2016 Malaysian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Daniel Ricciardo led a Red Bull one-two in Malaysia after Lewis Hamilton‘s engine failed while he was leading. Max Verstappen finished second, while Nico Rosberg recovered from a first-corner spin to take a valuable third place.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Pole time	1:32.850
Fastest lap	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Fastest-lap time	1:36.424 on lap 44
First	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing
Second	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Third	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
30 September 2016	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
30 September 2016	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
1 October 2016	Practice 3	14:00 – 15:00
1 October 2016	Qualifying	17:00
2 October 2016	Race	15:00

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

Championship background

Nico Rosberg arrived at round 16 leading the 2016 F1 World Championship on 273 points, with Lewis Hamilton on 265. Mercedes headed the constructors’ standings with 538 points.

Race entries

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

Free Practice

Nico Rosberg led FP1, but Kevin Magnussen’s Renault fire dominated the opening minutes. Fuel continued leaking as mechanics and marshals fought repeated flare-ups, forcing a red flag. Kevin Magnussen escaped safely, while the extended interruption disrupted tyre programmes and prompted an adjustment to the deadline for returning the first set.

Lewis Hamilton moved ahead in FP2 as teams recovered useful mileage after the morning disruption. Longer runs on the available compounds became the priority, with particular attention to extra wear on the left-front tyre. The busy closing stages gave engineers important race data in Sepang’s demanding heat.

Lewis Hamilton stayed quickest in FP3, while the revised camber at Turn 15 continued to catch drivers out. Esteban Gutierrez and Sebastian Vettel both spun there, interrupting quick laps around them. Max Verstappen lost time to a steering problem before returning, leaving Red Bull to compress part of its final preparation.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2016 Malaysian Grand Prix FP1, 30 September 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:35.227	25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.494s	25
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.088s	16
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.104s	18
5	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.283s	18
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.526s	27
7	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.746s	26
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.286s	26
9	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.374s	27
10	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.386s	20
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+2.620s	29
12	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.634s	17
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.659s	22
14	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+2.694s	20
15	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.828s	25
16	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.957s	18
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+3.086s	20
18	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+3.112s	24
19	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+3.921s	23
20	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing	+4.809s	28
21	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+5.400s	26
22	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	No time	2

Free Practice 2 Classification

2016 Malaysian Grand Prix FP2, 30 September 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:34.944	35
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.233s	36
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.661s	37
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.898s	31
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.093s	29
6	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.340s	33
7	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.352s	27
8	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.393s	30
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.446s	37
10	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.771s	22
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.892s	30
12	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+1.996s	36
13	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.072s	37
14	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+2.104s	28
15	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+2.166s	19
16	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+2.353s	29
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.505s	28
18	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.603s	26
19	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	+2.720s	19
20	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.845s	25
21	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+2.934s	34
22	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing	+3.046s	36

Free Practice 3 Classification

2016 Malaysian Grand Prix FP3, 1 October 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:34.434	16
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.445s	14
3	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.619s	16
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.716s	15
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.736s	14
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.027s	22
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.342s	16
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.468s	17
9	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.788s	18
10	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.793s	20
11	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.825s	15
12	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.929s	11
13	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	+2.119s	14
14	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+2.170s	20
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.253s	15
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	+2.307s	19
17	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+2.318s	20
18	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.331s	19
19	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.672s	18
20	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing	+3.527s	17
21	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	+3.655s	13
22	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+6.765s	15

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Nico Rosberg second and Max Verstappen third.

Lewis Hamilton took pole ahead of Nico Rosberg and Max Verstappen. Fernando Alonso‘s power-unit component changes brought a 45-place grid penalty, leaving the McLaren driver to begin his race from the back.

Qualifying Classification

2016 Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying, 1 October 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:34.444	1:33.046	1:32.850	11
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:34.460	1:33.609	1:33.264	12
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:35.443	1:33.775	1:33.420	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:35.079	1:33.888	1:33.467	12
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:34.557	1:33.972	1:33.584	17
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:34.556	1:33.903	1:33.632	16
7	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:35.068	1:34.538	1:34.319	17
8	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:34.827	1:34.441	1:34.489	15
9	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:35.267	1:34.431	1:34.518	17
10	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:35.267	1:34.422	1:34.671	13
11	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:35.166	1:34.577	—	9
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:35.400	1:35.001	—	14
13	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas	1:35.658	1:35.097	—	14
14	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1:35.593	1:35.277	—	13
15	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:35.695	1:35.369	—	12
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:35.605	1:35.374	—	12
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:35.816	—	—	8
18	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:35.949	—	—	8
19	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:35.999	—	—	8
20	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing	1:36.451	—	—	9
21	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	1:36.587	—	—	9
22	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:37.155	—	—	5

Fernando Alonso penalised 45 grid places for unscheduled power unit element changes.

What happened in the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix?

Sebastian Vettel collided with Nico Rosberg at the first corner, spinning the Mercedes to the rear and damaging his own suspension beyond repair. Hamilton escaped the trouble and established himself at the front.

The Red Bull drivers remained the principal opposition as their strategies developed. Ricciardo and Verstappen fought closely on track, while Rosberg worked his way back through the field after his opening-lap setback.

Hamilton’s race ended abruptly when his engine failed on lap 41. Ricciardo inherited the lead ahead of Verstappen, turning Mercedes‘ lost victory into an opportunity for Red Bull to secure both top positions.

Ricciardo won ahead of Verstappen, with Rosberg third despite a ten-second penalty for contact with Kimi Räikkönen. Räikkönen finished fourth and Valtteri Bottas fifth. Rosberg’s championship lead grew to 23 points after Hamilton’s retirement.

Further down the points places, Fernando Alonso, Nico Hülkenberg, Jenson Button and Jolyon Palmer completed the scoring positions. Nico Rosberg set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2016 rules.

After the race, Nico Rosberg headed the drivers’ standings with 288 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton on 265. Mercedes led the constructors’ table on 553, with Red Bull Racing on 359.

2016 Malaysian Grand Prix race results

The 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix was held on 2 October 2016, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	56	1:37:12.776	25
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	56	+2.443	18
3	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	+25.516	15
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	56	+28.785	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	56	+1:01.582	10
6	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	56	+1:03.794	8
7	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	56	+1:05.205	6
8	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	56	+1:14.062	4
9	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	56	+1:21.816	2
10	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	56	+1:35.466	1
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	56	+1:38.878	0
12	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	55	+1 Lap	0
13	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	55	+1 Lap	0
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	55	+1 Lap	0
15	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	55	+1 Lap	0
16	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing	55	+1 Lap	0
Ret	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	46	Brakes/Power loss	0
Ret	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	40	Engine	0
Ret	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas	39	Wheel	0
Ret	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	17	Power loss	0
Ret	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	7	Brakes	0
Ret	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	0	Collision	0

Nico Rosberg had ten seconds added to his race time for causing an avoidable collision.

Esteban Ocon received two five-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane.

2016 Malaysian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	44	16:21:46	1:36.424	206.948
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	44	16:21:26	1:37.376	204.925
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	44	16:21:24	1:37.449	204.771
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	47	16:26:47	1:37.466	204.736
5	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	43	16:20:51	1:37.793	204.051
6	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	44	16:22:24	1:38.291	203.017
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	31	15:57:51	1:38.595	202.391
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	51	16:34:08	1:38.740	202.094
9	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	53	16:37:04	1:39.199	201.159
10	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	44	16:22:43	1:39.243	201.070
11	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	51	16:33:47	1:39.328	200.898
12	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	53	16:37:37	1:39.350	200.853
13	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing	55	16:42:10	1:39.653	200.242
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	55	16:41:11	1:39.781	199.985
15	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	43	16:21:35	1:39.798	199.951
16	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	53	16:38:11	1:39.920	199.707
17	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	43	16:21:22	1:40.490	198.574
18	31	Esteban Ocon	Manor Racing	45	16:25:20	1:41.467	196.662
19	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	37	16:10:09	1:41.775	196.067
20	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	7	15:16:48	1:42.142	195.363
21	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	3	15:10:30	1:43.379	193.025

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

2016 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix.

2016 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	288
2	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	265
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing	204
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	160
5	Sebastian Vettel	German	Ferrari	153
6	Max Verstappen	Dutch	Toro Rosso / Red Bull Racing	147
7	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	80
8	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Force India	74
9	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	50
10	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	42
11	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams	41
12	Carlos Sainz	Spanish	Toro Rosso	30
13	Romain Grosjean	French	Haas	28
14	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	Red Bull Racing / Toro Rosso	25
15	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	19
16	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	Renault	7
17	Jolyon Palmer	British	Renault	1
18	Pascal Wehrlein	German	Manor Racing	1
19	Stoffel Vandoorne	Belgian	McLaren	1
20	Esteban Gutiérrez	Mexican	Haas	0
21	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Sauber	0
22	Felipe Nasr	Brazilian	Sauber	0
23	Rio Haryanto	Indonesian	Manor Racing	0
24	Esteban Ocon	French	Manor Racing	0

2016 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	553
2	Red Bull Racing	359
3	Ferrari	313
4	Force India	124
5	Williams	121
6	McLaren	62
7	Toro Rosso	47
8	Haas	28
9	Renault	8
10	Manor Racing	1
11	Sauber	0

2016 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2016 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	20 March
2	2016 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	3 April
3	2016 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	17 April
4	2016 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	1 May
5	2016 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	15 May
6	2016 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	29 May
7	2016 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	12 June
8	2016 European Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	19 June
9	2016 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	3 July
10	2016 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	10 July
11	2016 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	24 July
12	2016 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	31 July
13	2016 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	28 August
14	2016 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	4 September
15	2016 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	18 September
16	2016 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	2 October
17	2016 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	9 October
18	2016 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	23 October
19	2016 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	30 October
20	2016 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	13 November
21	2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	27 November