Rate the race: 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix

2015 Malaysian Grand Prix

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What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the Malaysian Grand Prix.

F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought of every race during the season.

Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (14%)
  • 9 (32%)
  • 8 (36%)
  • 7 (15%)
  • 6 (1%)
  • 5 (1%)
  • 4 (0%)
  • 3 (0%)
  • 2 (0%)
  • 1 (0%)

Total Voters: 1,084

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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221 comments on “Rate the race: 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix”

  1. 10. Love Malaysia. Vettel brilliant.

    1. And I think Rosberg’s new nickname is “Coachie McGee”. What a chump…

    2. 7/10 Some great racing mid pack. Kimi showed his class to come 4th after a puncture nd some car damage……………..But why didn’t Rosberg try and slow Vettel down when he had a couple of chances? Maybe he figured out that he was always going to be 3rd, so felt that it was better for Lewis to gain 3 points over him rather than 10.

    3. I intend to give 9/10 but I watched the moto GP race later, and ho my god… No way one can give 9/10 after watched that epic race. I´ll give 8/10 to Malaysia GP. Vettel and Rossi you make may day.

  2. 9/10! A great race indeed! Maybe I am a bit biased as I was in the stands, but I thought it was a cracker. Excellent race from Vettel and Ferrari! Reminded me of Alonso’s race in Hungary last year. Deserved win for them (for the race and probably DOTW). What a turnaround they have made! It’s a much more impressive turnaround than Williams or Sauber. I wonder what the unlucky Kimster could have done had he started near the front. But I highly doubt he could challenge Vettel today. Alonso is probably crying in the McLaren motorhome right now, and as a Alonso fan, I can sympathize. So watching Ferrari do so well and challenge for victories is difficult for me. And Alonso too.

    Mercedes were surprisingly disappointing and lacked pace today. Never thought I’d say that for another 3 years at least! And on the same tyres in the same conditions, the Ferrari was simply faster. I personally think that Hamilton needs to work on his attitude in the car. He complains so much (let the hate begin!). Too much, in fact. As though he feels the team is purposely trying to conspire against him. I think that he should follow Rosberg and Vettel in that regard.

    And maybe 2015 will not turn out to be such a bad season after all. I still think that Hamilton will walk away with the title, but Vettel might clinch 2nd away from Rosberg in the standings. The Ferrari at this rate might win more than two this year, which would mean we would see a Arrivabenne running at full pelt in Maranello (his words, not mine). Kvyat, Verstappen, Sainz, Force India, as well as McLaren-Honda exceeded my expectations.

    1. – I personally think that Hamilton needs to work on his attitude in the car. He complains so much (let the hate begin!). Too much, in fact.

      I honestly don’t know what “attitude” u are talking about.
      The guy’s team made blunders all through the race and you expect him to be mother Theresa?

      Let’s look at his race today
      – Wrong strategy call from the beginning
      – Surprising tire choices even noticed by fans like you who were asking why the prime tires.
      -Team telling you you to drive to a Delta of 47.2, when the guy had just done 47.1 because he will catch Vettel with 5 laps to go.
      – Team discussing on the radio and giving you conflicting information.
      – Knowing the day isn’t going well, the onus is on them to thread careful especially when it is best to feed a chasing driver with info. They have been with him for years, they should know better.
      – Every racer is pumped with adrenalin. And we have seen all of them express their dissatisfaction during races.
      – For some it is celebrated and sometimes T-shirts are even printed. Webber is celebrated for being outspoken.
      – But for some, how dare he say something even when the fault is not his.

      I guess you are never get angry.

      1. * I guess you never get angry.

        Every team want drivers who are passionate about their craft. All formula greats, at least the ones I know, from Senna to Vettel have querried their team’s strategy and mistakes in the heat of racing. It is why they are good at what they do.

        No body wants a laissez-faire driver at the wheels of their multi million dollar car.

      2. I was told at the MTC that the Drivers and engineers discuss what strategies they are going to do during a race, so in that case Lewis should have known what tyres were going to be fitted on to his car, they can also have a say in what tyres they want to put on providing they are available to them. He should also have known what tyres he used during qualifying .

    2. I personally think that Hamilton needs to work on his attitude in the car. He complains so much (let the hate begin!). Too much, in fact. As though he feels the team is purposely trying to conspire against him. I think that he should follow Rosberg and Vettel in that regard.

      Hamilton is an intense, uncompromising perfectionist for whom nothing less than first place is good enough. That is his personality, that is part and parcel of what has made him as successful as he is. While being more “even keel” can work for some, I suspect he can only access his best performance in this mode. Just because he may be abrasive and brusque on the radio does not mean that he needs to change his personality.

      1. What are talking about?

        1. Sorry, the first paragraph should have been in quotes, quoting @mashiat2. My bad.

    3. agreed, great race. Vintage F1. and Kimi too, the unsung hero of Ferrari. who without his stubborness toward finding a solution to make the car turn-in Malaysia would never have been.

  3. THAT WAS AWESOME.

    In your faces pessimists ;)

    As for predictions, I got all the right drivers in the top five, but not one of them in the right place though :D
    – I guess that will be the case for a lot of us.

    1. Seb crying on the podium. PRICELESS

      1. It really was, and I must admit it was the very first time, I felt good about him winning.
        All the fights down the field, surprice results, and the early safety car to shake everything up –
        What an fantastic day to be a formula one fan B-)

        1. I’m on Lewis boat but it felt great to see Ferrari winning again and Seb finding his mojo back again. Let’s hope Ferrari manages to keep things interesting for the remainder of the season.

          1. Yep, and maybe williams will catch up, and maybe the reanult teams will catch williams, and maybe even Honda will get their engine to work. What a season it’s shaping up to be :)

      2. Yeah, that was amazing. Probably the most emotional win I’ve ever seen. I never thought I’d be so happy to see the finger again.

    2. Same. The order totally messed up. I put ham ros rai bot vet

      1. I’ve got Ham/Ros/Vet/Kimi/Bot I think.

        1. Me, too. But Rosberg on pole.

    3. I got two of them right, alongside pole = hopefully some solid points!

    4. I got BOT right, I think, the others indeed mixed up differently.

      1. Uhhh, I actually got Bottas as well – missed that.

    5. Yes exact same for me. Predicted HAM-ROS-VET-BOT-RAI

    6. same here, had all the right drivers, most in the wrong order:
      Ham – Pole
      Ham
      Ros
      Vet
      Bot
      Rai

      Great race, although I like Hamilton in general, I was happy to see Seb and Ferrari win.
      And was extremely happy to see Rai move up thru the field and overcome his difficulties at the beginning. Good to see Bot and Williams get up in the mix as well. Looking forward to the next race for the racing alone, despite Bernie’s insanity.

  4. 8/10
    Brilliant wheel to wheel racing, brilliant battle in midfield and backmarkers. Such a shame that we lacking it upfront and the tense are pretty much low after Hamilton last stop,
    Still a wonderful race.

  5. I hate to say this, but Vettel is a more of a Ferrari-boy (if that makes sense) than Schumacher.

    1. @mashiat2 The way Schumacher never actually learnt Italian until his final years in the sport, and Vettel already talking fluently at times on the radio says it all for me. Of course Ferrari before Schumacher was on its way down, and for Vettel it now means more than it probably meant for Schumi in ’96. But Seb is showing he wants it more than anything. That’s the spirit; that’s why he’s already winning.

  6. This might make F1 more popular now.

    1. No doubt. I just hope the pessimists and complainers will keep this race in mind, for when the boring ones come along. It is impossible that every race is golden.

    2. It was a good race outright, but due to Vettel and Ferrari’s resurgence – which I think is one of the most feel good wins we’ve had in a while – and the nature in which they won, I think it deserves an extra point. 9/10.

      I still expect Mercedes to be champions, but Arrivabene is looking likely to be running barefoot into the hills around Maranello at the end of the season!

      1. Today we saw the return of Vettel. Now we also see the return of @vettel1 too!

        For years whenever I heard the German national anthem I subconciously expected it to be followed immediately by the Italian one. It was nostalgic hearing that medley again today.

  7. Where are all those people who kept insisting through 2010-2013 that Vettel could only win & was only any good in cars made by Adrian Newey that had a massive advantage over the rest?

    I think his performances at Ferrari thus far have well & truly silenced those people.

    1. No it hasnt. Still think he has a question mark over him. Good start at ferrari but much to prove still especially after last years humiliation at the hands of Ric.

      1. Nonsense. One off year doesn’t take away everything he’s proven before. Just like Hamilton’s 2011 or Alonso’s 2007 don’t.

        The only ones who make a deal about it those who wouldn’t give him credit anyways, so it doesn’t really matter.

        1. Anele (@anele-mbethe)
          30th March 2015, 12:35

          Well said

    2. Let’s see if he wins the championship before you get too cocky… It’s one race. But i must admit it was nice to see Hamilton and Mercedes not be on the top step. Vettel needs to stop with all the Italian rubbish though, it’s not impressive to be honest.

      1. @gremlinwon – I remember Vettel speaking Italian back when he was with Toro Rosso.

      2. Vettel needs to stop with all the Italian rubbish though, it’s not impressive to be honest.

        Why “Italian rubbish” and why it is not impressive? Or, better said, why do you think it is done to be impressive?

      3. If I was at a team whose native language was different to my own, I would make it my mission to learn it, and thank them in it. I applaud him!

        And as race performances go, Vettel’s was more than enough to silence detractors, especially as he drove a lower-performing car in difficult circumstances against strong opposition and still came out on top.

        Whilst I agree that it is early to get overjoyed at the prospect of more wins for him, the Vettel-doubters can at least be happy for a strong performance, and a well-deserved win – something they have been clamouring for since he won in 2010.

        Well done, Seb – many more wins where that came from!

    3. Being destroyed by his teammate is never a good thing.

      1. “Destroyed” is harsh :)

  8. 10 Because Ferrari has beaten Mercedes on sheer pace and has shut the mouths of doom sayers who anticipated a Mercedes walk throughout the year!

    I’m backing Lewis but like the man himself it’s better with competition. Seb was inspired when moved to Ferrari, while Fernando…

    1. Fernando knew that joining Mclaren this year would not be one to be seen at the front, perhaps not as bad as this but he would have known. They are a year behind with the engine, it shows but they certainly are making good progress ready for next season, that’s the season I expect something from them.

  9. To everybody who tore into F1 only two weeks ago – where the hell are you now?
    Great race, we’ve got a championship battle on our hands :D

    1. It’s amazing how quickly the negative people just disappear from the face of the earth.

    2. Boring race! We need to equalize the engines! Nobody will ever catch Mercedes!

    3. Yes, we need Horner and Marko in front of a microphone ASAP.

  10. Alexander (@)
    29th March 2015, 9:47

    9/10, got a bit boring in the end :P
    PS. can’t stop thinking it should have been Kimi out in front…. But this is racing :)

  11. 9/10

    Much much better race than Australia. Mistake in strategy by mercs nd awesome drive by vettel. Proved his mettle as a world champion. Everyone who were saying that all his WC wins were because of Adrian got their answer.

    1. No answer given. It was a race win…. Not a wdc.

  12. 9/10, just what f1 needed to shut Horner up.

    1. @wrighty88 – Couldn’t agree more. I’m waiting to see how he’ll twist this one.

      1. Now ferrari improved too much. Equalise ferrari!

        1. +1

          1. agreed…+1

        2. Don’t forget about Toro Rosso. Clearly they need to be brought back as well…

          1. And another +1 LOL

    2. hahaha, too right.

      1. lets hope it also shuts this guy up to,
        “Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says the sport is ‘sick’,”
        this sort of talk is what needs to end, the old fart needs to go…..

    3. And two Torro Rosso’s ahead of the Red Bull team, so Horner can’t keep blaming Renault…

  13. Decent race, with some thrills like the high speed Grosjean spin. Absolutely ecstatic for Seb, the real Vettel is back after a one year absence.

    1. Very much a decent race yes (7/10). And much needed fresh air after last race too @david-a.

      We had some nice dicing between teammates, Verstappen, Bottas etc. so yeah, really even if the fight for the race win ultimately was won on strategy and never really got tight after that, the change in winner and on tack action in the field was good.

      1. I agree. I give the race a 7 and the producer a 10.

    2. Yep, quite a decent race (8/10), a semblance of on-track fight for lead involving two teams, dicing between teammates, McLaren not being last and running for a good fraction of the race, the started Manor making it to the end, quite a bit of action until the last laps.

  14. 8. Great race, not amazing nor a classic, but still very, very good.

    Inspired drive by Vettel. It’s been too long since we heard the Italian anthem after the German one. This one’s for Michael.

  15. Loved it. Lots of action, plenty of fighting. Kimi drove a great comeback and once again under pressure, classic Lew-WAAAAHHH-Hamilton breakdown on the radio, great entertainment.

    1. Well aimed breakdown! Mercedes were ridiculous! Telling Hamilton he’d pass Vettel with 5 laps to go (what?!!) and even Rosberg that he had a chance for P2.

      Vettel: hat off. Especially for the emotion of the win, it was fantastic to see. And congratulations Ferrari.

      Some mega humble pie for a lot of people at Mercedes.

  16. 9/10 – Fantastic race all through. Great strategy battles, fantastic on-track action all the way through the field and great to see a team beat Mercedes purely on pace.

    After all the pessimistic rubbish spouted by people after last race, this really shows that at least the racing in F1 is still top notch, even if the politics still leave a malodours stench. Horner can hardly call Mercedes domination out when they were soundly beaten today.

  17. The only drawback for me was having to watch the race on a badly stuttering livestream feed. I still enjoyed the race immensely though. Great effort by Ferrari to take the fight to Mercedes. I wasn’t really expecting that. Red Bull are now being beaten by the rookies in the Torro Rosso cars so that is not looking good for them.

  18. Great race. If we’d got the on track battle for first for the last 5 laps would have been a 10.

    I wonder if Nico is still wishing they were close?

    1. Probably yes because he only lost 3 points to Ham rather then 7 if it was 1-2 in Ham’s favour

      1. Depending on how the season goes though that could be third rather than second in the championship.

  19. Bellissimo
    9/10

  20. Well, Nico just ate his words from Pre-season.

  21. So that was for people who said Vettel can’t win without out and out fastest car!

    1. Merc and Ferrari say Ferrari were faster here though, esp. on the option tyre stint @felix :p

      You are right though, Vettel can win in more than a dominant Red Bull, clearly he was consistent and fast here; and like last weekend, got everything out of the car he could, job very well done and congrats to him.

    2. He did have the fastest car

    3. @ifelix
      I think what people is that he cannot adapt to a difficult car like A Class drivers can.

      He’s good when he’s happy with the car tho like this season so far.

  22. Only 9 because there wasn’t an actual race winning overtake. For a Malaysia GP it was quite decent, I guess the high surface temps made up for a much better race than the 2014’s. I prefer when 2 teams have a go at it because only then you know there’s no favourites, it’s all out. Dynamic race, it’s the best type of race when cars are not locked in by qualifying and manage to have better and worse moments throughout the GP, in that respect it reminds me of Silverstone 2011.

    1. Only 9 because there wasn’t an actual race winning overtake.

      Vettel did overtake both Mercedes on the track & he did overtake Lewis to get the lead just before Lewis came into the pits.

  23. Too bad Mercedes messed up the strategy so badly, because otherwise we might have seen an actual battle on track.

    Great drive from Raikkonen after the difficulty in qualifying and then again at the start of the race to come all the way back to fourth.

    1. What happened to the merc strategy? @patrickl

      1. they went back to Malaysia 2013 thinking and messed up.

        1. they went back to Malaysia 2013 thinking and messed up.

          I believe in 2013-mode they would have splitted strategy at the safety-car to get at least one of them right. The thinking developed in 2014 makes them try to treat both drivers equal.
          However, Vettel was within DRS-range when the safety-car came out (after 4 laps), he had about 10 seconds lead (and older tyres) when Hamilton came into P2 again, and at the end of the race the lead was still about 10 seconds. So while it may have been a more entertaining battle upfront had Merc not pitted under the safety-car, it could have well been the same result.

  24. Thank you Seb, it’s been a long two years. Epic race. Hopefully a sign of things to come.

    1. Alonso started his Ferrari career with win.

      1. Alonso started his Ferrari career at a time when Ferrari was a winning team.
        When Alonso left Ferrrari, they were very far from being a winning team. Then Vettel joined.

        1. Alonso did not join Ferrari when they were a winning team as brawn and red bull had dominated the previous year. I’m sure Ferrari are also very good now that vettel joined. Don’t suppose it has anything to do with Allison or the fact Kimi is now going quick as well as Ferrari Saubers also improving.

          1. Alonso joined after Ferrari only won 1 race in 2009, but they won the constructors in 2007 and 2008. They were in a much better state than they were before this season.

        2. to kroonracing

          When Alonso left Ferrrari, they were very far from being a winning team. Then Vettel joined.

          – you made me laugh. It’s like “Vettel came and changed everything”. No, he didn’t.
          Ferrari invited Allison, who worked in a team for 1,5 year to build this car. Ferrari 2014 car was the last built by mediocre chief designer. Ferrari 2015 – the first built fully under Allison influence.
          Therefore, the situation is the same when Vettel came to Red Bull: they just turned to be a winning car thanks to a great designer. Alisson knows how to build chassis which saves the tyres. Vettel did not show anything special, it was expected, he did NOT improve Ferrari in a couple of months, it is impossible.
          Also, where was he the last year? A rookie in a top-team won thrice while Vettel was complaining. Why didn’t Vettel improve the last year Red Bull car to win?

          1. I wouldn’t say beating Mercedes was at all “expected” today. Ferrari and Allison have absolutely done very well and I’m thrilled of the progress they’ve made both with their power unit and aerodynamically.
            However, you can’t say Vettel didn’t do anything special. He drove a flawless race, passed a Mercedes on track and withstood all the pressure to win. You may not like the man but there’s no faulting him today.

          2. Vettel did not show anything special,

            People must bash something always, even if it makes the whole posts ridiculous

  25. 17/10

    1. Ah, the old 170% rule.

      1. +1, superb:-)))

  26. petebaldwin (@)
    29th March 2015, 9:58

    9 – You rarely get races this crazy without rain! Really good racing and not overly reliant on DRS.

    Lots of people challenged Vettel to prove himself in a car that wasn’t the fastest…

  27. One big question in my mind is where did all the Mercedes option tyres go? The pole position shoot-out was wet so they should have had plenty of option tyres but they chose to run option/prime/prime, with a very short stint on the options at the start. Given the 1.5 second difference between the two tyres that doesn’t make any sense at all. My conspiracy theory hind brain says it was deliberate by Mercedes to stiflr all atlk of engine equalisation, but they wouldn’t do that. Would they?

    1. They could actually,;-)

    2. @ceevee Hamilton had to do an Option-Prime-Prime simply because he couldn’t make his middle stint last long enough to go on Option at the end. Rosberg did Option-Prime-Option.

    3. That crossed my mind. I couldn’t believe they pitted so early from the front of the race! It left them in traffic and a gap they never caught up again. Maybe over-confidence, maybe a cunning plan. But the fact is Ferrari look within snapping distance of them either way.

    4. Hamilton went New option, New Prime, New Option, New Prime.

      Rosberg went New Option, New Prime, New Prime, New Option.

      Both had used one set of Options in Q1 and could therefor not use that in the race because they wouldn’t have made it to the end.

    5. They used the options early in quali already @ceevee – probably thinking to save hards, for an easier two stop strategy. I really think that despite the clear signal in FP2, they still didn’t fully take Ferrari into account for their race preparation – as toto wolff said, a wake-up call for them. Now they know it might be a real fight, so they had better not take easy way out.

    6. It was option-prime-prime-option for rosberg and option-prime-option-prime for hamilton

  28. 8 points. The last 12 laps were pretty boring. The race was pretty good.

  29. A beautiful 9 for me. Not a 10 because it wasn’t a decisive race for the championship title, but what a race! And Seb? WHAT? Giving a lap to his old team?! Absolutely incredible. Congrats Seb, congrats Ferrari, and there’s still hope for F1! Loved it :)

  30. The difference between Australia and Malaysia was night and day so different it is almost unbelievable do you think Bernie “had a word!”

  31. 9/10. Ferrari was absolutely fantastic, which is good news considering the sport. Although Vettel drove brilliantly, I think Kimi was even better because he had to complete a lap with the deflated tyre.

  32. So we need a really hot summer for the european races. Very delighted about the result, but I guess it´s not “rate the result” here, so: battle upfront mostly strategic, and by the time Vettel could make the options work for 18laps and keep the pace predictable after Mercs 2nd stops (though I didn´t fully expect Rosbergs last stop). Some nice battles in the midfield, though most were not really prolonged. I really like overtakes at turns 5 and 6, looks great. Overall 8/10

  33. 10/10 what an epic race! Brilliant win for Ferrari and Vettel after fighting with the Mercs, with many battles throughout the field. Great job by Torro Rosso too. After all that negativity in Australia, glad to see a proper race.

  34. 9. Excellent race, Vettel good. Hamilton good. Lots of action through the field. Really pleased to see McLaren doing better and delighted to see Rosberg again not able to match anyone for actual racing.

    Ferrari very kind on their tyres made the difference, but the also had plenty of pace. Whether they’ll be able to do the same on a track where Mercedes don’t eat the Pirellis will be interesting to see.

    1. I think this is the key thing that no one really seems to be mentioning. Yes Ferrari are quick, but I think the conditions were very much in their favour

  35. Yes! Let this be a message to the pessimists and those who just love to beat up on F1. Enough of your negativity on the number of cars on the grid. Quality>Quantity. If you like to complain about the engines, DRS, the racing etc…stop watching the sport and log off! We don’t need you. Congrats to Ferrari! Looking forward to China.

    1. DRS still sucks & should be still be banned!!!!

      Such a stupidly artificial gimmick that produces a lot of boringly easy highway passing has no place in a SPORT!

      1. DRS doesn’t really have to go for me. The way it is used, and when, needs change.

        1. So because a Ferrari won a race, all F1’s problems can be completely ignored?

          1. @11mcgratht F1 is still in deep trouble. But that trouble hasn´t been about the racing since at least 2011 (if not since forever, races being exciting or not doesn´t mean any more trouble to racing than boring and exciting football-matches means for football), it´s about finances, marketing, media-strategy, money-distribution, politics.

    2. So basically your advice is not to fight for what you believe would be good for F1 but to give up and log off? No thanks, I’ll keep complaining about DRS if that’s ok.

  36. 10/10

    Although I gave a +1 because Im a Vettel fan, but this race was “day and night” in comparison to australia. Good strategic battle up front with lots of mid field battle. These are the races one wishes to watch.

    Great drive from Raikkonen after having a disastrous first lap, Verstappen and Sainz . Mega drive from Vettel.

    It was so good to hear German and Italian National Anthem together and I didnt thought I would be listening to it so early. Great job. #ForzaFerrari !!

  37. 9.
    A really great race. I’m a Hamilton fan but this is what F1 needed.
    Hoping for a big fight between Ferrari and Mercedes.
    Great drive from Vettel and Mercedes were good losers, prasing Ferrari win.
    On the other side, horrible Mercedes strategy.

  38. well..thanks to safety car

  39. 8/10, Phenomenal race however it did die down towards the end,
    the 10 second penalties were too much should only be 5 seconds they worked perfect. I hope we get a Mercedes vs Ferrari duel all year long, a proper fight between two car manufacturers and not including an annoying drinks company

  40. Erm, that was a fun race, but was it seriously a 9/10 or even a ten? No way.

    I think people are so excited about seeing Ferrari win or just Mercedes beaten that they’re voting this race really highly!

    I gave it a 7 myself. All it needed to make it an 8 or a 9 was for a real battle for the win at the end which, sadly for us, we didn’t get.

    1. I think though it’s fair that people rate the race in context of what has happened and what people anticipate will happen. It’s the first time Merc has been beaten on (arguably) pace. People will naturally find that exciting, in addition the rest of the battles through the field.

    2. Yeah, I think the fact that it was a change and promises some variation for the season (as well as always popular Ferrari back to winning emotions) did a lot for many of those votes @willwood, @mouse_nightshirt.

    3. Indeed, a decent 7.

  41. Michael Brown
    29th March 2015, 10:16

    8/10 Great race. Lots of action. With the exception of maybe Canada, this race was better than any of the 2014 and 2013 races. Although, the action dropped off at about lap 40, or whenever Vettel and Hamilton made their final pit stops. At that point it was clear Vettel was going to win. It’s a shame Rosberg didn’t catch Hamilton and fight him. Actually, Rosberg was a bit of a pushover this race. Hamilton was making quick passes while Rosberg was overly cautious.
    I know there’s a lot of things wrong off of the track in Formula 1, but for once I could watch a race without having to worry about any of that.

    1. *cough* Bahrain *cough*

    2. ROS hasn’t had an impressive start to the season, period.

      1. Personally I think NR is being unfairly picked on. He got screwed with the safety car, having to wait behind LH and therefore coming out 9th. I do not see how a ‘pushover’ is one who worked his way back up to third and was hauling LH in at the end. He also had fastest lap of the race.

        Has Nico shown himself to be some great passer? No. But this is still just the start of his second only season of having a WDC capable car. I for one, and some days it does feel like just me, think NR is still capable of more, whereas it seems almost everyone has already written him off as always being relegated to being a non-passer languishing around doing nothing of consequence. Even DC chiming in with his commentary putting words in NR’s mouth implying all he is concerned about is what everyone else is up to, ignoring that he likely was doing just what DC would recommend…racing his race, such that every once in a while he asks what the other cars are up to. You know, this bloke who handled MS as a teammate, who out qualified LH last year, and who is a race winner and does enough to keep LH on his toes at a minimum on any given day. And LH didn’t have an answer for SV yesterday either.

  42. Seems like this year will be hamilton vs vettel and not rosberg…

  43. I voted 8/10

    Typical boring Vettel win

    1. @johnmilk

      except previously, it was expected on Saturday that Vettel would probably win — no one seriously believed VET had a chance yesterday, especially if it didn’t rain.

      That is a HUGE difference from before and makes today not “typical”.

      1. I thought that that was the joke.

      2. @uan I was being sarcastic

  44. Zantkiller (@)
    29th March 2015, 10:18

    Great race

    Didn’t want vettel to win but fair play it was a good race.

  45. 9/10

    Fantastic racing throughout the field. It wasn’t clear who was going to win until the last third of the race. Good recovery drive by Kimi. The only reason I can’t give it a 10/10 is because I think 10s are reserved for those races where you get a proper wheel to wheel duel for the lead. But excellent race regardless.

  46. 8/10 fantastic win for seb and hopefully his drive today would stop people from doubting his driving ability and the race in general was great too battles up and down the field but really disappointing for red bull

    1. I think Kimi will get him by the end of season. Everyone forgets Kimi has bad luck first two races and yet to show his worth

  47. That was a great surprise after an onimously dull opening race. Some great battles in the opening stint and a perfectly timed safet car mixing up the strategies. 8/10 for me as the second half wasn’t quite as exciting and the top positions looked set from about half distance (despite some over optimistic comments from the Merc engineers).

    Love Niki Lauda’s tendency to exaggerate too. This was the “greatest race ever” to go with the “greatest drive ever” which I think was Lewis in Hungary 2013 😀

  48. Great F1 race. Best since Bahrain last season. Many battles throughout the field, lots of overtaking action during most of the race.

  49. 9/10 Touching Team Radio between Vettel and team at the end

    1. I’ve not heard someone that excited to win a race since Ricciardo getting his first win last year.

      For all those who though he was running tail tucked from Ricciardo after the money I think he’s just given them the trademark finger.

      He obviously loves the team, and will have had an idea the tides were turning.

      I said back when it was announced that it wouldn’t surprise me if the drop in form last year didn’t have a little to do with his performance clause in the Red Bull contract and that he still very much had it.

  50. 8/10 for me. Great race, although Mercedes’s mistake of pitting when the SC came out is what made this race interesting.

    1. I think Mercedes would have been behind even further had they not pitted under the safety car. They wouldn’t have managed the two stop, so doing a three-stop would have been slower if the first stop would have been under racing conditions rather than a free stop under the safety car.
      @ultimateuzair

      1. I don’t quite agree as the SC was too early for the stop, messing up the strategy for the other stops @mike-dee, and also, it clearly put both of the Mercs behind other cars that they needed to pass before making any headway, that was when VET first got the 10s lead he had after his 2nd stop, effectively. It would have been closer, I think, perhaps a real on-track fight for the lead between VET and HAM, though ROS looked to be going for P3 anway.

        1. But the first stop cost them only 10 seconds the way it went (HAM ended up around 10 seconds behind Vettel) whereas it would have been around 20 seconds under racing conditions. Yes, it was too early, but late enough to make a three-stop work.

          Merc was always a bit faster than Ferrari, but they had to because they ran a three-stop strategy.

          @bosyber @ultimateuzair

  51. This would be a 10, if there would be no DRS on cars. Till then every dry race can be rated with max 7…

  52. 9/10 Massively, massively fun race to watch that. Battles everywhere, and what looked to be a proper showdown for the lead (although it didn’t come to it, which is why it’s not a 10). There were also a handful of fantastic overtakes as well. Mercedes also finally beaten on what seemed to be pure pace. I’m a Hamilton fan, but this is just fantastic news… More of the same please for the rest of the season!

  53. 9/10
    WHAT A RACE. The early Safety Car mixed the strategies and we had a lot of battles throughout the whole race. The battle for first place was very thrilling, I thought that Ferrari should have pitted Vettel, but their strategy worked out incredibly well.
    And then the post race celebration was awesome. I’m biased, obviously, I’m a Vettel fan since forever, so I was very emotional as well. But yeah, the team radio, the national anthems… Great stuff.
    A race that we are going to remember for a long, long time.

    1. The only problem is that the teams arrived all in pairs. It’s a bit worrying for the next races, there’s a big gap between teams.

      1. Noticed that as well. Noah’s arc results show the cars won and not the drivers

        1. Nonsensical post.

      2. ColdFly F1 (@)
        29th March 2015, 13:08

        @yobo01 – even the McLarens!

  54. That was unexpected to say at least. I mean, WOW, Ferrari got a win after almost 2 year and only two races after the worst season in their recent history. The German-Italian anthem, the tears of Vettel and Arrivabene, it was as emotional as a race could be. It had battles and great drives apart from Vettel. Kimi was last and came back to finish 4th, Verstappen scored points and made a record, Manor finished. It was the most eventful race since 2012. And it was awesome.

  55. Fantastic race!!! M.Phython is back and a well deserved race. Kimi clawed back from 11 and puncture to fourth sure shows the pace of Ferrari. Much better season already.

    Lewis was rattled and loved the radio conversations, ‘don’t talk to me……..’ lol.

  56. Gave it an 8. Good racing, good for the championship. Nostalgia for the combination of german-italian anthems made me want to give it a 9, to be honest.

  57. 9/10 Absolutly loved every second of it!

  58. I gave it a really solid 7.

    There was some nice jostling for position early on, before the second half of the race featured a really intriguing strategy battle. However saying that, the race did feel quite long, and except for Bottas’ awesome pass on Massa and Grosjean’s failed pass on Perez, I was rarely on my seat.

    It’s a very long time since I was pleased at a Ferrari victory though!

  59. 8/10 It’s always great when there is a battle for victory between different teams on different strategies. The safety car mixed things up, and it was really surprising to see Vettel making his mediums last for so long on that opening stint – the first indication that something special was about to happen.

    The safety car definitely mixed up the strategies, which resulted in a lot of battles for position. There were loads of non-DRS passes, probably due to the tracks nature with difficult corner exits and a number of late-apex corners. Again, I don’t see why we need DRS to spice things up.

    So overall, quite a good race, very exciting, but maybe a bit too convoluted to give it higher than 8 out of 10.

  60. Sergey Martyn
    29th March 2015, 11:23

    Wawaweewa Its A Very Nice (© Borat)

  61. As a Vettel fan, I ‘only’ gave it an 8.

    I think a lot of people are overhyping this race because of Australia + the fact a Mercedes didn’t win.

  62. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
    29th March 2015, 11:39

    Great from Seb, what a turnaround from both him and Ferrari – amazing that they could win in only their second race together. I gave it an 8.

  63. I’m happy for Ferrari and Vettel..but seeing kimi just going out of luck all the time and doing things the hard way makes me sad…i am he could have won the race…Congratulations seb..watch out for the iceman from the next race..its on!!!

  64. I think that 8/10 is good for this fantastic race, but I’m hungry for more battles. Brilliant drive and fantastic race pace for both Vettel and Raikonen.
    Ferrari are back, Forza Ferrari. Sehen wir uns ins österreich.

  65. A solid 9 for me, only think stopping it being a 10 was that the battle for the lead wasn’t wheel to wheel. I never thought I’d be so happy to see Vettel at the front again but I think after Australia that this is really important for F1.
    Shame Ericsson messed up, he was on for a strong result. Good come back by Kimi as well.

  66. ILuvSoundtracks (@)
    29th March 2015, 11:58

    8.

  67. 8, good battles, and nice to see a non-Mercedes team winning.

  68. Voted 8/10. The racing was great, especially after the safety car and before the last round of pitstops, with the packs between 4 and 9 cars and some great overtaking.

    However, I don’t want to get carried away and after the final stop the action slowed down to a pace not uncommon in 2013. Plus, I don’t want to rate with my heart just because Ferrari won and Verstappen scored his first points.

  69. a whole lot better than Melbourne , there are tight competition between the mid field , generally exciting race, more plz!!

  70. 8/10

    Wouldn’t go as far to say that it was a classic, what with the race for the win being pretty much over after the final stops, but still thoroughly enjoyable. Certainly, it’s exactly what Formula 1 needed after all the negativity following Australia. An exciting race and a genuinely close contest with a surprising (and popular) win, something which many of us never thought we’d see. F1 2015 looks a whole lot better now. A Hamilton/Vettel scrap for the title is a mouthwatering prospect. Let’s just hope Ferrari can match Mercedes at every race.

    Reminds me a bit of Bahrain last year. One team boss complains about the sport all week, calling for urgent changes, only for us to witness a great race while that boss sees his cars scrap for minor points. Wonderful.

  71. 8/10. That was a surprise! Congrats to Ferrari and Vettel, I had some tears at the podium, it was emotional ( I am not a Vettel fan) but it was great to see.

    I kept thinking that Merc would turn the engines up at some point to catch Vettel but that Ferrari was very fast and light on tyres. Such a shame again for Kimi with bad luck but shows how good the Ferrari is with him catching up to 4th.

    Welcome back Ferrari, lets hope we get a real battle this year, exciting!

  72. Missed the beginning of the race but what I did see was worthy of at least a 7.
    This was probably the first time I don’t mind a Vettel win, after Australia I wasn’t feeling to much excitement for the season even as a Mercedes fan.
    This result has injected the spic into the season it needs, let’s hope that Ferrari can at least keep Mercedes honest this year and it doesn’t revert to an all Merc affair as Rosberg currently doesn’t seem up to the challenge.

  73. 8/10
    Genuinely chuffed for Vettel seeing how much passion he has for Ferrari and how that can gel a team together. Love seeing real emotion in response to Bernie’s comments about how Vettel should behave.

    The race was great and the perfect repost to Horner and Red Bull.

    1. Riposte even!

  74. ColdFly F1 (@)
    29th March 2015, 13:02

    a very entertaining race.
    great to see the battles through the field, and the sheer excitement if the Mercs could catch the Ferrari.
    It feels like every car behind the Merc/Fer couple have both been overtaking and been overtaken. And that even includes the McLarens (good speed through the turns but nowhere on the straights – even with DRS wide open).

    Disappointing to have only 19 cars at the start.

  75. It was a gr8 race!
    I’m completely unenthused by Vettel winning, but leaving that aside, the racing was absolutely thrilling and spectacular, with intese battles across the field and overtakes all over the place. At times, I had trouble keeping up with the events.

    Why didn’t I rate it a 10, then?
    Well, there are a few aspects about this race that I disliked. There’s the fact that the Safety Car played a major role in the unfolding of the race. Sure, it was very clever of Vettel to stay outside and storm off in clean air. But the Safety Car meant that from this point, Vettel never had to fight Hamilton directly, and Hamilton never had to fight Rosberg. And that’s a shame, because there was a lot of potential for a thrilling battle between the three of them.
    Also, the stewards’ decision to penalise Hülkenberg for a racing incident, in which he wasn’t even to blame, angered me quite a lot.
    The third reason is the grid that again fell short of 20 entrants. I’m definitely not a fan of Bernie’s, but if Manor can’t fix a fuel pressure issue in 20 hours, they’re not F1 material. As a consequence, the grid fell short of my expectations again.

    tl;dr:
    I gave the race an 8/10, because I deducted a point for a few aspects that bothered me, and because I feel that the racing itself wasn’t a 10 yet. I would’ve given it an 8commasomething, but that’s not an option.

    1. Your comment is pertinent, but maybe we should stop saying that racing in clean air is an advantage for every team, except Mercedes. If racing in clean air is an advantage (and given the current tires IT IS an advantage indeed), then we could say every Mercedes victory from 2014 to present days was partially possible thanks to being able to race in clean air. But nobody mentiones that whenever Mercedes wins! So, being 1st after the SC period, was an advantage indeed, but the car helped indeed today. More exactly, that Ferrari was fast enough to open a gap after the SC period… but also fast enough to keep up with HAM’s Mercedes until the SC was deployed. So, in my opinion, I wouldn’t say it was any “real” luck involved in VET’s victory, but it was overall a well deserved victory, based on pure performance. I just hope it’s not a one-off victory in 2015.

      1. @corrado-dub:
        Whoa, sorry, but I think you’re completely missing the point. I didn’t imply Vettel’s victory was undeserved, lucky, or whatnot.
        What I was getting at was the fact that the Safety Car artificially forced the teams to make a quick decision about changing the tyres or not. Ferrari got it right, Mercedes got it wrong and got Hamilton and Rosberg stuck in traffic, giving Vettel the opportunity to create a race-deciding gap and taking Rosberg out of the race against Hamilton. Without the Safety Car, the three of them would’ve still been on the same level, but fighting each other directly, instead of the 10-second gaps we saw after the Mercs had cleared the pack. The Safety Car took away a lot of the potential excitement from the battle for the lead. That’s one of the reasons I was somewhat dissatisfied with the race and only rated it 8/10.

  76. 8. Great most of the way, but died down a bit too much during the last 15 laps.

  77. 9.5/10

    The race was great, but the environment we now have to view the race is a disgrace.
    Had to watch it via a stream someone on the net was nice enough to provide.
    Screw whoever decided to screw us over and take away live Qualifying and Races form our free to air TV networks.
    The F1 app for Android and the F1 websites live timing function has also taken a massive step backwards whilst costing money thing year.

    Go Vettel!!!!!!!! So happy for him and Ferrari :)

  78. I gave a 5.

    Okey, there were a few great battles between the midfielders, but, it was more ended up with missed braking points, silly contacts or entering pits. A train appeared for a while, where there wasn’t any spectacular move or something like that. Victory? Same again, nobody had a fight for the victory. Just a strategic battle between Ferrari and Mercedes, but the result was obvius from the beginning as Mercedes struggled to manage tyres on that hot surface all weekend long. Nothing happened on track, (except Vettel’s dull move on Rosberg). Only two Mercs’ and Raikkonen’s climbing after SC was a little fun to watch, which we expect to see in a Formula 1 race. Nothing more.

    Malaysia is a great place but only when it rains. And i would prefer a one team tight battle like HAM – ROS instead of two teams’ strategists.

  79. The Finger is back! Fantastico!

  80. Gave it an 8.
    Just the shot in the arm F1 needed, what’s not to like about a different team winning, nice to see the Seb we knew before the red Bull Bull domination days, bravo, I ‘support’ Lewis but was rooting for Seb to break last seasons monotony, it’s at times like this one should drop driver fanboyism and enjoy the show, if this continues we have an interesting season ahead.
    @The more I see and hear of Rosberg the more I think he’s a thoroughly unpleasant whinging little rich boy with a sense of entitlement and phoney smile.

  81. I gave it an 8. IT would get 9 if Hamilton and Vettel had a scrap on track instead of in the pits.

  82. 7/10 Brilliant drive by Vettel and Raikonnen and some great battles in the beginning and middle but settled down into a bit of a processional affair near the end (except for Bottas passing Massa).

    1. Now that I think about it, I wish I gave it an 8/10.

  83. Just what was needed for so many reasons. Vettel impressive and genuinely human on the podium. Pleased to see Lewis congratulate Vettel pre-podium. Hamilton, Rosberg, Wolff et al gracious in defeat.

    Nice riposte to those people who are complaining Merc are unbeatable. Strategy may have assisted Vettel but his drive was undeniably strong and he controlled the race, once he gained the lead. Vettel didn’t have to push towards the end, so he may have had something left in reserve. If so, that bodes well for the rest of the season.

    Moreover, Kimi started well down the field, suffered an early puncture, yet he STILL fought back to an excellent fourth place. I believe Kimi was 41 seconds behind Rosberg at the end. If Kimi didn’t lose so much time through having to pit, who knows how close he might have been to being on the podium. That also bodes well for the rest of the season.

    Seb and Kimi could well give Nico a hard time from now on, unless Nico takes poles and stays out front from the start.

    Finally, Vettel lapping Red Bull…in a not Mercedes-powered car What’s that German word? Schaden-something? :-b

    Rating? On a purely racing level 8, maybe even 9. In the context of the effect on me, as a fan, a solid 10.

  84. Gave 7. Although I must admit that after last weeks poor show I did not wake up to watch the race. When I woke up I did not read any news just to keep the suspense and watched the race on DVR. It was a good one. Good to see Vettel and Ferrari winning. I felt they had some decent pace although Mercedes is outright fastest.

  85. 9. The only thin we were missing was a last lap battle for the win.

  86. I haven’t been his fan in the past, but I felt happy for Seb to win this one! But on the topic of rate the race, 9/10, near perfect race, really only one mildly dull lap, but not really dull by standards of a normal race.

  87. I loved it, but gave it a 9.

    It would have been a 10 if there was a direct fight for the lead (although I do enjoy the tactics through the F1 Timing App).

    And the stewards were a bit to grumpy. Sure the contact was avoidable, but we want close racing, don’t we?

    I didn’t like Vettel when he was the upperdog, but now he’s the underdog, I like the guy again (loved the emotion of the German-Italian national anthem which made him speechless and avoid mentioning Michael Schumacher as he probalbly couldn’t bring it to words).

  88. Really good race, 9/10 (although after the first one anything looks fantastic) and said that, MOTOGP today was amazing!! unbeleivable!, what a TV quality, data, speed, gears on real time, graphics!! impresive, compared to F1 is like a different level of television!

    1. Yep! 10/10, that was some battle for the lead, Rossi is ageless..

      1. @budchekoV Was great but I do think Marquez would have won had he not been sent wide by Pedrosa on L1.

        1. I am not sure Honda would’d been able to match Ducati’s top speed, it was about 30 km per hour faster than yamaha on straight line 348 over 321 km/h (-just for British readers, a km is similar to a mile but in a logical way-).

  89. What fascinates me most about Rosberg is how he always seems clueless on the radio. He also admitted to never knowing what’s going on around him. so to me it’s not whinging or entitlement just lack of concentration on his part.

    1. ‘Always seems clueless?’ ‘Never knowing what’s going on around him?’

      We probably get to hear about a half a percent of NR’s radio comm, as selected by F1 for us to hear. Also, not knowing what is going on around him might just be a sign that he is concentrating on driving his race.

      I think it was unfair of DC, as a commentator, to inject his own storyline into said few select comments we get to hear, like that must mean all his radio comms are like that. NR asking a question that some chose to pick on, does not mean by default that at no point was NR concentrating on his task at hand, nor doing a great job in the cockpit.

  90. I’m gutted, I missed it due to F1 not being on FTA tv anymore in Australia. First race I’ve missed since 2002. Anyone know where I can watch it?

  91. Only 7 race was so much better than Australia, but 3/4 into the race fell flat!

  92. I rated 8. I wasn’t glad to problems of Kimi, otherwise this was a good race.

  93. 8/10 Very good race. Vetttel, Raikkonen, Bottas, Verstappen drive very well.
    And after Malaysia: Button 1, Alonso 0.

    1. Otro argentino diciendo chorradas.

  94. Well done Ferrari,both Vettel and Raikonen drove their car best. Raikonen finishing in fourth was a fantastic comeback after a puncture in the beginning. Lucky for Mercedes or that humble pie would have been a lot bigger.

  95. It currently stands at 8.35 which is pretty darn good. (Of course, I guess the tendency is for these ratings to go lower as time goes on right until the polls’ closure.)

    I gave it a 9, which is the rating I give to races from which I may be able to choose my best – that alone would be a 10.

    Apart from the unpredictable turn of events the Safety Car period injected into the race, the resultant differences in strategy plays and the myriad of overtakings going on (with a few highlights in the forest of DRS passes, such as Bottas v. Verstappen and then Massa), the thing that really made it for me was the importance of Vettel’s victory.

    It was not only his first win for Ferrari, his first since Interlagos 2013, or Ferrari’s first since Barcelona 2013, but one that was highly fuelled with overwhelmingly positive emotional content – his admiration of Michael Schumacher, his determination to keep his head down and work during the winter to get the team and himself back on the top step of the podium all paved the way to an impeccable drive and a, dare I say (I don’t say it often at all), just reward as the German and then the Italian anthem was heard during the ceremonies.

    His race was, in a nutshell, a rare proof that enthusiast, consistent, loving, hard work may just result in one fulfilling childhood dreams and bringing back moments echoing a joyful past for the most historic team in F1.

  96. 8 out of ten…

    The only reason I didn’t give it more is because I suspect that things may have been different if the Mercs didn’t pit during the safety car, only using a useful race tyre for only four laps. I thought it was nothing short of cocky. I presume that they expected to be so strong that they’d wiz straight by – not this time!

    Not to take anything away from Ferrari’s pace, particularly Kimi, who came from last to forth with a damaged car. Arguably a worth a shout for drive of the day. But, Seb was amazing also.

    I loved watching Max and Carlos fight with Red Bull. Max, in particular, looks like the real deal.

    Another highlight was the amazing progress that McHonda have made. To get that much more pace from the car without ‘bolting it on’ with new parts is a real success. They might just raise a few eyebrows before the end of the season.

    F1 still has all of the same problems it had two weeks ago so it’s important not to get too carried away, or blinkered to the fact that it’s still in crisis, but this race showed us that we can have competitive racing under the current regulations when it all works and the tyres don’t fall apart. I still have the same concerns about engine allocation and the silly DRS. I hope that this level of racing can carry on until the end of the season, but I doubt it can.

  97. Anele (@anele-mbethe)
    30th March 2015, 12:24

    Been a while since i have been able to watch, a race in full, working on sunday sucks, and what a race it was. Moment of the day was Mercedes telling Ham he would catch Vettel, speak about dilusional. 8/10 for me

  98. I originally gave the race a 7 as it was exciting up until the final 15 to 20 laps, however after having watched the MotoGP race, I’m changing it to a 5. The MotoGP race reminded me of what could have been as they had a fantastic 4 way battle for the lead which went right up to the end of the race. For those who want to see what racing should and could be, watch the replay if there is one available in your area.

  99. rafael martins
    30th March 2015, 13:44

    Conspiration Teory: FIA has put some extra weight at Mercedes to gain more spectators on the next race, like Brazil’s Stock Car Competiton.

    Or just a billion investiment for Ferrari beggining to work…

  100. 9/10. If Merc hadn’t screwed up the strategy, we might have seen a race between VET and HAM down to the actual wire! But brilliant drive by Seb and effort by Ferrari.

  101. I thought it was a good race and I rated it a 7.5 rounded up to an 8.

    The race had action throughout the field and a strategic battle for the victory.

    It was a deserved win for Vettel and Ferrari, however I think that if Mercedes had had a trouble free weekend and didn’t make any mistakes they would have won.

    Their problems started with Hamilton’s car troubles on Friday which meant he did not have the usual amount of setup up information for the weekend.

    Then Mercedes decided to use the medium tyre to get out of Q1 on Saturday and then on Sunday they made their first pit stops during the safety car period.

    At the time I didn’t understand their tyre choice in qualifying or why they stopped so early during the race even if the safety car had come out, but then a lot of other cars also came in at the same time.

    The data Mercedes had obviously pointed to these decisions about which tyre was best and I wonder how much the loss of running on Friday played into this.

    I am surprised that the race has received so many 9 and 10 ratings, everyone likes different things about Grand Prix but I wonder how much of the high ratings were because of what had come before it, the fact that the previous Grand Prix was very boring and it seemed that Mercedes were going to be even more dominant than last year coupled with the possibility that Rosberg may not put up as much of a fight to Hamilton this year.

    This race should hopefully shut Red Bull up for a while as Ferrari showed that under the current rules they have managed to come from fourth best in 2014 and behind Red Bull to overtake them and challenge Mercedes.

    We also had the junior Toro Rosso team who also use the Renault engines and with two rookie drivers beating the better funded senior Red Bull team.

  102. 7/10 from me. A good race on track, with some added spice from the variety of pit strategies thrown up by the insanely hot track temperatures.

    Whilst the fight for the lead wasn’t as dicey as some may hope for, it was still a pleasant surprise to see Mercedes being challenge on genuine pace, rather than other teams having to rely on a little bit of bad luck like we saw last year with RBR’s wins, not to take anything away from them though!

    Little bit of a lull in the middle, and once the stops had shaken out the final few laps certainly had a bit less action than I was hoping for, but a good race nonetheless!

    The clear emotion from the Vettel and Ferrari camps added to what was already a pretty stellar victory, and it was nice to see Seb have a little nod to his hero Schumacher with the heel clicks and conducting on the podium.

  103. 8/10
    Of course it was nice to see someone other than a Mercedes win a race, but I tried to go beyond my favouritism. Despite the apparently clear strategy error by most teams, Mercedes above all, Vettel’s race was interesting anyhow, as it was unsure until the final laps whether he would’ve kept his advantage. There were several great overtakes and action everywhere apart from, luckily, Merhi’s surroundings. And Vettel’s celebration meant a lot to me, it gave the sport its feeling back.

  104. F1’s back! I finally managed to watch the race having avoided the results for a couple of days. Hugely impressed by Verstappen and Vettel. Looks like we might actually have a fight for the championship! Still interested to see how Kimi compares to Seb, all things being equal.

  105. Torn between a 6 and a 7, as the the week has gone on through, I’ve decided on 6. Most of the passing seemed to be flappy wing assisted, despite what the commentators were saying the 2-3 laps after Hamilton cleared the traffic after his first stop showed that there was no race for the lead happening.

    While it was awesome for Seb and Ferrari to get their first win, breaking their streaks as well, I try and look at the race individually while giving a rating.

    I see lot’s of 9’s and 10’s, eep.

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