Stoffel Vandoorne was the only driver to make a movement up the standings table after the racing in Sepang, gaining three places and catapulting himself three points ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso. Out front, all eyes were on Hamilton and Vettel, as the two championship contenders, and although Hamilton managed to finish on the podium, Sebastian did the best he could to minimise the damage and keep the gap manageable.

Daniel Ricciardo has pulled away significantly from Kimi Räikkönen now, particularly considering the Finn has had two DNFs in a row, whereas the Australian has enjoyed podium success.