After the procession in Melbourne, Ferrari’s horse power has pranced into the reckoning. But the questions afterwards will be about Mercedes’ strategy calls, as Hamilton’s race ended with him and the pit wall exchanging fractious radio messages.
Both Hamilton, who finished second, and Vettel drove wonderfully well over the weekend, but Ferrari won the battle of the backroom brains as Mercedes floundered. The events of this steamy afternoon at Sepang will give hope to rivals who wonder aloud how the world champion team will react when the pressure is on them.
Vettel’s victory was his first since the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2013 and Ferrari’s first since Spain earlier the same year. ‘Thank you, thank you,’ he screamed in Italian over the radio. ‘Forza Ferrari.’
Winning your first race for the Scuderia, the team you grew up loving, is a big moment. Vettel waved the Ferrari flag jubilantly in the pit lane while Hamilton prowled the pre-podium room in disappointment.
The upshot is that we might not be witnessing a season of one-sided Mercedes’ dominance, after all. Hamilton’s team-mate Nico Rosberg was third, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen fourth from 11th on the grid and despite suffering a punctured tyre early in the race.
Vettel first took the lead at the end of the fourth lap when Marcus Ericsson spun off carelessly. The safety car came out, Hamilton went into the pits to be re-shod. Vettel was one of five cars to stay out.
Hamilton emerged in sixth place, his team-mate Nico Rosberg in ninth. Hamilton carved his way through the field incisively; Rosberg was less direct. But neither car could take a big bite into Vettel’s lead of between eight and 10 seconds.
Vettel returned after his subsequent stop in third place. Now he was flying. He wafted past Rosberg, who was lying second, more easily than he should have been allowed to. He then powered on to Hamilton’s tail, reaching the British double world champion at precisely the moment the Brit peeled off for his second stop.
Vettel led, but Hamilton was super-quick on the medium tyres. He briefly took the lead as Vettel returned to the pits for the second and final time, but was soon on the radio to say: ‘The tyres aren’t feeling very good.’
Hamilton had to go in for a third stop and was given the harder – slower – tyres. Their strategy was up the spout.
‘You’ve put the wrong tyres on,’ said Hamilton.
There followed a few testy exchanges between driver and team. They apologised for one messy radio briefing. ‘Once again I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing,’ Hamilton told them.
In growing exasperation, he instructed them not to talk to him going through corners. ‘I almost just went off,’ he said.
They then told Hamilton he could catch Vettel. No chance. It was a crazy call. Vettel’s win, by eight and a half seconds, was the 40th of his career.
Neither McLaren finished the race as their new partnership with Honda takes time to gel. Fernando Alonso, returning to racing after sitting out the previous race as he recovered from a crash in testing, retired after 21 laps, Jenson Button 20 laps later.
Manor had only one car in the race after Will Stevens’ machine could not be mended in time. Has anyone seen their two cars in the same place at the same time?
At least their good machine, driven by Roberto Mehri, made it to the end as the 15th and final car still running.
A word, too, for Max Verstappen, who came seventh for Toro Rosso. Not bad for a 17-year-old in his second Formula One race.
RESULT: MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX
1. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 1:41:05.793
2. Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) Mercedes +00:08.569
3. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes GP+00:12.310
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari +00:53.822
5. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams +01:10.409
6. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams +01:13.586
7. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Toro Rosso +01:37.762
8. Carlos Sainz (Spain) Toro Rosso 1 lap
9. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Red Bull 1 lap
10. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull 1 lap
11. Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus 1 lap
12. Felipe Nasr (Brazil) Sauber-Ferrari 1 lap
13. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India 1 lap
14. Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Force India 1 lap
15. Roberto Merhi (Spain) Manor Marussia 3 laps
r. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus 47 Laps
r. Jenson Button (Great Britain) McLaren 41 Laps
r. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 21 Laps
r. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Sauber-Ferrari 0 Laps
ns. Will Stevens (Great Britain) Manor Marussia
(rank: r = retired, nc = not classified, ns=not started)
Fastest Lap: Nico Rosberg, 01:42.062, lap 43.
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