2007 Malaysian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

McLaren turned the Malaysian Grand Prix around in the opening corners, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton sweeping past the Ferraris to set up a commanding one-two. Fernando Alonso took his first victory for the team at the Sepang International Circuit, while Lewis Hamilton’s defence against Felipe Massa helped shape the race.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Pole time	1:35.043
Fastest lap	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:36.701 on lap 22
First	Fernando Alonso	McLaren
Second	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
6 April 2007	Practice 1	10:00
6 April 2007	Practice 2	14:00
7 April 2007	Practice 3	11:00
7 April 2007	Qualifying	14:00
8 April 2007	Race	15:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Kimi Räikkönen arrived at round 2 leading the 2007 F1 World Championship on 10 points, with Fernando Alonso on 8. McLaren headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 14 points.

Race entries

The 11 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastian Vettel also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Felipe Massa set the Friday morning pace after the teams’ pre-race Sepang test, with Fernando Alonso his closest challenger. The heat made this a demanding return to running, particularly for Ferrari, which was monitoring Kimi Räikkönen’s engine after its Melbourne water leak. Sebastian Vettel and Kazuki Nakajima also took part as Friday substitutes for BMW Sauber and Williams respectively.

Felipe Massa remained quickest in the afternoon, but Renault’s improvement caught the eye as Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen moved into second and third. McLaren slipped down the order while concentrating on tyre evaluation, so its ninth and twelfth places did not tell the whole story. David Coulthard also encountered a brake-pedal problem, an unwelcome warning before the race.

Lewis Hamilton answered the questions about McLaren’s pace by topping Saturday practice, narrowly ahead of Felipe Massa. Anthony Davidson again put Super Aguri inside the top ten, comfortably ahead of the works Hondas. With Fernando Alonso third and the Ferraris still in close attendance, the final session pointed towards another tightly matched fight between the two leading teams.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2007 Malaysian Grand Prix FP1, 6 April 2007

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:34.972	17
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+0.248s	24
3	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.740s	22
4	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.807s	20
5	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+1.336s	21
6	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.550s	20
7	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.625s	25
8	38	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams	+1.913s	15
9	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+2.080s	22
10	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+2.149s	12
11	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+2.512s	7
12	35	Sebastian Vettel	BMW Sauber	+2.865s	39
13	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+2.910s	20
14	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	+3.171s	24
15	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+3.328s	26
16	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	+3.748s	29
17	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+3.994s	10
18	19	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+4.158s	9
19	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+4.262s	21
20	7	Jenson Button	Honda	+4.359s	17
21	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+4.385s	9
22	21	Christijan Albers	Spyker	+5.102s	25

Free Practice 2 Classification

2007 Malaysian Grand Prix FP2, 6 April 2007

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:35.780	34
2	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+0.130s	36
3	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	+0.326s	37
4	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.380s	33
5	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.743s	31
6	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams	+0.841s	21
7	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.937s	18
8	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+0.980s	28
9	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+1.017s	30
10	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.082s	25
11	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.126s	18
12	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.261s	26
13	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.423s	25
14	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+1.502s	30
15	7	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.798s	29
16	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.932s	34
17	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+2.075s	26
18	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+2.554s	27
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	+2.639s	28
20	19	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+2.870s	20
21	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+2.933s	20
22	21	Christijan Albers	Spyker	+4.027s	23

Free Practice 3 Classification

2007 Malaysian Grand Prix FP3, 7 April 2007

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:34.811	14
2	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.142s	15
3	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+0.500s	11
4	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.574s	16
5	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.687s	7
6	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+0.959s	16
7	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.349s	20
8	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	+1.384s	19
9	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+1.434s	20
10	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.446s	17
11	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.462s	13
12	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+1.486s	18
13	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+1.623s	15
14	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams	+1.662s	16
15	19	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+1.690s	14
16	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+1.734s	18
17	7	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.847s	20
18	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	+2.065s	6
19	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+2.161s	19
20	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.662s	16
21	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	+3.207s	20
22	21	Christijan Albers	Spyker	+3.414s	20

Qualifying

Felipe Massa grabbed pole in the closing moments, beating Fernando Alonso as spots of rain began to fall. Kimi Räikkönen qualified third and Lewis Hamilton fourth, the rookie acknowledging that the first drops had encouraged a little caution on his final attempt. Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg filled the third row.

Fernando Alonso had led both earlier knockout sessions, but Renault failed to get either car into Q3 despite its promising Friday. Alexander Wurz struggled with gear selection and went out in Q1. Rubens Barrichello received an engine-change penalty; a similar penalty initially given to David Coulthard was rescinded because his previous-race retirement allowed the change.

Qualifying Classification

2007 Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying, 7 April 2007

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:35.340	1:34.454	1:35.043	16
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:34.942	1:34.057	1:35.310	16
3	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:35.138	1:34.687	1:35.479	16
4	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:35.028	1:34.650	1:36.045	16
5	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:35.617	1:35.203	1:36.543	19
6	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:35.755	1:35.380	1:36.829	22
7	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:35.294	1:34.739	1:36.896	14
8	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:35.666	1:35.255	1:36.902	23
9	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	1:35.736	1:35.595	1:37.078	22
10	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:35.727	1:35.579	1:37.345	21
11	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	1:36.092	1:35.630	—	12
12	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1:35.879	1:35.706	—	12
13	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1:35.730	1:35.766	—	12
14	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	1:36.430	1:35.945	—	12
15	7	Jenson Button	Honda	1:35.913	1:36.088	—	15
16	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	1:36.140	1:36.145	—	12
17	19	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	1:36.578	—	—	6
18	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	1:36.816	—	—	6
19	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:36.827	—	—	7
20	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams	1:37.326	—	—	5
21	21	Christijan Albers	Spyker	1:38.279	—	—	6
22	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	1:38.415	—	—	6

Rubens Barrichello was given a ten-place grid penalty following an engine change.

What happened in the 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix?

Fernando Alonso beat Felipe Massa into the first corner and Lewis Hamilton followed with a superb opening sequence, passing Kimi Räikkönen and then going around Felipe Massa to take second. Felipe Massa repeatedly attacked the younger McLaren driver, but a move at Turn 4 sent him wide onto the grass and down to fifth. Fernando Alonso used the battle behind to pull clear.

Lewis Hamilton’s defence gave McLaren control, although Kimi Räikkönen kept the pressure on and closed again as the pit-stop strategies unfolded. Nick Heidfeld held off Felipe Massa for fourth, while Nico Rosberg’s strong run ended with hydraulic trouble. Robert Kubica struggled with traction-control problems and David Coulthard retired after further brake-pedal difficulties.

Fernando Alonso won by more than 17 seconds, Lewis Hamilton resisting Kimi Räikkönen to complete McLaren’s first one-two since Brazil in 2005. Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa followed, with Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen collecting the remaining points. Heikki Kovalainen’s eighth place brought his first Formula 1 point after a difficult debut in Australia.

After the race, Fernando Alonso headed the drivers’ standings with 18 points, followed by Kimi Räikkönen on 16. McLaren led the constructors’ table on 32, with Ferrari on 23.

2007 Malaysian Grand Prix race results

The 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix was held on 8 April 2007, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	56	1:32:14.930	10
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	56	+17.557	8
3	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	56	+18.339	6
4	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	56	+33.777	5
5	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+36.705	4
6	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	56	+1:05.638	3
7	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	56	+1:10.132	2
8	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	56	+1:12.015	1
9	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams	56	+1:29.924	0
10	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	56	+1:33.556	0
11	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	55	+1 lap	0
12	7	Jenson Button	Honda	55	+1 lap	0
13	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	55	+1 lap	0
14	19	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	55	+1 lap	0
15	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	55	+1 lap	0
16	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	55	+1 lap	0
17	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	55	+1 lap	0
18	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	55	+1 lap	0
Ret	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	42	Water leak	0
Ret	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	36	Brakes	0
Ret	21	Christijan Albers	Spyker	7	Engine	0
Ret	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker	0	Collision	0

Rubens Barrichello started the race from the pitlane.

2007 Malaysian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	22	1:36.701	206.355
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	42	1:36.861	206.014
3	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	42	1:37.199	205.298
4	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	40	1:37.228	205.237
5	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	55	1:37.417	204.838
6	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams	18	1:37.704	204.237
7	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	41	1:37.810	204.015
8	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams	19	1:37.864	203.903
9	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	44	1:37.879	203.872
10	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	40	1:38.016	203.587
11	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	28	1:38.098	203.416
12	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	21	1:38.447	202.695
13	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	37	1:38.496	202.595
14	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	55	1:38.540	202.504
15	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	32	1:38.566	202.451
16	7	Jenson Button	Honda	54	1:38.658	202.262
17	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	53	1:38.874	201.820
18	19	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	54	1:39.098	201.364
19	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	52	1:39.243	201.070
20	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri	32	1:39.566	200.417
21	21	Christijan Albers	Spyker	5	1:41.495	196.608

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2007 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix.

2007 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	18
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	16
3	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	14
4	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	10
5	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	7
6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Renault	7
7	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	2
8	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	2
9	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Renault	1
10	Ralf Schumacher	German	Toyota	1
11	Alexander Wurz	Austrian	Williams	0
12	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	0
13	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda	0
14	Takuma Sato	Japanese	Super Aguri	0
15	Jenson Button	British	Honda	0
16	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Toro Rosso	0
17	Scott Speed	American	Toro Rosso	0
18	Anthony Davidson	British	Super Aguri	0
19	Adrian Sutil	German	Spyker	0
20	Robert Kubica	Polish	BMW Sauber	0
–	David Coulthard	British	Red Bull Racing	0
–	Christijan Albers	Dutch	Spyker	0

2007 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	McLaren	32
2	Ferrari	23
3	BMW Sauber	10
4	Renault	8
5	Toyota	3
6	Williams	2
7	Red Bull Racing	0
8	Honda	0
9	Super Aguri	0
10	Toro Rosso	0
11	Spyker	0

2007 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2007 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	18 March
2	2007 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	8 April
3	2007 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	15 April
4	2007 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
5	2007 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
6	2007 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
7	2007 United States Grand Prix	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis	17 June
8	2007 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	1 July
9	2007 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
10	2007 European Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	22 July
11	2007 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	5 August
12	2007 Turkish Grand Prix	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	26 August
13	2007 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	9 September
14	2007 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	16 September
15	2007 Japanese Grand Prix	Fuji Speedway, Oyama	30 September
16	2007 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	7 October
17	2007 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	21 October