After a disastrous first race plagued by mysterious reliability problems, Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari rebounded with a victory the following week. The reigning world champion started from second, seized the race lead after the first round of pit stops and eventually crossed the finish line with a 19 second cushion ahead of his nearest rival. It was a dominating performance that answered all the criticisms from the Italian press after a lackluster Australian GP showing. With the result, Raikkonen vaulted to second in the drivers’ standings with 11 points (tied with Nick Heidfeld) just three points behind of championship leader Lewis Hamilton with 14.
It could have been a perfect race for the team if it weren’t for an unnecessary retirement from Felipe Massa. The Brazilian, who started the race in pole position, was trailing Kimi Raikkonen in what looked to be a sure Ferrari 1-2 finish before spinning out into the gravel trap on lap 31.
Massa’s retirement handed Robert Kubica a second place finish. The result garnered the BMW Sauber team a second consecutive podium finish this season.
Heikki Kovalainen’s third place finish was probably the only good news for McLaren this race weekend. After a dominating season opener, McLaren struggled to match the pace of the Ferraris during qualifying as their best only secured the second row. To make matters worse, both McLaren’s were given a five grid penalty for impeding Nick Heidfeld during Q3. Securing third despite starting eighth would certainly be welcome for the team.
Toyota looked its most competitive form since the 2005 season with Jarno Trulli’s fourth place finish. The Italian however had to hold off desperately to a charging Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages of the race. The two were only 0.7s apart.
Hamilton ended up in fifth. The Briton didn’t have the same trouble-free fortune he had a week ago as he was forced to jostle for track position the whole race. In addition, Hamilton lost around ten seconds in his first pit-stop when his pit-crew had trouble inserting the front-right wheel. Despite an inspired charge in the final laps of the race, it was too late o make up significant ground. All-in-all, the Malaysian GP was more about damage limitation for the championship leader.
Nick Heidfeld was forced to settle for sixth place. The German didn’t have the best start away from the line and lost ground in turn one after being forced wide when the other cars funneled and battled out for position. At that point, Heidfeld’s race was also about damage limitation as he tried to take the best result after a lackluster start.
Mark Webber took seventh by holding off Renault’s Fernando Alonso who rounded up the final point scoring place.
