As it happened: Malaysia 2013 - The race

• 07:30

  Hello, you're back! We're back too, just in time for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Handy that.

• 07:30

  You'll never guess what. It's raining at Sepang!

• 07:33

  Update from Bassano, who is at the track right now: Rain at Turn 1 now

• 07:34

  There's all sorts of talk of starting behind the safety car, and half points, but let's not panic just yet!

• 07:35

  Qualifying was a bit damp yesterday, but Sebastian Vettel didn't let that bother him as he took yet another pole position. Find out more: https://sidepodcast.com/news/sebastian-vettel-secures-second-pole-position-2013

• 07:36

  Circuit Data

  Sepang International Circuit
  Local timezone	+08:00 GMT
  First race	1999
  Number of laps	56
  Circuit length	5.543km
  Race distance	310.408km
  Start offset	0.000km

• 07:38

  Qualifying Position

  1	S Vettel	Red Bull
  2	F Massa	Ferrari
  3	F Alonso	Ferrari
  4	L Hamilton	Mercedes
  5	M Webber	Red Bull
  6	N Rosberg	Mercedes
  7	J Button	McLaren
  8	A Sutil	Force India
  9	S Pérez	McLaren
  10	K Räikkönen	Lotus

• 07:38

  Race winner Kimi Räikkönen actually qualified seventh but was dropped three places for impeding Nico Rosberg during qualifying.

• 07:39

  Replays of the drivers making their way to the grid show both a Toro Rosso and a Sauber spinning off in the wet conditions.

• 07:40

  I'll show you the tyre selection for this weekend, orange sidewalls - hard tyres and white sidewalls - medium tyres. Of course, we are more likely to see the green and blue of the wet tyres.

• 07:41

  Martin Brundle chatting to Jean Todt on the grid, the FIA President says of the tyre situation, "Well, people are never happy."

• 07:42

  More drivers are running off track at exactly the same place - replays show three in a row disappearing straight on at the corner and off into the gravel. They'll be in a right state when they get to the grid.

• 07:43

  Interview with Giedo van der Garde: "It's half wet, half dry. It's really, really wet, some guys are spinning off, it's quite tricky there. When you go through the middle sector on the last part, it's not too bad. At the moment, it looks like intermediates, but you never know what happens here. If it rains again, we'll go on full wets.

  "It was a challenge already in Melbourne, it is again here."

• 07:45

  Bottas is having a front wing change on the grid, after a brief excursion off track.

• 07:46

  Interview with Pastor Maldonado: "Bit difficult in turn three, very wet there, but the rest of the track seems to be inter conditions. But let's see what's going to happen in the next couple of minutes. If it's like this, I think the tyre will be the inters, but here it can change immediately so we need to wait and see.

  "This is exciting, we weren't expecting this... we'll see for the strategy and the weather as well, hopefully it will be good."

• 07:50

  Daniel Ricciardo has a chat pre-race and suggests he's aiming for a top ten finish today. He starts from 13th place, whilst teammate Vergne is back in 17th.

• 07:52

  Alan Permane of Lotus is not impressed with the conditions: "We were hoping for dry to be honest. As I said in Australia, I didn't think we could win there, I don't think we can win ehre. Inters at the moment, looking at the radar, this is petering out and there is nothing behind it. Of course, here it bubbles up from nowhere."

• 07:57

  Double DRS this weekend, with one zone on the penultimate straight, and the other separate zone on the start/finish straight. Again, no DRS if it's raining.

• 07:57

  

  Frantic preparations on the grid, making final adjustments before the race begins. Via @clubforce.

• 07:59

  DRS disabled.

• 07:59

  Tweet from @InsideFerrari: Cars on the grid. Raining slightly and very slippery track. Grip levels: the worst possible.

• 08:00

  The whole grid are all starting on intermediate tyres, green sidewalls all round.

• 08:00

  Vettel leads the pack away for the formation lap - hopefully the drivers will keep it on the tarmac this time.

• 08:01

  

  24°C

  Track	27°C
  Humidity	73%
  Wind speed	3.3mps

• 08:03

  Rounding the final hairpin, the cars form up on the grid in anticipation of the lights.

• 08:04

  Race started.

• 08:04 Lap 1

  A slow start from everyone, Vettel gets away in front, Alonso streaked past Massa down into turn one.

• 08:04 Lap 1

  Webber has flown out of nowhere forward, past the two Ferraris.

• 08:05 Lap 1

  Alonso's car is sparking up, his front wing endplate is dragging on the track.

• 08:05 Lap 1

  Massa has dropped back considerably, Rosberg and Button have both got ahead of the Ferrari.

• 08:06 Lap 1

  Webber and Alonso are side by side but Alonso keeps the position. The sparks have stopped but the wing does not look good at all!

• 08:06 Lap 2

  Down the home straight, Webber powers past Alonso, but moments later the front wing gives up.

• 08:07 Lap 2

  The wing went straight under the car, sending Alonso straight off track into the gravel.

• 08:07 Lap 2

  Yellow flags.

• 08:09 Lap 3

  Button and Rosberg are side by side, Button gets the lead but Rosberg has none of it and comes back alongside the McLaren. Finally, Rosberg moves ahead once more.

• 08:10 Lap 3

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	0	S Vettel
  2	+3	M Webber
  3	+1	L Hamilton
  4	+3	N Rosberg
  5	+1	J Button
  6	-4	F Massa
  7	+2	S Pérez
  8	0	N Hülkenberg
  9	+3	A Sutil
  10	+3	D Ricciardo

• 08:10 Lap 3

  DRS enabled.

• 08:11 Lap 3

  Replays of the start show Alonso just clipped the back of Vettel into turn two. It looks like Ferrari were prepping for a pit stop with the new front wing but were pondering whether to change to dry tyres as well. In the end, too late!

• 08:14 Lap 5

  Vettel has come into the pits, Massa as well.

• 08:14 Lap 5

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	S Vettel
  Team	Red Bull
  Pit lane	21.135s
  Stopped	2.4s

• 08:15 Lap 6

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	F Massa
  Team	Ferrari
  Pit lane	22.403s
  Stopped	3.3s

• 08:16 Lap 7

  A swift stop from Red Bull, and both Vettel and Massa are on the medium compounds.

• 08:16 Lap 7

  Everyone is diving in the pit lane now, but Webber gets the call to stay out because it's too wet in sector one.

• 08:17 Lap 7

  Sutil has a problem in the pit stop, major issue and that's Paul di Resta queued up behind him. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

• 08:17 Lap 8

  He's off again now, but that's screwed up two races in one go!

• 08:18 Lap 8

  Lewis Hamilton got a bit confused there, he drove his Mercedes right into the McLaren garage. The front jack man leapt out the way and he skipped on to Mercedes instead. Awkward!

• 08:19 Lap 9

  Pic and Vergne collide as the Caterham is coming into the pit lane, and the Toro Rosso is exiting. Got to be an unsafe release, there.

• 08:21 Lap 9

  Webber is leading the race, with Vettel behind him. Both drivers have stopped, so the call for Webber to stay out an extra lap or two worked in his favour... for now.

• 08:21 Lap 9

  Vergne and Pic have both returned to the track, but they are right at the back now. 20th and 21st respectively.

• 08:23 Lap 10

  The fastest lap is changing hands quickly, as the times start to drop on the new tyres.

• 08:23 Lap 10

  Notably, Webber is on the hard compound, with Vettel chasing him on the mediums.

• 08:25 Lap 12

  Some replays of overtaking moves through the midfield - Grosjean got past Pérez for eighth place, whilst Paul di Resta is past teammate Sutil. He can lead the next traffic jam in the Force India pits, then.

• 08:26 Lap 12

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	+4	M Webber	1
  2	-1	S Vettel	1
  3	+1	L Hamilton	1
  4	+2	N Rosberg	1
  5	+2	J Button	1
  6	+6	N Hülkenberg	1
  7	-5	F Massa	1
  8	+3	R Grosjean	1
  9	0	S Pérez	1
  10	0	K Räikkönen	1

• 08:26 Lap 12

  Kimi has Sergio Pérez in front of him, and the Lotus is looking ready to get past any moment now. Teammate Grosjean puts in the fastest lap so far.

• 08:28 Lap 13

  Unsafe release involving Vergne and Pic will be investigated after the race.

• 08:29 Lap 13

  Tweet from @TheFifthDriver: Feel free to pop in and say "hi" any time, @LewisHamilton!

• 08:30 Lap 14

  Replays show Pastor Maldonado hit the kerb and ran off track, bouncing across the gravel and destroying the front wing. He's returned to the pit lane, they've patched him up and he's off again.

• 08:30 Lap 15

  One to Watch

  S Pérez	vs.	K Räikkönen
  9th	+0.41s	10th

• 08:33 Lap 16

  Räikkönen finally makes the past down the main straight, DRS giving him the boost he needs to move up to ninth.

• 08:34 Lap 17

  Maldonado is at the back of the field now, just behind Pic. Vergne, who was also pushed down there due to the pit problem earlier, has jumped Chilton at least. Currently 18th.

• 08:35 Lap 17

  The fastest lap is continuing to fall, taken by Rosberg, Webber, Räikkönen.

• 08:37 Lap 19

  Top Speeds

  Sector 1	A Sutil	281kph
  Sector 2	M Webber	141kph
  Sector 3	K Räikkönen	269kph
  Speed trap	P Di Resta	304kph

• 08:38 Lap 19

  Force India has some pace then, and we can see Paul di Resta hounding Daniel Ricciardo for 11th place. Down the home straight they go, and the Force India is past.

• 08:39 Lap 19

  Webber pits from the lead.

• 08:39 Lap 20

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	M Webber
  Team	Red Bull
  Pit lane	20.736s
  Stopped	2.3s

• 08:40 Lap 20

  Another super-fast pit stop from Red Bull, no wonder they are leading!

• 08:40 Lap 20

  Bottas is instructed on the radio to push for two laps, if he can, trying to create a gap to those behind. He's currently 14th.

• 08:41 Lap 21

  Massa and Grosjean come in for their stops. Di Resta also pits - this time by himself.

• 08:42 Lap 22

  Ahh, it's another pit stop problem for Force India, Di Resta has been stationery for ages. They are still trying to sort out the tyre situation. Wheel gun or something.

• 08:43 Lap 22

  Lewis Hamilton comes in for his stop, into the right box this time, quick stop and he's off again.

• 08:43 Lap 22

  Paul di Resta is still stationery, watching drivers pile in and out around him.

• 08:43 Lap 22

  Di Resta leaves the pit lane!!

• 08:44 Lap 22

  Tweet from @OfficialSF1Team: lap times of #Hulk still ok. expecting some pit stops of the others soon. the tyre battle is on. wisdom for the decision-makers on pitwall.

• 08:45 Lap 23

  Race leader Sebastian Vettel comes in for his stop - the lead of the race returns to Mark Webber as the Red Bulls retain their 1-2 positions.

• 08:46 Lap 23

  Sutil's in for his stop, and they have the same problem - something going on with that front left tyre again.

• 08:47 Lap 24

  Paul di Resta comes back into the pit lane again, and he's pushed back into the garage. Race over.

• 08:49 Lap 25

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	WEB	1:43.411
  2nd	VET	+1.2
  3rd	HAM	+3.1
  4th	ROS	+5.8
  5th	BUT	+14.5

• 08:50 Lap 26

  All the drivers that are still running have stopped twice, except for Vergne who has come in just that one (calamitous) time.

• 08:51 Lap 26

  Vettel is pushing Webber along, he's within the DRS zone and he's looking for a lead change any second now. He's been warned over the radio about looking after the tyres though.

• 08:52 Lap 27

  Button is on the radio complaining that Sutil wasn't getting blue flags, but he's made his way past him now.

• 08:52 Lap 27

  Oddly, it seems as though these two Red Bull drivers are actually allowed to race each other for position.

• 08:53 Lap 27

  Plus, as the Red Bull versus Red Bull battle continues, Hamilton is hunting them down as well.

• 08:54 Lap 28

  The leading pack have to make their way past Chilton, who has himself admitted this blue flag business is new for him. They're all getting past okay though.

• 08:54 Lap 28

  Team radio from Vettel: "Mark is too slow, get him out of the way."

• 08:55 Lap 28

  Vettel's race engineer reminds him we are only at half race distance. Even if it feels like a lot longer!

• 08:55 Lap 28

  Kimi Räikkönen takes a bit of a shortcut across the grass, that car looking quite the handful.

• 08:56 Lap 29

  Adrian Sutil returns to the pit lane, and that's a double retirement for the Force India team.

• 08:57 Lap 30

  Word from the garage is that the prolonged pit stops meant components overheated, hence the double DNF.

• 08:58 Lap 31

  Lewis Hamilton comes in for his third stop of the day.

• 08:59 Lap 31

  Mercedes aren't breaking any pit stops records today, Hamilton's last stop was 3.3 seconds, this one 3.6 seconds.

• 09:00 Lap 32

  Interview with Vijay Mallya: "The cars were really quick, we were very encouraged, hoped that Paul would get up there into the points. In the pit stops we had a catastrophic failure of the wheel guns, changing tyres became a problem, took too long."

• 09:01 Lap 32

  Webber and Rosberg have both taken their third stops of the day.

• 09:02 Lap 33

  Good news for Button fans, he is leading the race as Vettel dives into the pit lane. It'll shake out in the wash, but encouraging for McLaren to be up there again.

• 09:03 Lap 33

  Vettel's stop sees him come out behind Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes' strategy has split the Red Bulls.

• 09:03 Lap 33

  Vettel is now being hounded by the other Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.

• 09:04 Lap 33

  Tweet from @clubforce: Very disappointed - but at least we know we can keep up the pace with the leaders, and we will be back fighting at the top in China.

• 09:04 Lap 34

  Ted News: The previous Mercedes stint was about pushing as hard as they could, now they have to balance the pace with looking after tyres, and not running out of fuel.

• 09:05 Lap 35

  There's news of another unsafe release in the pit lane, between Massa and Pérez - no contact this time, though.

• 09:06 Lap 35

  Webber made an attempt at a pass on Button, the McLaren came back again, but by the third corner, Webber had made the pass for the lead.

• 09:06 Lap 35

  Another one! Hülkenberg released into the path of Kimi Räikkönen in the pit lane.

• 09:07 Lap 35

  Wheel to wheel between the Sauber and Lotus, beautiful clean racing but Hülkenberg remains in front for now. They're fighting for ninth place.

• 09:07 Lap 36

  Button gets the call to pit finally.

• 09:08 Lap 36

  The McLaren stop looked good, but he pulls to a halt almost immediately down the pit lane. The mechanics run to recover the car, pushing him back to the garage. Replays show the front right tyre was not attached, so he stopped the car.

• 09:09 Lap 37

  Button is off again, all tyres attached, but the significant delay has dropped him down to 14th.

• 09:13 Lap 37

  Hamilton is in fuel saving mode now, he loses a place to Sebastian Vettel almost immediately. Red Bull back into their 1-2 position, five seconds between the pair.

• 09:13 Lap 39

  Kimi is on the radio complaining about some aggressive moves from Hülkenberg but just the briefest of tyre touches between them so far.

• 09:17 Lap 42

  Lewis Hamilton comes in to the pits again, that's his fourth stop of the day. Busy pit lane day today!

• 09:18 Lap 42

  The Mercedes driver has dropped just one place behind his teammate Nico Rosberg, Lewis now sitting fourth.

• 09:19 Lap 43

  Vettel and Rosberg both pit.

• 09:20 Lap 43

  And as Rosberg exits the pitlane, Hamilton streaks up the main straight, taking his third place straight back.

• 09:21 Lap 44

  Webber dives into the pit lane from the lead of the race. The mechanics scramble to be ready for him but it's still a good stop.

• 09:22 Lap 44

  Webber leaves the pit lane with Vettel trying to do a Hamilton and streak past. They are side by side, Vettel trying everything to get past. Some great defensive driving from Webber, clean stuff from both.

• 09:22 Lap 44

  Webber has the position for now, but DRS zones approaching.

• 09:24 Lap 45

  Nico Rosberg made a pass on Hamilton in the first of the DRS zones, but Lewis immediately got the place back again in the second zone.

• 09:24 Lap 46

  Another lap round, and Rosberg makes the DRS move again.

• 09:25 Lap 46

  The Red Bulls are side by side again, corner through corner the advantage changes hands constantly.

• 09:25 Lap 46

  Wheel to wheel between Vettel and Webber, three corners of close racing before Vettel makes it stick. The pit wall look on nervously!

• 09:25 Lap 46

  Team radio to Vettel: This is silly, Seb, come on."

• 09:25 Lap 46

  Vettel getting told off, eh?

• 09:26 Lap 47

  The radio message clearly responding to how close Vettel had to get to the pit wall down the main straight in a desperate attempt to get past.

• 09:27 Lap 47

  Yellow flags.

• 09:27 Lap 47

  Pastor Maldonado is off track, climbing from the car. Marshals ready to recover the Williams.

• 09:28 Lap 47

  Track is clear.

• 09:28 Lap 48

  Felipe Massa pits for his fourth stop, and rejoins the action in eighth. He's lost out this race, after starting on the front row.

• 09:30 Lap 49

  Kimi Räikkönen is hunting down Pérez, the McLaren driver sandwiched between two Lotus cars.

• 09:30 Lap 49

  Kimi goes the long way round the hairpin, and takes the position, but there's DRS available for Pérez now.

• 09:30 Lap 49

  It's not quite enough for Sergio, so that Kimi keeps the position. Massa takes the opportunity to pass a distracted Pérez as well, passing him as if he wasn't there!

• 09:31 Lap 50

  Massa now moves past Räikkönen, Kimi didn't put up any sort of fight for that one, the Ferrari is flying ahead.

• 09:32 Lap 50

  Button, down in 14th, is told over the radio, "There's a point just up the road, plenty of cars to overtake, let's have a bit of fun."

• 09:33 Lap 51

  Team orders consternation throughout the field, as Rosberg gets on to Ross Brawn saying he's being held up, he just wants to drive past. Brawn's not having any of it. "Negative, Nico."

• 09:34 Lap 52

  Extra radio from Ross Brawn explains that Lewis' pace is also being controlled, he could go a lot faster, but this is the pace they want him to do.

• 09:35 Lap 52

  Five laps to go, four retirements this race, and at least three unhappy teammates.

• 09:37 Lap 53

  Felipe Massa sets the fastest lap of the race, the time now a 1:39.805.

• 09:38 Lap 54

  Replays show Daniel Ricciardo pulling slowly into the pitlane, another retirement.

• 09:39 Lap 54

  Felipe Massa has overtaken Romain Grosjean for fifth place.

• 09:39 Lap 55

  Rosberg is still not happy with the situation, on to Ross Brawn again that the pace is so slow. Brawn won't be budged.

• 09:40 Lap 55

  Jenson Button has come into the pit lane, there's a space clear in the garage, it's a retirement for McLaren.

• 09:41 Lap 55

  Sergio Pérez comes in for a genuine late pit stop, fresh tyres on, and he comes back out in ninth place. Nothing lost.

• 09:42 Lap 56

  Final lap for all involved. Hamilton instructed to coast, they really are concerned about the fuel level on that car.

• 09:43 Lap 56

  You've got to feel bad for Rosberg, they are circling so slowly, it must be more frustrating than anything.

• 09:43

  Sebastian Vettel wins the Malaysian Grand Prix!

• 09:43

  Webber crosses the line second, and Hamilton finally gets there third.

• 09:43

  There are no celebrations on either the Red Bull or Mercedes pit wall. A difficult afternoon for everyone, it seems!

• 09:44

  Team radio to race winner Vettel: "Good job Sebastian. Looked like you wanted it bad enough. Still, there'll be some explaining to do."

• 09:46

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	S Vettel	4
  2	+3	M Webber	4
  3	+1	L Hamilton	4
  4	+2	N Rosberg	4
  5	-3	F Massa	4
  6	+5	R Grosjean	3
  7	+3	K Räikkönen	3
  8	+4	N Hülkenberg	4
  9	0	S Pérez	4
  10	+7	JE Vergne	5

• 09:46

  Team radio from Rosberg, upon being thanked for his work: Remember this one.

• 09:47

  Race Winner

  Driver	Sebastian Vettel
  Team	Red Bull
  Race time	1:38:56.681
  Race distance	310.408km
  Average speed	188.231km/h

• 09:48

  Great drive from Bianchi to finish 13th, that could be very useful in the Marussia versus Caterham battle later in the year.

• 09:49

  Very awkward green room. Vettel the only happy one, chats with team representative Adrian Newey. Hamilton keeps to himself, no sign of Webber.

• 09:50

  Webber arrives finally, not happy at all. Points something out to Vettel, presumably the strategy that was ignored.

• 09:51

  Crackling tension in that green room, they grab watches, water and caps and head out onto the podium.

• 09:51

  Webber smiles for the fans but, oh, you can see the pain.

• 09:51

  National anthem time.

• 09:52

  Retirements

  Driver	Reason	Lap
  J Button	Unknown	55
  D Ricciardo	Unknown	53
  P Maldonado	Spun off	47
  A Sutil	Pit stop failures	29
  P di Resta	Pit stop failures	24
  F Alonso	Collision damage	2

• 09:53

  That's a podium full of grumpy people. Finally some smiles, from the Mercedes mechanics in the crowd.

• 09:54

  You can see the crush on the two Mercedes drivers here.

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	VET	1:45.520
  2nd	WEB	+4.2
  3rd	HAM	+12.1
  4th	ROS	+12.6
  5th	MAS	+25.6

• 09:54

  Champagne is sprayed, but Webber aims his at the crowd, ignoring the other two quite distinctly.

• 09:55

  

  Race winner.

• 09:57

  Podium interviews - Sebastian Vettel: "It was very close wheel to wheel racing, there wasn't much room for either of us. It was a tight battle but I think, probably, I was a bit too keen too soon. In terms of strategy, I was on the softer compound towards, so I felt I had a bit more. Enjoyed the fight, had the upper hand in the end..."

• 09:57

  Podium interviews - Sebastian Vettel: "It's very hot today, I think if there's something to say we need to talk internally. I think we both enjoyed that, I'm standing in the middle now, so I think I enjoyed it a bit more, I think we have plenty of time to talk about it."

• 09:58

  Podium interviews - Mark Webber: "The first part of the GP went very well for us. Tricky conditions on the intermediates to start with. Got the right strategy early in the race... really it was just controlling the race. I had to mark Lewis off in the middle there, after the last stop, the team told me the race was over, we turned the engines off and marked to the end. In the end Seb made his own decisions, he will get protection from the team as usual..."

• 10:00

  Podium interviews - Lewis Hamilton: "The team did a fantastic job, it's great to be up here for them. I really feel Nico should be standing here, he had better pace than me throughout the race, but he's a great teammate. I was fuel saving for a long time, unable to keep the pace of the guys in front. Nonetheless, we did a good job today, and I'm glad to be up here for them.

  "I can't say it's the best feeling being up here but racing is racing, and I've got to keep looking forward."

• 10:01

  Podium interviews - Sebastian Vettel: "In the championship regard, it's a long race. It's good at this stage of the year to score points and we go from there. Thinking about the championship now is way too early. I think it was a great race for the team today, I think we did better on the tyres than we expected... we had a clean race in terms of tyres."

• 10:05

  Tweet from @alanbaldwinf1: So that's two drivers on the podium who reckon they should be standing somewhere else. And one looking a bit shifty.

• 10:06

  Tweet from @TheFifthDriver: The timing screens go purple, signifying the fastest lap for @SChecoPerez at 1m39.199s.

• 10:07

  Interview with Christian Horner: "From a team point of view, an exemplary performance. As far as the drivers are concerned, we let them race up to the last pit stop... we wanted to control the race, but at that point the driver's interests became bigger than the team's. Uncomfortable for us.

  "We told the drivers to maintain position to the end of the race. Sebastian took it into his own hands... he wanted to win that race."

• 10:11

  Tweet from @alo_oficial: Bad luck today, as always over 19 races will be compensated and we are ready to recover good points in the next race!

• 10:15

  So, it was a great race today, even if only for the incredible teammate tension. We've been waiting for a good fight for ages!

• 10:15

  Red Bull dominant this weekend, regardless of who was on top. Good pace from Mercedes too, another strong race for Hamilton.

• 10:16

  It was a silly Ferrari/Alonso error that saw him crash out in the early stages of the race, but Massa showed some great pace towards the end.

• 10:16

  Lots of retirements, Force India in particular will want to forget today ever happened. Pastor Maldonado continued to struggle to keep the car on track.

• 10:17

  A bad day for pit stops all round, really. Drivers getting held up, unsafe releases, crashing on the way in, crashing on the way out, and those pesky wheel nuts misbehaving.

• 10:18

  We've now got a three week gap to the next race in China, so, as ever, stay tuned to http://f1minute.com and https://sidepodcast.com for all the news and views between now and then.

• 10:18

  Thanks for sticking with the Factbyte Factbox this weekend, we'll be back up and running for China. Join me then, won't you?