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Hello and welcome to ESPN's coverage of the second grand prix of the 2014 season. Sebastian Vettel came to the party yesterday in the rain, will the weather play a part again today? The forecast predicts a 60% chance of rain. Other than Vettel, the story of yesterday was another show of strength from Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton equalling the British record for pole positions. Hamilton has made no secret of the fact he needs to cut the gap to Nico Rosberg, who is already 25 points ahead in the standings. Please do send us your comments, questions and race predictions using the tab at the top of this screen. As for weather forecast: It's currently very, very hot, with a currently a 50 degree track temp. No sign of rain just yet, but ominous clouds loom. Apparently a 60/70% chance of rain during the race. Concerns for Sergio Perez, who failed to make it to the grid. We wait to see whether Force India can get him out for the race. The drivers are off for the formation lap and everyone has got away without problem. |
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Lap 1 |
Great start from Hamilton, but a nightmare for Vettel as he gets passed by both Rosberg and the flying Ricciardo through the first sequence of corners. Bianchi and Maldonado make contact at Turn Four. Hamilton already easing away from the rest of the pack already. |
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Lap 2 |
Alonso slips back to sixth as Hulkenberg takes him into Turn One, before Magnussen picksoff Raikkonen but was their contact? Raikkonen has a right rear puncture and falls to the back of the pack. Despair for Kimi. Hamilton already has a three second lead. |
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Lap 3 |
Button passes Magnussen into Turn One to move up to seventh. An update on Perez, he never made it out of the pits. Bianchi has also retired after that incident with Maldonado. Raikkonen takes a new set of options in the pits and has a big fight on his hands now. |
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Lap 4 |
Vettel takes Ricciardo in the DRS into Turn One to reclaim third. Magnussen also struggling after that contact with Raikkonen with a big train of cars behind him in tenth. Stewards will investigate Bianchi/Maldonado incident. |
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Lap 5 |
Hamilton is absolutely flying, and sets a fastest lap of 1:47.428. He's been told Rosberg is struggling with rear tyre degradation so let's see how that unfolds. |
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Lap 6 |
But Rosberg responds with a fastest lap of his own, 1:47.321, so maybe he's not struggling all that much after all. Bianchi - who is actually still in the race - is slapped with a five second penalty for that lap one incident with Maldonado, who is told he needs to come in to retire at the end of this lap. |
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Lap 7 |
The Mercedes drivers are having fun. Hamilton sets a new fastest lap by seven tenths, a 1:47.048, and if the rain stays away this one will be a race between those two today. |
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Lap 8 |
Christian Horner confirms Red Bull has already had a fuel-flow sensor issue with Ricciardo. Watch this space. |
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Lap 9 |
A huge train of cars behind Magnussen in eighth. We just heard a frantic radio message from Massa saying "he crashed me!", which I can only assume is about the Dane. Magnussen pits and releases the two Williamses.As expected McLaren changes that front nose cone as they stick another set of options on. |
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Lap 10 |
It's more bad news for Magnussen, who has been given a five second stop/go penalty for that earlier collision with Raikkonen. Bianchi pits to serve his own penalty. |
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Lap 11 |
Hamilton has opened up a six second lead over Rosberg. |
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Lap 12 |
Alonso dives into the pits, for a new set of mediums, moving Hulkenberg into fifth. The Force India is four seconds behind Ricciardo. Alonso immediately passes Grosjean for ninth. |
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Lap 13 |
Ricciardo comes into the pits and very nearly makes contact with Alonso on the exit and he just makes the position sticks through the first sequence of corners. We expect Vettel in the next lap, while Hamilton is told Mercedes is still waiting for the window .Fastest lap from Kvyat in the Toro Rosso. |
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Lap 14 |
Vettel pits from P3 and comes back behind the Williamses but importantly ahead of Ricciardo. Two super quick stops by Red Bull. Button also comes in. Bottas is a sitting duck on old tyres as Vettel, Ricciardo and then Alonso sweep past him. |
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Lap 15 |
Rosberg pits but emerges way ahead of the Red Bulls. Hamilton is told he is good on fuel and can push as Bottas finally pits. |
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Lap 16 |
Hamilton pits and rejoins behind Hulkenberg, who is yet to pit, but a long way ahead of Rosberg. He's on new medium tyres. Vettel records a fastest lap, a 1:46.334, and he's closing on Rosberg. Hamilton soon overtakes Hulkenberg, who then pits himself. |
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Lap 17 |
Raikkonen is in a battle for 17th with Ericsson and Vergne and is nearly caught up in an accident as they both run wide at Turn One. |
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Lap 18 |
Ricciardo is told to fall back but tells his team he wants "to be part of that" if anything happens ahead with Vettel catching Rosberg. |
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Lap 19 |
Hamilton has used the least fuel of the top five runners. That may come in handy later. Christian Horner confirms Red Bull is working with the FIA this weekend on fuel-flow, which is good news. Raikkonen comes in for hard tyres. |
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Lap 20 |
Vergne pulls straight into the garage, becoming the fourth retirement today. Bottas has been leapfrogged by Kvyat at the pit stops and is stuck down in P10. |
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Lap 21 |
Bottas passes Kvyat easily into Turn One. Rosberg told to try and open up a bigger gap on Vettel (currently 2.5s) before going on to fuel-saving mode. Mercedes clearly concerned by Red Bull. Hamilton's lead now 9.7s. |
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Lap 22 |
Hamilton has already turned down his engine down a little bit, which they are also doing with Rosberg. Behind him Rosberg was being caught by Vettel but has now opened up a bigger gap, which is 2.7s. |
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Lap 23 |
Perez says there was "some issue" with Force India's downshifts which meant he never left the garage today. |
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Lap 24 |
Interestingly, the top four are in reverse order in terms of fuel consumption. Ricciardo, Vettel, Rosberg, and then Hamilton, who has currently used around 40%. Mercedes has some important fuel in storage for later, if they need. Hulkenberg, Massa and Bottas also good on consumption. |
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Lap 25 |
Hulkenberg going well sixth, he's five seconds down on Alonso. Gutierrez pits and takes on hard tyres, while Magnussen dives into the pits where he takes his five second penalty before taking on fresh mediums. |
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Lap 26 |
Button comes in for a very quick stop, for fresh mediums. Grosjean pits from 10th. Gutierrez dives down the inside of Ericsson for 16th at the final corner after a patient wait behind the Caterham. |
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Lap 27 |
That gap between Rosberg is now 3.5s so Red Bull's hopes of catching the Mercedes look to be fading. Hulkenberg has narrowed the gap to Alonso to four seconds. Still no sign of the rain as we reach mid-distance. |
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Lap 28 |
Alonso pits earlier than his rivals and sticks on the hard compound. Let's see how long this next stint is for Ferrari. Massa comes in and takes fresh options, rejoining 9th. Magnussen sets a new fastest lap, 1:46.110. |
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Lap 29 |
Massa has a very big amount of fuel in store for later compared to those around him. Ricciardo pits and follows Alonso's lead, switching to hard tyres. |
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Lap 30 |
Rosberg is told rain is in the area but "not absolutely imminent." Kobayashi is having a great race up in 12th, though he has just been passed by Magnussen. |
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Lap 31 |
Hamilton's lead is now 10.2s on Rosberg, who is 3.9s ahead of Vettel. The race leader is warned clouds are forming and rain could be possible at the end of the race. Interesting.
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Lap 32 |
Vettel pits from third. Hamilton is told Mercedes is going to stretch its stints as long as possible to prepare for the predicted shower. |
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Lap 33 |
It's starting to look very grey in the sky in Sepang. Rosberg comes into the pits the lap after Vettel. He gets out ahead of the world champion but the gap is now 1.2s.
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Lap 34 |
Hamilton dives into the pits from the lead and emerges with medium tyres. He's still leading on the track, way ahead of Hulkenberg. Vettel sets a fastest lap of 1:44.779 and is getting close to the back of that Merc. |
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Lap 35 |
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Lap 36 |
Raikkonen tells Ferrari it is raining in places back of the circuit. Now let's see if the heavens open now. Yellow flags still out as marshals remove Sutil's car. |
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Lap 37 |
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Lap 38 |
DRS has been enabled again. Vettel tells Red Bull Rosberg may be losing oil ahead of him. The gap is still 1.4s.
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Lap 39 |
Vettel is told the oil he thought Rosberg was losing may be the drops of rain at Turn 10. Alonso looks to be closing a little on Ricciardo in fourth. Those clouds are getting thicker.... |
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Lap 40 |
Vettel is slipping back now. The gap to Rosberg has increased to 3.191s. Vettel is told there are rain drops in Turn 14 but the track remains dry. Ericsson and Button pit. |
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Lap 41 |
Ricciardo comes into the pits, and that's confirmation he's doing a three-stopper. What a disaster! They haven't put his front left on and he's shaking his head as the mechanics run half way down the pit lane to wheel him back down the garage. That has spoilt his race big time.
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Lap 42 |
That has relegated Ricciardo right down to 14th, he spent so long in the pit lane he's been lapped by Hamilton. He's also being investigated for an unsafe release. Another disaster for the Australian. |
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Lap 43 |
That has promoted Alonso to fourth, and he comes into the pits, presumably for options. Hulkenberg goes through but has 13 laps to fend off Alonso on older tyres. |
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Lap 44 |
It's all gone Pete Tong for Ricciardo. His front wing is now hanging off the car, damaging the right front tyre. In the space of three laps a really promising race has come falling apart. It looks like the wing just failed on the main straight. |
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Lap 45 |
Ricciardo has pitted again and is now well down. Hamilton sets a fastest lap of 1:44.329. Vettel is told Red Bull wants to avoid using the hard tyres too early. Replays show Ricciardo's wing jolted on a kerb on the entrance to the back straight. |
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Lap 46 |
To add insult to injury, Ricciardo has been given a 10 second stop/go penalty. Button and Massa having an entertaining scrap for sixth place, but Button holds it.
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Lap 47 |
Hamilton's lead is up to 12.4s. Hulkenberg in fourth is 9.1s ahead of Alonso but that gap is coming down fast. Hulkenberg is on much older tyres and is a bit of a sitting duck at the moment. |
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Lap 48 |
We know Massa has some fuel in reserve but at the moment he's stuck behind Button, that gap is 0.872s. This is letting Bottas close in from eighth as well. |
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Lap 49 |
Alonso is flying and sets a fastest lap, a 1:44.165 and that gap to Hulkenberg is now just over seven seconds. This could be a thrilling finish for fourth. Hamilton is told it looks like everyone is "holding out for this rain". Looks like a fair bit of degradation on Mercedes' cars. |
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Lap 50 |
Vettel comes into the pits and is warned to stay off the kerbs after what happened to Ricciardo. He's well clear of Hulkenberg. Rosberg is told to pit at the end of this lap so perhaps the weather will hold off until the end of the race. Alonso is now just 3.8s behind Hulkenberg. Vettel is only 2.910s ahead of the Force India but has far fresher tyres than both cars behind him. |
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Lap 51 |
Rosberg dives into the pits from second for medium tyres and comes out well clear of Vettel. Hamilton set to pit at the end of this lap.
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Lap 52 |
Hamilton pits from the lead. He's led all but one lap of this race after a super start (below) and he is five laps away from a first win in Sepang. Ricciardo retires in the pits as he disasterous 10 laps comes to an end.
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Lap 53 |
Alonso just three tenths behind Hulkenberg, who is looking frantically in his mirrors but he surely can't hold that position for long. Hulkenberg holds off Alonso into the final corner. Massa is told to let Bottas past him. That will bring back bad memories. |
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Lap 54 |
Superb racing from Hulkenberg and Alonso. The Ferrari driver can't make it stick in the first corner as Hulkenberg goes defensive, wins back the position, but Alonso shows his class and the benefit of fresher tyres and powers past him at Turn Three. The fans love it. Massa yet to move over for Bottas.... he's told again to let him through as Bottas is on fresher tyres. |
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Lap 55 |
Grosjean is racing well in 11th, and is refusing to let former team-mate Raikkonen by. A race finish would be a big lift for Lotus. In Massa's defence, Bottas is a fair way back. It wouldn't be Malaysia without a bit of team order controversy though. This all play into the hands of Button, of course. Bottas is ow told he is racing Massa and they are going at it big time. |
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Lap 56 |
Hamilton wins the Malaysian Grand Prix Hamilton comes home after an utterly dominant display, Rosberg second and Vettel third. Bottas is unable to get past Massa, who ignored those team orders - that will make some interesting post-race meetings. Kvyat scores points again. |
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Hamilton thanks his team for the "amazing job" and is all smiles in Parc Ferme. Mercedes still look to be in a race of their own in the dry. The drivers are all smiles, albeit sweaty smiles, as they wait to head to the podium. There will be a much better atmosphere on that podium than there was last year, that's for sure. Please do stay around for our race report from Sepang. Thanks very much for joining ESPN for today's race coverage and we hope to see you again in Bahrain in a week's time. |
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Adrian Sutil has parked on the enterance to the start finish straight. Vettel is within DRS range behind Rosberg but the zone is disabled. Hulkenberg pits for hard tyres, Force India might be doing a two-stopper.
Track clear. Hamilton told the rain is very light. Raikkonen has pitted and is way down in 15th, he's having a race to forget after that early incident. Gutierrez's brakes are smoking in the pits and it looks like the Sauber is retiring.
