Vettel storms to Malaysian win
Source: Agencies |
April 11, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SEBASTIAN Vettel powered to victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang circuit yesterday, the German registering his second pole-to-flag win in as many races to open his Formula One title defense.
McLaren's Jenson Button drove a composed race to take second place, ahead of a spirited Nick Heidfeld who capitalized on a brilliant start to round off the podium places in his Renault.
"Fantastic job. In the heat we kept our heads cool. Thank you," Vettel told his Red Bull team over the radio after winning his fourth race in a row. "A pleasure every weekend to be with you. I'm loving it."
Vettel's teammate Mark Webber did well to claim fourth place following a poor start as both Red Bulls ditched the KERS boost system mid-race after suffering reliability issues.
On an afternoon when nursing the tires through each stint was key and the threat of rain always an issue, Vettel drove a faultless race from the front and navigated the flurry of pit stops with a minimum of fuss.
"I think he was the coolest guy here today - his composure in the car, the way he controlled the race, looked after the tires, did what he needed to when he had to," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told reporters.
The Ferraris of Brazilian Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso took the next two places, with Lewis Hamilton finishing seventh on the track in the other McLaren after he and Alonso collided when they were fighting for third late on.
Two hours after the race, stewards imposed retroactive 20-second time penalties on the former world champions for driving infringements, dropping Hamilton to eighth place behind Japanese Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi.
Alonso's position remained unchanged with Mercedes's Michael Schumacher of Germany and Force India's Paul di Resta of Britain making up the final two points scorers.
Best of the start
The Renaults enjoyed the best of the start, German Heidfeld and Russian Vitaly Petrov storming down the outside to get past the Ferraris and Webber and threaten the McLarens and Red Bulls at the head of the field.
Heidfeld reached second place by turn one and held off Hamilton until the first change of tires, when a poor stop dropped him down the order until he battled back late in the race to match Petrov's third-place finish in Melbourne.
Once Hamilton was clear of Heidfeld, the Briton began to eat into Vettel's lead, but two tardy stops saw him lose track position to compatriot Button, who despite having a faster car than his teammate, was never able to threaten the leader.
"It was a really confusing race in a way, understanding or trying to understand the pit stops and whether it is worth looking after the tires or not, so pretty tricky," Button said.
Double world champion Alonso's Ferrari improved as the race progressed and he was battling Hamilton for track position on the 45th lap when he damaged his wing after slamming into the back of the McLaren.
The Spaniard pitted immediately, while Hamilton opted to change the tires of his damaged car and Heidfeld and Webber overtook him with four laps remaining.
Vettel moved to 50 points with the victory, 24 ahead of Button with Hamilton and Australia's Webber a further four points adrift as the series heads to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.
McLaren's Jenson Button drove a composed race to take second place, ahead of a spirited Nick Heidfeld who capitalized on a brilliant start to round off the podium places in his Renault.
"Fantastic job. In the heat we kept our heads cool. Thank you," Vettel told his Red Bull team over the radio after winning his fourth race in a row. "A pleasure every weekend to be with you. I'm loving it."
Vettel's teammate Mark Webber did well to claim fourth place following a poor start as both Red Bulls ditched the KERS boost system mid-race after suffering reliability issues.
On an afternoon when nursing the tires through each stint was key and the threat of rain always an issue, Vettel drove a faultless race from the front and navigated the flurry of pit stops with a minimum of fuss.
"I think he was the coolest guy here today - his composure in the car, the way he controlled the race, looked after the tires, did what he needed to when he had to," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told reporters.
The Ferraris of Brazilian Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso took the next two places, with Lewis Hamilton finishing seventh on the track in the other McLaren after he and Alonso collided when they were fighting for third late on.
Two hours after the race, stewards imposed retroactive 20-second time penalties on the former world champions for driving infringements, dropping Hamilton to eighth place behind Japanese Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi.
Alonso's position remained unchanged with Mercedes's Michael Schumacher of Germany and Force India's Paul di Resta of Britain making up the final two points scorers.
Best of the start
The Renaults enjoyed the best of the start, German Heidfeld and Russian Vitaly Petrov storming down the outside to get past the Ferraris and Webber and threaten the McLarens and Red Bulls at the head of the field.
Heidfeld reached second place by turn one and held off Hamilton until the first change of tires, when a poor stop dropped him down the order until he battled back late in the race to match Petrov's third-place finish in Melbourne.
Once Hamilton was clear of Heidfeld, the Briton began to eat into Vettel's lead, but two tardy stops saw him lose track position to compatriot Button, who despite having a faster car than his teammate, was never able to threaten the leader.
"It was a really confusing race in a way, understanding or trying to understand the pit stops and whether it is worth looking after the tires or not, so pretty tricky," Button said.
Double world champion Alonso's Ferrari improved as the race progressed and he was battling Hamilton for track position on the 45th lap when he damaged his wing after slamming into the back of the McLaren.
The Spaniard pitted immediately, while Hamilton opted to change the tires of his damaged car and Heidfeld and Webber overtook him with four laps remaining.
Vettel moved to 50 points with the victory, 24 ahead of Button with Hamilton and Australia's Webber a further four points adrift as the series heads to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.
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