Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg beware! Sebastian Vettel is back

Original posting at www.yahoo.co.uk

How glorious to see some racing at the front of the F1 pack!

Everyone expected the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to dominate the field once more this season – and why would they not? They crushed the opposition last year, and testing indicated that nothing would change in 2015.

But Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari have given them something to think about.

[Sebastian Vettel wins Malaysian Grand Prix ahead of Lewis Hamilton]

It was tremendous to see Vettel separate the two Silver Arrows on the grid; and incredible, in all senses, to see and hear just how rattled Hamilton and Rosberg were.

When Vettel was in third, Rosberg in second sent frantic messages to his team about the Ferrari’s speed; in the end, the overtaking was simple. Then it was Hamilton’s turn to panic, exclaiming that his tyres were disintegrating and he couldn’t hold off Vettel.

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The Ferrari driver made his move at the end of Lap 24, easing into the lead, and Hamilton made the immedi aate decision to pull into the pits, regroup, don fresh tyres and chase the race.

Indeed, the reigning champion proceeded to record a succession of fastest laps – but his own final pit stop added additional drama to the closing stages, as his technicians switched him on to the slower, hard tyres rather than the quicker compounds he was expecting.

Still, Hamilton managed to make some headway into Vettel’s lead – but not enough. The Ferrari cruised through the last ten laps – overtaking the field as far as the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat, in ninth and tenth – to grab a well-deserved victory.

Vettel and Ferrari combined to shock the favourites – and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen clung on for fourth, despite running for an entire lap on only three tyres early in the race after a puncture.

Even the Williamses of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa have reasons to be cheerful, duking it out until the end and taking fifth and sixth respectively.

One race does not a season make – but this sparkling, gripping race in Malaysia has given F1 fans some hope that 2015 will not be another Silver Arrows stranglehold.