Jack Leslie F1: 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix In Pictures

The Sepang International Circuit hosted a thrilling and action-packed Malaysian Grand Prix, with Sebastian Vettel winning in his second race for Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg coming home a slightly distant second and third. Here is the race weekend in pictures.

Friday

Nico Rosberg set the pace in the opening 90 minute practice session, while his team-mate suffered a power unit issue and was forced to stop his car on track.

Fernando Alonso returned to the cockpit of the McLaren MP4-30 on Friday for the first time since his testing crash.

Following his FP1 woes, Hamilton moved to the top of the timesheets in the second session, despite a delayed start as the earlier problem was resolved.

Ferrari showed impressive speed on Friday, particularly in the long runs. Both Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen looked much closer to the Mercedes duo.

Manor Marussia finally debuted on track. It was a productive opening day, although Roberto Merhi brought out a red flag in FP2 after a spin.

Saturday

Rosberg was fastest in the final practice session, with Hamilton in second place after a late improvement.

Manor's Will Stevens was the first on track in FP3, but he failed to complete much running due to a fuel system issue. It ultimately meant he was unable to take part in qualifying.

Both McLaren drivers were eliminated from qualifying in Q1, with Jenson Button ahead of Alonso.

Felipe Nasr made a mistake at Turn 4 on his final Q1 lap and fell into the drop-zone, joining the two McLaren MP4-30s and Merhi's Manor.

With rain on the way, Q2 got off to a frantic start as drivers attempted to get a quick lap in early. Raikkonen did not and he just missed out on a spot in the top 10 shoot-out.

The thunder and lightning storm arrived mid-way through Q2, and caused the final segment of qualifying to be delayed.

Hamilton's first lap in Q3 was two seconds faster than anyone else, but he failed to improve on his final attempts. However, it was enough to secure pole position, with Vettel and Rosberg next up.

Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat took advantage of the wet conditions to qualify fourth and fifth, ahead of Max Verstappen.

Felipe Massa, Valtteri Bottas, Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean completed the top 10 on the grid. The latter originally qualified eighth but was given a two-place penalty for a pit lane infraction.

Sunday

Hamilton had a strong start and retained the lead into Turn 1. Despite a good launch from the grid, Rosberg was unable to move ahead of Vettel.

The first few laps weren't exactly clean. Nasr damaged his front wing after puncturing Raikkonen's tyre.

An early Safety Car bunched up the field once again. Hamilton and Rosberg pitted and were then forced to make their way past those who had yet to stop.

The two Red Bull drivers enjoyed a close fight that lasted almost the entire race.

Alonso and Button started the race on the prime tyre, but pitted under the Safety Car. Both were able to enjoy a few battles with other drivers, but neither MP4-30 made it to the chequered flag.

It was a busy race for Raikkonen, with the Finn moving up the order after his early puncture.

Both Force India drivers were involved in on-track collisions, while the two Red Bull RB11s produced plenty of brake dust.

Strategy played an important role in deciding the Malaysian Grand Prix winner. Vettel pitted twice, with Mercedes switching its drivers to a three-stop strategy.

Vettel crossed the line over eight seconds clear of Hamilton to take his first win for Ferrari and the 40th of his career.

Hamilton and Rosberg completed the podium after suffering higher tyre degradation.

The Williams duo battled closely in the final laps, with Bottas finishing fifth, behind the recovering Raikkonen, and Massa in sixth.

Verstappen become the youngest ever points scorer in F1 by finishing seventh, ahead of his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr. Kvyat and Ricciardo completed the top 10.

Manor was granted permission to race, but Stevens was unable to take part. Merhi came home three laps down in 15th.

30 March 2015

2015 Malaysian Grand Prix In Pictures

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