Car 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari won the Malaysia Grand Prix for his 1st win since 2013 & his 1st win with Ferrari. 2nd Place Car 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes started on pole. 3rd Place Car 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes.
4th Place Car 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari followed by 5th place Car 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams. 6th Place Car 19 Felipe Massa Williams followed by 7th Place Car 33 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso followed by 8th place Car 55 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso. 9th Place Car 26 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing. Lastly in the Top 10 was Car 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing in 10th place.
The key to the win was pitting & tires, when there was a Safety Car was called for a spin by Car 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber. Car 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari stayed out as both Mercedes Car 44 Lewis Hamilton & Car 6 Nico Rosberg pitted with most of the field. Ferrari kept Vettel out on medium tires so he could do the race in 2 stops, with having less tire degradation he was able to surprise the Mercedes with the win. Hamilton had the fastest lap but it was not enough to catch Vettel.
Car 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes leads the points with 43 points, Car 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari in 2nd place with 40 points followed by Car 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes with 33 points.
Podium Interviews
(Conducted by Eddie Jordan)
Eddie Jordan said, “Sebastian, you look amazingly emotional, what’s the matter with you? The last time we saw you crying you went on to win world championships.”
Sebastian Vettel said, “It’s been a while that I haven’t been on the top step. It’s my first time obviously with Scuderia Ferrari. I’m speechless. Obviously a big change over the winter and the welcome the team gave me is just fantastic. The fans. I’ve only done two races but it’s a great atmosphere. I’m very, very happy. Proud of today, we beat them fair and square. A great achievement, we have a great car. Plenty of positives and I guess that’s why it is a bit emotional.
Eddie Jordan said, “I don’t need to tell you but now, having won here four times, no other driver has ever achieved that. So that’s another little one in the book.”
Sebastian Vettel said, “It is bloody hot though! I think today is a very special day and will always remain a part of me. Thank you very much, as I said, to the whole team. Grazie. Thank you to the fans.”
Eddie Jordan said, “Lewis, first of all, Arnie says ‘well done’ and he’s allowed me to come and talk to you today. He’s coming back to see you later. So, Arnie well done last race. Lewis, that was a surprise and you weren’t very happy with your car, we could hear what you were saying to your engineers. Tell us what was going on there?”
Lewis Hamilton said, “Well, firstly, huge congratulations to Ferrari and Sebastian, they did an amazing job. Jeez, they had some good pace today. I gave it everything I could; we did as a team. We knew coming into this weekend that they had made a step, we didn’t know how big but they were too fast for us today.”
Eddie Jordan said, “Obviously you’ve converted so many… what, the last eight pole positions into wins. You just missed out today. Does that mean you’ve got to kick-start it again and start thinking about the strategy for the future?”
Lewis Hamilton said, “We’ll just get back together as a team and try to figure out where we were losing time today. My balance wasn’t great particularly, so there are definitely areas we can improve on and I’m sure we’ll be fighting for the next race, which I’m really excited about.”
Eddie Jordan said, “You talked with your engineers, we were a bit confused and you were a bit confused. You didn’t know whether you were going to have to stop again. What was that discussion or were you not supposed to hear that?”
Lewis Hamilton said, “I don’t think I was supposed to hear it. In general the team did a fantastic job. I’m really grateful for the car we have. The fans have been fantastic this weekend. Thank you so much guys.”
Eddie Jordan said, “Nico, another podium. I know you teased him at the last race, you said come on Sebastian, get a bit more speed and you can come up and join us guys. You didn’t think he was going to be there that quickly did you?”
Nico Rosberg said, “No, but all I can say now, on behalf of our team is: game on, Ferrari!”
Eddie Jordan said, “Absolutely, we saw that today. And in everyone’s interest, it is the most amazing thing, because we don’t want to see you run away with the championship and to see Ferrari up there fighting you, as obviously as Sebastian has said, fair and square, this was a titanic battle that everybody here absolutely enjoyed. Can I just ask you a question about tyres? You didn’t need to run the softer tyres yesterday morning in the first session and you could have done with that tyre today. Was that a mistake?”
Nico Rosberg said, “I don’t know the exact details about the strategy because it was quite complex out there. I’m sure we did a good job and congrats, Ferrari did an awesome job today and they deserved to win and we’ll be back next race.”
Eddie Jordan said, “Indeed, I don’t have to remind everybody here that the first person to win in the modern era in a Mercedes was a couple of years ago, in China, which you won. Are you going to win there?”
Nico Rosberg said, “Yeah, China is a great track for me, so I look forward to that and of course we’re going for the win.”
Eddie Jordan said, “And you’re going to beat this man here, which is obviously what everybody wants to see, we want a big fight with Lewis. Is that going to continue?”
Nico Rosberg said, “Definitely yes, I’ll be pushing him hard; definitely.”
Eddie Jordan said, “Am I allowed to sit down here, because it’s been a very hot day and we can see… c’mon give him another round of applause. He deserves it after that. He’s exhausted, all of them are, all of the drivers, each and every single one of them. So Brazil 2013, I don’t have to remind you, that was your last win and you just didn’t look comfortable at all last year and now we see you back in the thing, waving your finger, emotional. The transformation! Tell us what it’s like?”
Sebastian Vettel said, “I don’t know. I’m speechless. Last year was not a good year for me. I think we had a great car but I was just struggling to extract the performance. This year’s car seems to suit me very well. Obviously it’s a big change but the team has been phenomenal, welcoming me the first day. I remember when the gate opened in Maranello it was like a dream coming true. I remember the last time I was there was as a young kid watching Michael over the fence driving around in the Ferrari and now I’m driving that very red car. It’s incredible. The day today, the race, really spot on, the whole team was there, great strategy, great pace, we beat them fair and square, so thanks to the team, thanks to all the team in Maranello, really, really great day.”
Eddie Jordan said, “Just before we sign off I have to ask you this: it was an inspired decision for Lewis, leaving McLaren to come to Mercedes, it made such a transformation to the great pace they’ve had in the last couple of years and it would appear it’s exactly the same for you. Do you feel it’s possible to win a championship in this car?”
Sebastian Vettel said, “I hope so. That’s why I signed up! That’s our goal and that’s the mission – to bring the world championship back to Maranello. I think for today we have to enjoy the day. We know that these guys are incredibly strong and difficult to beat but today we did an excellent job and that’s what we have to keep doing for the whole year: try to get the best and then we’ll see where we’re at. We know there is a long way ahead of us but for now, to be honest, I don’t care. I want to celebrate today, I want to get pissed tonight, I don’t care.”
Malaysia Grand Prix March 29 2015
1st Grand Prix 1999 Number of Laps 56 Track Lenth 5.543 KM
Race Distance 310.408 KM
Position Car Driver Team
1. Car 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
2. Car 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
3. Car 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes
4. Car 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari
5. Car 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams
6. Car 19 Felipe Massa Williams
7. Car 33 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso
8. Car 55 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso
9. Car 26 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing
10. Car 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing
11. Car 8 Roman Grosjean Lotus
12. Car 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber
13. Car 11 Sergio Perez Force India
14. Car 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India
15. Car 98 Roberto Merhi Marussia
RT Car 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus DNF
RT Car 22 Jenson Button McLaren DNF
RT Car 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren DNF
RT Car 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber DNF
Next race: China Grand Prix April 12 2015.