Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Sepang, 2011

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have both received 20-second penalties following their collision during the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was penalised for making more than one move to defend his position. Alonso’s penalty was for making contact with the McLaren driver.

Alonso’s finishing position is unaffected by the penalty, but Hamilton drops from seventh to eighth.

Kamui Kobayashi inherits seventh position.

As these are time penalties imposed by the stewards, McLaren and Ferrari are unlikely to be allowed to appeal the decisions.

The text of the stewards’ decisions are as follows:

Facts: The Driver of car 3 made more than one change of direction to defend a position
Offence: Breach of Article 20.2 of the 2011 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations
Penalty: Drive through penalty, imposed after the race in accordance with Article 16.3 (20 seconds added to elapsed time).
Stewards’ decision 51 (Lewis Hamilton)

Fact: Caused a collision with car 3.
Offence: Involved in an incident as defined by Article 16.1 of the 2011 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations
Penalty: Drive through penalty, imposed after the race in accordance with Article 16.3 (20 seconds added to elapsed time).
Stewards’ decision 52 (Fernando Alonso)

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Updated race results and points:

• 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix result
• 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix championship points

2011 Malaysian Grand Prix

• Hamilton says Sepang driving "didn't put anyone in danger"
• Domenicali praises Massa's "return to form" in Malaysia
• 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix: complete race weekend review
• Who was the best driver of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend?
• Red Bull stay ahead but KERS is still a weakness
• Ferrari on form in race after poor qualifying
• Hamilton called for his extra tyre stop at McLaren
• Renault recover from Friday drama for podium
• Schumacher scores for struggling Mercedes
• Two more retirements "not acceptable" at Williams

Webber makes way for Vettel as they race to the first corner

Find all the F1 Fanatic Malaysian Grand Prix coverage in one place below – from Friday practice to the post-race review.

Race

Malaysian Grand Prix
in pictures

Malaysian Grand Prix report – Vettel first in Red Bull one-two at Sepang

Malaysian Grand Prix in pictures – Photos from race day.

Drivers as stewards make presence felt as Hamilton gets black-and-white flag – The black-and-white flag appeared for the first time in 21 years. Was it the right call?

Malaysian Grand Prix analysis – How Hamilton and Massa gained 14 places to finish sixth and seventh.

Malaysian Grand Prix result – Full classification.

Massa takes title lead – full championship points after Malaysia – He hasn’t won a race yet this year but Felipe Massa leads the drivers’ championship.

Rate the race: Malaysia – Your verdict on the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Malaysian Grand Prix stats and facts – The first time three different teams have won the first three races since 1990.

Malaysian Grand Prix fastest laps – Mark Webber claimed his second fastest lap in a row but a clutch problem failed to dent Alonso’s pace.

Malaysian GP team mate comparisons – How each of the teams’ drivers got on.

Race weekend reports for each team:

Malaysian GP team-by-team: McLaren
Malaysian GP team-by-team: Mercedes
Malaysian GP team-by-team: Red Bull
Malaysian GP team-by-team: Ferrari
Malaysian GP team-by-team: Williams
Malaysian GP team-by-team: Renault
Malaysian GP team-by-team: Force India
Malaysian GP team-by-team: Toro Rosso
Malaysian GP team-by-team: Lotus
Malaysian GP team-by-team: HRT
Malaysian GP team-by-team: Sauber
Malaysian GP team-by-team: Virgin

Qualifying

Malaysian Grand Prix
qualifying in pictures

Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying report – Webber mastered a wet session to take pole position as Ferrari and McLaren faltered.

Schumacher fails to shine in rain – Nico Rosberg beat the ‘Regenmeister’ by a second in qualifying.

Malaysian GP qualifying in pictures – Images from the rain-hit Saturday session.

2010 Malaysian Grand Prix grid – Red Bulls and the front, Ferraris and McLarens at the back.

Malaysian Grand Prix pre-race analysis – Red Bull eyeing an open goal in Sepang.

Practice

Webber edges Hamilton in final practice – Looking back at the final practice times we might have seen an exciting battle between Red Bull and McLaren had the latter not messed up in qualifying.

Malaysian GP Friday practice analysis – Lotus improving but Williams struggle.

Hamilton on top again in second practice – After a bad weekend in Australia Hamilton looked on course to make amends in Malaysia.

Hamilton fastest in Sepang practice one – Meanwhile Fairuz Fauzy made his first appearance in an official F1 test session at his home race.

Malaysian Grand Prix practice in pictures – Friday specialists Fauzy and Paul di Resta join the regular racers.

Schumacher and Rosberg meet Mercedes fans in Malaysia (pictures) – A home race of sorts for Mercedes as they perform for title sponsor Petronas.

Live blogs

How we saw the Malaysian Grand Prix as it unfolded.

Malaysian Grand Prix live blog
Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying live blog
Malaysian Grand Prix Practice 3 live blog
Malaysian Grand Prix Practice 2 live blog
Malaysian Grand Prix Practice 1 live blog

How can we improve our coverage?

What would you like to see more of in our Grand Prix coverage? How can we make it better? Have your say in the comments.

Images (C) Red Bull/Getty images, Renault/LAT, Red Bull/Getty images

No prizes for guessing which Red Bull driver was happiest at Sepang

Compare how each teams’ drivers did in the Malaysian Grand Prix with these links: McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, Williams, Renault, Force India, Toro Rosso, Lotus, HRT, Sauber, Virgin.

And see below for a summary of how they got on at Sepang.

Qualifying comparison

Race fastest lap comparison

Race average lap comparison

Image (C) Red Bull/Getty images

Red Bull are the third different team to win in as many races this year

With Ferrari, McLaren and now Red Bull taking turns to win in 2010 we’ve had three different teams win in the first three races – something which hasn’t happened in 20 years.

Read on for more stats and facts from the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel won the sixth race of his career, giving him the same number of wins as Tony Brooks, John Surtees, Jochen Rindt, Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques Laffite, Riccardo Patrese and Ralf Schumacher.

Mark Webber started from the second pole position of his career and set his fifth fastest lap.

With Webber finishing second behind his team mate Red Bull achieved their fifth one-two. Four of these saw Vettel finish ahead of Webber.

Three different teams have won the first three races of the year – the last time this happened was in 1990:

1. United States Grand Prix – Ayrton Senna, McLaren
2. Brazilian Grand Prix – Alain Prost, Ferrari
3. San Marino Grand Prix – Riccardo Patrese, Williams

The last time there was more than this was 1983, when Brabham, McLaren, Renault, Ferrari and Williams won the first five races.

Jaime Alguersuari and Nico Hülkenberg scored the first points of their F1 careers by finishing in ninth and tenth places.

Malaysian Grand Prix
in pictures

Nico Rosberg put Mercedes on the podium for the first time in 55 years. Juan Manuel Fangio and Piero Taruffi finished first and second for the silver arrows in their previous incarnation in the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. That was the last appearance of the factory team in F1 until this year.

Rosberg also achieved his highest ever qualifying position and first appearance on the front row, taking second place.

Lewis Hamilton started from the lowest position he’s ever been on a grid in F1 – 20th. His previous worst was 19th at Monaco last year.

Lotus and Virgin reached Q2 for the first time this year.

Felipe Massa leads the drivers’ championship for the second time in his career. The last time came after he won the French Grand Prix in 2008.

Most laps led

Sebastian Vettel has now led more than twice as many laps in 2010 as all the other drivers put together:

Most podium finishes

Average position change in 2010

The average number of places a driver has gained or lost from the start to the end of a race for all the races so far in 2010.

Over to you

Spotted any more interesting facts and stats from the Malaysian Grand Prix? Share them in the comments below…

2010 Malaysian Grand Prix

• 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix - the complete F1 Fanatic review
• Malaysian GP team mate comparisons
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: McLaren
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Mercedes
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Red Bull
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Ferrari
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Williams
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Renault
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Force India
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Toro Rosso

Timo Glock loses control of his car and swipes Jarno Trulli's Lotus

At Sepang we saw plenty of overtaking but – surprisingly – no more rain. Take a look back at the Malaysian Grand Prix in pictures.

2010 Malaysian Grand Prix

• 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix - the complete F1 Fanatic review
• Malaysian GP team mate comparisons
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: McLaren
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Mercedes
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Red Bull
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Ferrari
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Williams
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Renault
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Force India
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Toro Rosso

More F1 pictures

Images (C) Ferrari spa, Renault/LAT, Williams/LAT, Bridgestone, www.mclaren.com, Getty Images/Red Bull, Force India F1 Team, Lotus F1, Virgin Racing

The McLarens and Ferraris had to fight through the field

Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa gained 14 positions during the race – but used very different tactics to do it.

While Hamilton made several passes on the track, Massa made the same progress with a well-timed pit stop.

Lap 1

Lap 1 position change, Malaysian Grand Prix (click to enlarge)

As we saw on several occasions last year, Rubens Barrichello made a poor start, falling down the order.

Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, got away cleanly and picked off seven cars, many of them at turn one. Felipe Massa followed him and gained the same number of places.

At the front of the field Sebastian Vettel made an excellent start and capitalised on Mark Webber’s failure to defend his place to rob him of the lead at turn one. That mistake cost Webber the win.

Hamilton and Massa fight through the field

Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso's progress

Hamilton, Massa and Button finished sixth, seventh and eighth having started 20th, 21st and 17th. The chart above shows their progress compared to other relevant drivers, plus Fernando Alonso who made a similar ascent through the field before retiring.

Hamiltons and Massa’s races unfolded very differently after their starts. While Hamilton began picking off the cars in front of him Massa, also on hard tyres, couldn’t make the same progress. Unlike Hamilton, he didn’t have the advantage of an F-duct.

The upshot of this was that by the time Massa made his pit stop on lap 26, Hamilton was over 13 seconds ahead. This meant McLaren didn’t need to react to Massa’s pit stop immediately by bringing Hamilton in. At this point, Hamilton’s problem was Button.

Button had lost position to Hamilton and Massa at the start, then Alonso squeezed past him too. Although he managed to pass Alonso on the track, Button came in for an early change to hard tyres on lap nine.

By lap 29 Button was going quickly enough on his hard tyres to give Hamilton a headache as his rubber deteriorated. Hamilton pitted, getting out just ahead of Button but with five seconds in hand over Massa.

Hamilton caught Sutil at over two seconds per lap but this was a car he couldn’t pass – he got on the radio and told his team the Force India was just too quick in a straight line.

Interestingly, Michael Schumacher had been only two seconds behind Sutil when he dropped out, depriving us of a Hamilton-Schumacher battle for position.

Massa eventually passed Button has the McLaren drivers’ tyres dropped well off the pace. So much so that Fernando Alonso had a good chance of passing him even with his gearbox problem, though he eventually succumbed to a blown Ferrari engine.

Pit stops

Malaysian Grand Prix pit stops (click to enlarge)

After his poor start Rubens Barrichello was the first person to pit but couldn’t make it to the end of the race on his second set of tyres.

Button, on the other hand, pitted on lap nine and completed the remaining 47 laps without another stop – though his tyres were heavily worn by the end of the race. It was not unlike his long stint at Melbourne last week, and is further evidence of his skill in looking after tyres.

The order at the front of the field could easily have been reversed had Mark Webber pitted before Sebastian Vettel. In all likelihood Red Bull (and the other teams) give priority on pitting to whichever driver is leading when they’re racing each other, to prevent arguments.

But could we see a scenario where a driver in Webber’s position takes it upon himself to pit before his team mate does to gain the benefit of being the first to pit?

Race charts

The race charts below break down the major movement in the race:

Overall race chart

Drivers' positions relative to the race leader (click to enlarge)

Overall race chart (zoomed to leaders)

Drivers' positions relative to the race leader (zoomed) (click to enlarge)

Overall race chart (all times compared to leader’s average time)

Drivers' positions versus the leaders' average lap time

Lap chart

Malaysian Grand Prix lap chart (click to enlarge)

2010 Malaysian Grand Prix

• 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix - the complete F1 Fanatic review
• Malaysian GP team mate comparisons
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: McLaren
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Mercedes
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Red Bull
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Ferrari
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Williams
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Renault
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Force India
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Toro Rosso

The stewards said Hamilton's defence from Petrov was too aggressive

Lewis Hamilton was shown the black-and-white flag during the Malaysian Grand Prix for weaving in front of Vitaly Petrov. He didn’t receive a penalty, but was warned not to repeat his actions.

It’s been a long time since anyone was shown the “unsportsmanlike driving” flag – and its appearance in today’s race is a sign the addition of experienced racing drivers to the stewards’ office is having an effect.

There is no written rule on what a driver who is defending his position is allowed to do. But it’s generally accepted they are allowed to make “one move” off the racing line and a subsequent move back towards the racing line as they approach the next corner.

Hamilton obeyed this principle when he first passed Petrov at the end of lap five. Then Petrov re-passed him.

But when Hamilton got past the Renault driver again at the end of lap seven, his defensive tactics clearly went beyond what is normally accepted.

As they crossed the line to start lap eight Hamilton crossed from the right-hand side of the track over to the extreme left, pausing briefly on his way, then came back across to the right, back over to the left again, and then to the middle of the track.

This clearly went beyond what the “one move” rule allows. Here’s how Hamilton explained his reason for moving around on the straight on the radio during the race:

I wasn’t weaving for him, I was weaving to break the tow.
Lewis Hamilton

Malaysian Grand Prix
in pictures

I think what we’ve seen today is the benefit of having experienced drivers assisting the stewards. Driver-stewards have been introduced for the first time in F1 this year. Today it was Johnny Herbert’s turn, and with 160 F1 starts and three wins to his name he knows the sport as well as anyone.

Drivers like Herbert are far better placed to make a call about whether a driver is attempting to run their rival off the track or simply trying to stop them getting the benefit of the slipstream.

Rapping Hamilton’s knuckles without ruining his race with a penalty was the smart thing to do – particularly at a time when so much attention is being paid to overtaking in Formula 1.

When it comes to overtaking, rules and technology stack the odds heavily in favour of the defending driver. The defending driver can have a car that’s two seconds per lap slower and aerodynamics will help keep the chasing car behind.

On top of that the “one move” rule – with its liberal interpretation which allows drivers to return towards the racing line after making their defence – makes it even harder for a car to overtake. Consider that in some series, such as IndyCar racing, drivers aren’t allowed to make defensive moves and are ordered to give up their position if they do.

But I do wonder if the stewards’ decision leaves us with one problem: drivers may now think they can expect to get away with one act of weaving per race with just a warning.

What’s your take on the penalty? Also, can anyone remember the last time the black-and-white flag was used in F1? Have your say in the comments.

2010 Malaysian Grand Prix

• 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix - the complete F1 Fanatic review
• Malaysian GP team mate comparisons
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: McLaren
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Mercedes
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Red Bull
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Ferrari
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Williams
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Renault
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Force India
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Toro Rosso

Image (C) Renault/LAT

Top 50 fastest laps

Vettel charges past Webber at turn one in Sepang

Sebastian Vettel led a Red Bull one-two in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The German driver passed team mate Mark Webber on the first lap and kept the lead for almost every lap of the race.

Felipe Massa took over the lead of the drivers’ championship after climbing from 21st to seventh, finishing behind Lewis Hamilton who had also battled through the field from 20th to sixth.

Nico Rosberg finished third after a quiet race in his Mercedes, with Robert Kubica in fourth place behind him.

Adrian Sutil brought his Force India home in fifth, defending his position from Hamilton who closed in on him at the end of the race.

Hamilton raced his way up to sixth place thanks to a great start where he gained seven places passing, among others, team mate Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari.

He continued his climb through the field, passing both Toro Rossos, Kamui Kobayashi and Vitaly Petrov. Meanwhile Button was battling the Ferraris, stuck behind 14th-placed Massa then losing 15th to Alonso. He later re-passed Alonso, but shortly afterwards McLaren brought him into the pits.

He ran a long stint on hard tyres which eventually allowed him to jump ahead of the Ferraris. But Massa, who ended the race on soft tyres, managed to pass the McLaren driver a few laps before the chequered flag.

So did Alonso – but only briefly. He had been struggling with a gearbox problem for much of the race and when he finally got past Button at turn one he ran wide and suddenly a blast of smoke from the Ferrari signalled the end of his race.

Alonso’s demise promoted two drivers who scored their first ever points – Jaime Alguersuari, taking ninth for Toro Rosso, and Nico Hülkenberg, who might have expected more from his Williams after starting fifth.

Sebastien Buemi and Rubens Barrichello took 11th and 12th and Alonso collected 13th. Behind him was Lucas di Grassi, taking Virgin to their first race finish, the HRT pair and Jarno Trulli’s ailing Lotus.

Among the drivers who failed to finish was Michael Schumacher, who’s Mercedes stopped with a car problem early in the race.

Neither Sauber saw the chequered flag – poor Pedro de la Rosa didn’t even see the start of the race after his engine blew on his installation lap.

But perhaps the biggest surprise of the race was the failure of the widely-predicted rain to arrive.

Vettel’s win puts him level with Alonso for secong in the championship, two points behind Massa, who is yet to win a race.

2010 Malaysian Grand Prix

• 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix - the complete F1 Fanatic review
• Malaysian GP team mate comparisons
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: McLaren
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Mercedes
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Red Bull
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Ferrari
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Williams
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Renault
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Force India
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Toro Rosso

Constructors’ Championship

2010 Malaysian Grand Prix

• 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix - the complete F1 Fanatic review
• Malaysian GP team mate comparisons
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: McLaren
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Mercedes
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Red Bull
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Ferrari
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Williams
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Renault
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Force India
• Malaysian GP team-by-team: Toro Rosso