FORMULA 1 : VETTEL WINS MALAYSIAN GP

2013 F1 - Malaysian GP Champion - Sebastian Vettel (GER) - Red Bull Racing-Renault - Red Bull Racing RB9

Sebastian Vettel emerged on top to claim his 27th grand prix win, putting him level with fellow three-time champion Jackie Stewart in the all-time list, but it appears that he did so against team orders, with Mark Webber reminding him post-race of the instruction 'multi21', apparently Red Bull code for its drivers to turn down their engines and hold station. It was a similar story in the battle for the final podium spot, with Nico Rosberg imploring the Mercedes team to allow him to pass Lewis Hamilton, only to be told to accept fourth position.

Vettel had led from his pole position, fending off the two Ferraris into turn one, and then survived a nudge from Fernando Alonso which left the Spaniard with damage to his front wing. Webber, up from fifth after an unusually mega getaway, was initially unable to take advantage of the situation, despite numerous looks at Alonso, but had grabbed second place into turn one next time around – just as the wing broke free and the Ferrari skated into the gravel trap.

Without Alonso to interfere, and with Massa having been swamped at the first turn, the Red Bulls were able to eke out a gap over the field, with Vettel enjoying a cushion over his team-mate as they negotiated a drying track following a pre-race rainstorm. With lap times tumbling, however, the German decided that he needed slicks instead of Pirelli's intermediates. The stop, on lap five, dropped Vettel to fifth as he struggled for grip in the first part of the lap after rejoining, and Webber was advised to delay his stop by another lap. The decision proved to be a wise one for, when the Australian got back on track, he was ahead of his team-mate, and able to assume the lead when Rosberg stopped next time around.

With a couple of seconds separating them, both Red Bull drivers were then told to look after their tyres, a subtle hint not to engage in battle while the opposition was still within striking distance. Despite fitting the harder tyre at his first stop, however, Webber was in again just twelve laps later, this time taking on the medium compound that had struggled so much with wear earlier in the weekend. Vettel duly assumed the lead, but held it only for another three laps, after stretching his mediums to 17 tours.

It wasn't enough, however, as Webber swept back into the lead as the German emerged from pit-lane, but could not match the German's initial pace. Vettel, clearly impatient to hit the front again, radioed the team, asking them to get Webber to move over. His request was denied, with another order to look after the tyres….

Webber responded with the fastest lap of the race, but the pair remained close throughout their stint until Webber peeled off again on lap 31, this time receiving another set of the hard tyres and rejoining behind Jenson Button's McLaren as Vettel retook the lead. The world champion had just a lap to try and make his pace work for him, but failed to get enough out of his RB9 and again came out behind both the #2 machine and Hamilton's Mercedes, having briefly snagged an airline as he pulled away.

Button proved to be no match for Webber who, despite running wide as he dived down the inside of the McLaren into turn one, briefly put another car between himself and his main rival. With Button pitting next time around, and Vettel making short work of Hamilton, battle was rejoined at the front, although Webber enjoyed a useful cushion that kept Vettel off his rear wing until both made their fourth and final stops.

Again, the pair opted for different tyres, with Vettel, who stopped first, taking on another set of mediums and Webber responding with more of the orange-banded hards. The German's earlier stop appeared to have paid dividends as he homed in on the pit exit just as Webber approached from the other side of the wall. The Australian just held the advantage into turn one, and gave a squirt on the throttle to ensure that he remained in front through two, but Vettel had made his intent clear, despite being warned to 'be careful' by the RBR hierarchy. 

2013 F1 : Malaysian Grand Prix - Race Result

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	56	1:38:56.681	1	25
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing-Renault	56	+4.2 secs	5	18
3	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	+12.1 secs	4	15
4	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	+12.6 secs	6	12
5	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+25.6 secs	2	10
6	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	56	+35.5 secs	11	8
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus-Renault	56	+48.4 secs	10	6
8	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber-Ferrari	56	+53.0 secs	12	4
9	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren-Mercedes	56	+72.3 secs	9	2
10	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Ferrari	56	+87.1 secs	17	1
11	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Renault	56	+88.6 secs	18
12	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari	55	+1 Lap	14
13	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia-Cosworth	55	+1 Lap	19
14	20	Charles Pic	Caterham-Renault	55	+1 Lap	20
15	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham-Renault	55	+1 Lap	22
16	23	Max Chilton	Marussia-Cosworth	54	+2 Laps	21
17	5	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	53	+3 Laps	7
18	19	Daniel Ricciardo	STR-Ferrari	51	+5 Laps	13
Ret	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Renault	45	+11 Laps	16
Ret	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	27	+29 Laps	8
Ret	14	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	22	+34 Laps	15
Ret	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1	Accident	3

2013 F1 : Drivers Championships' Standing

Pos	Driver	Nationality	Team	Points
1	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing-Renault	40
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus-Renault	31
3	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing-Renault	26
4	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	25
5	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	22
6	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	18
7	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	12
8	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus-Renault	9
9	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India-Mercedes	6
10	Paul di Resta	British	Force India-Mercedes	4
11	Nico Hulkenberg	German	Sauber-Ferrari	4
12	Sergio Perez	Mexican	McLaren-Mercedes	2
13	Jenson Button	British	McLaren-Mercedes	2
14	Jean-Eric Vergne	French	STR-Ferrari	1
15	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams-Renault	0
16	Esteban Gutierrez	Mexican	Sauber-Ferrari	0
17	Jules Bianchi	French	Marussia-Cosworth	0
18	Charles Pic	French	Caterham-Renault	0
19	Giedo van der Garde	Dutch	Caterham-Renault	0
20	Max Chilton	British	Marussia-Cosworth	0
21	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	STR-Ferrari	0
22	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams-Renault	0

2013 F1 :  Team Championships' Standing

Pos	Team	Points
1	Red Bull Racing-Renault	66
2	Lotus-Renault	40
3	Ferrari	40
4	Mercedes	37
5	Force India-Mercedes	10
6	Sauber-Ferrari	4
7	McLaren-Mercedes	4
8	STR-Ferrari	1
9	Williams-Renault	0
10	Marussia-Cosworth	0
11	Caterham-Renault	0

[Source : F1, CRASH, RBR]