Ferrari: Vettel salvages race at Sepang, Räikkönen unlucky

The weekends follow one another and look the same for Kimi Räikkönen. After the disappointment in Singapore where the Finn couldn’t go beyond 100 meters after the lights went out on Sunday, this time he didn’t even have the chance to make it to the start.

A battery problem detected during the installation lap came to annihilate the efforts from the day before, which saw him position himself in second place on the grid. Pushed into his pit by his mechanics, the red car did not make a lap, much to the chagrin of its driver: « We do not know what happened today, it is still too early to say. The car was working perfectly all weekend, and suddenly, out of nowhere, we had a problem. It’s one of those things that, unfortunately, can happen. »

However, victory was in sight for driver number 7: « I am sure I would have had a very good car today, but obviously, you can never know, and there’s no point in dwelling on it. We have a good package, but we need to make the most of it. What happened today is very disappointing and hurts us all, but there’s nothing we can change now. »

BREAKING: Bad news for @ScuderiaFerrari – turbo issues mean Kimi Räikkönen is being moved for a pit lane start #MalaysiaGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/R4gTPCbXVP

— Formula 1 (@F1) 1 octobre 2017

For Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, the race turned out to be very rewarding. Starting last due to an engine problem during qualifying, the German took the opportunity to change his engine for the fifth time, thus incurring a 20-place penalty that wouldn’t have much impact.

Result of the races, Vettel will have two new engines, one for Saturday and one for Sunday, to finish the season and approach the championship battle with a little more peace of mind.

A struggle in which he managed to save the day this Sunday by scoring fourth-place points: « I am someone who is always optimistic because we know we have a fast car. Of course, it’s a shame for Kimi not to have been able to start, and for me to begin my race from the back of the grid. We tried to fight for the podium, pushed very hard, but in the end, the tires started to give up on us, and we honestly couldn’t go any higher. However, it’s promising to see that the car is good, even if Kimi and I had problems this weekend. »

During the victory lap, Vettel was involved in a surprising collision with Lance Stroll, destroying the left rear of his car. No penalty will be imposed on the drivers who blame each other: « I took the outside to pick up some rubber, and Lance wasn’t looking, maybe he wanted to do the same. He didn’t see me, we touched. It wasn’t necessary at all. It’s not my fault if someone decides to pick up rubber and hits another car, explained a slightly perplexed Sebastian Vettel.

Bizarre collision between Vettel and Stroll after the #MalaysiaGP pic.twitter.com/vcs4hQ0Ict #F1

— RaceVideoIndex (@RaceVideoIndex) 1 octobre 2017