2013 Malaysian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Sebastian Vettel won a controversial Malaysian Grand Prix after overtaking Mark Webber against Red Bull‘s instruction to hold position. Lewis Hamilton finished third as Mercedes also intervened in the contest between its drivers.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Pole time	1:49.674
Fastest lap	Sergio Perez	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:39.199 on lap 56
First	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Second	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing
Third	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
22 March 2013	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
22 March 2013	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
23 March 2013	Practice 3	13:00 – 14:00
23 March 2013	Qualifying	16:00
24 March 2013	Race	16:00

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 2013 F1 World Championship on 25 points, with Fernando Alonso on 18. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings with 30 points.

Race entries

The 11 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Free Practice

Mark Webber led FP1 after teams waited for the hot, humid circuit to improve before committing to quick runs. Kimi Räikkönen lost most of the opening hour to a KERS battery problem but still showed strong pace. Adrian Sutil damaged his front wing on a kerb, and Esteban Gutierrez spun late in the lap.

Kimi Räikkönen led FP2 before a heavy shower prevented further improvements. Some drivers used intermediates to prepare for the possibility of more rain later in the weekend. Esteban Gutierrez had an unusual setback when a kerb strike activated his fire extinguisher, followed by an exhaust problem that ended his session.

Teams began FP3 with hard-tyre race preparation before switching to mediums as grip improved. Sebastian Vettel produced the quickest late lap, while Lewis Hamilton damaged a tyre through a heavy lock-up. Part of its tread then detached on the straight and struck his front wing, adding repairs before qualifying.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2013 Malaysian Grand Prix FP1, 22 March 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:36.935	15
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.068s	15
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.169s	21
4	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.384s	13
5	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.653s	19
6	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+0.834s	17
7	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.836s	15
8	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.838s	15
9	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.905s	18
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.980s	17
11	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.238s	16
12	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1.738s	16
13	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.895s	17
14	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+2.119s	17
15	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+2.269s	16
16	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.273s	19
17	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+2.349s	17
18	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+2.632s	16
19	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+3.793s	17
20	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+4.061s	14
21	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+4.228s	18
22	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+4.578s	14

Free Practice 2 Classification

2013 Malaysian Grand Prix FP2, 22 March 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	1:36.569	28
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.019s	27
3	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.092s	33
4	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.416s	23
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.457s	29
6	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.637s	26
7	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.879s	32
8	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.002s	30
9	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+1.005s	32
10	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.219s	10
11	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.269s	21
12	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.296s	29
13	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+1.499s	31
14	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+2.076s	23
15	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+2.169s	31
16	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.232s	27
17	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+2.335s	31
18	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+2.939s	30
19	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+3.091s	28
20	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+4.188s	29
21	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+4.199s	32
22	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+4.869s	23

Free Practice 3 Classification

2013 Malaysian Grand Prix FP3, 23 March 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:36.435	20
2	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.133s	17
3	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+0.153s	19
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.178s	20
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.371s	19
6	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.372s	18
7	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.387s	16
8	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.511s	14
9	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.514s	25
10	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.867s	14
11	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+0.924s	11
12	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.103s	12
13	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+1.250s	23
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.255s	14
15	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.501s	16
16	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+1.859s	17
17	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.941s	16
18	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.990s	15
19	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+2.560s	18
20	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+3.282s	21
21	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+3.774s	18
22	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+4.060s	18

Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel headed qualifying for Red Bull Racing, with Felipe Massa second and Fernando Alonso third.

Sebastian Vettel took pole in a rain-affected session, ahead of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso. Kimi Räikkönen received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Nico Rosberg.

Qualifying Classification

2013 Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying, 23 March 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:37.899	1:37.245	1:49.674	13
2	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:37.712	1:36.874	1:50.587	15
3	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:37.314	1:36.877	1:50.727	14
4	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:37.513	1:36.517	1:51.699	15
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:37.619	1:36.449	1:52.244	14
6	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:37.239	1:36.190	1:52.519	14
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	1:36.959	1:36.640	1:52.970	12
8	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:37.487	1:37.117	1:53.175	14
9	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:36.809	1:36.834	1:53.439	12
10	6	Sergio Pérez	McLaren	1:37.702	1:37.342	1:54.136	16
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:37.363	1:37.636	—	7
12	11	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	1:37.931	1:38.125	—	12
13	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:37.722	1:38.822	—	12
14	12	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	1:37.707	1:39.221	—	14
15	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:37.493	1:44.509	—	10
16	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:37.867	No time	—	10
17	18	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:38.157	—	—	8
18	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:38.207	—	—	7
19	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	1:38.434	—	—	8
20	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	1:39.314	—	—	6
21	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	1:39.672	—	—	8
22	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	1:39.932	—	—	6

Kimi Räikkönen incurred a three-place grid penalty for blocking Nico Rosberg while qualifying.

What happened in the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix?

The race began on intermediates after rain. Alonso damaged his front wing against Vettel on the first lap, stayed out, and retired when the wing detached beneath his Ferrari at the start of lap two.

Webber gained the advantage as the field switched to slick tyres. Hamilton briefly pulled into his former McLaren pit box before continuing to Mercedes, while both Force India cars later retired after wheel-nut problems.

Red Bull instructed its drivers to preserve the order, but Vettel attacked Webber and took the lead after a close fight. The decision caused an immediate dispute within the team and overshadowed its one-two finish.

Hamilton finished third ahead of Rosberg, who obeyed Mercedes‘ instruction to remain behind his fuel-saving team-mate. Massa took fifth ahead of Romain Grosjean and Räikkönen. Vettel’s victory moved him into the championship lead.

Further down the points places, Kimi Räikkönen, Nico Hülkenberg, Sergio Pérez and Jean-Éric Vergne completed the scoring positions. Sergio Perez set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2013 rules.

After the race, Sebastian Vettel headed the drivers’ standings with 40 points, followed by Kimi Räikkönen on 31. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 66, with Lotus F1 on 40.

2013 Malaysian Grand Prix race results

The 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix was held on 24 March 2013, with a scheduled start of 16:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	56	1:38:56.681	25
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	56	+4.298	18
3	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	+12.181	15
4	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	+12.640	12
5	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+25.648	10
6	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	56	+35.564	8
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	56	+48.479	6
8	11	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	56	+53.044	4
9	6	Sergio Pérez	McLaren	56	+1:12.357	2
10	18	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	56	+1:27.124	1
11	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	56	+1:28.610	0
12	12	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	55	+1 Lap	0
13	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	55	+1 Lap	0
14	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	55	+1 Lap	0
15	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	55	+1 Lap	0
16	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	54	+2 Laps	0
17	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	53	Wheel	0
18	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	51	Exhaust	0
Ret	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	45	KERS failure	0
Ret	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	27	Wheel nut	0
Ret	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	22	Wheel nut	0
Ret	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1	Collision damage	0

Jenson Button and Daniel Ricciardo were classified even though they did not finish the race, as they had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

2013 Malaysian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	56	1:39.199	201.159
2	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	50	1:39.805	199.937
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	45	1:40.446	198.661
4	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	45	1:40.492	198.571
5	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	43	1:40.556	198.444
6	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	45	1:40.685	198.190
7	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	46	1:40.727	198.107
8	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	44	1:40.755	198.052
9	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	54	1:40.929	197.711
10	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	32	1:41.001	197.570
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	37	1:41.226	197.131
12	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	54	1:41.373	196.845
13	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	37	1:41.769	196.079
14	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	47	1:42.423	194.827
15	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	35	1:42.581	194.527
16	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	24	1:42.791	194.129
17	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	51	1:42.942	193.845
18	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	19	1:43.094	193.559
19	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	44	1:43.150	193.454
20	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	44	1:43.157	193.441
21	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	34	1:43.465	192.865

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

2013 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix.

2013 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	40
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus F1	31
3	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	26
4	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	25
5	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	22
6	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	18
7	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	12
8	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	9
9	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	6
10	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	4
11	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Sauber	4
12	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	McLaren	2
13	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	2
14	Jean-Éric Vergne	French	Toro Rosso	1
15	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	0
16	Esteban Gutiérrez	Mexican	Sauber	0
17	Jules Bianchi	French	Marussia	0
18	Charles Pic	French	Caterham	0
19	Giedo van der Garde	Dutch	Caterham	0
20	Max Chilton	British	Marussia	0
21	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Toro Rosso	0
–	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	0

2013 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	66
2	Lotus F1	40
3	Ferrari	40
4	Mercedes	37
5	Force India	10
6	Sauber	4
7	McLaren	4
8	Toro Rosso	1
9	Williams	0
10	Marussia	0
11	Caterham	0

2013 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2013 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	17 March
2	2013 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	24 March
3	2013 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	14 April
4	2013 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	21 April
5	2013 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	12 May
6	2013 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	26 May
7	2013 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	9 June
8	2013 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	30 June
9	2013 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	7 July
10	2013 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	28 July
11	2013 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	25 August
12	2013 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	8 September
13	2013 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	22 September
14	2013 Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam	6 October
15	2013 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	13 October
16	2013 Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida	27 October
17	2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	3 November
18	2013 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	17 November
19	2013 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	24 November