Malaysia – Race: Verstappen beats Hamilton and wins!

Ferrari was not spared this weekend. After the engine problem encountered by Sebastian Vettel during FP3 and qualifying, it was Kimi Räikkönen’s turn to be affected right on the formation lap.

Suspecting a battery problem, the Finnish driver’s Ferrari will be examined on the grid by his mechanics before being pushed into the garage, signaling to the unfortunate driver that he will unfortunately not be able to start the race. When the lights go out, there is therefore only one Ferrari left in the race, in the last position!

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

As the green lights go off, Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes, alone on the front row, extracts himself perfectly from his position and takes the lead at the first corner ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) who manages to surprise Daniel Ricciardo in the other Austrian car. Behind them, Vettel remains cautious and gains a few positions.

But Hamilton can’t really pull away from the Red Bull, and on the 4th lap, Verstappen, close enough to the Mercedes, overtakes the Brit to take the lead. Daniel Ricciardo, visibly faster than Valtteri Bottas, nevertheless struggles against the Finn, whom he eventually manages to pass on the 11th lap, thanks to an attack only the Australian has the secret to.

In the pack, it’s an astonishing Stoffel Vandoorne driving his McLaren leading the chase, bringing in his wake Sergio Pérez in the Force India, despite suffering from food poisoning, the two Williams of Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa, the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, who had a blazing start, and the other McLaren of Fernando Alonso.

Esteban Ocon, victim of a minor collision with Massa in the second corner, is a bit further back and ahead of the two other French drivers, Pierre Gasly and Romain Grosjean.

While Verstappen extends his lead at the front, Vettel continues his fantastic comeback and is already up to 5th after 22 laps. He takes advantage of the early pit stops of some drivers like Nico Hülkenberg to make his way through the pack quite easily.

LAP 22/56

VET moves into the top five by passing PER

He’s 23 seconds behind HAM (P2)#MalaysiaGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/zNa3QUwOWG

— Formula 1 (@F1) 1 octobre 2017

Arrives the first and only scheduled pit stop for the leaders. Hamilton is the first to stop on lap 28 and comes out a few seconds ahead of Vettel, who was slightly delayed by Valtteri Bottas, lacking pace since the beginning of the weekend. The German will also soon make his stop to fit Super Soft tires, having started with the hardest compound, unlike all his rivals. Will Ferrari’s reversed strategy pay off at the end of the race?

In the meantime, it’s heating up at the back between Kevin Magnussen and Fernando Alonso for the gain of 10th place. The Dane is heavily blocking the Spaniard, who, after a strong maneuver, manages to get past the Haas and treats his listeners to a remarkable new radio message in which he calls Magnussen an “idiot,” thus confirming Nico Hülkenberg’s claims that the Dane is the “most dangerous driver on the grid.”

📻 ALO: “What an idiot – Hülkenberg was right!” 😠

📻 MAG: “What is this guy doing?” 😠#F1 #MalaysiaGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/qZTm9GYRVa

— Formula 1 (@F1) 1 octobre 2017

A little later in the race, another incident will disrupt the Haas driver’s race, this time with Jolyon Palmer’s Renault, which will end up spinning after challenging the Dane. However, the race stewards will not issue any penalties following these repeated incidents.

Verstappen is a solid leader, but eyes are turning to the back and the comeback of Sebastian Vettel, who is now closing in on Daniel Ricciardo’s 3rd place by gaining a second and a half per lap. Hampered in his comeback by Alonso, who doesn’t easily let himself be overtaken, the German finds himself in the exhaust of the Red Bull and attempts an overtake at the end of the start/finish straight. The Australian effectively blocks the Ferrari and holds his position. With Vettel’s tires wearing and his car’s brake temperatures rising, he is forced to abandon the battle and let go of the podium.

LAP 48/56

📻 VET: “Come on, Alonso… I thought you were better than that” 😕#F1 #MalaysiaGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/3hnXlwKstQ

— Formula 1 (@F1) 1 octobre 2017

Max Verstappen thus wins the second Grand Prix of his career, a day after celebrating his twentieth birthday. Lewis Hamilton salvages a race where the Mercedes cars didn’t have the pace to compete for the victory, as evidenced by Valtteri Bottas’s mediocre 5th place finish. Perez, Vandoorne, Stroll, Massa, and Ocon complete the Top 10. Pierre Gasly finishes the first race of his career in 14th place, while his teammate Carlos Sainz had to retire with his Toro Rosso due to an engine problem.

Astonishing scene in a Grand Prix full of twists and turns, Sebastian Vettel is hit from behind by Lance Stroll’s Williams during the victory lap. The left rear of the Ferrari is completely destroyed and the German is brought back to his pit by Pascal Wehrlein’s Sauber!

So how was your #MalaysiaGP, Sebastian Vettel? 🤔

Started P19

Finished P4

Got hit after the 🏁

Hitched a lift on a @SauberF1Team car pic.twitter.com/6wjqz4E7O2

— Formula 1 (@F1) 1 octobre 2017

Studied by the race direction, this surprising incident, for which both protagonists blame each other, will not lead to any sanctions against the drivers and thus concludes a rather eventful weekend for Ferrari.

The full race standings:

INITIAL CLASSIFICATION: @Max33Verstappen wins on his birthday weekend as Hamilton extends championship lead to 34 points #MalaysiaGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/lm9HQjw6BL

— Formula 1 (@F1) 1 octobre 2017