Heat is on in Malaysia.

Heat and humidity were the biggest talking points at the the warmest, stickiest venue on the F1 calendar today, as teams tried to decide how their engines, tyres, brakes and drivers stand up to a sweltering Sepang.

Reigning world champion Michael Schumacher says that the Malaysian Grand Prix will be the toughest race of the
season and, judging by some of the mechanical differences spotted in the Sepang pit-lane when practice began this morning, the teams seem to agree with him.

"It will be the toughest race of the season," Schumacher said, "both on the human side and the technical side. It will be tough physically for the drivers because the ambient temperature during the race will be in the 95 degree Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) range combined with high humidity."

Like most of the drivers, Schumacher did not return to Europe after the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The drivers remained in this part of the world to train and become accustomed to the hot weather conditions.

"I stayed out in the area because I felt it was better not to get jet lag," Schumacher said, "Everybody warned me how hard it would be here in Malaysia at this time of the year, so I hope everything else is as well prepared as I am."

In 1999 and 2000, its first two years, the Malaysian Grand Prix took place at the end of the season. But the date was switched to beginning of this season when the weather is even hotter than it is in October. Rain could also play a part in the outcome of this year's race.

"Four times in the past five years it has rained on March 18th in Sepang," said Jaguar Racing boss Bobby Rahal, "And this will inevitably make an exciting spectacle."

From the driving point of view, the sweeping 15-turn, 3.444-mile (5.543-km) Sepang circuit presents an array of challenges because it's so wide that the drivers have several choices of racing line. From the technical point of view, it's also a challenge to set up the chassis for this track.

The challenge for everybody is going to be to try and beat the Ferrari team that dominated the season opener. Schumacher started from the pole in Australia and won the race while his team-mate Rubens Barrichello finished third.

"This car [the F2001] is exceptionally good," Schumacher said. "It's the first time since I have been at Ferrari that we have been able to dominate the weekend at the start of the year. The car was good straight out of the box. It's a very neutral car, a real racing car, a go-kart of F1, because it handles so well. It's something I have always been looking for - to have the best car in
my hands-and so far it looks as if I have."

David Coulthard, who finished second in Australia in his West McLaren-Mercedes, was of a like mind with the champion - much to his despair.

"We need more speed!" the Scot sighed, "We have some [new] parts here which hopefully will see us improve our lap time. I think it's quite clear from Australia that Ferrari have an advantage at the moment."

Coulthard also didn't return home so that he could prepare for the heat and humidity in Malaysia.

"I stayed in Australia," he said, "and I was trying to follow the sun so I could do some training in the warmer temperatures. I went to Surfers' Paradise for a couple of days. But as anyone who watches the news saw it flooded. It was a bit like Scotland, so I went up to Cairns and Port Douglas where it was lot better for training.

"I do all my training outdoors as much as possible, avoiding the gym because they all tend to be air conditioned, to give my body the best chance to adapt to the heat here."

This will be the second Grand Prix race for 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya.

"I have never raced on the Sepang circuit," the Williams-BMW driver said, "and it looks like quite difficult circuit to learn. I have spent the last week watching on-board camera recordings of last year's race. I've studied the telemetry data, and I have also driven many laps on video games. I feel ready for it!"

Montoya, who spent the break between the races in Sydney, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, said he is not worried about the hot weather challenges. In the Australian Grand Prix, also run in hot conditions, he didn't even take any drinks from the car's onboard water bottle.

"I normally never drink because I forget about it," he said.

Nor is Montoya worried about the possibility of rain.

""The FW23 can be competitive in both wet or dry," he said, "so I am not bothered about which weather we are going to have."