2011 Malaysia F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: Malaysian Grand Prix
Track: Sepang International Circuit

Weather: dry, hot, humid

Sebastian VETTEL won his 12th F1 World Championship race at the 2011 Malaysia F1 GP, a second consecutive victory to open the year. The Red Bull driver started from pole and won at Sepang by 3.261 seconds from Jenson Button for McLaren. It was Red Bulls 16th F1 win.

Vettel pole again, DRS and KERS in the mix

Sepang on 10 April 2011 saw Vettel back on pole with a 1:34.870, Hamilton second by just 0.104 for McLaren, Webber third. The new-for-2011 combination of DRS on the long back straight, KERS and Pirellis high-degradation tyres promised more overtaking; the race delivered.

Race day: Vettel controls, Renault podium again

Vettel led from lights out and controlled the race despite closer pressure than in Melbourne, Button following him home for McLarens first podium of the season. Nick Heidfeld took third for Renault, a second consecutive podium for the team after Petrovs Australia result. Webber fourth for Red Bull, Massa fifth for Ferrari, Alonso sixth after a first-lap incident with Hamilton that damaged his front wing, Kobayashi seventh, Hamilton eighth after his own tangle. Webber set the fastest lap on lap 46 at 1:40.571.

Championship: Vettel 50, Button 26, Hamilton 22

Vettel already had a 24-point cushion after two races. China at Shanghai in a fortnight would be next.

Classification 2011 Malaysia F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Car & Engine	Grid	Laps	Led	Time	Pts
1	1	SebastianVettel	Red Bull	Red Bull RB7Renault RS27	1	56	54	1:37:39.832	25
2	4	JensonButton	McLaren	McLaren MP4/26Mercedes FO 108	4	56		1:37:43.093+3.261s	18
3	9	NickHeidfeld	Renault	Lotus R31Renault RS27	6	56		1:38:04.907+25.075s	15
4	2	MarkWebber	Red Bull	Red Bull RB7Renault RS27	3	56		1:38:06.216+26.384s	12
5	6	FelipeMassa	Ferrari	Ferrari F150Ferrari 056	7	56		1:38:16.790+36.958s	10
6	5	FernandoAlonso	Ferrari	Ferrari F150Ferrari 056	5	56	2	1:38:37.080+57.248s	8
7	16	KamuiKobayashi	Sauber	Sauber C30Ferrari 056	10	56		1:38:46.271+1:06.439	6
8	3	LewisHamilton	McLaren	McLaren MP4/26Mercedes FO 108	2	56		1:38:49.789+1:09.957	4
9	7	MichaelSchumacher	Mercedes	Mercedes W02Mercedes FO 108	11	56		1:39:04.728+1:24.896	2
10	15	Pauldi Resta	Force India	Force India VJM04Mercedes FO 108	14	56		1:39:11.395+1:31.563	1
11	14	AdrianSutil	Force India	Force India VJM04Mercedes FO 108	17	56		1:39:21.211+1:41.379
12	8	NicoRosberg	Mercedes	Mercedes W02Mercedes FO 108	9	55		+1 lap
13	18	SébastienBuemi	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR6Ferrari 056	12	55		+1 lap
14	19	JaimeAlguersuari	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR6Ferrari 056	13	55		+1 lap
15	20	HeikkiKovalainen	Caterham	Lotus T128Renault RS27	19	55		+1 lap
16	24	TimoGlock	Virgin Racing	Marussia MVR-02Cosworth CA2010	21	54		+2 laps
17	10	VitalyPetrov	Renault	Lotus R31Renault RS27	8	52		Accident
DNF	23	VitantonioLiuzzi	HRT	HRT F111Cosworth CA2010	23	46		Rear wing
DNF	25	Jérômed'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	Marussia MVR-02Cosworth CA2010	22	42		Electronics
DNF	21	JarnoTrulli	Caterham	Lotus T128Renault RS27	20	31		Clutch
DNF	17	SergioPérez	Sauber	Sauber C30Ferrari 056	16	23		Electrical
DNF	11	RubensBarrichello	Williams	Williams FW33Cosworth CA2010	15	22		Hydraulics
DNF	22	NarainKarthikeyan	HRT	HRT F111Cosworth CA2010	24	14		Overheating
DNF	12	PastorMaldonado	Williams	Williams FW33Cosworth CA2010	18	8		Engine

Fastest lap: 1:40.571 min. by Mark Webber

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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