Malaysia is one of the toughest races on the Formula 1 calendar, with soaring temperatures, dense humidity and unpredictable rain showers which can be likened to monsoon's.
The Sepang International Circuit is both a fan and driver favourite due to its smooth surface, wide straights and heavy braking zones that create plenty of overtaking, 2013 was no acception. Kimi Raikkonen won the season opener just seven days earlier, but the grid definitely became more concentrated in Malaysia with some fantastic scraps and battles.
For a look at the track and for some facts about the race check out my Malaysian Grand Prix Preview, and to catch up on Thursday's action around and off track check out my Snap Shot.
The heat was the biggest challenge for the drivers over the course of the weekend, as apposed to the track (which in fairness is a slightly easier beast to tame in comparison to Melbourne). With long straights and big braking zones there was overtaking a plenty during the race. Rain also played its part over the race weekend, creating an even tougher challenge.
Here's my review of the weekend, starting with free practice reports, then moving on to qualifying and then the race.
FP1
Like last weekends first practice session it was a rather quiet start in Malaysia. Installation laps were the only parts of track action for the first half an hour before the cars emerged for some more serious running.
The drivers mainly focused on running the Orange band Hard Pirelli tyres, most teams choosing to complete two runs. As the tyres started to wear there were plenty of lock ups and wide corner exits.
Mark Webber was the driver who emerged fastest from the first session. His best time of 1m36.935 was the only lap to dip below the 1m37's and was the fastest of 15 laps completed on track. The Aussie held the lead for the last 35 minutes and ended the day just 0.068 faster than second place man Kimi Raikkonen.
The Australian Grand Prix winner was just one tenth ahead of triple world champion Sebastian Vettel, with Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg a few tenths behind respectively. Lewis Hamilton ended the 90 minute session in ninth place and reported his tyres were "destroyed" by the end of it.
Jenson Button rounded out the top 11 but suffered a puncture which cut short one of his longer runs. He still completed 16 laps and was one of the first drivers to set a lap time. His new team-mate Sergio Perez finished 13th, ahead of the two Sauber drivers.
Max Chilton was the first driver to set a lap time and completed a total of 18 useful laps on track but ended the day slowest of all the runners. The Brit finished four and a half seconds slower in comparison to Webber's Red Bull, behind van der Garde, Bianchi and Pic.
FP2
The rain clouds started to gather as the second 90 minute practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix got underway and despite some dry running initially, it eventually started to fall.
As said before, the start of the session was bone dry but with soaring temperatures tyre degradation and wear was one of the main talking points. There were plenty of lock ups, a few off track excursions and a pit lane entry spin to contend with during the rather busy but rain interrupted session. The rain in question began to fall with half an hour remaining.
The majority of the fastest times were set in the first section of dry running, with a short burst coming towards the end. Kimi Raikkonen topped the time sheets with a 1m36.569, on the medium tyre, just ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari driver Felipe Massa. The gaps at the front were very tight indeed; just one tenth separating the top three.
Fernando Alonso was a further three tenths back, ahead of Mark Webber and Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman suffered a high speed off towards the end of the session on the drying track. The Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton finished the session seventh and ninth, separated by Paul Di Resta. They two "Silver Arrows" drivers were eight tenths and a second off the pace respectively.
Elsewhere Button was slower in comparison to team-mate Perez, the two McLaren's finishing 11th and 12th. Both used the medium Pirelli tyre on their fastest runs. The two Sauber's were just behind, impressively Gutierrez set his fastest time on the hard tyre. Williams and Toro Rosso looked some way further back.
The rear of the pack also closed in, but Bianchi was the stand out driver yet again. He finished 2.9 seconds down on Raikkonen out front, ahead of Bottas and 1.2 seconds faster than Charles Pic. The Frenchman suffered a spin during the session, as did team-mate Giedo van der Garde.
Teams managed some intermediate tyre running but the track soon dried out, in what was a busy but interrupted session in Malaysia.
FP3
It was a rather straightforward session for both drivers and teams in third practice, with no threat of rain and no real incidents on track.
However the main talking point was, of course, the Pirelli tyres. A number of drivers suffered with the heavy tyre wear associated with the new softer compounds and some went down to the canvas, Lewis Hamilton to name one driver who suffered this issue.
Sebastian Vettel set the pace with a 1m36.435 on the medium tyre. Most of the teams did a long run on the hard tyres to open the session before switching to the faster mediums for some quick, short runs. Vettel suffered on the long runs and even had a little off track excursion as the tyres wore out, but managed to set a very fast time on his short run.
Hamilton was next up, impressively ending just a tenth off the German despite setting his time some way before and on a less rubbered-in track. Sutil and Webber followed, with Raikkonen rounding out the top five with prospects for the race looking good due to the lighter tyre wear. Jenson Button had an improved session and finished seventh and got within three tenths of Vettel.
Rosberg and Alonso were ninth and tenth, behind the latters team-mate Felipe Massa. Perez managed to set the 12th fastest time despite a big lock up that destroyed his tyres some time earlier. Grosjean lost a quick lap on the medium compound tyres due to being blocked by van der Garde. Charles Pic did well to get within 2.5 seconds of Vettel, with Bianchi a bit further back. Chilton rounded out the 22 runners four seconds off the triple world champion.
The times were extremely close which set us up for a fantastic qualifying session, but one thing was on everybody's minds. Tyres.
Qualifying
After the difficulties and complications of a week ago, it was time to see what the drivers had got. There was dry running for the most part but as always in Malaysia the threat of showers.
Q1
It was a rather quiet start to the second qualifying session of the season. A two minute wait for some track action was halted by the emergence of the Marussia duo before it really heated up.
With two midfield spots in the drop zone and a highly competitive midfield t that, it was certainly an interesting and highly fought scrap to make it into Q2. Chilton set the opening time but they soon tumbled. Drivers mixed it up with the hard and medium compound Pirelli's, but strangely some front runners chose the faster and less durable rubber.
By the chequered flag and after 20 minutes of track action it was Adrian Sutil who set the fastest time on the medium tyre. The German set the pace from Kimi Raikkonen, who was 0.150 tenths off, and Nico Rosberg. Jenson Button finished sixth and was faster than former team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Q1, the latter in eighth and just ahead of Mark Webber.
Red Bull looked to be struggling with Sebastian Vettel just making it through in 14th. The German had to do lap after lap due to the first not being good enough and he managed to sneak through by just three tenths.
However the times were very close and the top 10 were separated by nine tenths of a second. The first driver in the Q1 drop zone was Jean-Eric Vergne who finished just 0.040 down on the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez. Valtteri Bottas was next up for Williams, who continued to struggle for qualifying pace.
At the back of the pack Jules Bianchi put in an impressive final lap to go just 1.6 seconds shy of Sutil's fastest time. Charles Pic was some way further back and will line up 20th, ahead of rookies Chilton and van der Garde.
Q2
The clouds were forming and looming large over the Sepang Circuit for the start of the second qualifying session. It was a busy 15 minutes out on track as cars vied for the final 10 spots in qualifying.
However the rain eventually arrived towards the end of the session. It caught out a number of drivers. First and foremost the Force India of Paul Di Resta; the Brit went out to set his first run just as the rain fell and he suffered a spectacular spin on his second attempt. Pastor Maldonado was also caught out by the downpour and Grosjean failed to get the best out of his dry lap time.
So with five minutes remaining the times were set in stone with Nico Rosberg topping the time sheets on a 1m36.190. The German looked strong in the Mercedes, with team mate Lewis Hamilton at the top of the time sheets too in third place. Mark Webber was sandwiched between them with Kimi Raikkonen immediately behind.
Adrian Sutil was six tenths off Rosberg's pace in fifth, with Massa and Alonso both making it through to Q3. Both McLaren's also made it in, with Button in eighth and Perez in tenth. Sebastian Vettel managed to squeeze in to the top 10 in ninth place.
In the drop zone finished Romain Grosjean, who was three tenths off Perez's time, Nico Hulkenberg and the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo. The Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez was next up, some way ahead of Paul Di Resta who missed out due to the rain shower. Pastor Maldonado failed to even set a time after Williams left it too late.
Q3
It was definitely the weather for the intermediate tyres as the green light went out for Q3. Cars were fueled for the whole session, with many team radars showing the conditions would improve by the chequered flag.
The rain, which was quite a heavy shower but soon moved on, created challenging and tricky conditions for many with Lewis Hamilton even going off on the out lap.
Times continued to tumble as the seconds ticked down on the countdown. It really was the last man across the line will benefit the most. After the first run some drivers pitted for a fresh set of boots, whilst others stayed out on more worn rubber. Vettel momentarily had pole position but as the Red Bull driver pitted the Mercedes continued on and set a blistering lap time.
The final few minutes were crucial and by the chequered flag it was Sebastian Vettel who took pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix. The gamble of pitting for fresh intermediates payed off and the track was constantly evolving and improving. Felipe Massa had a fantastic final lap to go second, albeit nine tenths off the pole sitter.
Massa out-qualified Alonso for the second race in a row, the Spaniard set the third fastest time. Lewis Hamilton had provisionally held the top spot but dropped to fourth with the final burst of lap times, ahead of a rather disappointed Mark Webber who said on the team radio "unbelievable." Nico Rosberg finished three seconds down in sixth ahead of championship leader Raikkonen, Jenson Button, Adrian Sutil and Sergio Perez.
At the head of the pack the gaps were decreasing. Webber and
Vettel were separated by just six tenths as they crossed the line to start lap
26. Both Mercedes were also closing in as Webber struggled on the medium
compound tyres. However the triple world champion was getting impatient,
radioing the team to say "Mark's too slow, get him out of the way."
The third pit stops started just after the half way mark of the race, Lewis Hamilton stayed on the option tyres. Webber and Rosberg pitted together on the next lap and moved to the more durable hard compound. Last years world champion pitted a lap later and found himself behind Lewis Hamilton after the Brit set a blistering out lap.
It was a tale of unsafe releases in the pit lane. After the collision between Pic and Vergne the Ferrari of Felipe Massa was released in to the path of Sergio Perez. A few laps later Nico Hulkenberg rejoined alongside the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen, winning the race to the first corner.
As the due crossed the line to go on to the 45th lap the
Mercedes pairing were also vying for the final podium position. Jenson Button
was setting some blistering late race pace but unfortunately for him he was back
in 14th. Meanwhile out front it was Webber vs. Vettel all over again and the
latter got the traction out of turn four to take the lead. It was a breath-taking
fight that got very, very close between them.
Sebastian Vettel always looked to be a threat after
qualifying on pole position and after a fantastic battle with his team mate the
German made his way past to take the lead. It was not the calmest of moments on
the Red Bull pit wall but Vettel pulled away from his team mate to lead home a
1-2 for the Milton Keynes team. However it soon became clear that Vettel had disrespected team orders to stay behind Mark and he apologised for that after the race. (For quotes on the Red Bull story go here: http://bit.ly/14myPUf )
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
For a look at the track and for some facts about the race check out my Malaysian Grand Prix Preview, and to catch up on Thursday's action around and off track check out my Snap Shot.
The heat was the biggest challenge for the drivers over the course of the weekend, as apposed to the track (which in fairness is a slightly easier beast to tame in comparison to Melbourne). With long straights and big braking zones there was overtaking a plenty during the race. Rain also played its part over the race weekend, creating an even tougher challenge.
Here's my review of the weekend, starting with free practice reports, then moving on to qualifying and then the race.
FP1
Like last weekends first practice session it was a rather quiet start in Malaysia. Installation laps were the only parts of track action for the first half an hour before the cars emerged for some more serious running.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
Mark Webber was the driver who emerged fastest from the first session. His best time of 1m36.935 was the only lap to dip below the 1m37's and was the fastest of 15 laps completed on track. The Aussie held the lead for the last 35 minutes and ended the day just 0.068 faster than second place man Kimi Raikkonen.
The Australian Grand Prix winner was just one tenth ahead of triple world champion Sebastian Vettel, with Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg a few tenths behind respectively. Lewis Hamilton ended the 90 minute session in ninth place and reported his tyres were "destroyed" by the end of it.
Jenson Button rounded out the top 11 but suffered a puncture which cut short one of his longer runs. He still completed 16 laps and was one of the first drivers to set a lap time. His new team-mate Sergio Perez finished 13th, ahead of the two Sauber drivers.
Max Chilton was the first driver to set a lap time and completed a total of 18 useful laps on track but ended the day slowest of all the runners. The Brit finished four and a half seconds slower in comparison to Webber's Red Bull, behind van der Garde, Bianchi and Pic.
FP2
The rain clouds started to gather as the second 90 minute practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix got underway and despite some dry running initially, it eventually started to fall.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
The majority of the fastest times were set in the first section of dry running, with a short burst coming towards the end. Kimi Raikkonen topped the time sheets with a 1m36.569, on the medium tyre, just ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari driver Felipe Massa. The gaps at the front were very tight indeed; just one tenth separating the top three.
Fernando Alonso was a further three tenths back, ahead of Mark Webber and Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman suffered a high speed off towards the end of the session on the drying track. The Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton finished the session seventh and ninth, separated by Paul Di Resta. They two "Silver Arrows" drivers were eight tenths and a second off the pace respectively.
Elsewhere Button was slower in comparison to team-mate Perez, the two McLaren's finishing 11th and 12th. Both used the medium Pirelli tyre on their fastest runs. The two Sauber's were just behind, impressively Gutierrez set his fastest time on the hard tyre. Williams and Toro Rosso looked some way further back.
The rear of the pack also closed in, but Bianchi was the stand out driver yet again. He finished 2.9 seconds down on Raikkonen out front, ahead of Bottas and 1.2 seconds faster than Charles Pic. The Frenchman suffered a spin during the session, as did team-mate Giedo van der Garde.
Teams managed some intermediate tyre running but the track soon dried out, in what was a busy but interrupted session in Malaysia.
FP3
It was a rather straightforward session for both drivers and teams in third practice, with no threat of rain and no real incidents on track.
However the main talking point was, of course, the Pirelli tyres. A number of drivers suffered with the heavy tyre wear associated with the new softer compounds and some went down to the canvas, Lewis Hamilton to name one driver who suffered this issue.
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| (c) Lotus F1 Team |
Hamilton was next up, impressively ending just a tenth off the German despite setting his time some way before and on a less rubbered-in track. Sutil and Webber followed, with Raikkonen rounding out the top five with prospects for the race looking good due to the lighter tyre wear. Jenson Button had an improved session and finished seventh and got within three tenths of Vettel.
Rosberg and Alonso were ninth and tenth, behind the latters team-mate Felipe Massa. Perez managed to set the 12th fastest time despite a big lock up that destroyed his tyres some time earlier. Grosjean lost a quick lap on the medium compound tyres due to being blocked by van der Garde. Charles Pic did well to get within 2.5 seconds of Vettel, with Bianchi a bit further back. Chilton rounded out the 22 runners four seconds off the triple world champion.
The times were extremely close which set us up for a fantastic qualifying session, but one thing was on everybody's minds. Tyres.
Qualifying
After the difficulties and complications of a week ago, it was time to see what the drivers had got. There was dry running for the most part but as always in Malaysia the threat of showers.
Q1
It was a rather quiet start to the second qualifying session of the season. A two minute wait for some track action was halted by the emergence of the Marussia duo before it really heated up.
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| (c) Force India F1 Team |
By the chequered flag and after 20 minutes of track action it was Adrian Sutil who set the fastest time on the medium tyre. The German set the pace from Kimi Raikkonen, who was 0.150 tenths off, and Nico Rosberg. Jenson Button finished sixth and was faster than former team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Q1, the latter in eighth and just ahead of Mark Webber.
Red Bull looked to be struggling with Sebastian Vettel just making it through in 14th. The German had to do lap after lap due to the first not being good enough and he managed to sneak through by just three tenths.
However the times were very close and the top 10 were separated by nine tenths of a second. The first driver in the Q1 drop zone was Jean-Eric Vergne who finished just 0.040 down on the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez. Valtteri Bottas was next up for Williams, who continued to struggle for qualifying pace.
At the back of the pack Jules Bianchi put in an impressive final lap to go just 1.6 seconds shy of Sutil's fastest time. Charles Pic was some way further back and will line up 20th, ahead of rookies Chilton and van der Garde.
Q2
The clouds were forming and looming large over the Sepang Circuit for the start of the second qualifying session. It was a busy 15 minutes out on track as cars vied for the final 10 spots in qualifying.
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| (c) Lotus F1 Team |
So with five minutes remaining the times were set in stone with Nico Rosberg topping the time sheets on a 1m36.190. The German looked strong in the Mercedes, with team mate Lewis Hamilton at the top of the time sheets too in third place. Mark Webber was sandwiched between them with Kimi Raikkonen immediately behind.
Adrian Sutil was six tenths off Rosberg's pace in fifth, with Massa and Alonso both making it through to Q3. Both McLaren's also made it in, with Button in eighth and Perez in tenth. Sebastian Vettel managed to squeeze in to the top 10 in ninth place.
In the drop zone finished Romain Grosjean, who was three tenths off Perez's time, Nico Hulkenberg and the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo. The Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez was next up, some way ahead of Paul Di Resta who missed out due to the rain shower. Pastor Maldonado failed to even set a time after Williams left it too late.
Q3
It was definitely the weather for the intermediate tyres as the green light went out for Q3. Cars were fueled for the whole session, with many team radars showing the conditions would improve by the chequered flag.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
Times continued to tumble as the seconds ticked down on the countdown. It really was the last man across the line will benefit the most. After the first run some drivers pitted for a fresh set of boots, whilst others stayed out on more worn rubber. Vettel momentarily had pole position but as the Red Bull driver pitted the Mercedes continued on and set a blistering lap time.
The final few minutes were crucial and by the chequered flag it was Sebastian Vettel who took pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix. The gamble of pitting for fresh intermediates payed off and the track was constantly evolving and improving. Felipe Massa had a fantastic final lap to go second, albeit nine tenths off the pole sitter.
Massa out-qualified Alonso for the second race in a row, the Spaniard set the third fastest time. Lewis Hamilton had provisionally held the top spot but dropped to fourth with the final burst of lap times, ahead of a rather disappointed Mark Webber who said on the team radio "unbelievable." Nico Rosberg finished three seconds down in sixth ahead of championship leader Raikkonen, Jenson Button, Adrian Sutil and Sergio Perez.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m49.674s
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m50.587s
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m50.727s
4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m51.699s
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m52.244s
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m52.519s
7. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m52.970s*
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m53.175s
9. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m53.439s
10. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m54.136s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m37.342s Gap
11. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m37.636s + 1.446s
12. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.125s + 1.935s
13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.822s + 2.632s
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.221s + 3.031s
15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m44.509s + 8.319s
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault no time
Q1 cut-off time: 1m37.931s Gap
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.157s + 1.348s
18. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m38.207s + 1.398s
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m38.434s + 1.625s
20. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m39.314s + 2.505s
21. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m39.672s + 2.863s
22. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m39.932s + 3.123s
107% time: 1m43.585
*3 Place grid penalty for Raikkonen due to blocking Rosberg (will start P10)
The Race
Kimi Raikkonen clinched victory one week earlier in
Australia, but could he retain his championship lead? Could Vettel find his
race pace, how would the tyres last and most importantly what would the weather
do?
So many questions ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix, and
there was only one way to answer them. By kicking off the race at the Sepang
International Circuit.
In comparison to previous days the temperature and humidity
was lower, but more importantly the heavens opened before the race time and the
circuit was well and truly drenched.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
With Malaysia's usual monsoon conditions created a new
challenge for the drivers before they even reached the grid. Ricciardo,
Gutierrez and Bottas all had off track excursions on their way to the grid.
However it was a funny old scenario, turn three was extremely wet but the
remainder of the track was relatively dry.
The grid formed on the intermediate tyres, the revs rose in
Malaysia, the lights went out and we were racing. Off the line it was Vettel
who had a decent start, with Alonso vying with Massa for second. Mark Webber
managed to get past Alonso for second but the Ferrari driver took the place
back, but in the process he touched the back of Vettel's car and damaging his
front wing.
Further back Jenson Button advanced to fifth ahead of Felipe
Massa who fell back at the start. Button's team-mate Sergio Perez also made a
move up the order to eighth by the end of the first lap. However on the run to
the first corner Alonso's front wing dropped under the car. The Spaniard made a
dramatic exit from the race but managed to fortunately avoid collecting anyone
else.
The drama behind enabled Vettel to pull away from the
chasing pack, whilst Button and Rosberg had a good and fair scrap behind for
fourth place. But as the McLaren was going backwards his team mate moved ahead
of Adrian Sutil. There was some very good and fair racing on the first few
laps.
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| (c) BBC Sport |
Meanwhile championship leader Raikkonen was dropping back
and made an out of character mistake at turn 13. Meanwhile as the lap counter
went on to the sixth lap both Vettel and Massa pitted for dry tyres. The Red
Bull was sliding around in sector one but sector two and three were much drier.
This prompted a number of teams to pit their drivers, Force India losing out
the most after stacking their drivers but suffering a slow stop for leading
driver Sutil.
Webber and Hamilton pitted but the former McLaren driver
suffered a bit of memory fade, the Brit unbelievably drove in to his former
teams pit box. He rather embarrassingly passed through before finding the
correct pit bay and said after the race he did a "Jenson." There was more pit lane drama behind as an entering Charles
Pic collided with a released Toro Rosso, the latter quite clearly in the wrong.
After the first stops it was Mark Webber who took the lead
of the race ahead of Vettel, Hamilton, Rosberg and Button. However the Aussie
moved to the hard tyres in comparison to the trailing top five. With the whole
field on dry tyres we really got to see the true pace of the cars after the
first few laps on the intermediates. Jenson Button started to drop back from
the front runners at quite a rate, showing the poor pace of the MP4-28, and
Hamilton began to close in on the leading Red Bull's despite the pit stop
incident.
It was lap 14 before we saw another yellow flag flying, the
cause was due to Pastor Maldonado running wide at turn 11 and taking a trip
through the gravel. Like the season opener there were a range of strategies
taking place, drivers were being told either to "save the tyres" or
eat them up. Rosberg started to close in on the top three as the race went in
to its second quarter and by quite some margin.
The second stops kicked off on lap 20 with Mark Webber
moving from the orange banded hard tyres to the white mediums. It was certainly
a sign of Webber's harsher use of the tyres as team-mate Vettel managed to eke
out his third stint by a further two laps. The likes of Button, Hamilton and
Hulkenberg followed suit but Di Resta had a terrible pit stop. The Scot was
stationary for well over a minute due to an issue with the right front and a
few laps later he retired. Sutil suffered a similarly slow visit to the pit
lane.
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| (c) Getting Images |
The third pit stops started just after the half way mark of the race, Lewis Hamilton stayed on the option tyres. Webber and Rosberg pitted together on the next lap and moved to the more durable hard compound. Last years world champion pitted a lap later and found himself behind Lewis Hamilton after the Brit set a blistering out lap.
It was a tale of unsafe releases in the pit lane. After the collision between Pic and Vergne the Ferrari of Felipe Massa was released in to the path of Sergio Perez. A few laps later Nico Hulkenberg rejoined alongside the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen, winning the race to the first corner.
Jenson Button was having a rather lonely race but it took a
turn for the worst after his left front wheel was not safely attached. He
stopped in the pit lane and was pushed back but he lost a huge amount of time.
It begged the question is there too much emphasis on quick stops that is
causing these problems?
At the front Hamilton was dropping back from Webber and by
some margin, on lap 37 his lap time was a full second slower in comparison to
the Red Bull. It meant he fell into the clutches of Sebastian Vettel, the
German using DRS to get past. Elsewhere Raikkonen used the reduced drag to get
past Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
After struggling with tyre wear Lewis Hamilton pitted for
the fourth time on lap 42, moving on to a set of scrubbed medium compound
tyres. The Mercedes driver was also having to save fuel as the team asked him
to "lift and cost" going in to the corners. Rosberg and Vettel
reacted by pitting a lap later and left Webber out front before he made his
stop. The Aussie re-joined just ahead of team mate Vettel and the pair scrapped
for the remainder of the first sector.
The Red Bull and Mercedes pit walls looked very tense, both
sets of drivers battling on track. Meanwhile the Williams of Pastor Maldonado
retired after another difficult weekend. Raikkonen moved ahead of Sergio
Perez and Felipe Massa made his way through too. The Brazilian was on the move and
with new tyres he advanced ahead of the "Iceman."
As the chequered flag closed in Nico Rosberg was adamant
that he was faster in comparison to his team mate. The German was told the
situation after he asked to "let me get past." Meanwhile Daniel Ricciardo
retired from the race and Felipe Massa moved ahead of Romain Grosjean. Jenson
Button joined Ricciardo on the side-lines and things went from bad to worse for
McLaren as Perez was displaced by Nico Hulkenberg.
Sebastian Vettel Wins a Thrilling Malaysian Grand Prix
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
Mark Webber crossed the line to take second place four
seconds behind his team mate. The Aussie had led the race earlier on and used a
different tyre strategy that he failed to pull off. He scored welcome points
but was far from happy after his team-mate broke the agreement to stay behind. He was visibly annoyed with the team and Vettel despite taking a welcome 18 points. Just behind finished Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes
W04. The Brit had to do some fuel saving late in the race and had to fend off a
rather feisty Nico Rosberg. However it was a strong result for the Brackley
based squad and they showed that the car is capable of scoring podium
positions. Rosberg was far from happy after the race due to being told not to
challenge team-mate Hamilton. He said on team radio after the race
"remember this one."
Felipe Massa had a quiet race on route to fifth place. He
did plenty of passing after a late stop meant he dropped behind the three
stoppers. The Brazilian had a poor start to the race and dropped back from then
on, benefiting from others problems to move up the order. Romain Grosjean
showed a three stop strategy could work and scored a good handful of points,
ahead of team mate Raikkonen who finished seventh. The Lotus E21 was not as
fast as many predicted and his poor start, coupled with the grid penalty, meant
he failed to do any better than seventh place.
Nico Hulkenberg had a strong run to eighth place after
failing to even start the season opener in Australia. Sergio Perez made a very
late stop for fresh tyres and set the fastest lap in the process to score two
valuable points for McLaren. Jean-Eric Vergne fended off Valtteri Bottas for
the final point despite his pit lane incident with Pic, the team were eventually fined 10,000 Euro's for that unsafe release.
Esteban Gutierrez finished 12th and got another race finish
under his belt. Jules Bianchi finished 13th and was the best of the back
markers, both he, Pic and Caterham team-mate van der Garde in 14th ended the
race just a lap down on the leaders. Max Chilton rounded out the finishers to
get more experience in his rookie season.
Button and Ricciardo were late retirees, the latter suffered an exhaust problem, with Maldonado
pulling off to the side of the track too. Adrian Sutil and Paul Di Resta both
retired due to problems in the pit stops with the wheel nuts and Fernando Alonso crashed out on lap
two.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 4.298
3. Hamilton Mercedes + 12.1
4. Rosberg Mercedes + 12.640
5. Massa Ferrari + 25.6
6. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 35.5
7. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 48.4
8. Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari + 53.0
9. Perez McLaren-Mercedes + 72.3
10. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 87.1
11. Bottas Williams-Renault + 88.6
12. Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
14. Pic Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
15. van der Garde Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
16. Chilton Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps
Fastest lap: Perez, 1m39.199
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap17. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 3 laps
18. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 5 laps
19. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 11 laps
20. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 29 laps
21. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 34 laps
22. Alonso Ferrari + 55 laps
So it was a thrilling but controversial race featuring overtakes, incident and team orders that created a few soar faces. However it was certainly one brimmed full of excitement and leads on to what looks to be a very exciting season to come.
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