Verstappen wins as Vettel takes fourth before bizarre post-race crash

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix summary

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Max Verstappen scored the second victory of his Formula One career by winning the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver passed Lewis Hamilton early in the race and took the chequered flag 12 seconds ahead of the world championship leader.

2017 Malaysian GP in pictures
Daniel Ricciardo completed the podium in the second Red Bull after fighting off a late charge from Sebastian Vettel. The Ferrari rose from last on the grid to finish fourth but was involved in a bizarre post-race collision with Lance Stroll which the stewards are investigating.

Vettel’s was the only Ferrari to take the chequered flag as his team mate’s car was pushed off the grid before the race even began. A power unit problem was suspected on Kimi Raikkonen’s car.

Valtteri Bottas was passed by Ricciardo and Vettel. The second Mercedes finished a distant fifth ahead of Sergio Perez, who was the only other driver to finish on the same lap as the leaders.

Behind Perez, Stoffel Vandoorne took seventh for McLaren which moves him ahead of team mate Fernando Alonso in the championship. He was followed by the Williams pair: Stroll passed Felipe Massa for an eventual eighth place following their pit stops. Esteban Ocon collected the final point despite tangling with Stroll and Carlos Sainz Jnr during the race.

Fernando Alonso finished outside the points after a robust battle with Kevin Magnussen, who finished behind him. The Haas driver later tangled with Jolyon Palmer who spun into the side of his car at turn one.

Toro Rosso newcomer Pierre Gasly took 14th place on his debut. Sainz had to retire the team’s other car.

Hamilton’s now has a 34-point lead over Vettel in the drivers’ championship with 125 points available over the remaining five races.

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix reaction

    Check back shortly for more race reaction

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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100 comments on “Verstappen wins as Vettel takes fourth before bizarre post-race crash”

  1. Penalty and penalty points for Stroll?

    1. why? look at onboard footage from Strolls car, he was minding his own business there.

      1. Not seen the onboard for Stroll, Sky haven’t shown it. Didn’t look like he did a huge amount wrong from Vettels onboard though

        1. Looks pretty damning to me:
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ80ZLmhoFs
          It’s not Stroll’s onboard though.
          I’d be concerned that Vettel would need a new gearbox if the championship wasn’t decided already. As it stands, it matters little.

          1. That was a very bizarre crash. It looked to me like it was more Vettel’s fault than Stroll’s. I’m not sure why Vettel wanted to overtake Stroll on a corner, he could have waited. Because of the curve in the track Vettel was probably in a blind spot, so Stroll could easily been unaware he was intending to overtake him until they collided.
            Also, why did Vettel take the steering wheel with him? He’s supposed to leave it with the car.

          2. We really need a Stroll onboard or an offboard shot to say for sure.

            That shot is really misleading as it looks like the car the camera is attached to moves to the inside, that along with the closing speed and the distortion of the lens exaggerates both Strolls rightward movement in frame and the distance between Stroll and the inside kerb.

            After examining the distance of Strolls car to the inside kerb vs the size of strolls car in that frame, it doesnt look to me that he significantly moves rightward.

            Until a stroll onboard appears in my opinion the stewards have it right. Both were partly to blame as they both seem to drift towards the centre of the track.

    2. John Toad (@)
      1st October 2017, 9:50

      Or maybe for Vettel ?

      1. Think seb had a brain fade or was distracted…bizarre shunt

      2. @krichelle @ceevee Looking at the footage from the car behind both of them, there’s definitely a change of direction from Stroll to the right, so he’s not completely blameless. Equally I’d say it was naive from Vettel to put himself in that position in the first place when there’s acres of tarmac to the right. Slap on the wrist for both at most I reckon.

      3. How are they going to weight vettels car/ check ride heights etc. Is his 4th place in doubt ?

        1. Could be the point

          But

      4. Mah. But he could do with a bigger left mirror.

    3. @krichelle, it looks more like both drivers were concentrating on something else – Stroll perhaps distracted because another driver was moving into a position to pass him on the inside, whilst Vettel was probably focussing on the corner ahead – and they just ended up drifting into each others path.

      That said, given that the stewards have admitted in the past that they adjust the penalties when it involves a driver fighting for the title, I would not be surprised if Stroll is treated harshly simply because the incident involved Vettel (whereas, if it involved another driver, they probably wouldn’t get involved).

  2. Honestly… What are we doing? Picking up rubber or ping-pong?

  3. I must say…staying up to the end was worth it…that shunt between Vettel and Stroll is so entertaining.

  4. Hamilton didnt do anything crazy against Verstappen kept the head down and scored the max he could. That was a nice calculated drive from him. Also what the H is K-Mag doing on track? weaving on straights and then ignoring blue flags.

    1. Magnussen has had a habit of doing that for a while – if anything, that was one of his better races (he was swerving around far more aggressively on the back straight in the Canadian GP, for example). You can see why there have been more than a few formal complaints about his driving behaviour to the stewards, and why Whiting himself has tried to discipline him in person.

      1. Yes (@come-on-kubica)
        1st October 2017, 10:07

        Should just slap with a penalty or 2 or he’s never going to learn.

      2. Whiting himself has tried to discipline him in person.

        Source?

    2. Hamilton didnt do anything crazy against Verstappen kept the head down and scored the max he could.

      I’d be more careful making comments like that on this site, you might incur the wrath of the anti-Hamilton brigade who’ll think you’re trying to make excuses for him.

      1. Haha, I know what you mean. Looking at what hamilton did today vs last weekend’s race start, there is a stark contrast in the styles of keeping it clean vs going aggressive. Real shame Kimi didnt start the race else it could have been a fun fight at front for win between him and Verstappen as both were clearly comfortable with their cars and faster than mercs.

    3. Yeah, Hamilton looked very pleased finishing in P2 when during free practice it looked like P5 was the best he was going to get. His insane quali performances really help him a lot lately. Also it looked like an easy win for Vettel and he finished well behind.

      Another weekend where “damage limitation” turned into “extending his lead” for Hamilton.

  5. I really do want to see the excuses that the Verstappen haters come up with now to state that he isn’t champion material…

    1. Anyone could Win in that redbull

      1. But just anyone cant consistently outqualify Danny Ric. Pipe down.

      2. Who let 2011 in here?

        1. Member Kinky Kylie?

          1. Member berries ��😂��

  6. Vettel needs to get his nerves checked.
    He seems to have a sudden affinity to twitch left, second fortnight in succession.
    Not to mention his right-side twitch in Baku.

    1. Ugh, I think I misread this incident from Vettel’s onboard. Seeing the view from the car following Stroll & Vettel does give a different impression, making it more of a (post) racing incident or 50-50 blame.

  7. I wonder if Vettel ran out of fuel and this crash is some attempt to keep his 4th place finish. He lost 7-8 seconds on the last lap which seems strange.

    1. And took the steering wheel so no-one could see… I like this conspiracy theory, apart from the whole taking a sample from the tank thing :)

      1. He should have taken the tank with him instead of the wheel.

        1. Or, if the argument is the steering wheel might get stolen, then why wouldn’t the thief also siphon the fuel from the tank as well, that’d certainly be far more useful, especially if he has a motorbike.

  8. geoffgroom44 (@)
    1st October 2017, 10:09

    Brill race and well deserved victory for Max. Interesting climb up the pack from Seb but Danny did a good job of holding him off. Lewis just plodded along, mostly minding his own business which was continuing to secure the championship.
    Fascinating post race incident which added a little more farcical and superfluous nuance to this quagmirish Italian operatic tragedy of the last 2 weeks.

  9. @keithcollantine, did you wrote the story before the race?

    Hamilton’s victory gives him a 34-point lead over Vettel in the drivers’ championship with 125 points available over the remaining five races.

      1. Keith wrote Hamilton’s victory which should be Hamilton’s second place

    1. There is still 5 races to go : Japan,Austin,Mexico,Brazil and Abu Dhabi (125 pts)

      1. But he didn’t win…

    2. @keithcollantine @macleod . Yes there’s a typo in final para but there’s no need to be rude about it…

      1. I hope i wasn’t rude by mention it. i was just reading the end and then i thought their is something wrong as i almost overread it.

  10. Hamilton did what he needed to do this weekend- finish ahead of Vettel. He did something Vettel didn’t do in Singapore- which is remember who the war is against. 2nd place, extended championship lead I think it’s a job well done.

    But I think Ham and Merc should be concerned- that’s two consecutive race weekends they have been the 3rd fastest car. Extenuating circumstances and the weather saved their beacon in Singapore, likewise with Ferrari imploding this weekend.

    Ricciardo really needs to do some soul searching. So does Bottas.

    Great win by Max- well managed and perfectly executed. I had doubts about all the hype but there is no denying the boy’s talents. My only problem with him today was passing the squabbling backmarkers. Could have easily ended in tears but perhaps patience will come with maturity. We do have to remember he’s only 20 years old.

    1. I agree, Brundle said the Ferrari plain looks like the faster car at the moment and Vettel is so upbeat and optimistic even after his mechanical fault in qualifying. Ferrari have something up their sleeve and this championship definitely isnt over.

    2. We know the Mercedes struggles in the heat. I don’t think there’s a track that’s gonna be hotter than in Malaysia. For Hamilton to out-score Vettel here is a bonus, just like how he was supposed to lose points to him in the “Ferrari-friendly” track in Singapore.

      1. Good points- but I think a loss of pace at consecutive GPs is still a cause for concern

        1. not if they re v hot at which point mercedes are vulnerable! it is known fact… last year wen ham pushed, he blown his engine… ros was nowhere… before seb took it… only in 2014 mercedes were lucky!

    3. Maybe Hamilton and Mercedes are concerned. Ferrari and Vettel got the best they could out of the race plus a possible strategic advantage for the last 5 races.

      Mercedes has had their fourth power-unit in rotation from Spa. Vettel aquired 2 ICE’s this weekend plus a turbocharger and a MGUH. The two ICE’s in question have 1lap and 1race distance between them.
      Expect Ferrari to go for broke and turn the engines up in the coming races. Mercedes has to follow suit and run the risk of a failure.

  11. Oh, and before someone whips out the “Hamilton didn’t lose on merit, he had the third fastest car” excuse, you’re basically saying he didn’t beat Vettel on merit in Monza ;)

    1. So? Mercedes were indeed a lot faster in Monza. The difference is that Hamilton ended up on P2 ahead of some of those faster cars.

      Also that pole lap that Hamilton pulled out the bag in Monza when the track was wet is what helped him a lot to get that win. Verstappen and Ricciardo also performed well there while Vettel a very poor quali.

  12. See? Riccardo is no where near max he has been getting podiums because max did not finish the races. Even on race pace his faster.

    1. That is absolutely correct, we are seeing the emergence of a driver that will dominate F1 for at least the next decade.

      For those of us that have seen several greats emerging in F1 that has been obvious for years. Despite that I’m amazed by the similarity of the emergence of Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher. Remember what happened in Schumachers fourth year in F1anyone?

      Verstappen has in every way shown he’s faster and better than Ricciardo this year. If not for technical problems and misfortune he would have blown him away in the standings too. Verstappen has developed a lot each and every year he’s been in F1 and will continue to do so the next 6-8 years.

      Ricciardo will soon be followed by the likes of Hamilton and Vettel. When Verstappen gets a truly competitive car he will dominate them and probably retire both of them earlier than the thought. Verstappen will get that competitive car before long, he will have the choice between Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull come 2019.

      1. Amen…nothing more to add really

      2. The feeling when watching Max is the same as a young Schumacher or Alonso. Hopefully he will make career decisions like the former rather than the latter.

      3. retire both of them earlier than the thought.

        VET and HAM didn’t retire RAI and ALO quickly so I don’t see that changing.

        Though yeah, if people expect a HAM v. VET era which ended up being a VES era the same way they did an ALO v. RAI era, and it ends up not materialising as well, then I wouldn’t personally be surprised. Which I assume is what you mean.

        1. No they didn’t, but there are reasons for that. Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel are super competitive racers that hate to loose. Raikkonen doesn’t care that much.
          Raikkonen goes on because he likes what he’s doing and loves the money.
          Alonso goes on because he desperately wants that third Championship and still thinks he’s better than both Hamilton and Vettel. And you wouldn’t bet against him on that point would you?

          Futhermore the age difference between Alonso and Hamilton/Vettel isn’t that big, 4 and 6 years. He can keep up with that and he hadn’t even reached his prime when they arrived.
          The age difference between Hamilton/Vettel and Verstappen is another story. Hamilton is nearly 13 years older and Vettel is about 10 years older. Both of them are in their prime now, when Verstappen starts dominating them they will know there is no way back. They have taken out most of their potential whereas Verstappen is just getting started.
          That is a nightmare situation for these very very competitive drivers.

          1. @Kimiwillbeback alright calm down 🤣

    2. Come on VES qualified 0.054 sec ahead of RIC, BOT got in front of RIC and they pitted RIC too late, …. no where near? You have to understand the dynamics of the race, before such sweeping statements

      1. well, you are right in saying that RIC had to pass BOT, but Max had to pass Lewis too. And Max did it in 2 laps while Ric wasted 5 more and lots of seconds before passing the fin, who was way slower than the other car all weekend.

  13. Why does something always (almost) have to hit Kimi’s car when he has a good grid position and chance to fight for a win?

    1. @jerejj well he had luck in his career. Once.

      1. I’d say at least twice. HAM had a problem in Brazil, but a few races earlier McLaren had forgotten about how impressively fast and grippy slicks were in the Chinese rain.

        Come to think of it, that sort of thing saved HAM’s championship in 2008 despite VET coming pretty close to taking it off HAM’s hands. Though GLo would’ve been behind HAM anyway had he pitted so there’s that.

        1. @davidnotcoulthard i’d say that one was a bit different. In, its a difference if you do everything right and the competitor screws up, or your competitor is hindered without his own fault. Like, Kimi was dominating China 07 (quite interesting considering he’s been poor in wet-ish conditions ever since his comeback)and Mclaren actively screwed up in a big way. Also, ham made what was ultimately a driving error. On the other hand, Brazil was more of a bad-luck kinda thing for Ham. That is really really lucky. Like Alonso lucking in 3 wins and two WDC’s by his direct competiton retiring through no fault of their own directly in front of him kind of lucky. The other (China 07) is more like doing it right in difficult circumstances while others f up.

    2. @jerejj If he was actually good and gave himself a “chance to fight for a win” more than once or twice per year in the best car on the grid his “bad luck” wouldnt be so disastrous.

  14. Verstappen drove a good race he kept cool in the beginning and he finished, on this occasion first well done. I’m sure he has learned something from this. Hamilton, Ricciardo done their jobs, kept out of trouble and gained more points…as usual.
    Vettal drove a great race…. really he did, deserves driver of the race.

    1. I’m sure he has learned something from this.

      Yep ( but he knew that already)

      To finish first, you must first finish.

      and that’s something he has had little control over..
      But it seems the gremlin found a new red home ;)

  15. Could Vettel get penalized for piggybacking? How’s his Penalty point Situation?

    1. Pascal would get the penalty for instigating it though.

      1. @offdutyrockstar didn’t Webber get a reprimand for riding with alonso in singapore 13?

        1. 3rd reprimand, so a penalty, but it was for crossing the track.
          http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/24198278

          Presumably Wehrlein won’t be punished since he only had the medical car behind him when he stopped on track and it was in a much better place than Alonso was at Singapore 2013.

    2. Not sure if he get’s reprimanded, but he might need a gearbox chance for Japan, which would mean a 5 place grid drop.

  16. Noone is saying this: almost certainly it will be a 5-position grid penalty in the next race for VET.

    1. You mean Gearbox?

      1. well due to that

  17. I was at the race today, and can I just say that free seating is probably the worst idea in F1 (yes, even more so than knockout qualifying)

  18. How about some applause for Stoffel Vandoorne today ??

    Rang fifth after a great start, had the edge over Alonso all weekend, and instead of moaning about the Honda on a track where it would be quite badly exposed, it was Vandoorne, not Alonso, who added to the McLaren total.

  19. another failure from Ferrari

    you have the faster car and could have had a 1 – 2 but screw it up with reliablity issues

    this is a major result for Ham he outscores Vet and barring DNFs the WDC is his

    he just need to keep finishing the races

    one thing he and merc are good at

    theyve had 4? mechanical failures in the 148 starts

    with 125 points available Ham just needs to score 125-34= 91 points to be unassailable

    so finishing 2nd in all the races will make him WDC no matter what Vet does

    1. Andrew Purkis, no, if Vettel won the next five races with Hamilton second, Vettel would win the title by a point (the current lead is 34 points, and the 7 point difference means that Vettel would outscore Hamilton by 35 points over five races).

    2. 5×18=90, this my personal opinion and I might have distorted the law of mathematics so that would fit my hidden agenda…

  20. Has this ever happened before or has Vettel finally set a new record this season?

    1. Fittipaldi and Stewart collided after the race in monaco 1973.

      1. Lap record, I’d assume @philipgb to mean?

  21. They just got 360 view camera view for the fans. The fans see out of a F1 car better than the drivers. At least give em a couple of those stick on convex mirrors.

  22. On another note, something else seems to have slipped by unremarked, which is the allegation by Force India that some teams were illegally drying their grid slots before the race began.

    They claim that at least half the grid were using the hand held fans they normally use to cool the cars down to blow away some of the moisture in their grid slots, even though the rules state that this is not permitted. They then complained to the FIA officials on the grid, but it seems that they did not bother investigating it at the time – and, now that they’ve declared the results as official, no action will be taken. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/teams-broke-f1-rules-by-drying-grid-slots-force-india-960185/?s=1

    1. I’d question when everyone else was doing it, why didn’t they? This is F1 where every tiny advantage helps. It’s not like the race director was going to penalise most of the grid. It’s quite obvious it would lead to a clarification (is the argument you’re merely removing moisture not changing the grip construction of the tarmac?) rather than penalties.

  23. NEWS FLASH
    Williams are to fit MIRRORS to their F1 cars next season …

    1. jezus.. more parts to hit for Vettel..

  24. Hilarious that salty fans are blaming Vettel for the post-race incident lol. My God.

    1. Well, Vettel was all the way on the right side of the track when they entered the corner and he was a good amount to the left when they collided.

      Obviously both were at fault, but even if it wasn’t Vettel who was 100% to blame, it’s again him involved in a crash and again he seems to be looking for trouble driving closely past other cars in a situation where they do tend to move around somewhat.

  25. This weekend has prooved to me that bottas is not a top 5 driver. Too slow, way too slow, he has the best car so should be fast at all times, and not sometimes. Bottas seems to be going slower as the season goes on.

    1. They had an issue with the car setup for Bottas. Or tyre use or whatever.

      They have had this issue on both cars off and on, but of course wy actually try to understand something when it’s easier to pretend the driver suddenly lost the ability to drive.

    2. Well, unlike Hamilton, he was driving the “upgrade” package, which apparently consisted of several granite paving stones hidden in the chassis.

    3. he has the best car so should be fast at all times

      In both Singapore and Malaysia the Mercedes was clearly the 3rd fastest car (behind Ferrari and Red Bull).

  26. ILuvSoundtracks (@)
    1st October 2017, 17:27

    Now what did the Dutch commentators reacted to Verstappen’s win? Just like Spain ’16 or something else?

    1. Our 54 year old Dutch commentator apparently matured as just as much as Max in the past year as he reacted pretty calm I’d say. Over-the-moon-Happy of course, but no crying this time at least <:-D

      1. Well actually his head bounced into the ceiling multiple times. Look it up on YouTube, it was pretty funny.

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