It was another one of those Malaysian GP's. Rain-soaked, red flagged, like in 2009, remember? Well, this one was a little more unpredictable though, and it turned out to be a race of upsets, something like the 2003 Brazilian GP where Giancarlo Fisichella won the race for the Jordan team. So how did things pan out at the 2012 Malaysian GP? Here it is:
Hamilton on pole
It was the second race in a row where Lewis Hamilton managed to start from the first slot on the grid. Lining up next to him was team-mate Jenson Button, who so masterfully had gotten past Lewis and taken victory at the Australian GP. And third on the grid was Michael Schumacher, proving that while Mercedes does have tyre wear woes, they still have the pace needed to dice with the front runners. When the five red lights went out though, it was Lewis and Button at the head of the order, while Romain Grosjean muscled his way past Schumacher and Webber to take third. When Webber and Schumacher tried challenging the Frenchman to retake position, though, Grosjean clipped the Mercedes' front wing. Result? A spin that dropped both cars out of the top 10.
How the race was red-flagged on Page 2>>
The red flags come out
With the rain continuing to pour, the drivers had to make an important tyre choice - either gamble and stay out on intermediates, or pit for wet tyres at once. Button decided that the full-wets were the way to go, while Lewis stayed out an extra lap, before being called in by the McLaren team to make the switch as well. Hamilton managed to retain the lead though. Elsewhere, there were cars going off track - Romain Grosjean in his Lotus being one of them. And while it was race over for Grosjean, Charlie Whiting and the FIA decided it was time to bring the red flag out.
What happened at the restart on Page 3>>
Restart
The order behind the safety car was somewhat unusual. Hamilton had managed to retain the lead, while Sauber's Sergio Perez was second on the grid (he'd pitted and changed to full wet tyres very early on during the race). Another top-10 surprise was Narain Karthikeyan in his HRT. Mark Webber in the Red Bull was third on the grid, pursued by Fernando Alonso and Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
How the McLaren's lost the race on Page 4>>
Battle lost
With the track rapidly drying out, it was time for intermediate tyres to come back onto cars. When Lewis pitted for inters, there was trouble. The team didn't have a very smooth stop, keeping him in the pits longer than usual with a rear jack problem, and having to stop him from leaving the pits while traffic went past. This meant Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari managed to go through to take the lead, Perez following in the Sauber, while Hamilton slotted into third. Further down the order, Narain Karthikeyan was battling Jenson Button for track position, and clipped the McLaren driver's front wing. Another pitstop for Button, then, and race lost for the McLaren team.
How the Sauber stalked the Ferrari on Page 5>>
Sauber stalks the Ferrari
While Fernando Alonso had a 7.7 second lead ahead of Sergio Perez, who in turn had a 7.7 second lead to Lewis Hamilton, things weren't going to stay that way for long. With each passing lap, the Sauber was eating away at the timings, narrowing the gap down to the Ferrari up ahead. With the gap down to 2.9 seconds, it was time for Perez to try and make a move. However, there was a radio message from the Sauber crew telling Perez that they needed the grid position and to play it safe. Well, soon after that the Sauber ran wide, going off track and then rejoining the race with a long gap to the Ferrari. Then, it was just the run to the chequered flag.
And that's how the day ended at Malaysia - Fernando Alonso first for Ferrari, Sergio Perez second for Sauber and Lewis Hamilton third for McLaren.
Complete race results and championship points on Page 6>>
Malaysian GP results
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
2. Sergio Perez Sauber
3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren
4. Mark Webber Red Bull
5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus
6. Bruno Senna Williams
7. Paul di Resta Force India
8. Jean Eric Vergne Toro Rosso
9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes AMG F1
11. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull
12. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso
13. Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG F1
14. Jenson Button McLaren
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari
16. Vitaly Petrov Caterham
17. Timo Glock Marussia
18. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham
19. Pastor Maldonado Williams
20. Charles Pic Marussia
21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT
22. Narain Karthikeyan HRT
Ret Kamui Kobayashi Sauber
Ret Romain Grosjean Lotus
Drivers' championship
Fernando Alonso 35
Lewis Hamilton 30
Jenson Button 25
Mark Webber 24
Sergio Perez 22
Sebastian Vettel 18
Kimi Räikkönen 16
Bruno Senna 8
Kamui Kobayashi 8
Paul di Resta 7
Jean-Eric Vergne 4
Daniel Ricciardo 2
Nico Hulkenberg 2
Michael Schumacher 1
Constructors' championship
McLaren-Mercedes 55
Red Bull Racing-Renault 42
Red Bull Racing-Renault 42
Sauber-Ferrari 30
Lotus-Renault 16
Force India-Mercedes 9
Williams-Renault 8
STR-Ferrari 6
Mercedes 1
