SebastianVettel triumphs for Ferrari, as he beat Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes to win theMalaysian GP. Second Mercedes driver, NicoRosberg, came in third, beating the other Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, who camefourth, despite an early puncture. The McLaren’s Jenson Button and FernandoAlonso both retired.
Thefour-time world champion, Vettel, managed his pace and tyres better than theMercedes in the tropical conditions; he started second on the grid and took thelead when Mercedes called in Lewis Hamilton for a pit-stop, while Ferrari leftthe German on track.
Vettel had openedup an eight-second lead, when he pitted for the first time on lap 17. Hamilton’s second stop, only seven laps afterVettel’s first, put him a further 24 seconds behind the Ferrari.
This was Vettel’s40th Grand Prix victory of his career, as he is only one behindAyrton Senna. The victory also marks a terrific turnaround for Ferrari, whoendured their worst season since 1993 last year, with only two podiums.
TheWilliams of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa followed the Finn, into fifth andsixth place respectively, while 17 year-old Max Verstappen from Torro Rosso wasracing remarkably beside his rivals, as he took an excellent seventh, justahead of fellow team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr.
The RedBull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kyvat came ninth and tenth respectively.
McLaren-Honda’sperformance showed signs of improvement compared to two weeks ago in Melbourne.Alonso, who missed the season-opening, as he recovered from a concussionsustained in a test crash, was trying to push for a top-ten finish on Sunday,before he was forced to retire with the over-heating of the hybrid system onthe 21st lap.
As for the 2009 Champion,Jenson Button, he retired from the track due to turbo failure.
The victory of Ferrari’s Vettel is an excellentnews for the sport and also a breath of fresh life,as the German manufacturing giant Mercerdes have dominated the sportsince the start of last season. The Ferrari win raises hopes that Mercedes willbe challenged all the way for the Driver’s Championship.
