The 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix (formally known as the 2017 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 1 October 2017 at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia. The race marked the 37th running of the Malaysian Grand Prix, and the 19th time that the race had been run as a World Championship event, since the championship's inception in , 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 the season and beyond.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton entered the round with a 28-point lead over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the World Drivers' Championship. Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas was third, a further 23 points behind. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes held a lead of 102 points over Ferrari, with Red Bull Racing a further 143 points behind in third place.
Report Background Driver changes Reigning GP2 Series champion Pierre Gasly made his Formula One debut, replacing Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso. The first free practice session saw several substitute drivers take part, including Sergey Sirotkin filling in for Nico Hülkenberg at Renault, Charles Leclerc replacing Marcus Ericsson at Sauber, Antonio Giovinazzi replacing Kevin Magnussen at Haas, and Sean Gelael taking the place of Carlos Sainz Jr. at Toro Rosso.
Free practice The second free practice was red-flagged after Grosjean crashed heavily at Turn 14. Valtteri Bottas and Kimi 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. The third practice session was concluded with Kimi Räikkönen fastest but his teammate Sebastian Vettel had an engine problem that required a replacement.
Qualifying 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.
Race
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 the 2016 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.
Classification
Qualifying DriverConstructorQ1Q2Q3144 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes1:31.6051:30.9771:30.076127 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari1:32.2591:30.9261:30.1212333 Max Verstappen 1:31.9201:30.9311:30.541343 Daniel Ricciardo 1:32.4161:31.0611:30.5954577 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes1:32.2541:30.8031:30.7585631 Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes1:32.5271:31.6511:31.478672McLaren-Honda1:32.8381:31.8481:31.5827827 Nico Hülkenberg Renault1:32.5861:31.7781:31.6078911 Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes1:32.7681:31.4841:31.65891014 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda1:33.0491:32.0101:31.704101119 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes1:32.2671:32.034111230 Jolyon Palmer Renault1:32.5761:32.100121318 Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes1:33.0001:32.307131455 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso1:32.6501:32.402141510 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso1:32.5471:32.55815168 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari1:33.308161720 Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari1:33.434171894 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber-Ferrari1:33.48318199 Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari1:33.97019107% time: 1:38.017—5 Sebastian VettelFerrariNo time20Source: Notes – Sebastian Vettel failed to set a time within the 107% requirement, but received permission from the stewards to start the race; he also received a 20-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit components.
Race
DriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints133 Max Verstappen561:30:01.290325244 Lewis HamiltonMercedes56 +12.77011833 Daniel Ricciardo56 +22.51941545 Sebastian VettelFerrari56 +37.3622012577 Valtteri BottasMercedes56 +56.021510611 Sergio PérezForce India-Mercedes56 +1:18.6309872McLaren-Honda55 +1 Lap76818 Lance StrollWilliams-Mercedes55 +1 Lap134919 Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes55 +1 Lap1121031 Esteban Ocon55 +1 Lap611114 Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Honda55 +1 Lap101220 Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari55 +1 Lap17138 Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari55 +1 Lap161410 Pierre GaslyToro Rosso55 +1 Lap151530 Jolyon PalmerRenault55 +1 Lap121627 Nico HülkenbergRenault55 +1 Lap81794 Pascal WehrleinSauber-Ferrari55 +1 Lap18189 Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari54 +2 Laps19 55 Carlos Sainz Jr.Toro Rosso29 Engine147 Kimi RäikkönenFerrari0 Battery— Source: Notes – Kimi Räikkönen did not line up on the grid as a result of a power unit issue.
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings DriverPoints1 Lewis Hamilton*2812 Sebastian Vettel*2473 Valtteri Bottas*2224 Daniel Ricciardo*1775 Kimi Räikkönen138Source:
Constructors' Championship standings ConstructorPoints1 Mercedes*5032 Ferrari*3853 *2704 Force India-Mercedes1335 Williams-Mercedes65Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for the sets of standings. Bold text and an asterisk indicates competitors who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.
References