2016 Malaysian Grand Prix

2016 Malaysian Grand Prix
Race 16 of 21 in the 2016 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Race details
Date	2 October 2016 (2016-10-02)
Official name	2016 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix
Location	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.543 km (3.444 miles)
Distance	56 laps, 310.408 km (192.879 miles)
Weather	Sunny 33 °C (91 °F) air temperature 49 °C (120 °F) track temperature 2.8 m/s (9.2 ft/s) wind from the west
Attendance	88,828 (Weekend) 45,000 (Race Day)
Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:32.850
Fastest lap
Driver	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Time	1:36.424 on lap 44
Podium
First	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
Second	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
Third	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Lap leaders

The 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix (formally known as the 2016 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 2 October 2016 at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia. The race marked the thirty-fifth running of the Malaysian Grand Prix, and the eighteenth time that the race has been run as a World Championship event since the first race in 1999.

Daniel Ricciardo won the race, with teammate Max Verstappen finishing second to secure Red Bull Racing's first 1–2 finish since the introduction of hybrid engines in 2014 and their last one until the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Rosberg completed the podium, extending his championship lead to twenty-three points following the retirement of Lewis Hamilton. This was Ricciardo's first win since the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix.

Report

Background

The race was moved from its March date to October to allow organisers the opportunity to upgrade the circuit. The circuit was resurfaced, while drainage was improved to decrease the possibility of standing water from forming on the circuit. Nine corners were re-profiled, introducing negative camber to emphasise mechanical, rather than aerodynamic grip, and the drop at the apex of turn two removed.

Championship standings before the race

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg entered the race leading the World Drivers' Championship by eight points, having reclaimed the championship lead from teammate Lewis Hamilton at the previous race in Singapore. Mercedes lead Red Bull-TAG Heuer in the World Constructors' Championship by 220 points.

Race

The incident between Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap

Lewis Hamilton's engine failure while in the lead later proved to be a decisive moment in the championship.

At the start, Sebastian Vettel collided with Nico Rosberg going into turn one, causing Rosberg to go into a spin to the back of the grid while Vettel damaged his front-left suspension in the process, retiring after getting to an escape road a few corners later. On lap 8, Romain Grosjean spun into the gravel trap due to brake failure once again, prematurely ending his race. Later on lap 41, Lewis Hamilton's engine failed while he was in the lead of the race, forcing him to retire. Esteban Gutiérrez also retired when his front-left wheel came off the car in the latter stages of the race. Daniel Ricciardo who inherited the lead of the race when Hamilton's engine failed went on to win the race. It was the fourth win of his F1 career. Max Verstappen finished second, giving Red Bull Racing their first one-two since Brazil in 2013, with Nico Rosberg recovering to finish third from the spin on lap 1. For the next race in Japan, Vettel was handed a three-place grid penalty for causing the collision with Rosberg.

Post-race

Nine Australian men, subsequently dubbed the 'Budgie Nine' by Australian media, were arrested for intentional insult and public indecency after celebrating Ricciardo's win by stripping to their 'budgie smuggler' swimming trunks, decorated with the Malaysian flag, and drinking beer from their shoes. Ricciardo said that the nine had not realized the effect their actions would have, and called for them to be released. After three days in custody the nine were charged with the lesser offence of public nuisance and released. The briefs had been made in Australia, not Malaysia.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos.	Car no.	Driver	Constructor	Qualifying times			Final grid
				Q1	Q2	Q3
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:34.444	1:33.046	1:32.850	1
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:34.460	1:33.609	1:33.264	2
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	1:35.443	1:33.775	1:33.420	3
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	1:35.079	1:33.888	1:33.467	4
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:34.557	1:33.972	1:33.584	5
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:34.556	1:33.903	1:33.632	6
7	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India-Mercedes	1:35.068	1:34.538	1:34.319	7
8	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	1:34.827	1:34.441	1:34.489	8
9	22	Jenson Button	McLaren-Honda	1:35.267	1:34.431	1:34.518	9
10	19	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	1:35.267	1:34.422	1:34.671	10
11	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	1:35.166	1:34.577		11
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari	1:35.400	1:35.001		12
13	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas-Ferrari	1:35.658	1:35.097		13
14	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1:35.593	1:35.277		14
15	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1:35.695	1:35.369		15
16	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1:35.605	1:35.374		16
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber-Ferrari	1:35.816			17
18	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber-Ferrari	1:35.949			18
19	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:35.999			19
20	31	Esteban Ocon	MRT-Mercedes	1:36.451			20
21	94	Pascal Wehrlein	MRT-Mercedes	1:36.587			21
22	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Honda	1:37.155			22
107% time: 1:41.055
Source:

Notes:

• ^1 – Fernando Alonso penalised 45 grid places for unscheduled power unit element changes.

Race

Daniel Ricciardo won the race for Red Bull.

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

Notes

• ^1 – Nico Rosberg had ten seconds added to his race time for causing an avoidable collision.
• ^2 – Esteban Ocon received two five-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane.

Championship standings after the race

• Bold text and an asterisk indicates who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos.	Driver	Points
	1	Nico Rosberg*	288
	2	Lewis Hamilton*	265
	3	Daniel Ricciardo*	204
1	4	Kimi Räikkönen	160
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	153
Source:

Constructors' Championship standings

	Pos.	Constructor	Points
	1	Mercedes*	553
	2	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer*	359
	3	Ferrari	313
	4	Force India-Mercedes	124
	5	Williams-Mercedes	121
Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

• 2016 Sepang GP2 Series round
• 2016 Sepang GP3 Series round
• 2016 TCR International Series Sepang round