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Birthday boy Max Verstappen powered to a dominating victory to leave Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes trailing in the distance. But, it was a day of what might have been for Ferrari, however. The fastest car on the circuit this weekend, but Kimi Raikkonen failed to start and because of Sebastian Vettel's failure at qualifying yesterday, he had to start at the back of the grid.
With Raikkonen's engine failing before the start, Lewis Hamilton had the front row to himself and off he went with a good solid start. He wasn't leading for long, however. Mercedes couldn't match the pace of Ferrari or Red Bull this weekend and Hamilton had to surrender his lead to Verstappen who dominated the race from then on.
"In the beginning straight away the car felt good and I saw Lewis was struggling a bit with traction. He had more to lose than me in the championship so I went for it... The car was unbelievable," beemed a delighted Verstappen.
It was a quiet afternoon for Verstappen out front. It was his 20th birthday weekend and you can imagine the bubbly will be flowing in Kuala Lumpar tonight.
It was a frustrating weeknd for Ferrari, however. They had the quickest car in practice but with Raikkonen's DNS and Vettel starting from the back of the grid, it seemed like a case of damage limitation for the German.
But after powering his way from 20th to 4th in what was arguably the best drive of the day, he fell short of a podium place when an attempt to overtake Ricciardo failed, and he realised it would do more damage to the car so close behind the red Bull, while chasing a seemingly lost cause.
To make what was a frustrating weekend even worse for Vettel, he was involved in yet another crash. This time it was after the race. After finishing 4th in an impressive race for the German, the crash happened during the warm-down lap. It was a bizarre incident, but it could leave Vettel with further problems next week.
His car was seriously damaged, and it looks like he will require a new gearbox. If that's the case, the German, who is still well in the title hunt, will take a 5 place grid penalty at the start of next week's Japanese Grand Prix.
Vettel blamed Stroll for the incident, but replays show Vettel's car clipping the rear of Stroll's, which ripped off the back left tyre, causing damage to the bodywork. The stewards ruled no further action would be taken to either driver, but it is clear to anyone watching it that Vettel was to blame.
A subdued Hamilton after the race
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton extended his lead by 6 points but was somewhat despondent after the race, as Mercedes just couldn't match Red Bull or Ferrari for pace.
"There are some really big problems," said Hamilton, even though he is leading the pack by 34 points. "We've done an exceptional job with what we have," he added. "There are some really big problems which I can't really explain to you. But we need to make sure we rectify them for next year's car if we really want to fight both Ferrari and Red Bull."
Problems, maybe, but it would take a brave man to bet against the Briton to reclaim his world championship yet again.
Photo Sources:
www.skysports.com
www.formula1.com
www.i-scmp.com
www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk
