2012 F1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix

It was a great moment when I had the chance to attend my first ever Formula 1 race at Sepang International Circuit after the fact that I had been here before for the Super GT as well as MotoGP. As with all racing sports, it is another great way to test panning photography. This time though, the challenge was much higher with such great vehicles like F1 race cars. They go much faster and more agile than other types of racing vehicles.

Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing

The race, as expected, was a wet one. This is what makes Formula 1 races in Malaysia much more interesting. It was havoc! Armed with a weather-sealed Olympus E-3 camera and ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lens, the weather was of no issue. Let the rain drop and there is no need to hide the equipment.

Lewis Hamilton - Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

The sound of 24 F1 cars accelerating from the grid at the start of the race is pure adrenaline and utterly awesome! Just don't forget the earplugs or it will be a real painful experience.

Michael Schumacher - Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team

Fans from all over the world were cheering for their favourite driver and team, with Ferrari being the dominant fan force in Malaysia. The fans were not to be disappointed as Ferrari's Fernando Alonso won the race.

Fernando Alonso - Scuderia Ferrari

And for my case, I left SIC with a big smile on my face. Finally able to cover all 3 major motor sporting events held there. But as with all motor sport events, I leave you with a little bit of eye candy.

The rest of the images can be viewed here. All panning images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lens. Models image taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 35-100 f2 lens. A big thanks to Olympus Malaysia for loaning me the ZD 35-100 f2 lens.