2013 Malaysian Grand Prix
Vettel defies team orders to pass Webber for victory.
Vettel's victory placed him in the lead of the World Drivers' Championship, which he would not relinquish for the rest of the season.
Quick Facts
- Date
- 24 March 2013
- Circuit
- Sepang International Circuit
- Location
- Sepang, Selangor
- Laps
- 56
- Winner
- Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
- Attendance
- 90000
Facts from the source article.
Background
The 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix was the second of 19 rounds in the 2013 Formula One World Championship and the 15th Formula One race held in Malaysia. Pirelli supplied medium and hard compound dry tyres, along with intermediate and wet-weather tyres. Two drag reduction system activation zones were designated: one on the straight linking turns 14 and 15, and another between the final and first corners. Eleven teams entered two drivers each, with no changes from the season entry list. After the season-opening race, Kimi Räikkönen led the World Drivers' Championship with 25 points, ahead of Fernando Alonso (18) and Sebastian Vettel (15). Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with 30 points, followed by Lotus (26) and Red Bull (23).
Practice
Three practice sessions were held: two 90-minute sessions on Friday and a 60-minute session on Saturday. In the first session, held in hot, humid weather, no driver set a competitive lap time for 34 minutes. Mark Webber went fastest with a 1:36.395 lap, followed by his teammate Sebastian Vettel. Kimi Räikkönen missed the first 55 minutes due to a KERS battery replacement but ended second-fastest. The second session saw a heavy rain shower; Räikkönen lapped fastest at 1:36.569, ahead of Vettel, Felipe Massa, and Fernando Alonso. Some drivers went off the track due to wetness, and Esteban Gutiérrez's session ended after an in-car fire extinguisher activated and an exhaust fracture occurred. In the final session, most drivers used hard-compound tyres before switching to mediums. Vettel led with a 1:36.435 lap in the final minutes, followed by Lewis Hamilton, Adrian Sutil, Webber, and Räikkönen. Near the end, Hamilton's right-front tyre tore a tread after locking and flat-spotting, damaging his front wing.
Qualifying
Qualifying on Saturday afternoon was divided into three parts. A sudden downpour five minutes before the end of the second session wet the track, prompting drivers to switch to intermediate-compound tyres. Sebastian Vettel used a single set of medium-compound tyres in the first two sessions and intermediate tyres in the final minutes to take pole position with a 1:49.674 lap, his 38th career pole. Felipe Massa qualified second for the first time since the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso in third. Lewis Hamilton took fourth using an older set of intermediate tyres. Mark Webber qualified fifth; a pit-wall miscommunication at the end of the final session allowed Hamilton past and prevented Webber from improving.
Race
The 56-lap race began on a damp track after a 30-minute torrential downpour half an hour before the start. All cars used intermediate tyres; turn three was flooded, causing several drivers to aquaplane. Sebastian Vettel maintained his lead into the first corner. Fernando Alonso hit the rear of Vettel's car, damaging his front wing, while Mark Webber moved into third and battled Alonso for second. Vettel's car was undamaged. Vettel led the final nine laps for his first victory of the season. Lewis Hamilton finished 12 seconds behind in third. Vettel apologised to the team and Webber but recanted the apology three weeks later; Red Bull did not punish him because his attorneys threatened legal action.
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