| 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 15 of 20 in the2017 Formula One World Championship
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 Layout of the Sepang International Circuit | |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | 1 October 2017 (2017-10-01) | ||||
| Official name | 2017 Formula 1Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix[1][2] | ||||
| Location | Sepang International Circuit,Sepang,Selangor, Malaysia | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 5.543 km (3.444 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 56 laps, 310.408 km (192.879 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Cloudy | ||||
| Attendance | 110,604[3] | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Mercedes | ||||
| Time | 1:30.076 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | |||
| Time | 1:34.080 on lap 41(lap record) | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | ||||
| Second | Mercedes | ||||
| Third | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The2017 Malaysian Grand Prix (formally known as the2017 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix)[4] was aFormula One motor race that was held on 1 October 2017 at theSepang International Circuit inSelangor, Malaysia. The race marked the 37th running of theMalaysian Grand Prix, and the 19th time that the race had been run as a World Championship event since the championship's inception in1950, all World Championship events having been held at the Sepang International Circuit. This was also the last Malaysian Grand Prix, as the race had not been contracted for the2018 season and beyond.[5]
Mercedes driverLewis Hamilton entered the round with a 28-point lead overFerrari'sSebastian Vettel in the World Drivers' Championship. Hamilton's teammateValtteri Bottas was third, a further 23 points behind. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes held a lead of 102 points over Ferrari, withRed Bull Racing a further 143 points behind in third place.
ReigningGP2 Series championPierre Gasly made hisFormula One debut, replacingDaniil Kvyat atToro Rosso.[6] The first free practice session saw several substitute drivers take part, includingSergey Sirotkin filling in forNico Hülkenberg atRenault,Charles Leclerc replacingMarcus Ericsson atSauber,Antonio Giovinazzi replacingKevin Magnussen atHaas, andSean Gelael taking the place ofCarlos Sainz, Jr. at Toro Rosso.[7]
The second free practice was red-flagged afterGrosjean crashed heavily at Turn 14.Valtteri Bottas andKimi Räikkönen dislodged a drain cover embedded in the apex of Turn 13. Grosjean, the next driver through, struck the cover which sliced into his rear wheel. This caused the rear tyre to immediately deflate as Grosjean put load onto the steering wheel, causing him to spin into the barrier on the outside of Turn 14.[8] The third practice session was concluded withKimi Räikkönen fastest but his teammateSebastian Vettel had an engine problem that required a replacement.[9]
Sebastian Vettel failed to set a time in Q1 as his replacement engine did not run properly meaning that he would start last on the grid. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton took pole position with a time of 1:30.076, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and Max Verstappen.[10]
Kimi Räikkönen pulled off the grid due to a power unit issue. Hamilton got off well with Ricciardo, Bottas and Verstappen behind. Verstappen overtook Hamilton for the lead on lap 4, and led until lap 28 when he pitted, leaving Ricciardo in the lead. Ricciardo then also pitted and Verstappen retook the lead. Coming into the last laps, Hamilton tried fighting back but Verstappen won comfortably to take his second win in his career, a year after his previous at the2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Vettel came back from last to 4th through the field, almost overtaking Ricciardo in third. After the race Lance Stroll and Vettel collided on the cooldown lap, wrapping Vettel's left-rear tyre over the right side of the car.Pascal Wehrlein gave him a ride back to the paddock after the crash.[11]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 |  Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 56 | 1:30:01.290 | 3 | 25 |
| 2 | 44 |  Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 56 | +12.770 | 1 | 18 |
| 3 | 3 |  Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer | 56 | +22.519 | 4 | 15 |
| 4 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 56 | +37.362 | 20 | 12 |
| 5 | 77 |  Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 56 | +56.021 | 5 | 10 |
| 6 | 11 |  Sergio Pérez | Force India-Mercedes | 56 | +1:18.630 | 9 | 8 |
| 7 | 2 |  Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren-Honda | 55 | +1 Lap | 7 | 6 |
| 8 | 18 |  Lance Stroll | Williams-Mercedes | 55 | +1 Lap | 13 | 4 |
| 9 | 19 |  Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 55 | +1 Lap | 11 | 2 |
| 10 | 31 |  Esteban Ocon | Force India-Mercedes | 55 | +1 Lap | 6 | 1 |
| 11 | 14 |  Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Honda | 55 | +1 Lap | 10 | |
| 12 | 20 |  Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 55 | +1 Lap | 17 | |
| 13 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 55 | +1 Lap | 16 | |
| 14 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 55 | +1 Lap | 15 | |
| 15 | 30 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 55 | +1 Lap | 12 | |
| 16 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 55 | +1 Lap | 8 | |
| 17 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber-Ferrari | 55 | +1 Lap | 18 | |
| 18 | 9 |  Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 54 | +2 Laps | 19 | |
| Ret | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Toro Rosso | 29 | Engine | 14 | |
| DNS | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 0 | Battery | —1 | |
| Source:[13] | |||||||
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| Previous race: 2017 Singapore Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2017 season | Next race: 2017 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix | Malaysian Grand Prix | Next race: None |
