With Malaysia delivering their most disappointing weekend of the season, Ferrari will look to bounce back in style as they head to China.

The team has had a fortnight to ponder over everything that went wrong at Sepang - namely poor reliability and a race stuck in the midfield, due to a qualifying miscue. But there were also some positives to come out of the weekend; the team are still top in both championships and Fernando Alonso almost managed to overtake Jenson Button, even with the handicap of a faulty gearbox. You’d expect that even the Great Wall of China can’t block him from a place on the Shanghai podium.

Ferrari’s engineers have also said that Alonso’s engine blow-up was likely down to the effects of his gearbox troubles – whilst they may’ve lost another one of his quota of engines (if another new one is fitted this weekend he’ll be on his fourth engine of eight, before penalties start coming into play), this one can’t be blamed on a fickle engine. Excuses for the faults with the two powerplants at the back of the Saubers can’t be so easily found though.

Whilst Alonso has had his troubles at the last two grand prix, Felipe Massa has found his sailing to be a little smoother. His seventh at Sepang put him into an unlikely championship lead, given by how he’s yet to win a race in 2010. Despite this championship lead, reports have linked Robert Kubica with his seat – outperforming Alonso this weekend would go a long way to silencing the media, and earning a new contract.

Assuming it’s a normal race weekend, Ferrari should be right back on the money. The Red Bull’s are currently untouchable in qualifying trim, but the scarlet car does look to be the fastest car in the field on a worn set of rubber. However, some forecasts have indicated rain on Sunday, to potentially repeat last seasons downpour, in which case it’s anyones game.

A selection of drivers have also commented on how cold China is right now, with the 9ºC air temperature rivalling our current springtime in England. Compared to the summertime temperatures of the previous few races, China hasn’t even started to defrost. The lower temperatures will throw up inherant challenges, but nothing Ferrari haven’t seen before.

The team’s progress in the season’s development race will make for interesting viewing, given McLaren’s recent history of seriously improving their cars as the season progresses. I’ve always wondered just what difference you’d see if the teams went back to the season opener with their end of season cars – I imagine at least a second or twos worth of improvement, with midfielders setting laps faster than the pole position time. Improvement is needed not just to match the Red Bulls, but also to stay ahead of the fierce competition just below the Scuderia in the championship battle.

All in all, Ferrari will be hoping for a return to normality after the choas of the past few races. And lets not forget, for Ferrari, normality is winning.

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