Red Bull driver finishes in front of team-mate Max Verstappen
Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg third as Lewis Hamilton fails to finish
10.03am BST
P.S -
Pascal wanted an ice cream. Pascal gets an ice cream. #MalaysiaGP pic.twitter.com/hmevx9rCh2
10.01am BST
The famous shoe has been dismissed by Mark Webber, who sensibly decides not to join in the quaffing of premium champagne from a sweaty shoe. Thanks for joining us on what was a great day for Red Bull, and a major twist in the battle for the championship. We’ll go to Japan with Rosberg making Hamilton’s task that much harder in the last five races.
Keep an eye on The Guardian’s F1 coverage for all the wash-up from Sepang, and the build-up towards Suzuka.
9.57am BST
Ricciardo takes a big sip of champagne from his shoe, and if it was the one he’s just driven 56 laps on a red hot day in then I hope the Red Bull team doctor is on standby with a vitamin injection to make sure he gets to Japan.
Max has had a sip too, but remember when you were that age - you’d drink anything.
9.54am BST
Plenty of Aussie flags in the crowd to back their man. He started fourth, and now he’s got his fourth win. With Mark Webber handling interview duties on the podium this could be a memorable celebration.
9.50am BST
This one’s for you Pascal
9.49am BST
Meanwhile Manor are hoping for a Mr. Whippy Truck to pull in on pit lane
Dave: "Well done Pascal, great job." Pascal: "Thanks. (long pause) (sighs) I want some ice cream."
9.47am BST
A shattered Lewis has blown up like his engine (in a subdued, Lewis kind of way) in questioning his reliability issues, and why he seems to be having more issues with the Mercedes engine than anyone else. We’ll probably hear more of this before Japan...
Lewis stoking the conspiracists on @SkySportsF1 right now. Twitter about to explode.
9.45am BST
Your final classification from Sepang:
1 - Ricciardo
2 - Verstappen
3 - Rosberg
4 - Raikkonen
5 - Bottas
6 - Perez
7 - Alonso
8 - Hulkenberg
9 - Button
10 - Palmer
and out of the points...
11 - Sainz
12 - Ericsson
13 - Massa
14 - Kvyat
15 - Wehrlein
16 - Ocon
Failing to finish were Nasr, Hamilton, Gutierrez, Magnussen, Grosjean and Vettel.
9.42am BST
Lap 56 - Ricciardo wins the Malaysian Grand Prix! He finishes 3.0 seconds in front of his Red Bull teammate Verstappen. Nico Rosberg finishes third, 13.8 seconds in front of Raikkonen so he will remain in third place.
Rosberg has now got a 23 point lead in the championship.
9.40am BST
Lap 55 - The race is over at the front, and Jolyon’s still holding on for 10th.
2 LAPS REMAINING! No one move ok? Do not jinx this!! #MalaysiaGP
9.39am BST
Lap 54 - The gap is now more than three points and Ricciardo will pocket his first win since the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix. Aussie fans, he’s getting geographically closer to winning one on home soil!
9.37am BST
Lap 53 - Crazy scenarios aside this one is over, the lead at the front is now 2.4 seconds while Rosberg is still more than 10 seconds ahead of Raikkonen.
9.36am BST
Lap 52 - Rosberg is now over 12 seconds in front of Raikkonen, but whether he finishes third or fourth it’s been a great recovery. Fernando Alonso also deserves credit for rising to seventh after starting last on the grid.
In mechanical news Kvyat has reported on the radio that his breaks are going to [bleep]. And it really did bleep.
9.34am BST
Lap 51 - Five laps remaining and both the Red Bulls need to get past Marcus Ericsson. Verstappen loses a 10th of a second but it’s unlikely to be crucial now. The Aussie looks set for his fourth career victory.
Jolyon Palmer is still holding on to 10th, he’s two seconds in front of Sainz.
9.33am BST
Lap 50 - Ricciardo still has a 1.1 second lead, but doesn’t appear to be in any danger of his teammate trying to nick first place from him.
Rosberg has extended his lead over Raikkonen back to more than 10 seconds.
9.30am BST
Lap 49 - Max is making his move. The gap is now 1.1 seconds, down 0.3 in a lap. Raikkonen is less than 10 seconds behind Rosberg on the track, so at this stage he’ll be jumping over him and onto the podium.
9.28am BST
Lap 48 - The gap is down to 1.5 seconds, and Verstappen is pushing. Come on Max, give us the blockbuster finish! There’s no tension evident in the Red Bull pit.
Meanwhile at the other end of the field Felipe Nasr has pulled into the pits and retired his Sauber.
9.27am BST
Lap 47 - Our current top 10
1 - Ricciardo
2 - Verstappen
3 - Rosberg (with a 10 second penalty to come)
4 - Raikkonen
5 - Bottas
6 - Perez
7 - Alonso
8 - Hulkenberg
9 - Button
10 - Palmer
9.26am BST
Lap 46 - Red Bull haven’t had a 1-2 finish since Brazil in 2013, and unless something happens that will be replayed on F1 highlights packages for years to come (possibly ending with somebody doing an impression of Piquet in 1982?) they’re on track here. The gap is still 1.7 seconds but there’s no indication of Verstappen having a go at his teammate yet.
9.24am BST
Lap 45 - The gap is two seconds as Ricciardo has a momentary slowdown while psasing the Sauber of Felipe Nasr. Verstappen has to get past him as well and the two are set for an interesting 10 laps.
9.22am BST
Lap 44 - Subtle hints from the Red Bull garage that they’re happy to pack away their 1-2 finish and not risk losing everything. Verstappen is not driving like somebody who is satisfied with second place. The gap is less than two seconds.
9.21am BST
Lap 43 - The Virtual Safety Car is out, and Ricciardo has a lead of 2.3 seconds on his teammate. Down the other end of the points Jolyon Palmer is now sitting 10th, looking to grab the first points of his career.
Rosberg’s been given a 10 second penalty for the collision with Raikkonen, which will drop him back out of the podium positions. He’s just made up for it with the fastest lap.
Mercedes confirms that they had no prior warning of Hamilton’s engine blow-up, it came a surprise to them.
9.18am BST
Utter, utter dejection...
9.17am BST
Lap 42 - Ricciardo and Verstappen come into the pits at the same time, causing Verstappen to lose about five seconds. We’ve got 14 laps with the Red Bull cars on equal tyres.
Esteban Gutierrez is out of the race too, with a missing front left tire. He’s walking around looking at it like he’s thinking “I wonder where that went”. And the replay showed he had a point, it just popped off and rolled away.
9.15am BST
Lap 41 - Lewis Hamilton is OUT! His engine has blown and he was retired. Hamilton is shattered, yelling “No! no! no!” into the radio and taking a moment to compose his thoughts once he was out of the car. That’s a massive moment not just in today’s race but the battle for the title. Now Ricciardo leads Verstappen and the Red Bull battle takes on even more importance.
9.13am BST
Lap 40 - Ricciardo vs Verstappen are fighting their hearts out. Neither man is keen to step aside and let the other one go. This is playing into Hamilton’s hands as Lewis extends the gap to 23.6 seconds. Button now our last man in the points.
9.12am BST
Lap 39 - The two Red Bulls go to war in a thrilling passing duel. Verstappen goes within inches of grabbing the lead but Ricciardo shuts the gate on him and retains second place. The gap to Hamilton is now 23 seconds.
Meanwhile the Rosberg vs Raikkonen incident is under investigation by the stewards.
9.10am BST
Lap 38 - Rosberg grabs fourth with a brave, bold and brutal move on Raikkonen. They touch but both stay on track. Did either driver suffer mechanical damage? It could be crucial in the title race.
9.09am BST
Lap 37 - The gap between Verstappen and Ricciardo has closed to just 0.6 seconds, but Hamilton has pushed away to a 21 second lead which is approaching pit stop territory.
9.07am BST
Lap 36 - Rosberg is having several longing looks at Kimi but can’t get close enough to have a go. The Constructor’s Championship is practically in the bag for Mercedes now, but given that he was just yelling “BLUE FLAG!” at Jolyon Palmer I’d love to hear Lewis’ reaction if somebody got on the radio and told him.
9.05am BST
Lap 35 - Rosberg is beginning to trouble Raikkonen now. Both have had two stops, and it’s been a great recovery from Nico after he was dragged into disaster at the start. The lead is still 18 over Ricciardo and 20 over Verstapped as Hulkenberg passes Sainz to enter the points.
9.03am BST
Lap 34 - Not much more time gained between Hamilton and Verstappen on that lap. Carlos Sainz is the last man in the points, but Hulkenberg has just passed Ericsson and is coming for him quickly.
9.02am BST
Lap 33 - Hamilton has picked up his pace, and the gap is almost 20 seconds now (and 16.2 to Ricciardo who we don’t expect to be a factor). Our last man on track is Ocon, running in 19th place in the Manor.
9.00am BST
Lap 32 - The gap between Hamilton and Verstappen is now 18.5 seconds. He’s not far enough in front of he’s going to pit, but he’s gradually building up his lead towards the point where he might get away with it. We’re set for a grandstand finish here.
8.59am BST
Lap 31 - After going through the field like the proverbial knife through hot butter Rosberg has found Raikkonen too much to deal with. Unless something out of the ordinary happens he’s going to concede his championship lead today. He exits the pits in sixth.
8.57am BST
Lap 30 - The gap is building between first and third. Lewis is trying to build a gap to allow him a pit stop rather than risking getting the car through to the end without another visit.
A reminder that our retirements are Vettel, Grosjean and Magnussen
8.55am BST
Lap 29 - Now that he’s out on his own Lewis Hamilton has the clear air to set the new fastest lap of the race. He’s 12.2 in front of Ricciardo who will likely need to stop again, and 16.8 up on Verstappen who won’t.
8.54am BST
Lap 28 - The lead is just under 12 seconds, and depending on the strategy it’s Hamilton’s race to lose now.
Current top 10
8.52am BST
Lap 27 - Verstappen is in! He reenters the race in third places, 16.8 seconds behind Hamilton and six behind Ricciardo.
8.50am BST
Lap 26 - It’s six seconds the gap between Hamilton and Verstappen.
Meanwhile, as the Williams garage try to stay cool we’re waiting for an update about the wellbeing of the person who was wearing that Hello Kitty suit.
Trying our best to stay cool in the garage! @ValtteriBottas still P6, @MassaFelipe19 P18 #MalaysiaGP #F1 #WeAreRacing pic.twitter.com/LEsgVzX9tS
8.48am BST
Lap 25 - Bottas still hasn’t pitted, going for a one stopper. He’s currently sixth. Verstappen reports he’s losing grip on the soft tyres.
8.47am BST
Lap 24 - The track is still 54 degrees. Here’s a look at the current tyre status as the gap is down to just over 6.5 seconds.
Tyre status:
VES = Soft, 14 laps
HAM = Hard, 3 laps
RIC = Hard, 2 laps
RAI = Hard, 3 laps
ROS = Hard, 14 laps#F1 #MalaysiaGP
8.45am BST
Lap 23 - The gap is down to 7.6 seconds, as speculation breaks out that any or all of Hamilton, Ricciardo and Raikkonen opt for a one stop strategy to catch Max.
8.43am BST
Lap 22 - Verstappen leads by eight seconds, with extra encouragement from the garage to push a little harder. Bottas now the only man in the top 10 who hasn’t pitted.
8.41am BST
Lap 21 - Ricciardo leads from Verstappen and Hamilton, but will lose the lead as he pits for the first time. Max hits the front by about eight seconds from Hamilton.
8.40am BST
Lap 20 - Raikkonen defends his position against Verstappen into the last corner, then pulls into the pits alongside Hamilton. Rosberg goes past Bottas into fifth.
8.38am BST
Lap 19 - In the battle for third for Verstappen is now 1.4 seconds behind Raikkonen, with the team telling him to catch and pass Kimi quickly. Max still the only man in the top five to have made a stop.
8.37am BST
Lap 18 - Rosberg is up to seventh, while Kevin Magnussen is called into the pits to retire due to damage suffered earlier in the race. The lead is still just under six seconds.
8.35am BST
Lap 17 - The lead is almost six seconds as Vettel responds to Verstappen’s claims that his move was “crazy” by suggesting - as you would expect - it was merely a racing incident.
8.33am BST
Lap 16 - Hamilton leads, but he’s only 16 seconds in front of Verstappen so he needs to get a move on. Ricciardo’s garage has just let him know they’ll be putting hard tyres on when he pits.
8.32am BST
Lap 15 - Hamilton leads, but the lead doesn’t like like it’ll be enough to keep Verstappen at bay after he pits. Rosberg passes Perez and into eighth, his first real battle after rushing through the field in the wake of the first turn incident which left him the last car on track.
8.30am BST
Lap 14 - The gap at the front just keeps growing, Lewis now more than than four seconds in front. Esteban Ocon is under investigation for speeding in the pitlane.
8.28am BST
Lap 13 - Another fastest lap for Hamilton as Ricciardo’s garage gets in contact to let him know that Lewis is slowly pulling away. Dan was probably aware of that, but I’m sure he appreciated the reminder.
8.27am BST
Lap 12 - Rosberg enters the top 10 by passing Jolyon Palmer and jumps a further position as Ocon pits. Hamilton is now almost 3.5 seconds in front of Ricciardo at the front. Our top 10:
1 - Hamilton
2 - Ricciardo
3 - Raikkonen
4 - Verstappen
5 - Bottas
6 - Sainz
7 - Ericsson
8 - Perez
9 - Rosberg
10 - Palmer
8.25am BST
Lap 11 - Verstappen is fourth and the only of the top eight who has pitted as Lewis Hamilton sets the fastest lap of the race.
Here’s how Grosjean ended his day, the second retirement of the day.
LAP 9/56: Another Virtual Safety Car is deployed as Grosjean's race ends in the gravel at the final corner #MalaysiaGP pic.twitter.com/F0kyAqGJaa
8.23am BST
Lap 10 - Verstappen gets out of the pits just in front of Bottas. Meanwhile Rosberg reports that he’s driven over some debris as Hamilton continues to lead Ricciardo with Raikkonen third. We’re racing under normal conditions again now.
8.21am BST
Lap 9 - As Grosjean takes the long, hot walk back to HQ and his car is lifted by a crane the Virtual Safety Car is back. Max Verstappen has been on the radio suggesting he’s got the pace to take on Hamilton and he’s just come in for a stop.
8.19am BST
Lap 8 - Stewards will be investigating Vettel after the race for causing a collision. Doesn’t look like much will come of it.
And Roman Grosjean is OUT with what looks like brake failure, he’s in the kitty litter at turn 15.
8.17am BST
Lap 7 - Lewis retains the lead by over two seconds, but Rosberg is making his move through the field and is up to 12th. Alonso is ninth and hunting Bottas for eighth position.
8.15am BST
Lap 6 - After his hot start Massa has now suffered a puncture and is being forced to pit. What a shocker of a day he’s having. Hamilton adds 0.5+ seconds to the lead.
8.14am BST
Lap 5 - Now Hamilton’s got the fastest lap, still holding the lead by a second. Vettel still the only man officially retired after that manic opening lap.
8.13am BST
Lap 4 - The lead is now down to less than a second as Ricciardo sets the first real fastest lap of the day.
1 - Hamilton
2 - Ricciardo
3 - Verstappen
4 - Raikkonen
5 - Perez
6 - Button (fairytale time?)
7 - Hulkenberg
8 - Bottas
9 - Grosjean
10 - Alonso (after starting last)
8.10am BST
Lap 3 - The Virtual Safety Car is off, and Hamilton has a one second lead over Ricciardo with Max Verstappen third another 2.6 seconds behind. Rosberg is 15th.
8.08am BST
Lap 2 - Kvyat, Massa, Magnussen and Gutierrez have all pitted. We’ve just seen a replay of the start, the door was open for a difficult but not completely ludicrous pass. He made contact with Verstappen, which then dragged Rosberg into the fray as well.
8.06am BST
Lap 1 - Rosberg is down to 21st place, while Hamilton has the lead. The virtual safety car has been deployed. Vettel is on the fence with suspension damage, and won’t be enjoying his fifth win at Sepang today.
Guttierez has suffered a puncture and he’ll be off to the pits to get that looked after.
8.04am BST
Start - Ferrari and Red Bull collide! Vettel is out of the race after coming into contact with Rosberg.
8.03am BST
Massa’s throttle issues have at least temporarily been rectified as he’s got the car going, but now Jolyon Palmer is reporting that he’s losing power in the Renault. This could be an interesting one today...
"The throttle is not working." @MassaFelipe19 doesn't get away on the formation lap and is pushed into the pitlane. #MalaysiaGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/W7JvIolnUc
8.01am BST
The formation lap begins and it’s bad news for Felipe Massa, who has failed to start. Mechanics are on the grid clearing the car out of the way. He was supposed to start 10th.
8.00am BST
You’d never know from the current weather but we’ve got a slight chance of rain today. Felipe Nasr has just been informed that track temperatures are higher than expected (currently around 50 degrees) and has been asked to watch the wear on his rear tyres.
Meanwhile Daniel Ricciardo has just been spotted rubbing a product called “Power Crunch” on his hands. Admittedly when I saw the bag come out the cereal like name made me think he was about to chow into the stuff.
7.55am BST
Don’t go anywhere, sultry Sepang is providing something for all tastes.
@ManorRacing ooh, that sounds kinky.
7.54am BST
Almost ready to roll. Given what happened to Magnussen’s car during practice the woman on the left may want to be ready to take off in the event of an emergency.
Cars on the grid: ✅#MalaysiaGP pic.twitter.com/J9f0Q5MvOQ
7.47am BST
We’ve got 56 laps ahead of us today, and it’s predicted that most drivers will have two stops. Let’s see how the sizzling conditions impact on reliability of not only the vehicles but the drivers themselves.
7.38am BST
How important is the pole at Sepang? Obviously it’s important wherever you race, and in Malaysia three of the past five polesitters have won - Vettel in 2011 and 2013, and Hamilton in 2014. Lewis also has two recent pole starts where he’s been toppled, a third place in 2012 and second last year.
7.35am BST
Cars are leaving the garages, we’re 30 minutes from a start in Malaysia.
While we wait for the action to begin, Paul Weaver has investigated the perception that Nico Rosberg has Lewis Hamilton’s measure. The crucial stat from Paul’s piece might be that while Lewis and Nico have both won seven poles this year that the German has converted five of those into victories, while Hamilton has only won three times off pole.
7.28am BST
Sky know exactly what the people want in the lead-up to a race, Martin Brundle fronting a feature about rucking drivers. Footage included Nelson Piquet’s proto-UFC ‘attack’ on Eliseo Salazar in 1982, because if you tried to put on a story about F1 fights without it you’d be booed out the building.
7.25am BST
Pitlane shock as Force India introduces a secret weapon. Best wishes from everyone at The Guardian to whoever is wearing that suit in this weather.
Nico and Checo meet our friend @hellokitty and receive a banner with messages from our fans! #MalaysiaGP #FeelTheForce pic.twitter.com/BodSrtCzCV
7.17am BST
So many unusual teams have won unexpectedly in 2016 (most recently the Western Bulldogs of the Australian Football League, who lifted their first championship since 1954 on Saturday) that I’m not ruling out a surprise appearance by Gianni Morbidelli driving a Footwork.
(P.S. - Everything was better when you were a kid, and footage of mid-range teams of the 90s evokes a level of glee in me that is hard to describe)
7.12am BST
A reminder of how the grid looks today:
1. Hamilton
2. Rosberg
3. Verstappen
4. Ricciardo
5. Four time Malaysia winner Vettel
6. Two time winner Raikkonen
7. Perez
8. Hulkenberg
9. Button, looking for a fairytale in his 300th race.
10. Massa
11. Bottas
12. Grosjean
13. Guttierez
14. Magnussen
15. Kvyat
16. Sainz
17. Ericsson
18. Nasr
19. Palmer
20. Ocon
21. Wehrlein
22. Three time winner Alonso
7.07am BST
Welcome to our coverage of the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix. The championship race is an all Mercedes affair, and with Nico Rosberg just eight points in front of Lewis Hamilton with five races left after this whatever happens today is going to have a massive impact on the title race.
It’s not going to be front of mind for the two Mercedes drivers, but the team can also clinch the constructor’s championship today.
4.12pm BST
Adam will be here soon enough. In the meantime, gem up on the circuit in Sepang:
Related: Lewis Hamilton’s emphatic response to Nico Rosberg with F1 Malaysian GP pole
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