It was a consummate performance from Hamilton and Mercedes, ending a run of nine races without a podium, one of his worst droughts since he entered the sport in 2007. PHOTO: AFP
SEPANG: Britain’s Lewis Hamilton led the first Mercedes one-two in 59 years on Sunday as he stormed to the title with a commanding victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Hamilton streaked away from pole position and was never pressured as he finished ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg, with defending world champion Sebastian Vettel finishing third for Red Bull.
It was the first time that both Mercedes drivers have led the field since 1955, when the German marque departed the sport before returning in 2010, confirming themselves as the team to beat in Formula One season.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was fourth and Nico Hulkenberg earned an admirable fifth for Force India.
Behind the top five, Jenson Button was sixth for McLaren and Massa finished seventh, ahead of Valtteri Bottas (Williams), despite team instructions ordering him to let his teammate pass.
The win was heartening for Hamilton, who ended an eight-month win drought since Hungary last July and was frustrated at the season-opener in Australia when he had to retire early.
Rain disrupted qualifying but Malaysia’s notorious downpours were largely absent as Hamilton finished 17 seconds ahead of Rosberg, who leads the overall standings with 43 points to Hamilton’s 25.
Afterwards, Hamilton paid tribute to the victims of the mysterious MH370 plane disappearance, which cast a shadow over the race and was blamed for poor ticket sales with the Sepang circuit only about half-full.
“It’s incredible,” said Hamilton after the win. “I just feel so grateful particularly after such a tragedy three weeks ago. I would like to dedicate it to those people and their families.”
Ricciardo handed 10 place grid penalty
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was handed a 10-place grid penalty for next week’s Bahrain Grand Prix after Formula One stewards ruled he had left the pits in an unsafe manner in Sunday’s race.
The Australian driver, who had been in fourth place, pulled away from a stop before his front left wheel was fully attached with engineers sprinting down the pit lane to push him back and fix the issue.
Ricciardo was also given a 10 second penalty during the race, which he retired from after 49 of the 56 laps, to leave him still searching for his first points since moving to the team for the 2014 season.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2014.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ