Sebastian Vettel took Ferrari's first win since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, starting from second behind Lewis Hamilton's rain-soaked pole and pulling clear through a hot, strategic afternoon.
Vettel won the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit on 29 March 2015, starting from second on the grid. Hamilton had taken pole and finished second, while Bottas and Massa completed a late Williams fight for fifth and sixth.
Sebastian Vettel won the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang from second on the grid, giving Ferrari their first victory since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton had taken pole in a rain-interrupted qualifying session and led the early running, but Vettel stayed with him and then took the lead through the pit stops. It was the 40th win of Vettel's career.
Why were people worried about Mercedes before Malaysia?
Mercedes came to Sepang with the full haul from Australia, a first and second place in Melbourne. Many commentators feared the season would become one-sided, and Red Bull threatened to leave the sport unless the FIA changed the rules. Mercedes had taken the full 43 points from that weekend.
Christian Horner called on the FIA to use its equalisation mechanism, and Red Bull said they would quit if nothing was done. Bernie Ecclestone understood Red Bull's position and pointed to a rule that let the FIA level things up when a team or supplier had done something special. Toto Wolff told his rivals to stop complaining and work on the problem.
Jenson Button doubted that any rule change would be practical. He said there was nothing obvious to ban, because Mercedes were not doing anything the other teams were not doing.
Renault's future was also debated, and a buy-out of the Toro Rosso team was discussed in the media. The German Grand Prix had been dropped from the 2015 calendar for lack of financing, and that raised a question about whether other traditional venues such as Monza might follow.
Ferrari's first win since 2013 came from second on the grid and a long, patient race.
Who returned to the cars for the Malaysian race?
Fernando Alonso returned to his McLaren seat after a pre-season injury, displacing Kevin Magnussen, who had raced in Australia. Valtteri Bottas was also back at Williams after missing the Australian race with a back injury sustained in qualifying. Manor Marussia were able to field their cars in Malaysia for the first time.
Manor had been criticised after failing to run their cars in Australia. Ecclestone said they would need to pay for their own travel, a cost normally covered by the commercial rights holder. Pirelli supplied the orange-banded hard tyre as prime and the white-banded medium as option, the same pairing as in the previous two years, plus the intermediate and full wet tyres.
How did practice set up the weekend?
The weekend had three practice sessions: two of 90 minutes on Friday and one of an hour on Saturday before qualifying. Rosberg was fastest in the first Friday session, while Hamilton was sidelined by engine problems. Hamilton then recovered to top the second session of the day.
Ferrari were much closer to the Mercedes in Sepang than they had been earlier in the season. Both free practice sessions on Friday left them within 0.4 seconds of the leaders, and the gap was a clear sign that the Mercedes advantage was not as complete as before.
Fernando Alonso's first outing for McLaren came in Friday practice, where he placed 14th and 16th and beat Button both times. The Manor Marussia cars struggled to meet the 107% time limit, and Raffaele Marciello replaced Felipe Nasr at Sauber in the first session.
On Saturday morning the Mercedes pair topped the timesheets again, with Rosberg ahead. Ferrari were about half a second behind, and the pace gap pointed to a close race ahead.
How did a wet qualifying session decide pole?
Hamilton took pole by 0.074 seconds from Vettel in a session that began dry and was interrupted by rain. It was the 40th pole of his career. Rosberg was third, the two Red Bulls of Ricciardo and Kvyat were behind him, and Verstappen was sixth on the grid.
The first part of qualifying was held in dry and sunny conditions, which did not favour McLaren. Button and Alonso were separated by a tenth of a second, and they were 17th and 18th on the grid. Both Manor Marussia drivers were off the pace, with Merhi was almost five seconds off Alonso, and Stevens did not run at all.
Clouds built to the west of the circuit before the second part, and a traffic jam formed in the pit lane. Only Rosberg managed a clean lap, while the rest of the field got in each other's way as a thunderstorm approached. Raikkonen was held up by Ericsson and missed the third part with a lap of 1:42.173.
Rain began and the session was held up for half an hour. Most of the remaining drivers switched to intermediate tyres. Grosjean, Massa and Bottas first surveyed the circuit on full wets before changing to intermediates. Grosjean was later given a two-place grid penalty for leaving the pit lane out of order, which dropped him to tenth.
What was the weather like on race day?
The heat was intense on race day, with the track reaching 61 C (142 F). Rain was possible but far less likely than in previous years, partly because the race began earlier in the day. Williams hoped for a dry race, since their car had struggled in the wet during qualifying.
Will Stevens missed qualifying after a fuel system problem and could not take part in the race. About 44,611 people attended the event.
How did the race unfold at Sepang?
Hamilton got away well from pole, while Rosberg challenged Vettel for second. The Ferrari held its position, and Maldonado and Raikkonen both picked up punctures on lap one after contact with Bottas and Nasr. Both had to come into the pits for a new set of tyres.
On lap four Marcus Ericsson ran in too deep at turn one, spun and was out, which brought the safety car. Every car except seven pitted, Mercedes included, while Vettel stayed out and led when racing restarted on lap seven. Hamilton was the first of the cars that had pitted.
Hamilton passed Hulkenberg for second at the end of lap ten, now about ten seconds behind Vettel. Rosberg reached third on lap 14, but Hamilton could not make much progress on Vettel in front. Vettel made his first stop on lap 18 and handed the lead back to Hamilton, then rejoined third and closed rapidly on Rosberg.
Vettel used his fresher tyres to overtake Rosberg on lap 22 and immediately set about Hamilton. Hamilton went into the pits for his second stop shortly after that. Alonso retired on lap 21 with engine problems while running ninth.
Ricciardo, whose front wing was deteriorating, let Kvyat through into eleventh. Hulkenberg then ran wide and hit Kvyat at turn two on lap 26, but both drivers continued. Perez spun Grosjean's Lotus five laps later, and both Force India drivers were handed ten-second penalties for their actions.
Vettel pitted for the last time on lap 38; Hamilton came in a lap later and rejoined about twelve seconds adrift, in third. Rosberg pitted on lap 41, which moved Hamilton up to second. Button retired on lap 40 with a turbo failure, and Maldonado parked his car with brake problems.
Hamilton could not close the gap, and Vettel took the win. Bottas passed his Williams teammate Massa on the final lap, and both Williams drivers finished fifth and sixth after an uneventful race. The team had waited since 2013 for that result.
What did the win mean for Ferrari and Vettel?
Vettel won from second on the grid, claiming his 40th career victory. The result also ended Ferrari's long wait for a win, and it moved Vettel to within three points of the championship leader, Lewis Hamilton, who had started from pole and finished second.
Vettel was in tears on the podium, and the Ferrari team sang the Italian national anthem during the ceremony, led by team principal Maurizio Arrivabene. Vettel said the day felt like a dream, recalling watching Michael Schumacher from the fence as a young boy. Hamilton told reporters Ferrari had done a fantastic job, and admitted he had not expected Ferrari to be that quick.
Arrivabene later admitted he had cried after a message reached him from the Schumacher camp, sent on behalf of the family. Comparisons with Schumacher followed, since Vettel had needed only two races for his first win with Ferrari, while Schumacher had taken seven.
Malaysia 2015 at a glance
| Position | Driver and team | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First | Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) | Won from second on the grid, 40th career win |
| Second | Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) | Pole sitter, 40th career pole |
| Fifth | Valtteri Bottas (Williams) | Passed Massa on the final lap |
| Sixth | Felipe Massa (Williams) | Passed by Bottas on the final lap |
| Seventh | Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) | Youngest driver to score championship points |
| Retired | Fernando Alonso (McLaren) | Engine problems on lap 21 |
| Retired | Jenson Button (McLaren) | Turbo failure on lap 40 |
| Retired | Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) | Spun at turn one on lap four |
How did the championship and the constructors move?
Vettel closed to within three points of Hamilton, on 43 points to 40. Rosberg followed in third on 33 points, 13 ahead of Massa. Mercedes kept the constructors' lead on 76 points, 24 clear of Ferrari, while Williams were third on 30 points.
Before the race Hamilton had led the drivers' championship on 25 points, seven ahead of Rosberg, with Vettel a further three points back. Ferrari had been second in the constructors' table on 15 points, with Sauber on 14.
The result was widely seen as an answer to the fears of monotony voiced after Australia. A German newspaper called it the best result the sport could have hoped for, and the race gave the championship a new shape after two rounds.
Bob Fernley of Force India claimed Manor Marussia had deliberately run one car in qualifying and the race, and asked the FIA to look into it. Manor denied this, and their sporting director Graeme Lowdon said the car would have raced if it had been able to move.
Max Verstappen finished seventh to become the youngest driver to score championship points. His father, the former driver Jos Verstappen, said he was very proud of him and that his son had deserved the finish.
