Verstappen returns to victory in Malaysia

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won his second victory in F1 by winning the Malaysian GP, ​​becoming the fifth winner of the season.

Rid of Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) victim of an engine problem even before the start, the Dutchman remained behind Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) at the start, but his better pace on super soft tires allowed him to take the advantage to reach the podium for the second time this season after the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai while he suffered seven retirements this year .

Lewis Hamilton therefore had to settle for second place, but the Championship leader increased his lead by another six points over Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari). The four-time world champion, who started last, moved up to fourth place and attempted an attack on Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) without managing to overtake the Australian who completes the podium.

The German is 34 points behind the Mercedes driver with five races remaining in the season. His Ferrari was unable to return to the garage following contact with Lance stroll (Williams) after arrival. The commissioners did not impose sanctions following the incident.

Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) completes the top five ahead of Sergio Pérez (Force India) and Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren) which precedes the Williams of Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa. Esteban Ocon (Force India) completed the top ten after losing several positions following a spin following contact with Carlos Sainz Jr. (Toro Rosso) which followed a first shock at the start after being sandwiched. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) ranks 12th between Fernando Alonso (McLaren) and his teammate Romain Grosjean.

For his first Grand Prix, Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) finished in 14th place after starting from 15th place. The Frenchman is ahead of Renault by Jolyon Palmer and Nico Hulkenberg and the Saubers of Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson. Carlos Sainz Jr retired following a mechanical problem while running in the points.

Photos from the Malaysian GP

Discover the analysis of the Malaysian GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2134 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.