The 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix (formally known as the 2016 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 2 October 2016 at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia. The race marked the thirty-fifth running of the Malaysian Grand Prix and the eighteenth time that the race had been run as a World Championship event since the first race in 1999.

Daniel Ricciardo won the race, with teammate Max Verstappen finishing second to secure Red Bull Racing's first 1–2 finish since the introduction of hybrid engines in and the team's last one until the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Rosberg completed the podium, extending his championship lead to twenty-three points following the retirement of Lewis Hamilton. This was Ricciardo's first win since the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix.

Report Background The race was moved from its March date to October to allow organisers the opportunity to upgrade the circuit. The circuit was resurfaced, while drainage was improved to decrease the possibility of standing water from forming on the circuit. Nine corners were re-profiled, introducing negative camber to emphasise mechanical rather than aerodynamic grip, and the drop at the apex of turn two removed.

Championship standings before the race Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg entered the race leading the World Drivers' Championship by eight points, having reclaimed the championship lead from teammate Lewis Hamilton at the previous race in Singapore. Mercedes led Red Bull-TAG Heuer in the World Constructors' Championship by 220 points.

Race

At the start of the race, Sebastian Vettel collided with Nico Rosberg going into turn one, causing Rosberg to go into a spin to the back of the grid while Vettel damaged his front-left suspension in the process, retiring after getting to an escape road a few corners later. On lap 8, Romain Grosjean spun into the gravel trap due to brake failure once again, prematurely ending his race. Later, on lap 41, Lewis Hamilton's engine failed while he was in the lead of the race, forcing him to retire. Esteban Gutiérrez also retired when his front-left wheel came off the car in the latter stages of the race. Daniel Ricciardo, who inherited the lead of the race when Hamilton's engine failed, went on to win the race. It was the fourth win of his F1 career. Max Verstappen finished second, giving Red Bull Racing their first one-two since Brazil in 2013, with Nico Rosberg recovering to finish third from his spin on lap 1. For the next race in Japan, Vettel was handed a three-place grid penalty for causing the collision with Rosberg.

Post-race Nine Australian men, subsequently dubbed the 'Budgie Nine' by Australian media, were arrested for intentional insult and public indecency after celebrating Ricciardo's win by stripping to their 'budgie smuggler' swimming trunks, decorated with the Malaysian flag, and drinking beer from their shoes. Ricciardo said that the nine had not realized the effect their actions would have and called for them to be released. After three days in custody, the nine were charged with the lesser offence of public nuisance and released. The briefs had been made in Australia, not Malaysia.

Classification

Qualifying DriverConstructorQ1Q2Q3144Mercedes1:34.4441:33.0461:32.850126Mercedes1:34.4601:33.6091:33.26423331:35.4431:33.7751:33.420343Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer1:35.0791:33.8881:33.467455Ferrari1:34.5571:33.9721:33.584567Ferrari1:34.5561:33.9031:33.63267111:35.0681:34.5381:34.31978271:34.8271:34.4411:34.4898922McLaren-Honda1:35.2671:34.4311:34.51891019Williams-Mercedes1:35.2671:34.4221:34.671101177Williams-Mercedes1:35.1661:34.57711128Haas-Ferrari1:35.4001:35.001121321Haas-Ferrari1:35.6581:35.097131420Renault1:35.5931:35.277141526Toro Rosso-Ferrari1:35.6951:35.369151655Toro Rosso-Ferrari1:35.6051:35.37416179Sauber-Ferrari1:35.816171812Sauber-Ferrari1:35.949181930Renault1:35.999192031MRT-Mercedes1:36.451202194MRT-Mercedes1:36.587212214McLaren-Honda1:37.15522107% time: 1:41.055Source:

Notes: – Fernando Alonso penalised 45 grid places for unscheduled power unit element changes.

Race

DriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints13 Daniel Ricciardo561:37:12.776425233 Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-TAG Heuer56 +2.44331836 Nico RosbergMercedes56 +25.51621547 Kimi RäikkönenFerrari56 +28.785612577 Valtteri BottasWilliams-Mercedes56 +1:01.5821110611 Sergio PérezForce India-Mercedes56 +1:03.79478714 Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Honda56 +1:05.205226827 Nico HülkenbergForce India-Mercedes56 +1:14.06284922 Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Honda56 +1:21.816921030 Jolyon PalmerRenault56 +1:35.4661911155 Carlos Sainz Jr.Toro Rosso-Ferrari56 +1:38.87816129 Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari55 +1 Lap171319 Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes55 +1 LapPL1426 Daniil KvyatToro Rosso-Ferrari55 +1 Lap151594 Pascal WehrleinMRT-Mercedes55 +1 Lap211631 Esteban OconMRT-Mercedes55 +1 Lap20 12 Felipe NasrSauber-Ferrari46Brakes/Power loss18 44 Lewis HamiltonMercedes40Engine1 21Haas-Ferrari39Wheel13 20  Kevin MagnussenRenault17Power loss14 8 Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari7Brakes12 5 Sebastian VettelFerrari0 Collision5Source: Notes – Nico Rosberg had ten seconds added to his race time for causing an avoidable collision. – Esteban Ocon received two five-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Driver Points 1 Nico Rosberg* 288 2 Lewis Hamilton* 265 3 Daniel Ricciardo* 204 1 4 Kimi Räikkönen 160 1 5 Sebastian Vettel 153Source:

Constructors' Championship standings Constructor Points 1 Mercedes* 553 2 Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer* 359 3 Ferrari 313 4 Force India-Mercedes 124 5 Williams-Mercedes 121Source:

Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Competitors in bold and marked with an asterisk still had a mathematical chance of becoming World Champion.

See also 2016 Sepang GP2 Series round 2016 Sepang GP3 Series round 2016 TCR International Series Sepang round

References

External links