Sebastian Vettel stunned Mercedes’s world champion Lewis Hamilton on Sunday with an audacious Malaysian Grand Prix victory which set the Formula One season alight.
The Ferrari man took advantage of an early safety car as he hit the front and held off Hamilton and Nico Rosberg after pitting only twice, compared to three for the Mercedes pair.
The four-time world champion now has 40 career wins but it is his first with Ferrari, and breaks a dry spell stretching back to his last race with Red Bull in 2013.
Few of his wins can have been as satisfying. He shattered assumptions of Mercedes’s unassailable superiority in 2015, after they dominated the season-opener in Australia. “ Fantastico, fantastico !” he screamed down the radio in Italian. “Yes boys, can you hear me? Thank you, thank you. Forza Ferrari!”
Youngest points-scorer
Further back, there were also celebrations for Max Verstappen as the 17-year-old finished seventh, becoming the youngest points-scorer in F1 history.
Raikkonen was fourth for Ferrari, ahead of the Williams cars of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.
But there was more woe for former superpower McLaren as ex-world champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button were both forced to retire.
The results:
1. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1:41:05.793; 2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +00:08.569; 3. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 00:12.310; 4. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 00:53.822; 5. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 01:10.409; 6. Felipe Massa (Williams) 01:13.586; 7. Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) 01:39.085; 8. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Toro Rosso) 1 lap; 9. Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) 1 lap; 10. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 1 lap.
11. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 1 lap; 12. Felipe Nasr (Sauber) 1 lap; 13. Sergio Perez (Force India) 1 lap; 14. Nico Huelkenberg (Force India) 1 lap; 15. Roberto Merhi (Marussia) 3 laps.
Retired: Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) 9 laps; Jenson Button (McLaren) 15 laps; Fernando Alonso (McLaren) 35 laps; Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) 53 laps.
Fastest Lap: Rosberg (1:42.062, lap 43).
Driver standings: 1. Hamilton 43, 2. Vettel 40, 3. Rosberg 33, 4. Massa 20, 5. Raikkonen 12, 6. Nasr 10, 7. Bottas 10, 8. Ricciardo 9, 9. Hulkenberg 6, 10. Verstappen 6, 11. Sainz Jr 6, 12. Ericsson 4, 13. Kvyat 2, 14. Perez 1.
Constructors points: 1. Mercedes 76, 2. Ferrari 52, 3. Williams 30, 4. Sauber 14, 5. Toro Rosso 12, 6. Red Bull 11, 7. Force India 7. — AFP
