2017 Malaysian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Max Verstappen gave Sepang a memorable Formula 1 farewell, passing Lewis Hamilton on track to win the final Malaysian Grand Prix. Ferrari‘s speed offered promise, but reliability left Sebastian Vettel recovering from the back and Kimi Räikkönen unable to start.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Pole time	1:30.076
Fastest lap	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:34.080 on lap 41
First	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Second	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Third	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
29 September 2017	Practice 1	11:00 – 12:30
29 September 2017	Practice 2	15:00 – 16:30
30 September 2017	Practice 3	14:00 – 15:00
30 September 2017	Qualifying	17:00
1 October 2017	Race	15:00

Championship background

Lewis Hamilton arrived at round 15 leading the 2017 F1 World Championship on 263 points, with Sebastian Vettel on 235. Mercedes headed the constructors’ standings with 475 points.

Race entries

Pierre Gasly made his Formula 1 debut for Toro Rosso, replacing Daniil Kvyat alongside Carlos Sainz.

Free Practice

Heavy rain delayed FP1 by half an hour, leaving a shortened session on a wet circuit. Drivers initially made cautious installation laps before switching to intermediates as conditions improved. Max Verstappen led a Red Bull one-two in the late running, while Pierre Gasly began his first Grand Prix weekend and several reserve drivers sampled the difficult conditions.

Sebastian Vettel led a dry FP2, with Mercedes struggling to match the leading pace. The session ended early after Romain Grosjean struck a dislodged drain cover, which damaged his rear tyre and sent the Haas into the barriers. With no restart, teams lost the remaining time they had planned to spend on longer runs.

Kimi Räikkönen led FP3 as Romain Grosjean returned in his repaired Haas and Mercedes compared revised parts on Valtteri Bottas’ car. Ferrari’s encouraging pace was tempered by an engine problem for Sebastian Vettel, requiring a replacement before qualifying. Max Verstappen also suffered a late puncture and spin after contact with Jolyon Palmer at the final corner.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix FP1, 29 September 2017

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:48.962	11
2	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.757s	12
3	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.635s	6
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.772s	12
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+2.047s	12
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+2.556s	8
7	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+3.045s	10
8	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+3.333s	9
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+3.418s	14
10	46	Sergey Sirotkin	Renault	+4.559s	10
11	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+4.663s	10
12	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+4.809s	10
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+4.934s	6
14	38	Sean Gelael	Toro Rosso	+5.648s	13
15	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+5.707s	4
16	37	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+6.318s	10
17	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	+6.690s	10
18	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+7.249s	8
19	50	Antonio Giovinazzi	Haas	+7.377s	6
20	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	No time	3

Free Practice 2 Classification

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix FP2, 29 September 2017

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:31.261	23
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.604s	19
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.838s	19
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.848s	11
5	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.303s	14
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+1.416s	15
7	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+1.459s	21
8	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.601s	20
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.799s	24
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+1.835s	24
11	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+2.120s	26
12	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+2.133s	20
13	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.412s	15
14	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+2.557s	16
15	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+2.782s	22
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.843s	19
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.857s	18
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+3.082s	17
19	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	+3.985s	29
20	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+4.436s	27

Free Practice 3 Classification

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix FP3, 30 September 2017

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:31.880	19
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.162s	14
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.211s	16
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.449s	24
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.659s	20
6	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.699s	17
7	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.329s	20
8	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.360s	20
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+1.410s	21
10	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+1.441s	16
11	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.650s	17
12	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+1.658s	21
13	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.907s	10
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.991s	14
15	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.044s	22
16	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+2.326s	24
17	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+2.595s	12
18	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+3.034s	19
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+3.056s	19
20	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	+3.165s	19

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Kimi Räikkönen second and Max Verstappen third.

Lewis Hamilton narrowly beat Kimi Räikkönen to pole. Sebastian Vettel could not set a qualifying time after problems with his replacement engine, leaving him at the back of the grid.

Qualifying Classification

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying, 30 September 2017

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:31.605	1:30.977	1:30.076	18
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:32.259	1:30.926	1:30.121	14
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:31.920	1:30.931	1:30.541	12
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:32.416	1:31.061	1:30.595	16
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:32.254	1:30.803	1:30.758	17
6	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:32.527	1:31.651	1:31.478	17
7	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:32.838	1:31.848	1:31.582	18
8	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:32.586	1:31.778	1:31.607	17
9	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:32.768	1:31.484	1:31.658	18
10	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:33.049	1:32.010	1:31.704	17
11	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:32.267	1:32.034	—	12
12	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:32.576	1:32.100	—	14
13	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:33.000	1:32.307	—	14
14	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:32.650	1:32.402	—	14
15	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:32.547	1:32.558	—	14
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:33.308	—	—	8
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:33.434	—	—	6
18	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	1:33.483	—	—	9
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:33.970	—	—	9
—	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	No time	—	—	2

Sebastian Vettel failed to set a time within the 107% requirement, but received permission from the stewards to start the race; he also received a 20-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit components.

What happened in the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix?

Ferrari‘s afternoon began badly when Kimi Räikkönen was withdrawn from his front-row position with a power-unit problem. Lewis Hamilton led initially, but Max Verstappen had the pace to challenge rather than simply follow.

Verstappen attacked into Turn 1 on lap four and took the lead. He then built an advantage that Red Bull protected through the pit stops, turning an assertive overtaking move into a controlled race-winning performance.

Sebastian Vettel charged through from the back to reach fourth and close on Daniel Ricciardo. The second Red Bull driver kept the Ferrari behind, ensuring that Verstappen would be joined by his team-mate on the podium.

Max Verstappen took his second career victory ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo. Vettel’s recovery limited the damage, although a collision with Lance Stroll on the slowing-down lap left his Ferrari damaged after the finish. Valtteri Bottas was fifth and Sergio Perez led the midfield in sixth.

Further down the points places, Stoffel Vandoorne, Lance Stroll, Felipe Massa and Esteban Ocon completed the scoring positions. Sebastian Vettel set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2017 rules.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton headed the drivers’ standings with 281 points, followed by Sebastian Vettel on 247. Mercedes led the constructors’ table on 503, with Ferrari on 385.

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix race results

The 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix was held on 1 October 2017, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	56	1:30:01.290	25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	+12.770	18
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	56	+22.519	15
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	56	+37.362	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	56	+56.021	10
6	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	56	+1:18.630	8
7	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	55	+1 Lap	6
8	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	55	+1 Lap	4
9	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	55	+1 Lap	2
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	55	+1 Lap	1
11	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	55	+1 Lap	0
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	55	+1 Lap	0
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	55	+1 Lap	0
14	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	55	+1 Lap	0
15	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	55	+1 Lap	0
16	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	55	+1 Lap	0
17	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	55	+1 Lap	0
18	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	54	+2 Laps	0
Ret	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	29	Engine	0
DNS	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	0	Battery	0

Kimi Räikkönen did not line up on the grid as a result of a power unit issue.

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	41	16:10:05	1:34.080	212.104
2	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	52	16:29:44	1:34.266	211.686
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	48	16:20:58	1:34.452	211.269
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	50	16:23:59	1:34.467	211.235
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	55	16:32:15	1:34.770	210.560
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	44	16:15:10	1:35.284	209.424
7	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	32	15:56:15	1:35.591	208.751
8	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	49	16:24:39	1:35.796	208.305
9	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	49	16:24:02	1:35.931	208.012
10	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	53	16:31:24	1:36.395	207.010
11	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	55	16:34:18	1:36.501	206.783
12	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	46	16:19:13	1:36.627	206.513
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	54	16:33:33	1:36.630	206.507
14	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	44	16:16:03	1:36.944	205.838
15	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	36	16:03:07	1:37.075	205.560
16	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	45	16:18:04	1:37.170	205.359
17	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	45	16:18:10	1:37.186	205.325
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	46	16:19:40	1:37.192	205.313
19	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	27	15:48:11	1:38.123	203.365

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.

2017 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix.

2017 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	281
2	Sebastian Vettel	German	Ferrari	247
3	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Mercedes	222
4	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing	177
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	138
6	Max Verstappen	Dutch	Red Bull Racing	93
7	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Force India	76
8	Esteban Ocon	French	Force India	57
9	Carlos Sainz	Spanish	Toro Rosso	48
10	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Renault	34
11	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams	33
12	Lance Stroll	Canadian	Williams	32
13	Romain Grosjean	French	Haas	26
14	Stoffel Vandoorne	Belgian	McLaren	13
15	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	Haas	11
16	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	10
17	Jolyon Palmer	British	Renault	8
18	Pascal Wehrlein	German	Sauber	5
19	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	Toro Rosso	4
20	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Sauber	0
21	Antonio Giovinazzi	Italian	Sauber	0
22	Pierre Gasly	French	Toro Rosso	0
–	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	0
–	Paul di Resta	British	Williams	0

2017 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	503
2	Ferrari	385
3	Red Bull Racing	270
4	Force India	133
5	Williams	65
6	Toro Rosso	52
7	Renault	42
8	Haas	37
9	McLaren	23
10	Sauber	5

2017 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2017 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	26 March
2	2017 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	9 April
3	2017 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	16 April
4	2017 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	30 April
5	2017 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	14 May
6	2017 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	28 May
7	2017 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	11 June
8	2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	25 June
9	2017 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	9 July
10	2017 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	16 July
11	2017 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	30 July
12	2017 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	27 August
13	2017 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	3 September
14	2017 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	17 September
15	2017 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	1 October
16	2017 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	8 October
17	2017 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	22 October
18	2017 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	29 October
19	2017 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	12 November
20	2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	26 November