Malaysian Grand Prix 2016 | Ricciardo takes dramatic win, as Hamilton's race goes up in smoke

He's only gone and done the shoey, the absolute madman. Must be horrible inside there after two hours in that heat.

Oh no, Horner's had a swig as well.

Not Verstappen as well. Anyone else, any takers?


YES! ROSBERG - IT'S A HAT TRICK! This is unbelievable. Will he get Mark Webber as well?

Ah, Webber ya softie, he's refused.

You have to feel for Hamilton, he drove a faultless race and looked odds on for the win; but with just 17 laps to go, his engine let him down, only Mercedes' ninth mechanical enforced retirement of the V6 hybrid era.

I had high hopes for last year's winner Vettel, but he was the maker of his own downfall, trying a desperate lunge at Turn 1 that ended in disaster, and a grilling from Maurizio Arrivabene you'd expect.

Ricciardo looks at the camera in the cool down room and says "I told you we'd win."

All this means is that Mercedes do not wrap up the Constructors' Championship - that goes to Japan; and Ferrari fall further behind Red Bull, as they take all 43 points.

That's all from me, sit tight for Ricciardo's shoey and of course, Jake Nichol's imminent race report; I've been James Eagles, see you in Japan in a week's time. Can Hamilton claw back the defecit, or will this be Rosberg's year?

But...if you do have any comments about the race, then do get in touch via Twitter @therealjeagles.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER 56 LAPS

1. Ricciardo
2. Verstappen
3. Rosberg
4. Raikkonen
5. Bottas
6. Perez
7. Alonso
8. Hulkenberg
9. Button
10. Palmer
11. Sainz
12. Ericsson
13. Massa
14. Kvyat
15. Wehrlein
16. Ocon

Retired:

Nasr
Hamilton
Gutierrez
Magnussen
Grosjean
Vettel

CHEQUERED FLAG: Daniel Ricciardo wins in Malaysia. He said he'd win a Grand Prix this year, after his frustration in Spain, Monaco and in Singapore. Max Verstappen comes home in second and Rosberg did enough for third. What a Grand Prix!

AND JOLYON PALMER SCORES POINTS! AT LAST!

FINAL LAP: Ricciardo crosses the line to start lap number 56.

L55: Button's in the points after a quiet race. Good way to celebrate race number 300.

Verstappen has backed off by the looks of things, the gap is up to 2.8 seconds.

L53: Kvyat: "Oh, my brakes have gone to s**t."

L51: As it stands, Rosberg would be 23 points ahead of Hamilton. Lewis can only hope that Raikkonen stays inside 10 seconds to decrease that margin; but it stands at over eleven seconds. Five races to go, the championship pendulum swings Rosberg's way.

L50: Nasr retires, and Raikkonen stays within 10 seconds of Rosberg. As it stands, he'll take third.

L48: Mercedes have called Hamilton's failure "unexpected".

 

L47: Christian Horner's foot is tapping away, with both his drivers within 2 seconds of each other.

Multi 333 maybe?

L46: Simon Rennie tells Ricciardo to "take a drink".

Not a shoey just yet through.

L45: The penalty only encourages the German, as he sets a 1:36.999.

L43: Rosberg receives a 10 second penalty for his move on Raikkonen. Would it have been 10 seconds if Hamilton was still in the lead?

Tin foil hats at the ready, lads.

If Hamilton had an oil problem at Petronas' home Grand Prix, that board meeting will be interesting.

L43: Hamilton trudges away down the paddock, I don't see that helmet coming off in a hurry.

L42: Both Red Bulls are in the pits, two fairly quick stops, Mercedes react by bringing Rosberg in.

Gutierrez stops with only three wheels. Where's the other one?

L41: HAMILTON IS OUT! His engine expires in a plume of smoke, he's gone! Toto Wolff has his head in his hands, Hamilton walks off looking dazed, it's a Red Bull 1-2.

What a time to have your first mechanical failure of the year!

L39: Wheel to wheel racing at Red Bull, Verstappen pulls alongside Ricciardo and they go side by side through the sweeping Turn 5 and 6 before Verstappen yields at 7. Great stuff.

Meanwhile, Rosberg's pass on Raikkonen in under investigation.

L38: Rosberg goes for a move on Raikkonen round the outside to Turn 1, before diving down the inside at Turn 2. Aggressive, and they make contact, but just about fair and he's up to fourth.

Ocon picks up another penalty for speeding, he must have a pit limiter problem.

L38: Verstappen is starting to close in on Ricciardo, he has the gap down to eight tenths of a second.

L37: Raikkonen mumbles "We need all the power we can have" as he looks to keep Rosberg at bay.

L35: Hamilton plays Vettel's classic game of "Who can shout blue flag in the most miffed tone", as Palmer fails to yield easily.

L34: Hamilton says he's starting to lose grip, he's only been on that tyre for around 15 laps.

L34: Alonso passes Sainz for 9th in an all Spanish battle.

L33: Raikkonen pits for another set of hard tyres. He rejoins ahead of Rosberg.

L32: Will Hamilton's tyres even go that far? He's just done a 1:38.5.

L32: Rosberg comes in to the pits from fifth, for another set of hard tyres. They lasted 22 laps, how will that affect Hamilton's strategy.

L31: He then lowers that to a 1:38.941.

L30: Hamilton sets the fastest lap again, this time it's a 1:39.135.

L30: Finally, Bottas comes in for his sole stop. He rejoins in 8th.

L29: Bottas is still trundling around on the medium tyres he started on in sixth.

I do emphasise trundling though.

L28: Verstappen pits from the lead, onto the mandatory set of hard tyres; Hamilton leads once again.

Good stop, but Ricciardo goes back into second.

L27: Hamilton is closing in on Verstappen, the gap is a fraction over 6 seconds now. Surely Red Bull will have their hand forced?

L26: Verstappen admits he's losing grip now, he's done 18 laps on that set of soft tyres.

L25: Hamilton has got the gap to Verstappen down to under 7 seconds, setting a 1:39.186 - a new fastest lap, nine tenths faster than the Dutch teenager.

L24: Hamilton is pushing, going three tenths faster per lap than Verstappen, but has to watch out for rear graining, he needs to go a fair way on these tyres still, until his final scheduled stop.

Alonso's told to meet a lap delta of 1:40.5 to which he replies "No way. Too much degradation."

L23: In the battle for 12th, Sainz gets past Nasr. He seems to be over his pre-race trouble.

L22: Ricciardo's in, releasing Verstappen; he's on the hard tyre. He rejoins in third, ahead of Rosberg who is up to fifth.

And my apologies, Hamilton is on the hard tyre as well.

L20: Mercedes are out in the pit lane for Hamilton, Raikkonen follows him in, Verstappen is up to second.

Raikkonen opts for hards, Hamilton comes out on mediums.

L19: Magnussen suffered in the first lap melee, Kvyat giving him a bump twice at Turn 1, destroying the rear of the car.

L19: Rosberg is now up to 6th after getting past Sainz with DRS.

Verstappen is now hot on Raikkonen's tail.

L18: Verstappen's pace continues, he's consistently running in the 1:39 bracket, contrary to the three cars above him, who are around the low to high 1:40's.

Magnussen retires, after losing downforce earlier in the race. They thought it could've been fixed, but it's futile. His joy in Singapore is followed by a frankly crushing blow.

L16: "Okay Daniel. We are thinking about fitting the hard compound for the next stint."

Surprising that Verstappen was called in first initially, given that Ricciardo had track position.

L16: Ocon picks up a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

L16: Rosberg's crusade continues, sweeping past Perez at Turn 8 for 8th.

L15: Ricciardo's falling behind, Hamilton is now 4 seconds clear. Hulkenberg complains of understeer, but gets past Palmer, who's a sitting duck on the straight.

L14: Scrap that, Verstappen goes three tenths faster. He looks like the man to beat on fresh soft tyres.

L14: Hamilton sets another fastest lap, this time a 1:39.584.

L13: Rosberg edges past Palmer again, ths time at Turn 10. Unusual place to pass.

Alonso gets past Nasr for 14th.

L12: Verstappen's stop has worked well, he's in 4th still and is the only Top 8 runner who has stopped so far.

Hamilton sets a new fastest lap at a 1:39.543.

L11: Button passes Nasr for 11th and Rosberg follows his lead by getting past Hulkenberg for 13th, both moves at Turn 1.

L10: The VSC period ends and Rosberg is immediately sniffing around Hulkenberg's gearbox.

L10: Pit action aplenty. Verstappen, Perez, Hulkenberg, Alonso and Rosberg all in.

Rosberg says to Tony Ross: "I ran over some debris, check the pressures"

"Just stay at a positive delta.."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, positive."

Sounds rosy.

L9: Grosjean's flown off the track under braking for the tricky last turn, his promising race is over due to what looks like another brake issue and the VSC makes another appearance.

Verstappen also wishes to pass Ricciardo as he feels they are falling behind Hamilton at an alarming rate.

L7: Massa's dismal race continues as he's forced to pit with a puncture from 21st and last. Rosberg breezes past Ocon.

L6: Alonso finally utilises the new Honda power unit to pass Grosjean at Turn 4 for 9th.

L5: Verstappen's under fire for passing Raikkonen before the Safety Car line at the restart, Perez' eagle eyes caught that. Investigation will surely follow.

Hamilton responds of Ricciardo's pace - setting a 1:40.090.

L5: Ricciardo sets another fastest lap of 1:40.462 as he stays within a second of Hamilton.

L4: In a repeat of Spa one month ago, Alonso has moved up into the points after starting plumb last! Rosberg passes Palmer with the help of DRS.

L4: Raikkonen passes Perez at Turn 2 for 4th, Riccirado sets the fastest lap at a 1:40.978.

L3: DRS has now been enabled.

L3: VSC has ended and Hamilton has leapfrogged Ricciardo already, he's a man on a mission with his team mate far down.

END OF LAP 1: Ricciardo, Hamilton, Perez, Raikkonen, Verstappen, Button, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Grosjean, Ocon. Rosberg is down in 17th.

L1: VSC deployed

Verstappen: "Really? Vettel is crazy."

L1: CONTACT! Vettel tags Rosberg, who spins, but Vettel is out after making an adventurous move, his front left suspension has buckled! Palmer and Sainz have issues further down the grid

START: The lights aren't on and there's drama, but we've started anyway!

Drivers' Championship After 15 Rounds

1. Rosberg - 273
2. Hamilton - 265
3. Ricciardo - 179
4. Vettel - 153
5. Raikkonen - 148

Not a good start for Felipe Massa, who has failed to get away for the formation lap, claiming "The throttle's not working, guys."

His final F1 season hasn't exactly gone to plan, and a pit lane start looks imminent for the Brazilian.

Good morning and welcome back to VAVEL's live coverage of the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix. We're around five minutes away from the race start proper; can Hamilton control the race after his eighth pole of the season and close the increasing gap to Rosberg?

Live updates will continue bright and early at 7.55am tomorrow morning, so set your alarm clocks, put the kettle on, settle down and join me for what is shaping up to be a thrilling 56 laps.

With Fernando Alonso's miserable 2016 season continuing in the form of a 45 grid place penalty for power unit element changes, he may well be starting just outside Singapore, but there will be action aplenty for the Spaniard as he looks to fight his way up the grid in his usual, dogged style.

Can Hamilton pip Rosberg?

The 18th instalment of this much loved, but daunting event sees all eyes fixated on the intra-team battle at Mercedes between Messrs Hamilton and Rosberg. As it stands, after his nail-biting win last time out in Singapore, it's advantage Rosberg in the standings - but, at a track he's never won at before in ten attempts, can the German keep Hamilton at bay; who starts on pole position after a blistering Qualifying lap saw him trump the German by nearly half a second. And afterwards, admitted that he could have gone even faster; not music to Rosberg's ears. Or indeed anyone else's.

Welcome to VAVEL's live coverage of the 2016 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix, I'm your correspondent James Eagles and will be guiding you through all the events of tomorrow morning's Grand Prix from the hot and humid Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.