Race
Sergio Pérez achieved his first podium finish. The Sauber team recorded their best ever result (excluding their time as BMW Sauber ) and also the first podium for a Ferrari customer engine since Sebastian Vettel 's victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix in a Ferrari-engined Toro Rosso . Jean-Éric Vergne scored his first ever points in Formula One in his second race by finishing in eighth position. After struggling in the Australian Grand Prix, Ferrari prepared a brand-new F2012 chassis for Felipe Massa , with the team citing "unusual performance" of the chassis he used in Melbourne as the reason for the change. The team denied reports that they were planning to replace Massa with Sauber driver Sergio Pérez – who is a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy – while both Sauber and Pérez claimed that they had not been contacted by Ferrari. Williams test driver Valtteri Bottas replaced Bruno Senna for the first practice session on Friday morning. Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its silver-banded hard compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the white-banded medium compound as the softer "option" compound, whereas last year the "soft" compound was the yellow-banded soft compound tyre. By lap 31 heavier rain was again forecast but never eventuated. After being 7.795 seconds behind Alonso in 2nd, Pérez began to set consecutive fastest laps and was closing the gap to the leader. The forecast rain prevented most cars from changing to slicks when the track was dry. An image of Hamilton's front tyre revealed that drivers were essentially racing on slicks anyway as the intermediate tread had worn off. Daniel Ricciardo was the first to take the gamble and change to dry tyres on lap 3... Vettel and Red Bull boss Christian Horner criticised Karthikeyan's driving, with Vettel calling Karthikeyan an "idiot". Karthikeyan hit back at Vettel, calling him a "cry-baby". Later, Karthikeyan decided to call a truce with Vettel, stating his respect for Vettel's abilities and saying "I think we have to deal with it in a mature way and forget about it."
Background
Following extended debate over the legality of the Mercedes rear wing and front-wing F-duct on the F1 W03 during the Australian Grand Prix , and the threat of a protest against the system, Red Bull Racing and Lotus F1 requested a final ruling on the system ahead of the race at Sepang. On the Thursday before the race the FIA rejected all claims that the system was illegal, allowing Mercedes to compete with an unaltered car.
Free practice
Lewis Hamilton was the fastest driver in the first practice session, ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg . Romain Grosjean finished the session fifth-fastest despite his car becoming stuck in seventh gear. Jenson Button was ninth overall, but was forced to end his session early after the team discovered an oil leak. Ferrari 's difficult start to the season continued with Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso finishing thirteenth and fifteenth respectively, while HRT encountered further ... Hamilton repeated his performance in the second session, setting a lap time one-tenth of a second slower than the time he posted in the first session. Michael Schumacher was second-fastest, with Jenson Button third. Bruno Senna returned to the cockpit after Williams test driver Valtteri Bottas completed the morning session in Senna's car; Senna placed nineteenth overall. After placing fifteenth in the first session, Fernando Alonso ended the day sixth-fastest, though his lap time was only... A fire broke out in the premises of Lotus early on Saturday morning. The fire started with an electrical fault in the refrigerator. Lotus's reception unit and the stable's kitchen were destroyed in the fire. No one was injured in the fire. The circuit was declared damp for the third and final practice session on Saturday afternoon after light rain fell during the GP2 support race . The damp conditions saw several drivers – most notably Lewis Hamilton – running wide early on, before a dry line was established. Despite the off-track excursions, the session was not interrupted by red flags. Rosberg topped the sixty-minute session, the only driver to go below one minute thirty-seven for all practice sessions, ahead of Vettel and Mark ...
Qualifying
The second session began with Sergio Pérez the first to set a timed lap. All drivers opted for the softer compound medium tyre. Kimi Räikkönen set the fastest time in a session which saw all the cars set closely matched times. Pastor Maldonado had a minor off before turn 11 and was the quickest driver not to make the final session; his Williams teammate Bruno Senna was 13th. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa (who had a new chassis for the weekend) was 12th, closing the gap between himself and Fernando... Despite a front left wheel lock-up at the final corner, Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time by four tenths of a second upon his first attempt. He subsequently returned to the pits during his second, knowing that he already had pole position. The second McLaren of Jenson Button set the second fastest time, one tenth behind Hamilton's time, to complete the second McLaren front row lock-out in the season's two races. Michael Schumacher demonstrated the improved pace of the Mercedes car since 2011 b...
Support events
The event took place between the 22–25 March where throughout the weekend there was a range of support events. Taking part in the Malaysian Grand Prix program was the opening round of the 2012 GP2 Series (1 feature race, 1 sprint race); the Malaysian Super Series A (2 races); and the Malaysian Super Series B (2 races).
Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Part 1 | Part 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:37.813 | 1:37.106 |
| 2 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:37.575 | 1:36.928 |
| 3 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:37.517 | 1:37.017 |
| 4 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1:37.172 | 1:37.375 |
| 5 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:37.961 | 1:36.715 |
| 6 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1:38.102 | 1:37.419 |
| 7 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:38.058 | 1:37.338 |
| 8 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:37.696 | 1:36.996 |
| 9 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:38.151 | 1:37.379 |
| 10 | 15 | Sergio Pérez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:37.933 | 1:37.477 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
Here we go! The rain, a savage beast just moments ago, now yields to a bruised, sullen sky—26 degrees Celsius, and the Sepang tarmac begins to drink in the moisture. Alonso, a predator sensing weakness, claws his way past Hamilton, the McLaren's notoriously sensitive Pirelli tires struggling to maintain grip. A staggering 780 horsepower surging from the Ferrari's 7. 2-liter V8, a force capable of ripping through the slick, is the key to this brutal overtake. The championship, you see, hangs precariously in the balance.
The rain, a snarling beast just moments ago, has retreated, leaving a bruised, grey sky and a track slick with potential. Alonso, a predator sensing weakness, is building a gap – a staggering 23. 7 seconds now separate him from Hamilton, a chasm of speed and calculated risk. Don't mistake this for mere wet-weather dominance; the Spaniard's pace is consistently 1. 8 seconds faster than the reigning champion on the dry, a figure that screams championship ambition. This is more than a victory; it's a brutal statement, reshaping the standings and underlining Ferrari's resurgence.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
Hamilton! He's gone! A misjudgment, a desperate lunge into Turn 5, and the championship leader is swallowed by the spray – a catastrophic error! The crowd roars, a visceral wave of disbelief and fury. Alonso seizes the moment, a calculated aggression rewarded with the lead. Can the Spaniard hold this, or will the pressure crack the Ferrari? This, my friends, is what F1 is *made* of. The air itself crackles with the possibility of disaster, of triumph.
The rain. it never truly leaves, does it? A persistent shadow clinging to this circuit, a constant reminder of Sepang's capricious nature. Hamilton, a coiled spring behind the wheel of that McLaren, staring down the track – a desperate attempt to wrest control from the elements, from Alonso. A gamble, a prayer, a brutal calculation of risk versus reward. The Spaniard, though, possessed a different kind of calm, a predatory stillness that speaks volumes about his championship ambitions. This isn't merely a race, is it? This is a war waged in millimeters, a contest of wills played out on a canvas of slick asphalt and fading light. The championship, of course, hangs precariously in the balance.