However, none of them felt that this weekend’s Grand Prix should be cancelled because of it. In fact, the general view was that a bit of sporting entertainment would not go amiss in these troubled times.
As usual, the outspoken Juan Pablo Montoya had his own unique take on the situation, coming up with the best quote of the day: . “Being Colombian, war in my country has been there 30, 40 years? You open the newspaper every day and you hear about killings, kidnappings, bombs. I think for a European they never hear anything of this and now it’s, oh, we’re at war, you know? That’s why, for me, Colombia’s very important because every day that I race and I do well I give a lot of smiles to people in Colombia and I give them something to think about apart from being in a country when you could be kidnapped or killed in a bomb or something.”