Mercedes unhappy after Malaysian GP despite extending lead in Formula 1 title race
October 02, 2017 16:10 ISTMercedes is 118 points clear of Ferrari and close to sealing a fourth straight constructors' championship
Mercedes is 118 points clear of Ferrari and close to sealing a fourth straight constructors' championship
Having seen both of its cars fail to score points at the previous race in Singapore, Ferrari lost Kimi Raikkonen moments before this race.
Hamilton secured the 70th pole of his career in qualifying, and his fourth straight in Malaysia, while Vettel failed to set a time because of an engine problem.
Vettel, meanwhile, was handed a 20-place grid penalty after Ferrari made several component changes to his engine before the race.
Max Verstappen qualified third ahead of Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo, while Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas was fifth.
It was a reversal of Friday's second practice when Vettel was quickest ahead of Raikkonen.
The Ferrari driver threw away a golden chance to regain the championship lead from Lewis Hamilton in Singapore after an unfortunate crash.
Malaysia, however, is dropping off the calendar next year due to a massive shortfall in attendance at the Sepang circuit.
On the eve of his 20th birthday, Verstappen was .757 seconds faster than Ricciardo, whose confidence is high following seven podiums in 10 races.
Raikkonen is fifth in the 2017 drivers' standings with 138 points, while Vettel is in the second spot with 235 points, 28 behind leader Hamilton.
Ferrari's Vettel had topped the drivers' standings, but the Mercedes' racer bounced back to clinch the top spot, 28 points ahead of the German driver with six races to go.
After blowing pole position by causing a crash at the Singapore GP two weeks ago, the Ferrari driver threw away a golden chance to regain the championship lead from Lewis Hamilton.
Although he believes that there are five to six years left in his career, the record of Schumacher is nowhere in his mind.
The two-time world champion explained that the straights in the Sepang circuit, where this weekend's race is to take place, requires more speed and power in the engines.
Honda has been supplying McLaren with engines since 2015, an attempt at rekindling what was once a hugely successful partnership in the glory era of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.
The 27-year-old Mexican driver will continue to partner Frenchman Esteban Ocon in 2018, the team said at the Singapore Grand Prix.
After winning the Hungarian Grand Prix in late July, Vettel led by 14 points, with both drivers on four wins heading into the summer break. But after crashing out on the first lap in Sunday's Singapore GP, the Ferrari driver trails Hamilton by 28.
Ayrton Senna da Silva won three Formula One world championships for McLaren in 1988, 1990 and 1991, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo prevented a Mercedes 1-2 by finishing ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who placed third in the Singapore GP.
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