Daniel Ricciardo led a one-two for Red Bull in a dramatic Malaysian Grand Prix where both Mercedes drivers hit trouble.
Lewis Hamilton looked on course for a comfortable victory which would have restored him to the lead of the championship when his power unit failed without warning.
However team mate Nico Rosberg was unable to collect the victory having been delayed by a collision at the start of the race. He was tipped into a spin by Sebastian Vettel, who retired on the spot.
Rosberg fought his way back through the field to finish third, despite picking up a ten-second time penalty for colliding with Kimi Raikkonen as he passed the Ferrari driver at turn two. Raikkonen came in fourth.
Valtteri Bottas took a surprise fifth place for Williams. His team mate Felipe Massa started from the pit lane after a problem with his throttle on the grid.
Despite starting last, Fernando Alonso climbed to finished seventh behind Sergio Perez. Their team mates came next, Sergio Perez ahead of Jenson Button. The final point went to Jolyon Palmer, the first of his career.
2016 Malaysian Grand Prix
- Alonso wins Driver of the Weekend after salvaging seventh
- Dramatic Malaysian GP gets strong rating
- 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix team radio transcript
- 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix Predictions Championship results
- Top ten pictures from the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
2nd October 2016, 9:50
You kids still think hording engines is cool?
N
2nd October 2016, 10:58
Opposed to the driver taking double the punishment and take further grid penalties at the following race for mechanical failures?
kpcart
2nd October 2016, 9:52
Riccuardo got back the one he lost to Hamilton In Monaco.
Traverse
2nd October 2016, 11:58
The difference is Ricciardo’s engine didn’t blow up, he still finished 2nd in Monaco.
sunny stivala
3rd October 2016, 19:08
The Colgate kid was gifted a win.
Ivan Vinitskyy (@ivan-vinitskyy)
2nd October 2016, 9:52
Can someone calculate the probabilities of Ham engine going this race? Is it really that unlikely that saying luck is silly?
In that post race interview Ham doesn’t think it’s luck anymore.
I assume packaging between cars isn’t as much of an issue, Mercedes wouldn’t have sacrificed the reliability of engine to this extent.
JeffreyJ
2nd October 2016, 10:50
Of the 8 merc powered cars on the grid none experience so much unreliability as hamilton.
Is that plain bad luck? Driving style? Merc sabotage to favor ROS? Or incompetence from Lewis’ mechanics?
No way of really telling but to me the chance that Merc sabotages HAM is the least likely because it makes their brand look bad (especially since this was a home race for Petronas)
Neiana (@neiana)
2nd October 2016, 12:07
Flip 50 coins. If they all magically land on heads, what is the chance the 51st flip will be heads? 50% because there are two sides and a new flip.
If there are 8 Merc engines in a race, Ham always has 1/8 chance for failure if a failure in a Merc is guaranteed. That number remains constant. Even if he loses three engines in a day, he still has 1/8 chance of being the next failure.
D
2nd October 2016, 14:10
That’s the simple way of looking at probability. It’s 1/8 at each individual race but to roll the same number of 8 numbers x times to none the probability halfs each time. For example from start point you have a 50% of throwing a heads and when you throw again you have a 50% of throwing a heads. But from the get go the probability of thowing 2 heads is 25% because there are 4 possible outcomes. Thus if Hamilton has had 6 engine issues this season the probability of all those issues being on his car when his is 1 out of 8 is 0.195%
Eggry (@eggry)
2nd October 2016, 9:53
I have to admit I felt for him. but might be karma considering Mercedes engine stock piling…
Phylyp
2nd October 2016, 10:57
Mercedes were against the rule change to allow stockpiling, so it’d be unfair of karma to hurt Hamilton like this. :-)
Traverse
2nd October 2016, 12:01
Karma for stockpiling?!? Weren’t Hamilton’s engines malfunctioning from the get go this year?
Manas
2nd October 2016, 9:53
Can you believe it.anyone can point out a single mechanical problem in Nico Rosberg’s car had all the season.why it always happens to Lewis only.its height of conspiracy better Lewis to quit Mercedes.absolute nonsense.
pastaman (@)
2nd October 2016, 22:11
Better you to quit posting nonsense
RogerA
2nd October 2016, 9:55
In his sky interview Lewis pretty much flat out implied the team are sabotaging him intentionally.
Peppermint-Lemon (@)
2nd October 2016, 18:12
Yeah Hamilton talks a lot of rubbish much of the time. As if the team are doing that. If anything the team favour him over Rosberg.
Andy (@andybantam)
2nd October 2016, 9:55
Danny Ric is a legend.
That is all.
ES
2nd October 2016, 10:04
please……Verstappen was in a different league today…he lost it because of the cr ap manouvre from Vettel….otherwise he was faster then his teammate….all weekend….deservedly DotD
hyoko
2nd October 2016, 11:10
Well Max certainly tried hard to pass Dan (on fresher tyres btw) but couldn’t. So Dan, not Max, is the legend for me too.
Evil Homer (@)
2nd October 2016, 14:38
@ES
If Max was in a different league today I suspect you mean the minors? I never try to bag drivers but I can their fans, you must have missed Max’s efforts to overtake Daniel in which he could not do and ………. well that cost Max the race.
Daniel proved Alpha Male today, the “take a drink” call was team orders but that was lost when Max wasn’t quite good enough to pass Dan!
Dan= Legend ! :)
Matn
2nd October 2016, 11:58
Danny was 23 seconds behind Verstappen, that’s what he was
John Cousins (@drone)
2nd October 2016, 12:58
Well. Looks like Dan was given a different strategy. How much older were Danels hards than Max’s when they were fighting. 2 completely different strategies. In the end Daniel kept his nose clean, held Max off on much older hards… Then used his extra tyres he SAVED FROM Q2 to win the race. Still won. Still more points than max.
Armchair Expert (@foreverred)
2nd October 2016, 10:01
Yet again more proof that the reliability is costing Hamilton the championship while Nico has been essentially bullet proof, saying otherwise is now just borderline denial.
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
2nd October 2016, 10:08
@foreverred yes, but might it be because of his own driving style?
And BTW, terrible coverage on Sky, they cut Danny’s radio, then paste the radio again when he was getting out of the car (and when the fans get all excited). Also, horrible to hear Brundle saying: “so strange not any other Mercedes-powered car has these issues, why only Lewis?” it’s not the exact quote but it sounded so accusing!
Congrats to Dan!!
Blazz
2nd October 2016, 10:19
Are we really onto that old chestnut again of blaming the driver for mechanical failures?
Neiana (@neiana)
2nd October 2016, 12:09
I would blame the user if he puts coffee in the CD-ROM drive and calls tech support. Does Hamilton overuse equipment? I dunno, but I do know it is a thing that can be quantified.
JayR (@deidunxf1)
2nd October 2016, 16:13
I find this assumption so bizarre considering Lewis is the driver who nursed an engine from Britain to Germany. This is not on Lewis whatsoever.
Neiana (@neiana)
2nd October 2016, 21:44
If someone drives through the field by banging on other cars and his wing falls off 10 laps from the finish, you would blame the equipment?
At the very least, it is very possible that Hamilton has a different driving technique. But nooooooooo you want to believe in sabotage!
x303 (@x303)
2nd October 2016, 15:59
The engines are constantly monitored. The team has all the data they want to check if their drivers are hurting the engines.
They are loads of safety margins to prevent drivers from destroying cars (this is not the 70s anymore).
I’d add that Rosberg benefited from Hamilton’s experience when the team refused him to use a more powerful engine mode. Rosberg’s engine may well have blown when he built that 10s gap to Räikkönen.
Ispookie666
2nd October 2016, 10:03
Could be his driving techNiue. . Given that other merc engine cars have not had any problems.
Ben
2nd October 2016, 10:13
What’s techniue ?
Melvin (@)
2nd October 2016, 10:17
I doubt that and nobody but the mercedes guys who have the data know. We have seen multiple engine troubles with mercedes this year, people just seem to forget most.
Blazz
2nd October 2016, 10:26
Of course, it could be Hamilton’s driving that caused an internal combustion failure. Please, do share your source.
Andrew Purkis
2nd October 2016, 10:53
a wins a a win but RBR didnt win thru pace did they?
vettel rammed rosberg and hams engine failed
so i wouldnt get too excited if i was ricciardo
Phylyp
2nd October 2016, 11:00
You have to also be lucky and smart enough to grab the opportunity when it presents itself. RBR put themselves on row 2 in quali, and capitalized on the Mercs’ misfortunes. Just like how RBR had a dog of a powertrain in 2014 yet won 3 races with it.
Contrast it to Ferrari who have been masters in the art of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in 2016 thanks to a risk-averse mindset and bad strategy calls.
Andrew Purkis
2nd October 2016, 11:15
agreed
but my point is that only being able to win with merc failing isnt really a big victory
Phylyp
2nd October 2016, 13:06
Yep, have to agree with that point you’re making – its a bit like getting an overtake done due to pit strategy. And I recall before Hamilton’s engine blew, there was a point where it appeared that Verstappen could really shoot ahead, but them Hamilton was able to push forward hard.
Then again, given Mercedes’ dominance, I think their competitors will take any victory in whatever manner they can. :)
Hugh (@hugh11)
2nd October 2016, 11:24
Fantastic race from Ricciardo. Won the battle through 5 and 6 with his team mate before Hamilton crashed out, allowing him to pit first, and then when it looked like Verstappen was about to get into DRS range he just managed the gap between 1.1 and 1.4 seconds, before Verstappen backed off. Ricciardo really deserved a win, after being let down by strategy or pit stops in Spain and Monaco in particular, where he looked like he was on for a victory. Hopefully Red Bull will have the best car next year so he can win the WDC, Mercedes can fuck off back to where they were in 2010-13.
Rosberg also had a fantastic race. Remember in Spa when everyone said Hamilton coming from last to 3rd was the drive of a champion? Even though he was able to follow Alonso through the carnage and end up just behind him in 5th after the first lap and people pitting. He basically went from 5th to 3rd during the race, ignoring the first lap. Today, Rosberg went from 22nd to 3rd, ignoring the first lap. This was a much better drive than Hamilton’s in Spa, he made more overtakes than I’ve ever seen from him, which was one of the most criticised aspects of his racing. This race and Singapore have made me believe that he does deserve the championship this year.
Hamilton fans have to stop being so bitter about the engine problems he has. This was the first time his engine blew up this season ffs. And saying it’s just him from the Mercedes engine drivers is dumb too, I think I heard them talking about Hulkenberg having a little issue at the start of this race, and in Italy Wehrlein’s engine forced him into retirement. These things happen, and there is no way that Mercedes are purposefully doing this to give Rosberg the title, anyone who claims that is petty and salty.
McLaren once again showing that their car is now the 5th best in the field, just behind Force India but ahead of Williams. Been really impressed with their progress this year, could even be in contention for a podium next season. 22nd to 7th again for Alonso, like in Spa, very impressive. He seems to navigate his way through the damage on the first lap so well, was 4th in Spa and 12th here. Guy next to him in those races did well too, Ham 5th and Ocon 10th after the first laps on each track. Button slightly disappointing that VSC came out 2 laps after his pit stop, allowing Hulkenberg and Alonso to overcut him due to losing 15s in the pits instead of 23s, but a double points finish is a fantastic result.
Palmer getting his first point is good for him, but I still maintain that Magnussen is much better and should keep his seat, whereas Palmer should be let go.
Matija (@matijaleader)
2nd October 2016, 11:59
fully deserved win for daniel and im very happy for him. he had to fight for it against verstappen and he didnt let him past. it was great to see an actual wheel to wheel battle for victory as it turned out to be. you can say dan lucked into it but he deserved some luck after having a puncture while leading in china, leading again in spain and losing out thanks to strategy and ofcourse being robbed of a win in monaco. and how fitting was it that he snatched this win from lewis…
lewis still showing he isnt fully mature. you simply cannot blame your team of sabotaging because its nonsense. and its not like nico hasnt had his problems before. and when you consider the new engines he got in spa. he was actually in a better engine position than nico because of that. this makes up for it…
the penalty for nico was nonsense. no wonder the decline in viewers when someone goes for an optimistic move and gets penalised. why are the stewards never this harsh on verstappen? he should have got a race ban by now then because he got away with much worse than what nico did today. it makes you think villeneuve was right and that verstappen truly is protected by the fia.
x303 (@x303)
2nd October 2016, 16:09
Do you remember that Red Bull and Ferrari used that trick of accumulating penalties at a single event?
I don’t remember reading your rant back then… @matijaleader
pastaman (@)
2nd October 2016, 22:15
So you think it’s ok to ram into another car in order to overtake? I thought the 10 second penalty was quite generous.
Ajaxn
2nd October 2016, 14:21
Question.
How is it that with all the engine sensors and telemetrics being fed in realtime to his pit crew, that there was no warning that engine was about to go?
How is it that Hamilton was given no warning this could happens? Has this question been asked by the media?
Phylyp
2nd October 2016, 16:03
Not every failure is gradual. Breakages like a valve stem breaking or a timing chain breaking are all instantaneous, catastrophic (to the engine) and terminal. There are other things where sensors can help – say a coolant leak which shows temperatures rising, can give advance warning allowing them to retire the car and possibly save the engine.
Mercedes will no doubt be stripping the engine to understand what went wrong. They might not share details with the public, but we might get a passing comment about what failed (I still remember the failure in the 2014 Australian GP where the spark plug’s HT lead had a problem due to its cover, leading to Hamilton’s retirement).
Mauro (@)
3rd October 2016, 11:52
Finally a well deserved victory for Daniel.
Monaco he lost because Red Bull screwed up. Nazi Marko giving too much attention to Verstappen. Same happened to Weber’s time at Red Bull. Daniel is driving beautifully this season, giving a heck of a show, the best overtakes and constantly beating his team mate. Let’s look at the Sapin GP. If Red Bull used the same tyre strategy they used on Max, Daniel would have won the race easily. Let’s go back 2 years. You do not kick a 4 times world champion ass by chance. He is the ONLY one putting a fight against the Mercs.