What the teams said – Race day in Malaysia

Red Bull

Max Verstappen took his first win of the season, but he did have to work a little more than planned to take the victory. On the inters, he was picked off by both Mercedes cars at the initial standing start, and even came under pressure from Lawson. But when the first Safety Car came out, Red Bull made the right call to put the Dutchman onto the softs.

On those, he was able to easily get Russell and then Antonelli at the restart, and from there he disappeared up the road. The pack concertinaed up thanks to a second Safety Car, but with more soft tyres onboard, Verstappen was able to hold Antonelli at bay to take a deserved win.

As for Isack Hadjar, he drove a lonely race in fourth, until Hamilton joined him. From there he put in a strong defensive drive to keep the Ferrari man at bay, but struggled with understeer at the final Safety Car restart and lost out to both Hamilton and Leclerc, and nearly Piastri too.

Max Verstappen, 1st

“What an incredible result! The race was not made easy for us with all the decisions we had to make and then the Safety Car at the end on top of everything. But we made all the right calls with the tyres, kept our cool, and it all paid off. Of course, to win a race in the first year of being a new power unit manufacturer is honestly just incredible and something everyone should be really proud of. We knew from the start that Red Bull Ford Powertrains built a strong engine and also knew the limitations too. Although it was hard at times, and we sometimes didn’t believe we could get this win, we kept pushing. The Team has also been working hard to understand our issues and brought performance upgrades to the car. Step by step, we have been getting closer and today we did it, which is really special and an emotional moment. It is an incredible project and winning in our first season together is a fantastic feeling."

Isack Hadjar, 5th

“Even though we managed to score P5, I am obviously frustrated. The car didn't feel as good as it did on the previous days, and then I didn't have the power after the restart at the end for two laps. If this hadn't have happened, I am sure I would have been on the podium. Despite this, it was a good overall result for the Team. I can't wait to look at the data and see what happened, then regroup and go again in Singapore. It is a track that I really, really like, so I will of course be pushing for the best result possible there."

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal

"This is another milestone moment in the history of this Team: the first victory for us as a power unit manufacturer with Red Bull Ford Powertrains in its very first season! The credit goes to all the people involved who have been working incredibly hard on this project over the past five years. Everyone in Milton Keynes and at the track deserves this moment and should celebrate it as an important step towards many more victories in the future.

"The first win of the season is a great way to finish what has been an extremely successful weekend overall. After showing strong pace in every session and securing our first pole position of the season yesterday, Max converted that performance into an outstanding P1 today. In often chaotic circumstances, he remained in control throughout the race, managed the conditions brilliantly, showed the strongest pace and delivered exactly the kind of performance we know he is capable of.

"More broadly, this result confirms the progress we have been making in recent months. We were already close several times, and today we converted that pace. The Team has been working tirelessly to improve our package, and weekends like this are the reward for that effort.

"There are naturally mixed feelings on the other side of the garage because Isack also showed very strong pace all weekend. We could have rounded off this weekend with another double podium; unfortunately, not everything went well with his car. Finishing fifth still represents a strong result considering where he started, but naturally it is frustrating when you know more was possible. We will analyse exactly what happened, take the positives from a weekend where both drivers were consistently competitive, and immediately turn our focus to Singapore.

"For tonight, however, everyone should enjoy a well-deserved victory and an important milestone for this Team."

Mercedes

Mercedes made the right call to start both cars on the inters, with Kimi Antonelli charging off the line into the lead and George Russell following him through into second. But when they fitted the mediums under the first Safety Car, that left the duo at the mercy of the soft-shod Verstappen. Once he went past both, Russell briefly got his team mate but Antonelli fought his way back in front and from there the Italian was the faster of the duo.

They looked on for a straightforward double podium, until Russell suffered late heartbreak as he pulled off with an apparent PU failure. Head in hands, Russell’s title chances lay in tatters as Antonelli went to score 18 points and extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 84 points.

Kimi Antonelli, 2nd

"Overall, given our struggles this weekend, I think P2 was the maximum we could have achieved today. The conditions were really challenging, both with the difficult call on which tyre to start on, when to stop to take the slicks, and then when to stop and what compound to take to ensure we held on to second. The team did a good job with those calls, and I am pleased we were able to score solid points.

"Despite that, we leave Malaysia frustrated. Our pace hasn’t been where we wanted it to be and we weren’t able to fight for victory. It was also extremely disappointing to see George retire when we were so close to such a good result for the team, and a double podium at what is one of the most significant races in our season. We will work hard ahead of Singapore to understand how we can improve and make sure we perform more strongly next weekend."

George Russell, DNF

"That was another tough and disappointing day for me amongst several we have had this season. It is pure bad luck, but it still hurts. It is particularly tough as we were on for a podium and a great result for the team. I made a great start on the Intermediate but struggled a little once we moved to the Medium tyre. I felt much better once we were on the Soft compound and, whilst we were never in the fight for the win, our pace was good.

"It’s such a shame to retire from the race when we were looking comfortable in P3. It would have been important points in the Constructors’ for the team and a double podium would have been a lovely reward for our Title and Technical Partner PETRONAS as their home race.

"It’s not been an easy weekend, but our race pace was better than our qualifying performance on Saturday. That is encouraging but we will work hard as a team to understand why we have underperformed overall here in Malaysia and how we can make sure we are stronger in Singapore. It has been a tough season on my side of the garage, but we will keep fighting."

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

"This has been our worst weekend of the season. It hurts, and I feel incredibly sorry for George and everyone in the team. George drove an outstanding race and was on course for a very strong result, but we let him down. The reality is that has happened too often this year, and that is not acceptable.

"We were not quick enough, and we were not reliable enough in Malaysia. That is the truth. Both drivers kept fighting, stayed focused, and got everything out of the car that was possible though. Whilst George lost out through no fault of his own, Kimi did a very good job and deserved his podium.

"Now we need to understand exactly what happened this weekend. We underperformed compared to our nearest competitors and our form in recent races. We will do so with our usual focus, by working diligently and being led by the data. We don't have many days before we are on track again, but we are determined to put on a better showing next week in Singapore."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"Today was a difficult race to manage, particularly in the opening stages when we had to make several important decisions around tyre choice and crossover points as the conditions evolved. The team made good calls throughout the afternoon and we were able to maximise Kimi's race, bringing home a well-deserved podium. He drove a mature and controlled race and extracted everything that was available to him.

"For George, it's incredibly frustrating. He was driving a strong race, managing the conditions well, and looked on course for a comfortable podium before his retirement. Losing a result like that at any race is painful, but especially when he has suffered so much bad luck so far this season.

"Whilst there are positives we can take from today's race execution, we weren’t quick enough to fight for the win. We have a lot of data to review and very little time before we are back on track in Singapore. Our focus now is on understanding the factors that have contributed to this weekend's performance and identifying where we can improve. Singapore presents a very different challenge, and our job over the next few days is to make sure we arrive there better prepared and in a position to be more competitive."

Ferrari

Ferrari had a very up and down day in Sepang to say the least. Starting both cars on slicks, they plummeted down the order on a still wet track, with Charles Leclerc called in for inters, dropping to last place via some contact with Hulkenberg’s Audi. Lewis Hamilton opted to “gamble” in his own words and stayed out on the softs. He was a minute off the lead, but got that soft compound working and started to climb back through the field and even into the points.

He steadily made his way forward until he found himself right behind Hadjar in a fight for fourth. A Safety Car enabled both to stop and Hamilton was put on the unfancied mediums. But he was able to swap back to the softs under the late Safety Car, and on those was able to pick off the Red Bull for what had seemed an unlikely podium. Leclerc recovered to fourth, also making his way past Hadjar late on.

Lewis Hamilton, 3rd

"Sepang is always a great track to race on, but today is definitely one of the most memorable. It was a really demanding race and not an easy one to manage from the start, but the team did a fantastic job staying calm and executing well after a difficult opening phase. We found ourselves on the back foot very early on with the tyre choice, yet everyone stayed focused and kept pushing. We didn't give up despite a big gap building straight away, and step by step we managed to fight our way back into contention and keep the pressure on until the flag.

"To finish on the podium after the way the race began feels really satisfying and is a great reward for the hard work, determination and resilience everyone showed today. A big thank you as well to the fans, who were incredible all weekend."

Charles Leclerc, 4th

"It was an eventful race. A lot of things went wrong in the first part, and everything that could have gone right did in the second part, so I would say P4 is a good result today all things considered.

"I collided with Nico [Hulkenberg] on lap 1 as I started on slicks and the track turned out to still be very wet. It was a close call which tyres to start on, with a mixed grid, and we will learn from today to be prepared should these conditions come up again.

"We’re heading to Singapore next, so let’s see what we can bring home for the team there."

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

"Overall our result is good, especially considering where we were at the end of the first lap. To finish third and fourth after dropping to the back of the field is a very strong comeback from the whole team.

"The tyre choice on the grid was a difficult one: in those conditions, you can only judge from what you see around you on the grid and in the pit lane. We did not have the full picture of the track and, in the end, we got the call wrong. We will analyse everything carefully and make sure we learn from it for the future.

"From that moment on, we stayed calm, executed well and made the right decisions. The strategy worked as intended, our pace was strong and both Lewis and Charles did an excellent job managing their tyres while fighting their way back through the field. Charles' race was made even more difficult by the need to stop after the first lap to replace the front wing following a collision, which makes his recovery to fourth place particularly impressive.

"We scored good points, secured another podium and showed strong pace in difficult conditions."

McLaren

Like Ferrari, McLaren gambled on the slicks at the start. With both cars on the mediums, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri lost out to most of the intermediate runners with the Australian coming in to swap to the green-marked tyre. That proved the right call, as he climbed forward while Norris could not get his mediums to work.

Both pitted for hards under the first Safety Car and slowly recovered, but they could not stick with the soft-shod Hamilton who was also scything his way back through the field. The next pit stop saw Norris put on softs, the best race tyre and he climbed back behind his team mate, who had fitted a second set of hards.

But there was more drama to come, Norris nearly hitting his team mate as he was caught out by the pack closing up behind the last Safety Car. He ran wide into the gravel, dropping out of the top 10. The last few racing laps saw Norris recover again into the points, while Piastri ran out of time to pick off Hadjar.

Lando Norris, 9th

"Ultimately, today boiled down to a few key issues. The initial gamble to start on the medium tyres didn't work out; the grip just wasn't there as we had anticipated, it was a collective decision, and in hindsight, it was the wrong one. However, we also simply weren't quick enough, and we have to be honest about that. The car is lacking pace, and we need to improve it significantly if we want to be competitive. I don't think we could fight for more than P6 and P7 today, regardless of how we executed the race.

"The incident behind the Safety Car was my mistake. The pack ahead checked up much more suddenly because of the situation with George, and I just got caught out. It was a very unusual and unlucky situation, but at the end of the day, it's my responsibility to manage that. I know I could have done better today, just as the team knows we have work to do in making the car quicker. We will learn from today and turn our focus to preparing for Singapore."

Oscar Piastri, 6th

“P6. It was a very mixed and chaotic race today. We took a gamble at the start with the slick tyres, and then immediately boxed for Inters, but the change was the right call, and the Safety Car timing allowed us to minimise the effect of it. We improved a lot on the Hard tyres, especially in the second stint where we were catching Leclerc, which the final Safety Car cut short. However, we just didn’t have the pace we needed today to make a lasting impact.

“We know the work we have to do and that we need to keep pushing and bringing further developments to the car to close that gap - we can see the progress our rivals are making, which was clear from Red Bull’s performance this weekend. Our new parts are performing as expected, but everyone else is also improving, so we are not currently in the fight for wins. We’ll review it all and then focus on Singapore.”

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

“It was a race packed with incidents, just as we’d expected. Setting aside any assessment of the decisions made at crucial moments – the tyres at the start, the timing of the pit stops – the reality is that this weekend our car package was fourth in terms of performance. Even if we’d got every decision spot on, I don’t think we could have achieved any higher than Oscar’s sixth place. Of course, we could have picked up a few more points with Lando had it not been for his excursion onto the run-off area at the second restart, but in terms of assessing our overall performance, it wouldn’t have made a difference.

“We need to analyse the results of the last two races carefully and work out how to get our performance back to the level we saw around the summer break, when we secured two wins and three Pole positions. Certainly, some of our direct rivals have taken a significant step forward – such as Red Bull – and now it’s up to us to respond so that we can get back into the fight for podium places and try to improve our position in both championships.”

Racing Bulls

Both Racing Bulls cars made brilliant starts on the inters, Liam Lawson vying with Verstappen for third while Arvid Lindblad found himself in the top 10 from the final row of the grid. Both fitted hard tyres under the first Safety Car, and that left them a little vulnerable. Lawson was sensible, not fighting the out-of-position front runners when they made their way back through the field. On the hard tyre, the Kiwi racer might have found things tricky had there not been so much drama behind him.

Fortunately, the team had some softs to fit for the final stint, and he was able to come home ‘best of the rest’. Lindblad was involved in much of that drama, racing wheel-to-wheel with the likes of Ocon, Bortoleto and Hulkenberg. He initially looked set to miss out on points after falling to P11, but he picked off the Audi on the very last lap to make it a very strong day for the team.

Arvid Lindblad, 10th

"Today was definitely action packed with all the pit stops and Safety Cars. We finished with an amazing result and the team did a really good job making all the right calls at the right moments, so massive credit to everyone. Even though I feel like I could have done a bit more on my side, there are definitely a lot of positives to take from today, especially as it was my first time driving in the wet. We’re now moving on to the final leg of the triple-header, and with Singapore being a Sprint weekend, I’m hoping we can pick up some more points and have another interesting race.”

Liam Lawson, 7th

"It feels great to be taking home double points from the Bahrain GP in Malaysia, as we continue to fight for P5 in the Championship. I had one of the best starts of my life today and then we managed to maintain a strong position at the front of the midfield for the duration of the race. Our car has been very good all weekend and the strategy throughout the race was on point. Seeing our Power Unit take home the victory also rounds off a solid effort from the team both back at the factory and trackside, so a huge thanks to everyone. We'll be taking all the positives and learnings from this weekend as we head to Singapore tonight. It's a Sprint weekend for the first time there too, so I'm looking forward to maximising all the point scoring opportunities."

Alan Permane, Team Principal

"It felt like a long race today, but it also went by in a flash. It’s been great to be back here in Malaysia; standing on the grid in the pouring rain this afternoon felt like we’d never been away. This place always gives us a spicy race and that’s certainly what we got.

“We definitely got the basics right today; the choice for Inter tyres was the correct one especially as the cars went out, you could see there was huge spray. For Liam it was quite a straightforward race, there were no threats from behind and we stopped under the Safety Car for the first set of Hard tyres and then stopped for the second set later on in the race. Arvid had a little bit of a tougher day, he suffered with a lot more tyre degradation than Liam did, but he’s had good pace all weekend and did a great job getting past Nico [Hulkenberg] on that final lap, bringing home that extra point. Whilst we come away with some impressive points today, it’s far from over, so we’ll take all our learnings into Singapore to finish the triple header.

“A huge well done to everyone at track and back at home in Faenza and a huge congratulations to everyone at Red Bull Ford Powertrains – a first win in its first season – very impressive, congratulations!”

Aston Martin

Aston Martin managed to score for just the second time this season, despite starting the race on the slick tyres. Both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll fell backwards on the mediums, and while the Canadian pitted for inters, Alonso hung it out with the likes of Hamilton and Norris.

Somehow, the Spaniard was able to extract decent pace not just from his car, but from two sets of the unfancied hard tyre. Bolting on some new softs under the Safety Car, Alonso muscled his way into the points and even had the pace to hold Norris at bay on the last lap. Stroll came close to his best race of the season, running out of time to fight for the top 10.

Fernando Alonso, 8th

“We have been more competitive this weekend and P8 is a good result for us. There were a lot of things that happened in the race. We started with the dry tyres and put ourselves in a difficult position, but thankfully the Safety Car started a new race for us. There are not many weekends where we can score points, so we executed well and took the opportunity. Let’s see if we can keep up this pace into Singapore where on paper we have some hope. The issues at the start were quite strange and we need to understand what happened there.”

Lance Stroll, 12th

“We came to Malaysia knowing this track would suit our car slightly better – less power and grip limited so that helped us. It was fun being out there today and battling with other cars. The weather conditions were very tricky and I think we missed some good racing with the delayed start. But I was surprised how slippery it was when I first got out there so I came in and switched to Inters, which was the right choice. The Hard tyre seemed very robust and I think I could have pushed the second set we used more in hindsight. That’s where we lost a couple of positions and finished outside the points.”

Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer

“It’s great to score four points and achieve our best result of the year, with Fernando in P8 and Lance in P12. Both drivers were in the mix throughout the afternoon, executing some strong overtakes and making the most of the opportunities that came their way. It’s encouraging to convert the speed we showed in qualifying into race results. So much happened this afternoon, from the rainy conditions to the delayed start, so we need to conduct a thorough review of how things played out and some of the decisions we made. It’s also important that we thank Bahrain and Malaysia for their fantastic collaboration in making this race possible with just a couple of months’ notice.”

Audi

Audi might wonder how they did not manage to score in Sepang. They started on the softs with both cars, but made the call to quickly pit both for inters. As such, their cars were able to negate some of that time lost and start to climb forward. But Bortoleto’s day was undone fighting with Sainz, the Brazilian trying a move down the inside of Turn 2. He clipped the Williams, the stewards finding him at fault and handing Gabriel Bortoleto a 10-second time penalty.

As for Nico Hulkenberg, once he got rid of the inters, he spent the rest of the afternoon looking fast on the softs. So fast in fact that he was able to overtake two cars at once, before he managed to climb into the top 10 right at the end of the race. But he lost out to Lindblad on the very last lap, to finish just outside the points in P11 yet again.

Nico Hulkenberg, 11th

"It was an eventful race, and overall, we were in the fight for points but ultimately finished P11 again. I was much happier with my performance compared to yesterday. At the beginning we made the right call to switch to the intermediates early and, although it cost us initially, we recovered that within a lap. This put us in a good position for the rest of the race. "There was plenty of wheel-to-wheel racing. In the end, though, we just didn't quite have the pace to hold on to the points. Realistically, we only got into that position because of trouble to the cars ahead, so it was always going to be a long shot. Still, it was a clean race from my side, many learnings for us as a team and now it's straight on to Singapore.”

Gabriel Bortoleto, 18th

“First of all, I want to apologise to Carlos. I made contact with him at the restart and, unfortunately, compromised his race, as well as my own. I got damage to both my front wing and floor, and then we were too far behind to fight for anything. It wasn't a clean race after that either, it was a difficult Sunday overall. Now we take the positives and look ahead to Singapore: hopefully we can have a good result there.”

Allan McNish, Racing Director

“It was a difficult race. The weather conditions at the start were right on the edge, the crossover point between tyres, which was reflected by the split on the grid between slicks and intermediates. Already from the formation lap, it became clear to us that the intermediates were the correct choice, so we made the change and were able to recover to roughly the position we had been in before stopping for slicks on lap eight.

“Unfortunately, Gabi had contact with Sainz, which caused some damage and required an additional pit stop, and he ultimately received a ten-second penalty as well. That effectively took him out of the fight for points. Nico, on the other hand, had a strong run throughout the race: I think the strategy and the tyre choices we made were the right ones. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to bring us into the points, with Lindblad getting past Nico on the final lap.”

“It’s disappointing to miss out on the points on the final lap for the second race running. We have looked competitive throughout the weekend, but we need to keep working hard to manage to find a little more that will put us back in the top 10.”

Alpine

Alpine’s day unravelled at a very early stage. They put both cars onto the softs, and Pierre Gasly had already spun off onto the wet grass before the standing start had even happened. Both fell backwards, and never managed to fully recover. The Frenchman stopped four times, as one of six drivers not to run the inters bar on those original two Formation Laps.

Franco Colapinto was another of those six, and while he only stopped three times, he spent most of the race on the unfavoured hard and medium compounds. On such a chaotic day, Alpine definitely missed out, while their biggest rival scored with both cars.

Pierre Gasly, 16th

“That was a tough day at the office. It was one of those days where it might go your way or it might not and, today, it clearly did not happen for us. After the suspended start, there was a long time waiting and we decided to start on Soft tyres. It made sense to all of us, and I supported the decision we made. I had a big moment on the formation lap trying to warm the tyres but managed to hang on and return to the track. It was a gamble which did not pay off as it was too wet and then took too long to dry and, like some others as well, we lost a lot of time on track. At that point you either have to come in and change the plan or try to make it work. We remained with our plan but, after that, everything seemed to go against us, there was nothing for us to capitalise on and, in the end, it was a painful day and a difficult result. We'll review everything as a team, stick together, and head to Singapore where we aim to return to the points. Finally, credit to the pit crew today. They had a busy afternoon with multiple stops and did a great job.”

Franco Colapinto, 13th

“It was a pity how the race played out today. Given my starting position on the grid, and having the added variable of rain, it meant I was in the right position to take that sort of risk with the tyres. I thought given the conditions at the start of the race, we could have taken advantage of them and made some big gains, but the track did not dry quick enough, and we lost a lot of time. It surprised me, and some others, that the track took so long to dry. With the high ambient temperatures and rough track surface, we thought the conditions would quickly come to us, but it did not happen in the end. It did not look wet and there was not much spray, but it was greasy with very little grip. In hindsight it was not the right decision, but after that we did the best we could to recover. The pace on the dry tyres was very good and hopefully bodes well for the future races, where we need to put in some strong and consistent performances as a team to try and reduce the gap in the standings, which is still doable with the number of races left.”

Flavio Briatore, Executive Advisor

“It was not the result we wanted today from where we started the race. Particularly with our competitors scoring and the current points difference in the Championship. We had performed well all weekend up until that point and looking at what happened in the race, we did not make the right calls or do a good enough job as a team. We, and some other teams, tried something different with the tyres and after that we did our best to recover but it did not pay off. However, the speed in the dry looked promising and there's still a lot of races left to chase down fifth place in the Championship.”

Haas

Not to be for Haas, with Esteban Ocon getting the closest to scoring in Malaysia. They split strategies at the start, sending Ollie Bearman out on softs and Ocon on inters. On a weekend where they have not had the same pace as their rivals, it was the right call, and favoured Ocon. The Frenchman was flirting with the top 10 for much of the race, but opted to stay out on his last set of softs after pitting just before the late VSC period, that became a Safety Car.

That cost Ocon, firstly in time lost, and secondly because his tyres lost more temperature behind the Safety Car due to being a few laps older. He also lost time running wide onto the grass on pit entry. The Frenchman fell down the order as a result when the race resumed, which was a shame after a strong afternoon.

Oliver Bearman, 14th

“I lost 40 seconds out there, so it was a long afternoon, but the car was really fast, I was flying and able to catch up, and I could see the points 10 seconds ahead of me. The positive thing is that if we had made the right choice at the start with tyres, we could’ve been fighting for points today. I hope that Singapore is a track that suits us more. I think the weather today helped us, being a bit cooler, but Singapore being a night race with a smooth track, those things should hopefully mean for a better weekend.”

Esteban Ocon, 15th

“We had an amazing start to the race, running in P6. Of course, we were not going to stay there, but we looked good for points. As soon as we made the stop, we started going backwards, so we need to look into a few things. It’s not the way we should end that race, and I’m sad for everyone who has done a good job on the car this weekend, but there are some choices we could’ve made differently. Potentially we could’ve kept fighting the Racing Bulls, where we should’ve been, but that’s not where we’ve finished.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“What an eventful race. Firstly, conditions were very tricky, so we decided to split the risk. I regret that decision – to not split the strategy, that was the right thing to do, but we really should’ve then boxed Ollie as soon as we realised how much lap time he was going to lose. We thought the track was going to dry a lot quicker, and that wasn’t the case. The positives are that Esteban’s pace on the first stint on inters was very strong, and also the first stint on soft tyres against Racing Bulls on hard were very strong. Unfortunately, on pit entry he went wide and our pit stop wasn’t the best, so we lost position to one of the Racing Bulls and then pushed the new tyres too hard, and from there, Esteban’s race got destroyed. It was a very challenging race, there were some positives – and areas where we were strong, but we need to take this as an opportunity to improve overall and focus for Singapore to get back into contention.”

Williams

On the intermediate tyres, both Williams cars climbed into the top 10 and looked on for a big haul of points. But while their afternoon might have started well, it certainly didn’t finish that way. Firstly, Alex Albon started to fall backwards after being double stacked, and then had to park up with a gearbox problem. It was the seventh time he has failed to see the chequered flag this season and second in a row.

Carlos Sainz’s quest for points was ended in a collision with Bortoleto, who punted the Spaniard into a spin. That dropped him down the field, and from there Sainz could not recover.

Carlos Sainz, 17th

“We did everything right at the start of the race and managed to climb all the way to P6. Unfortunately, after getting hit at the first restart I dropped quickly down the order and it was very tough for us to recover. It is a pity because we had a chance at holding on to a good result. We also need to look into race execution and make sure we have a better overall weekend next week in Singapore. We’ll try to bounce back and keep pushing."

Alex Albon, DNF

“A tricky race. We were on the right tyre at the start, the call for inters was spot on, and it was nice to be in the mix early on. Then the track dried out and we lost a bit of ground. The double stack didn't help, and with a flat spot on the softs we had to come in earlier than we wanted. We had a few issues throughout the race, including the brakes and a gearbox problem that ended our race. It's unfortunate, but we're lacking overall performance right now, and that's what we're really focusing on in our debriefs. We just want a smooth weekend and a feeling of progress, and we'll keep working to get that. I'm looking forward to Singapore, another home race for me, and hopefully we can fight further up the midfield."

James Vowles, Team Principal

“A difficult afternoon with moments where we looked to be in a good position, and, conversely, moments where we don't have the pace in order to be fighting for points at a track like this. It was an interesting day with rain coming in at exactly the right time causing a halt to proceedings whilst the monsoon passed. Then we had an unusual set of events where cars were unable to get around on their own power on the laps off the grid, requiring a red flag before we could start.

"It was a tricky call to determine whether to run the inters or slicks as everyone saw, so well done to the team for really committing with the inters; it was a good decision, and we were looking strong, as we pulled a clear pit stop gap, relative to cars behind. It was unfortunately short lived with a safety car that allowed everyone to close back in again, and from that point forwards, we didn't get it perfect, but also just simply didn't have the car pace we needed to make it work.

"We'll come back stronger in Singapore, but our focus is well and truly on getting this right for 2027."

Cadillac

Valtteri Bottas was the first driver to head for an early shower, after the rear of his car stepped out on the soft tyres on the still wet track, the Finn spinning his Cadillac into the gravel trap. That brought out the first Safety Car, which proved influential on the fight up front.

As for Sergio Perez, he came through the pits an incredible seven times in the chaotic race. He swapped from the softs to the inters, back to the slicks and then just seemed to get unlucky with the timing of the Safety Cars.

Sergio Perez, 19th

“It was a very hard race today. We thought it was going to dry up a lot quicker than it did, but from the first lap I realised it was really difficult to keep the car on track.
“We made the decision to pit and, on the intermediates, the car was actually quite competitive and we were closing the gap to the cars ahead. We managed to put a great gap on the cars behind, so the strategy was looking good at that point.

“Unfortunately, the Safety Car came out and bunched the field back together, which took away the advantage we had built and changed the picture of the race. It was a very challenging race and the feeling in the car was difficult at times. Some cars had a software-related issue at the beginning, which affected the running, and I understand this is something the FIA is looking into closely. I’m sure we’ll learn from it and take those learnings forward into the future races.”

Valtteri Bottas, DNF

“It was always going to be a risk starting on the slicks with the soft tyre compound and today, it didn’t quite pay off. When the race started and I saw how fast the cars with the tntermediate tyres went through, you quickly realise the situation you’re in. We thought the track would dry quicker, and we thought it was worth trying something, but in the end it didn't work out. I took some risks trying to keep up with the pack and in the end it was my mistake that ended our race and I can only apologise to the team for that.”

Marcin Budkowski, Team Principal

“Today was a challenging race and a new experience for the team with our first wet running of the season. We took the decision to start both cars on slicks after the red-flag restart, hoping the track would improve quickly, but the conditions ultimately made the intermediate tyres the better choice. Valtteri unfortunately lost the car at Turn 13 and had to retire early, while Checo brought the car to the finish and collected some valuable data for us. There is a lot for us to learn from today, particularly around tire behavior and car set-up in these conditions, and this experience will be important for the races ahead. We will regroup quickly and look forward to Singapore next weekend, which will present a different challenge.”

Pirelli

Dario Marrafuschi, Pirelli Motorsport Director

“Sepang provided the first real opportunity this season to see significant use of the Intermediate tyre. In the conditions encountered today, its performance was positive, delivering a high level of grip and consistent performance throughout its stint length. In the closing laps, as the track continued to dry, a slight amount of graining appeared on the wet-weather tyres, although there were no particular wear concerns despite the highly abrasive surface.

"The environmental conditions played a decisive role in the Malaysian Grand Prix. Temperatures were noticeably lower than those recorded in previous days and, following the downpour before the start, the track remained damp for much of the race. This helped keep tyre temperatures under control and reduced thermal degradation.

"In this scenario, the Soft proved particularly competitive, enabling very long stints and delivering consistent performance, helped by teams gradually bringing it into the operating window tested on Friday. Some drivers managed to cover almost half the race on the softest compound, while the neutralisations prompted many teams to opt for the C4 in the closing stages. Both the Hard and Medium also displayed consistent and predictable behaviour, albeit with lower grip levels than the Soft, confirming themselves as viable options for both the frontrunning teams and those in the midfield.”