As it happened: Malaysia 2014 - The race

• 08:30

  Hello everyone, it's race day! Just half an hour before the Malaysian Grand Prix gets underway, and it's NOT raining.

• 08:31

  The pit lane has opened and drivers are heading out for their exploratory laps and to head to the grid.

• 08:32

  Sergio Pérez attempted to do a practice start at the end of the pit lane, but couldn't move away and the Force India mechanics had to come and rescue him.

• 08:33

  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

• 08:35

  Lewis Hamilton scooped pole position yesterday, just 0.05 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel. Rosberg and Alonso line up on the second row. Further back, the Lotus pair made some progress over Australia, but are still only 15th and 16th, whilst Valtteri Bottas picked up a penalty for impeding and starts 18th.

• 08:36

  Grid Position

  1	L Hamilton	Mercedes
  2	S Vettel	Red Bull
  3	N Rosberg	Mercedes
  4	F Alonso	Ferrari
  5	D Ricciardo	Red Bull
  6	K Räikkönen	Ferrari
  7	N Hülkenberg	Force India
  8	K Magnussen	McLaren
  9	JE Vergne	Toro Rosso
  10	J Button	McLaren

• 08:37

  It was a rain-hit qualifying, mixing up the order just a little bit. There's rain forecast for about the time of the race today, but it's clear over the track at the moment.

• 08:38

  

  Hard and medium tyres are the compound choices this weekend. We didn't see much of them yesterday, with intermediates and full wets used throughout qualifying.

• 08:40

  Daniel Ricciardo stuttered his way out the pit lane for a practice start. Plenty of drivers struggling to get going today!

• 08:41

  Max Chilton: "It’s definitely toasty. The rear tyres aren’t going to like it very much. You’ve just got to control it. The strategies today are all over the place. If it doesn’t rain, it’s either two, three or four, there's not much in it. If it does rain, it’s going to stir it up even more."

• 08:44

  Valtteri Bottas: "I wasn’t expecting anything to happen, obviously that’s their decision and we can’t change it now. I think the car is nearly as good as last race. Our weaknesses are more visible here with high speed corners... but still gonna fight for the points."

• 08:45

  

  @CaterhamF1: A rebuilt CT05, c/o #TeamGreen @Ericsson_Marcus' car is ready to race

  After Ericsson's hefty crash in the first qualifying session, the team have worked hard to get him up and running ready for the start of the race today.

• 08:48

  Your smart money has to be on Mercedes to do well today!

  Fastest Session Times

  Free Practice 1	L Hamilton	1:40.691
  Free Practice 2	N Rosberg	1:39.909
  Free Practice 3	N Rosberg	1:39.008
  Qualifying	L Hamilton	1:59.431

• 08:48

  Tweet from @clubforce: A poignant one minute of silence for the victims of MH370.

• 08:50

  Christian Horner: "Obviously, we’re hoping the [fuel sensors] are both going to work reliably. We’ve got an issue with Daniel’s at the moment, which will hopefully clear up before the start of the race. We’ve just got to take it one lap at a time. It’s one of the toughest races, tough on the cars, and of course rain is never too far away."

• 08:51

  Sergio Pérez will start from the pit lane, having not made it out onto the grid.

• 08:52

  Nico Hülkenberg: "Hope to finish at least seventh, hopefully better. I think there’s a few cars out there quicker than us but who knows? Wouldn’t mind a surprise. The sun is out and it’s pretty boiling hot, we’ll see. I wouldn’t mind a bit of rain."

• 08:52

  It's clearly not hot enough for Fernando Alonso, who is jogging back from the pit lane to the grid. Jogging!

• 08:53

  The Lotus crew have modest aims, Pastor Maldonado: "Big progress, we start to do some big runs, some proper runs, which is quite good to get some data. Now it’s important today to finish the race. We had a big delay with our development so looking forward to move forward some places, but if we can, finish the race. To finish the race will be key."

• 08:55

  

  32°C
  Track	51°C
  Humidity	62%
  Wind speed	3.9mps

• 08:58

  Tweet from @clubforce: Sergio is still in his garage - our crew is working hard to solve some tech issues on his car.

• 08:59

  Ben Edwards fact: Last time Alonso failed to finish a Grand Prix was in Malaysia last year. Ominous!

• 09:00

  Lewis Hamilton leads the pack in their formation lap. The mechanics pour across the track in the best race of any Sunday. Run, run, run!

• 09:01

  Pérez is out of the car, helmet off. Problem with the "limp home idling message." Whatever that may be.

• 09:03

  Round the final corner they go, Hamilton slowing to crawl as they finally line up on the grid.

• 09:04

  Race started.

• 09:04 Lap 1

  Brillian start for Massa off the line. Clean start at the front and.... at the back too. Even Kobayashi managed to get through!

• 09:04 Lap 1

  Rosberg is holding up the two Red Bulls who are trying not to trip over each other, as are the two Ferraris next in line.

• 09:05 Lap 1

  Yellow flags as a collision occurs between a Lotus and a Marussia.

• 09:06 Lap 2

  Nico Hülkenberg has moved up to split the Ferrari drivers, currently in sixth place.

• 09:06 Lap 2

  Magnussen dives down the inside of Kimi Räikkönen, who is running very slowly.

• 09:07 Lap 2

  The Finn complains of his left rear tyre on the radio, he's got to complete almost a full lap to get back to the pits.

• 09:08 Lap 2

  It was Pastor Maldonado and Jules Bianchi who collided earlier. Bianchi has made it back to the pit lane, having picked up a puncture. Maldonado is still circling so not a disastrous crash for those two.

• 09:08 Lap 2

  Jean-Éric Vergne comes into the pits, as Räikkönen finally makes it back as well.

• 09:08 Lap 3

  DRS enabled.

• 09:09 Lap 3

  Waved blue flags for Bianchi already!

• 09:10 Lap 4

  Every single driver started on medium tyres for the race, given free choice after running the wets in qualifying.

• 09:10 Lap 4

  The Williams pair have moved up into the points, Massa currently 9th and Bottas 10th. They're looking worryingly close, however, jostling for position.

• 09:11 Lap 5

  It's very much team by team at the front. Mercedes followed by Red Bull, Alonso and then Hülkenberg as Kimi dropped down the order. Then two McLarens and two Williams.

• 09:11 Lap 5

  Incident involving Maldonado and Bianchi under investigation - causing a collision.

• 09:12 Lap 5

  There's a gap developing between the two McLaren drivers. With a three second gap between Button and Magnussen, and then the rest of the field being held up by Kevin.

• 09:13 Lap 5

  Replays of the start show Maldonado running round the outside of several cars, before turning in on Bianchi. Potentially the Lotus' fault.

• 09:14 Lap 6

  Also showing Magnussen chasing down Räikkönen and he just got too close to the right rear of the Ferrari. He lost a large chunk of his front left end plate explaining his current slow pace, and also Kimi's puncture.

• 09:15 Lap 7

  Incident involving Räikkönen and Magnussen under investigation - causing a collision.

• 09:15 Lap 7

  5 second stop/go penalty for Bianchi, causing a collision.

• 09:16 Lap 7

  Meanwhile, Sergio Pérez watches on glumly, having not started the race.

• 09:16 Lap 7

  The two Williams drivers are on the radio, Massa is instructed not to hold up his fellow driver, but replies he cannot let him through as he has more pace.

• 09:17 Lap 8

  Team radio to Pastor Maldonado: "Okay Pastor, we need to box the car to retire. Box this lap."

  All he wanted was to finish the race, darn it.

• 09:18 Lap 9

  Maldonado does pit and the mechanics back him back into the garage. Even that seems to be a bit of an issue as they struggle to get the car over the lip of the garage entrance. Not a great day for Lotus!

• 09:20 Lap 9

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver
  1	0	L Hamilton
  2	1	N Rosberg
  3	-1	S Vettel
  4	1	D Ricciardo
  5	-1	F Alonso
  6	1	N Hülkenberg
  7	3	J Button
  8	0	K Magnussen
  9	4	F Massa
  10	8	V Bottas

• 09:21 Lap 10

  Magnussen is called in to the garage, an early stop for the McLaren. They change the front wing to fix the damage, so it's a slow stop but he should have a little more pace now.

• 09:22 Lap 11

  5 second stop/go penalty for Magnussen - causing a collision.

• 09:24 Lap 12

  Hamilton has the gap up to about six seconds over his teammate, with Vettel a further five seconds down the road.

• 09:24 Lap 12

  Fernando Alonso comes in for his first stop of the day, a whirl of red action in the pit lane and he's on his way again.

• 09:26 Lap 13

  Sutil pits, Ricciardo follows in soon after, and then it's Massa and Grosjean. Pit stop window officially open!

• 09:27 Lap 13

  It was narrow for Ricciardo coming out just behind Fernando Alonso, but the Red Bull driver pulls alongside the Ferrari and holds the line to move ahead.

• 09:28 Lap 14

  Vettel comes in for his first stop of the day. Those Red Bull mechanics are sublime at the pit stops, and he's on his way back out before you have time to blink.

• 09:28 Lap 14

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	J Button
  Team	McLaren
  Pit lane	24.841s
  Stopped	3.3s

• 09:29 Lap 15

  Vettel sweeps past Bottas, on the fresher tyres, and Ricciardo follows past the Williams as well. Only Hülkenberg sits between them and their former positions.

• 09:30 Lap 15

  Nico Rosberg comes into the pit lane from second place, and he comes out in third, behind Hülkenberg.

• 09:30 Lap 15

  Hamilton gets the instruction to come in. Just Hülkenberg and Kobayashi have yet to come in. Kamui currently up in eighth place!

• 09:31 Lap 15

  

  @WilliamsRacing: Great stop by the team as @MassaFelipe19 boxes for another set of option tyres.

• 09:31 Lap 16

  Race leader Lewis Hamilton comes in for his stop, he filters out behind Nico Hülkenberg, who now leads the race!

• 09:32 Lap 16

  Toto Wolff looks reasonably happy, smiling on the pit wall.

• 09:32 Lap 16

  Aww, Kobayashi has finally pitted and dropped rapidly down the order.

• 09:32 Lap 16

  Hamilton is hustling Nico to get back into the lead, he finally makes it stick but Hülkenberg always makes his car seem twice as wide as everyone else!

• 09:33 Lap 17

  Hülkenberg comes in from second place and rejoins sixth. That's still up a place on where he started, and he came out in clear air.

• 09:35 Lap 17

  Räikkönen is down in 19th place desperately trying to get past the Caterham of Ericsson. You'd think that would be an easy move but he took on the green car and lost!

• 09:36 Lap 18

  "If something goes on, I want to be a part of it," Daniel Ricciardo says, as the team instruct him to control his pace and manage the tyres.

• 09:37 Lap 19

  

  The Caterham crew poised for action.

• 09:38 Lap 19

  Kimi Räikkönen has pitted yet again, hard tyres go on the Ferrari, orange stripes are go!

• 09:39 Lap 19

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	HAM	1:46.554
  2nd	ROS	+9.134
  3rd	VET	+11.778
  4th	RIC	+14.579
  5th	ALO	+17.335

• 09:39 Lap 20

  Vergne has returned to the pit lane for the third time, and he pulls into the garage, climbing from the car.

• 09:40 Lap 20

  One to Watch

  D Kvyat	vs.	V Bottas
  9th	+0.423s	10th

• 09:41 Lap 21

  Vergne looks hot and sweaty as he chats to the pit wall to discuss the issue, looks a bit het up but not too angry.

• 09:42 Lap 22

  Jules Bianchi has also retired, concluding damage to the floor after a puncture.

• 09:43 Lap 22

  Sergio Pérez on his DNS: "There is a problem with the software but we’re not quite sure at the moment. The problem is very similar to the one we had in qualifying, every time I’m downshifting I’m having rear lock. Very frustrating, ever since P1 it’s been a frustrating weekend. Especially looking at how good Nico is doing at the moment, we had the pace for a good result."

• 09:43 Lap 22

  Hamilton is told they're turning the engines down a little, presumably that means on both cars, although Rosberg's gap is only three seconds to Vettel.

• 09:44 Lap 23

  Team radio to Magnussen: "You're doing a really good job on fuel and tyres."

• 09:45 Lap 23

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	L Hamilton	1
  2	1	N Rosberg	1
  3	-1	S Vettel	1
  4	1	D Ricciardo	1
  5	-1	F Alonso	1
  6	1	N Hülkenberg	1
  7	3	J Button	1
  8	5	F Massa	1
  9	9	V Bottas	1
  10	-2	K Magnussen	1

• 09:45 Lap 23

  Daniil Kvyat comes into the pits for his second stop of the day.

• 09:47 Lap 24

  A new fuel used graphic shows us the percentage used so far in the race. Hamilton has just about 40%, whilst Ricciardo is almost at 43% already. The two Red Bulls have used more than the rest of the top ten so far. Whilst the two Williams have the lowest of the top ten, down on 38% at the moment.

• 09:49 Lap 26

  Magnussen pits for his second stop, and rejoins way outside the top ten.

• 09:49 Lap 26

  Pastor Maldonado: "It wasn’t damage from the incident at all, it was something on the engine. Losing a lot of power, then we decide to retire to save the engine. Now we’re analysing what happened there. We lost one engine already, we need to save the car."

• 09:50 Lap 26

  Button follows into the pit lane soon after his teammate, he heads out on the medium compound again and rejoins in 9th position.

• 09:51 Lap 27

  According to Tom Clarkson on the BBC, Ricciardo's fuel flow sensor has failed completely so Red Bull are using a back-up system that is agreed with the FIA. Daniel may yet get some points this season!

• 09:53 Lap 28

  Both Sauber drivers have stopped twice and are down the order in 14th and 15th place. Grosjean sits just ahead in 13th place. Lewis Hamilton is sweeping past them all as he laps the backmarkers.

• 09:54 Lap 28

  Fernando Alonso pits for the second time, medium compound on again. Felipe Massa follows in as well. They rejoin sixth and ninth respectively.

• 09:55 Lap 29

  Magnussen sets the fastest lap of the race so far, as he battles to get past Kamui Kobayashi - who is rising up the field again having only stopped once.

• 09:56 Lap 29

  Daniel Ricciardo pits from fourth place, and drops back behind Nico Hülkenberg. The Red Bull driver has put the hard tyres on.

• 09:57 Lap 30

  Lapped Cars

  Pos	Driver	Laps Down
  15	E Gutiérrez	1
  16	K Räikkönen	1
  17	M Ericsson	1
  18	M Chilton	1

• 09:58 Lap 31

  Grosjean used the first DRS zone to pass Kobayashi, which gave the Caterham the second DRS to pass him straight back down the straight. The Lotus driver isn't giving up, it's close as they fight for 12th place.

• 09:59 Lap 31

  Team radio to Lewis Hamilton: "Okay Lewis, there are clouds forming away from the circuit. Possible threat of rain towards the end of the race but we'll keep you updated."

• 10:00 Lap 31

  Grosjean is stalking Kobayashi, finally making the pass down the main straight, nice and clean.

• 10:00 Lap 32

  Vettel pits from third place, and just as his teammate did, loses a place to Hülkenberg on the way out of the pit lane. He also comes out in some backmarker traffic which won't help.

• 10:02 Lap 33

  Medium tyres go on Nico Rosberg's car as he comes in for his second stop of the day. Nico Hülkenberg is promoted to second place, and he may move into the lead once again as Hamilton gets the call to come in.

• 10:03 Lap 33

  The drivers look to be sticking to the medium tyres until the last possible moment, perhaps waiting in case the rain does fall and rid them of the need to use both compounds.

• 10:04 Lap 34

  Lewis Hamilton dives into the pit lane, excellent squealing tyres as he pulls away from his pit box. Hülkenberg didn't manage to get back into the lead, staying in second place for now.

• 10:05 Lap 34

  Hülkenberg complains that the rears are really starting to go off now, it looks like they're pushing for a two stop strategy, but he'll need a few more laps to make that happen.

• 10:05 Lap 35

  Yellow flags as Adrian Sutil stops on track on the main straight just after the final corner. He is right in the way.

• 10:06 Lap 35

  There are new yellow flag rules this year, with the FIA specifically targeting how much drivers need to slow down. 0.2 seconds under single yellow flags.

• 10:06 Lap 35

  Team radio from Kimi Räikkönen: "It's raining a little bit at the back of the circuit!"

• 10:07 Lap 36

  Räïkkönen immediately dives into the pit lane for his third stop of the day. He's way down in 15th place at the moment, with just a Caterham and Marussia behind him.

• 10:08 Lap 36

  Nico Hülkenberg snuck into the pit lane then, putting the hard tyres on and rejoining the pack in sixth place, just behind Fernando Alonso.

• 10:09 Lap 37

  It's definitely starting to look a bit misty out there in places, and there may be spots on the camera. Also bright sunshine as well, though.

• 10:09 Lap 37

  Esteban Gutiérrez is in the pits, his front brakes are smoking and the Mexican is shaking his head in the cockpit.

• 10:10 Lap 37

  They're pushing the Sauber back into the garage.

• 10:11 Lap 38

  Team radio from Sebastian Vettel: "Okay, Rosberg seems to lose either oil or water for the last couple of laps already."

  The team replied it could be rain.

• 10:11 Lap 38

  Tweet from @Marussia_F1Team: There is a suggestion of rain close to the circuit. It looks bright over the pit lane but then those palm trees over yonder are swaying.

• 10:12 Lap 38

  Tweet from @MauriceHamilton: Both Saubers out. First double retirement for more than 2 years

• 10:13 Lap 39

  Gutiérrez is out of the car, he smiles and waves at the camera but he looks hot and disappointed.

• 10:13 Lap 39

  The fuel graphic has all the drivers in the top ten ranging between 63% and 68%. Williams drivers still both very light on their fuel consumption at the moment.

• 10:14 Lap 40

  With some of the retirements we've just seen, Grosjean is now up to 11th, and Kobayashi leading the backmarker crew in 14th.

• 10:16 Lap 41

  The McLaren duo both come in for their third stops of the day. Hard tyres going on them both. Waiting for rain didn't work for them.

• 10:17 Lap 41

  Ricciardo came in for his final pit stop of the day, it was a good stop but on the way back out of the pit lane, he pulls to a halt!

• 10:17 Lap 41

  The mechanics dashed down the pit lane to pull him back to their box - it's a long way to the Red Bull garage though.

• 10:18 Lap 42

  The engine is still running, so it could be one of the wheels not on properly. The front left mechanic dives in with the wheel gun straight away.

• 10:19 Lap 42

  They've sorted the problem and he's on his way. Replays show when he came into the box, the front left tyre was replaced for a medium tyre but the mechanic hadn't finished securing the wheel when Ricciardo was already on his way.

• 10:19 Lap 42

  Incident involving Daniel Ricciardo under investigation - unsafe release.

• 10:21 Lap 44

  There's front wing damage on Ricciardo's car now as well, he's circling with the wing lodged under the car. "What should I do?" he asks, desperately.

• 10:22 Lap 44

  Looks like the wing just failed down the main straight, it starts cutting into the front right tyre. He has made it back to the pit lane.

• 10:23 Lap 44

  Fresh tyres go on the car and a new front wing, and Ricciardo heads back out again. He's 16th and last now, but still running after a 12 second pit stop.

• 10:24 Lap 44

  Lewis Hamilton, driver number 44, puts in the fastest lap of the race so far, on lap 44, and it's a 1:44.329.

• 10:25 Lap 45

  10 second stop/go penalty for Daniel Ricciardo - unsafe release.

• 10:25 Lap 46

  Ricciardo has already passed Max Chilton, who didn't put up too much of a fight, presumably thinking a Red Bull was lapping rather than fighting for position.

• 10:27 Lap 47

  Jenson Button versus Felipe Massa, as the Williams driver looks to get past the McLaren for sixth place. Claire Williams watches on from the pit wall, a tense smile and head in her hands.

• 10:27 Lap 47

  One to Watch

  J Button	vs.	F Massa
  6th	+1.010s	7th

• 10:28 Lap 47

  Daniel Ricciardo has taken his stop/go penalty, so he's back down in last place. Will Chilton make it harder for him this time round?

• 10:29 Lap 48

  The top three drivers, Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel have only stopped twice and will need to come in again to use the hard tyres. Hülkenberg in fourth has used both compounds.

• 10:31 Lap 49

  Kimi Räikkönen is currently 12th, sitting behind former teammate Romain Grosjean, but ahead of the two Caterhams. Kamui Kobayashi is 13th.

• 10:32 Lap 50

  Tweet from @clubforce: 7 laps to go and Nico is in P4. Alonso charging behind him. It'll be a tense finale

• 10:32 Lap 50

  Alonso is back behind Hülkenberg!

• 10:32 Lap 50

  Sebastian Vettel comes into the pit lane, a better stop for the Red Bull guys this time. Hard tyres go on the car.

• 10:34 Lap 51

  Nico Rosberg dives into the pit lane to take on those hard tyres. Super quick stop from the Mercedes crew. He returns to the track in second place.

• 10:35 Lap 52

  Lewis Hamilton comes in for the third time. Hard tyres on the car, and he's off again remaining in the lead.

• 10:36 Lap 52

  Pit Stop Analysis

  Driver	L Hamilton
  Team	Mercedes
  Pit lane	24.484s
  Stopped	2.8s

• 10:36 Lap 52

  Kimi Räikkönen is tucked up behind Romain Grosjean, the Ferrari driver desperate to get past the Lotus driver. Fernando Alonso is also chasing down a car, Nico Hülkenberg, for fourth place.

• 10:37 Lap 52

  Daniel Ricciardo has returned to the pit lane, he's retiring after a dire afternoon.

• 10:38 Lap 53

  Team radio to Felipe Massa: "Valtteri is faster than you, do not hold him up."

  You can't say it like that to Massa!!

• 10:38 Lap 53

  Hülkenberg does his best, but Alonso sweeps through on the inside and moves into fourth place.

• 10:39 Lap 54

  Three laps to go, Bottas has closed up behind his teammate but they're not close enough to make a situation of it quite yet.

• 10:40 Lap 54

  However, Massa is mere metres behind Jenson Button so Bottas will want to move forward two positions if possible.

• 10:40 Lap 54

  Team radio to Felipe Massa: "Valtteri has better tyres than you, do not hold him up."

  That's better.

• 10:42 Lap 55

  Kimi Räïkkönen has made no ground on Grosjean, and has to pause the fight whilst Vettel laps his way past.

• 10:43 Lap 56

  The Williams pair go side by side but Massa is still in front. He locked up a little there but is determined not to give it up. Tense times!

• 10:43 Lap 56

  Lewis Hamilton starts his final lap, is instructed to reduce the pace just a little as he's the fastest man out on track.

• 10:44

  Lewis Hamilton wins the Malaysian Grand Prix!

• 10:45

  Nico Rosberg crosses the line for second place, it's a 1-2 victory for Mercedes, the first time since their 2010 comeback.

• 10:46

  The fight between the Williams teammates goes right to the line and it's Massa ahead of Bottas as they see the chequered flag. Two Williams in the points, but will there be recriminations?

• 10:46

  Daniil Kvyat also managed to finish in the points, a great job by the Russian rookie to finish in the top ten for two races in a row.

• 10:46

  Race Winner

  Driver	L Hamilton
  Team	Mercedes
  Race time	1:40:25.974
  Race distance	310.408km
  Average speed	185.441km/h

• 10:48

  Driver Positions

  Pos		Driver	Stops
  1	0	L Hamilton	3
  2	1	N Rosberg	3
  3	-1	S Vettel	3
  4	0	F Alonso	3
  5	2	N Hülkenberg	2
  6	4	J Button	3
  7	6	F Massa	3
  8	10	V Bottas	3
  9	-1	K Magnussen	3
  10	1	D Kvyat	3

• 10:48

  Also a great job for Hülkenberg to two-stop his way to the end, and move up two places from his starting position.

• 10:49

  Lewis Hamilton leaps from the car and hugs all the mechanics, and there's a congratulatory hug between the two Mercedes drivers as well.

• 10:49

  Tweet from @Lotus_F1Team: Well done @RGrosjean ! Tough start to year, but first finish ticked off and in fighting style. Bring on Bahrain.

• 10:52

  The top three drivers head out onto the podium, big smiles all round, particularly from Hamilton!

• 10:53

  The national anthems play out and Hamilton is busy giving a thumbs up to lots of people in the crowd.

• 11:00

  Podium interview - Lewis Hamilton: "Incredible. After such a difficult weekend, such a long winter… we’ve got a great crowd here today, and for Petronas who worked so hard with Mercedes to give us this win. I just feel so grateful. Particularly after such a tragedy three weeks ago, I’d really like to dedicate it to those people and their families.

  "Today you’re sweating already before you get in the car. It’s really trying to keep your body as cool as possible, and keep your focus. Fortunately, the team were spot on with the pit stops, and with the calling the timing, and also the info I was getting, it was spot on.

  "The cars are quieter, the most noise is the wind, the buffeting. But otherwise, what a great car, what a great job by everyone."

• 11:02

  Podium interview - Nico Rosberg: "Thanks to my engineer, we work together well. Got a great start and that allowed me to go into second place. Was a bit iffy, turn three, got a bit sideways and everything, so plenty of action there but it worked out well. From then on, I was trying to chase Lewis but he was a bit quick today.

  "Just one more thing, Malaysia you can be proud because your company Petronas has taken us to the front of F1. You can be proud about that. Petronas has taken us to the front and it's absolutely brilliant."

• 11:03

  Blimey, how on message is Nico?

• 11:06

  Podium interview - Sebastian Vettel: 'It was a really good race, the start was not very good, I was quite surprised when I saw Nico on my right. I thought I had a good start, but I focused on getting in the tow of Lewis to maybe attack him into the first corner. Nico was there on the right, it was quite tight, Daniel was coming as well when I was trying to get past Nico. I lost a place, fortunately got it back, then later on was trying to get as close as I could to Nico.

  "At some stages it looked like we are pretty similar, pretty evenly matched, but then it’s like he found another gear, he was pulling away. At the end I was just trying to get the car home, Daniel didn’t make it for a couple of reasons so all in all, it’s good to get another podium after Daniel has been on the podium in Australia but still a long way, these guys are bloody quick. Congratulations to them, but we try to catch up."

• 11:10

  

• 11:11

  Daniel Ricciardo: "I feel disappointed, it was looking like we could have a solid points finish. The race was going pretty well, the start was good, made up a couple of positions, starting to mix it up at the front, it’s nice, it’s fun fighting for the top few spots. In the last pit stop we had the issue, we had a puncture, a front wing failure, and then a few other things went on, and then the stop/go. The race ended pretty quickly for us, from looking good to looking pretty bad in a shot period of time."

• 11:14

  Bottas opts not to comment on the team orders situation to the media, preferring to speak to the team first.

• 11:16

  Gap Analysis

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	HAM	1:45.390
  2nd	ROS	+17.3
  3rd	VET	+24.5
  4th	ALO	+35.9
  5th	HUL	+47.1

• 11:21

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	N Rosberg	43
  2	L Hamilton	25
  3	F Alonso	24
  4	J Button	23
  5	K Magnussen	20

• 11:21

  Mercedes have moved into the lead of the championship, with McLaren dropping to second place.

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Mercedes	68
  2	McLaren	43
  3	Ferrari	30
  4	Williams	20
  5	Force India	19

• 11:25

  A pretty good race for Sepang, the team-by-team nature of the circuit means team orders are always cropping up. It'll be interesting to see if there's any fallout at Williams, but I think Claire will keep them all under control.

• 11:26

  Mercedes dominated, once again, but there were signs that other cars are starting to improve - Vettel and Alonso did their best to keep up at the front.

• 11:26

  Meanwhile, you have to wonder if Ferrari are looking at the job Nico Hülkenberg did today, two stopping his way to fifth place, and comparing it with Kimi Räikkönen's disastrous afternoon that ended in 12th place.

• 11:27

  Caterham have managed to ease any concerns they might have had over Max Chilton's 13th place in Australia by getting Kamui Kobayashi to the exact same position this weekend. It's still level pegging at the rear of the field.

• 11:28

  We have back to back races this week and next, with Bahrain just seven short days away. Do stay tuned to Sidepodcast for all the news and views between then and now, and I'll be back with more facts and fun for the Bahrain weekend.