Malaysian Grand Prix- Driver Ratings
Two weeks after the misery of Australia, fresh air has been breathed into Formula 1 in the shape of Ferrari, and Sebastian Vettel thanks to his victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The German drove a master-class in Sepang, and scores a clear 10 here. But what about the others?
Find out below...
Lewis Hamilton- 2nd
On Friday, things couldn't have gone much worse for Hamilton after engine issues seriously limited his time out on track. However, he bounced back impressively to take pole in the wet.
On race day, his car lacked the pace to beat Vettel and he may have been hampered by a suspect Mercedes strategy. However, second place is nothing to get upset about and he still finished ahead of Nico Rosberg.
8/10.
Nico Rosberg- 3rd
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W06
Rosberg was a good tip to take pole after he had the edge on Hamilton on Friday afternoon. But he messed up his final qualifying lap and had to settle for a disappointing third.
In the race, his chances of getting by his team-mate were ruined as he queued behind Hamilton in the pits during the safety car period. He battled valiantly to finish third, but was in no-man’s-land for much of the afternoon.
7/10.
Sebastian Vettel- 1st
Make no mistake, Vettel is back and back with a bang after his victory in the heat of Sepang.
Ferrari hinted that they may be able to threaten Mercedes during Friday practice, but few expected Vettel to split them in qualifying.
During the race, the German showed why he is considered to be the best front runner on the grid as he inherited the lead on lap four and expertly managed his tyres. This meant that he stopped just twice, once less than the Mercedes drivers and he held on to the lead for a fine victory. Vettel has his mojo back, and Ferrari have found some speed.
10/10.
Kimi Raikkonen- 4th
Raikkonen must be ruing his luck after Vettel won in Malaysia, as he looked very bit as dangerous on Friday.
An error in qualifying by both team and driver meant he qualified 11th, while a puncture early on hampered his race. He recovered well to come fourth and his race pace matched Vettel’s. In China, expect him to be a force.
8/10
Daniel Ricciardo- 10th
Ricciardo was arguably the best performer on Saturday as he dragged his poor performing car to fourth in the wet, but his race on Sunday was another to forget.
Brake problems limited him, and he finished behind Daniil Kvyat in 10th.
6/10.
Daniil Kvyat- 9th
Kvyat may wish he was still at Toro Rosso rather than Red Bull, after he finished behind his former team.
In an eventful race he was clouted hard by Nico Hulkenberg, but recovered to finish ahead of Ricciardo for two points.
6/10.
Felipe Massa- 6th
Felipe Massa, Williams FW37 Mercedes
Williams were in a race of their own as they fell way behind both Ferrari and Mercedes out-front.
Massa did a solid job in qualifying to start seventh, in the wet condition that Williams loath. In the race he battle hard but he’ll be disappointed that he was outmuscled by Valtteri Bottas on the penultimate lap.
The intra-team battle at the team is fascinating, and Bottas won the first duel.
7/10.
Valtteri Bottas- 5th
Bottas’s weekend looked to be going downhill when he qualified eighth behind Massa, and suffered what he called the “worst first lap I’ve ever had” as he dropped to 14th at the start of the race.
However, a brilliant recovery drive saw him end up on the tail of Massa at the end and a bold overtake round the outside secured fifth.
8/10.
Fernando Alonso- Retired
Fernando Alonso, McLaren MP4-30
Alonso can be forgiven for feeling slightly aggrieved as Vettel secured victory for Ferrari, while he retired from the race on lap 21.
However, McLaren showed a real improvement this weekend and they believe that they should be in the points by the fifth race of the season in Spain.
Alonso qualified behind his team-mate, Jenson Button, but edged him in the race until he stopped with an engine problem.
7/10.
Jenson Button- Retired
Button’s weekend was more frustrating than Alonso’s, despite out-qualifying him on Saturday.
The Englishman is already on his second engine of the season, while a poor pitstop let Sergio Pérez get past him easily. A turbo failure ended his race, while he also gets a mark down for his hideous moustache
6/10.
Sergio Pérez- 13th
Sergio Pérez
It's been a season to forget so far for Perez, who finished just 13th at Sepang.
He started behind his team-mate, Nico Hulkenberg, after a poor qualifying while he unnecessarily collided with Romain Grosjean during the race.
His softness on the tyres helped him finish ahead of Hulkenberg, but Force India will be concerned by their poor start.
5/10.
Nico Hulkenberg- 14th
Hulkenberg made the best start of anyone when he rose from 13th to seventh on the opening lap, but it all went downhill from there as he failed to pit during the safety car period.
The German couldn't make his tyres last as well as Perez and had to stop three times, while a crash with Kvyat was entirely his fault.
6/10.
Carlos Sainz- 8th
Sainz may not have the media attention as Max Verstappen, but he is showing that he is every bit as good after another positive weekend.
A mistake cost him badly in qualifying, but he was one of only a handful of drivers who stopped just twice during the race. Consecutive points finishes is a fine start to his F1 career.
8/10.
Max Verstappen- 7th
He may have retired in Australia, but it didn’t take Verstappen long to become the sport’s youngest ever points scorer with a fine seventh place in Malaysia.
In qualifying he was superb, as he finished sixth in the wet conditions. He fell back at the start, but showed character to tussle with Sainz and Red Bull.
Seventh was the best he could have hoped for, and will only add to his sky-high reputation.
9/10.
Romain Grosjean- 11th
Grosjean left Kuala Lumpur disappointed as he felt that he should have finished in the points. An engine problems and a collision with Perez combined to severely hamper his afternoon.
It was a miserable weekend all round as the team realise that they’re not quite as competitive as they hoped they would be.
6/10.
Pastor Maldonado- Retired
Maldonado and Malaysia really don’t go together. The Venezuelan had a disappointing g qualifying, where he was slower than Grosjean before an awful race.
An early puncture ruined any chance he had of points, while a ten-second penalty for speeding behind the safety car and a brake issue which forced him to retire compounded his misery.
4/10.
Felipe Nasr- 12th
Felipe Nasr, Sauber C34
Nasr was the star performer in Australia, but he came back down to earth with a thud in Kuala Lumpur.
He completely missed practice one , and struggled to get back on level terms with Marcus Ericsson. In the race, he hit Raikkonen on lap one and limped home in 12th.
3/10.
Marcus Ericsson- Retired
Ericsson looked in fine form on Friday and Saturday, and even dragged his car to ninth on the grid.
However, he ruined all his hard work with a poor overtaking attempt, which left him beached in the gravel. Still, there were positive signs for the Swede.
7/10.
Roberto Merhi- 15th
It’s difficult to judge Mehri based on the fact that his team-mate, Will Stevens, didn't compete but he battled admirably in the race.
He may have been lapped three times, but that was a welcome boost to the whole team.
6/10.
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