* Kuala Lumpur is situated midway along the west coast of the Peninsular Malaysia, at the confluence of the Klang and Gombek rivers. It is approximately 35 km from the coast and sits at the centre of the Peninsula's extensive and modern transport network. Kuala Lumpur is the largest city in the nation, with a population of over one and a half million people drawn from all of Malaysia's many ethnic groups.

* The Sepang circuit is hosting a Grand Prix for the fifth time in its short history. The purpose-built facility is located to the south of Kuala Lumpur, a 30 minute car drive from the city.

* In the heat of last year's Grand Prix weekend in Sepang, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team and its guests consumed 3,200 litres of water and soft drinks in the paddock.

* As a purpose-built, modern facility, Sepang provides the visiting Formula One teams with more space for their operation than virtually any other circuit on the calendar. Only the new Nürburgring pit buildings offer a comparable 650m2

* The track length is 3.445 miles (5.543 km) and the race distance will be 56 laps or 192.919 miles (310.408 km).

* The Grand Prix commences at 1500hrs local on Sunday, March 23 - 0700hrs UTC, 0800hrs in Central Europe.

* At the 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team celebrated its first one-two victory with Ralf Schumacher crossing the line ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya. In 2001, Ralf has finished in fifth position after Juan Pablo had spun off in very tricky conditions with sudden and heavy rain. In 2000, the Malaysian Grand Prix was the season's final race and Ralf Schumacher and Jenson Button retired due to technical failures.

* Juan Pablo Montoya is holder of the current lap record - 1m38.049s in 2002. Last year's pole position was taken by Michael Schumacher in his Ferrari (1m35.266).

* The tyre degradation is expected to be low to medium in Sepang. The BMW WilliamsF1 Team pit stop strategy last year was a single stop for Ralf and two stops for Juan.