FORMULA 1 - 2015

[MIKA27]

MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX RACE REPORT FROM SEPANG

Sebastian Vettel scored a sensational first win of his Ferrari career at the Malaysian Grand Prix, ambushing the dominant Mercedes team by expertly converting a two-stop strategy to relegate championship leader Lewis Hamilton to second place and Nico Rosberg to third.

Across the weekend, Ferrari’s SF15-T was kinder on tyres than its rivals and Vettel capitalised on the advantage in the race, electing not to stop during an early safety car period and then getting the best out of his starting medium tyres to hold the lead during the race’s opening phase.

The German made his first visit to the pit lane on lap 17, taking on more medium tyres and rejoining in third place behind the Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, who had both pitted during the safety car period brought about by Sauber’s Marcus Ericcson beaching his car on the edge of the gravel trap in turn one.

A strong second stint saw Vettel maintain his challenge but when Hamilton took on medium tyres for his next stint the gap closed as the Mercedes driver closed in on the German by upwards of a lap per second.

Vettel then took on hard tyres in his second stop on lap 37, but when Hamilton then made his third stop with 18 laps to go – having to take on hard tyres with only heavily used mediums as the alternative – Mercedes’ challenge evaporated.

Vettel controlled the gap with ease and eventually took the chequered flag with eight seconds in hand to claim his first victory since Brazil 2013 and Ferrari’s first win since Spain of the same season.

“A phenomenal day. It feels incredible,” said Vettel afterwards. “To see the guys when I was on the podium, to look down, it was an incredible atmosphere. I can only recall from the victories Fernando had with Ferrari and recall especially the victories Michael celebrated with the team – I think there were one or two – it’s incredible.

“The strategy today was also ace,” he added. “Mercedes pulled in [during the safety car period], which I think we were a bit surprised by, but we saw on Friday that they weren’t too happy on the medium compound and Lewis was struggling in the first stint and I was able to keep up with him, which I enjoyed a lot.

“And then I knew I had to deliver, trying to make those tyres last and trying to go as fast as I can. Second stint he was chasing me down, which was tough, so he had a string second stint. In the end I think I was able to rebalance the car a little more and I was able to, yeah, have a solid gap the last couple of laps.”

Hamilton, meanwhile, admitted that he had struggled with the balance of his car all afternoon.

“All day I was struggling with the balance,” he said. “It was very, very uncomfortable, a lot of understeer, I couldn’t look after tyres. When I went to option tyre the car was better I was able to be a bit more consistent. I was able to close the gap. We went on the other tyres at the end, which weren’t good for me. I tried my best and the team made best choice they could.”

There was plenty of action behind the podium finishers. Kimi Raikkonen recovered from a first-lap puncture to finish fourth. The Finn used a three-stop strategy and hustled his way through the field to close in on the leaders but the time lost early couldn’t be recovered and he finished 41 seconds behind Vettel.

Williams’ Valtteri Bottas finishing fifth, winning a late-race tussle with team-mate Felipe Massa. It was a curiously uncompetitive weekend for the Grove team, however, and they certainly now look to have ceded ‘best of the rest’ status behind Mercedes to Ferrari.

Behind Massa was the other hero of Sepang, the sport’s youngest ever points scorer Max Verstappen. The 17-year-old passed his team-mate Carlos Sainz in the late stages having recovered from a fraught run through the early laps.

Daniil Kvyat led home Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo after a difficult day for the Milton Keynes squad. Kvyat was lucky to see the flag having been pitched in the air while passing Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India. Both cars suffered with excessive brake wear and Ricciardo hung on for the final point.

Behind the points scorers, Romain Grosjean finished 11th for Lotus, with Sauber’s Felipe Nasr 12th ahead of the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg. Manor’s Roberto Mehri was the final finisher in 15th place.

The McLaren’s of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso failed to finish, with Alonso told by his team to retire his car after 21 laps and Button cruising back to the garage having reported a loss of power after 41 laps.

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MERCEDES: WE WERE BEATEN FAIR AND SQUARE

Double podium for Mercedes AMG Petronas in enthralling Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit

• Lewis and Nico claimed a second consecutive double podium today, finishing P2 and P3 respectively
• Both drivers made clean starts to hold station in P1 / P3, only to then lose track position in the pits following the emergence of the Safety Car
• Lewis and Nico battled back strongly to return to the podium places, but top spot was out of reach after a strong performance from Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari
• Lewis ran an Option / Prime / Option / Prime strategy, Nico Option / Prime / Prime / Option
• Lewis marked his 150th Grand Prix start with his 72nd podium, while Nico claimed the 10th fastest race lap and 28th podium of his Formula One career

Lewis Hamilton: “First of all, huge congratulations to Seb and Ferrari. You have to hand it to them – I wasn’t expecting them to be as quick as they were today but they had some serious pace and deserved the win. It’s great for the fans to see them up here. It was a tough race out there. I was struggling with the balance today and never really felt comfortable with the car. There was so much understeer that tyre management was really hard. When I went to the option it was much better, so I thought we’d use it again at the end and was surprised we went with the prime. But I made the best I could with it and ultimately I’m sure the team made the call for the right reasons. There was a bit of confusion on the radio at one point where I wasn’t quite sure what we were doing on the strategy but I’m not sure if pitting with Seb would have made the difference anyway. They were as fast if not faster than us today and once I had that gap to make up it was just a step too far. I’m now looking forward to the next race and fighting to get back to the front again.”

Nico Rosberg: “That wasn’t a great weekend for me and I cannot be happy with third place. When the Safety Car came out I lost a lot of time in the pits. I expected to have to wait behind Lewis but it was letting some other cars by that cost the places – especially waiting for the Red Bull queue to move, I think it was. So I had to fight through to the top positions which was tough but my race pace was okay, so I can build on that. We have to congratulate Sebastian and Ferrari. They had a great race pace today and it’s very impressive how they improved over the winter. Now this will be a fight against Ferrari I guess – and we want to strike back in Shanghai.”

Toto Wolff: “Our first feeling today is obviously one of disappointment. We were beaten fair and square by Ferrari and Sebastian, who did a fantastic job, and I’m not sure we could have matched their long run pace at any point. They took a well-deserved win. We saw on Friday that Kimi was really strong in these hot conditions, with the track over 60 degrees, and that was confirmed in the race. Of course, it’s easy to be clever after the race looking at things we could have done better and there are certainly plenty of points that could have been optimised. But we take these decisions together as a team and this is the moment to stay calm, do our analysis and learn what we can improve for next time. It was a complicated race for the team to read – and for the drivers, too, from the cockpit. We had some interesting radio discussions and both guys did a great job to deliver the double podium at the finish. But I think we can also take a step back and look at the sport today. Always it seems that when people are making the most noise about changing the rules, Formula One delivers. It was the case in Bahrain last year and we saw it again today. It wasn’t a perfect day for Mercedes but it was a good one for Formula One.”

Paddy Lowe: “First of all, congratulations to Ferrari and Sebastian on an impressive victory. Coming into the race, there were two main choices to be made: whether to make two or three stops, and whether the Prime or the Option would be the better race tyre. It was clear yesterday that opinion was divided on that question, as we saw the leading teams using different tyre compounds in Q1. We saved new Prime tyres for the race, while others saved new Options. We planned a three-stop strategy favouring the Prime tyre and, although the Safety Car came out early, it was late enough to be used as the first of our three stops. With hindsight, the advantage this gave to Ferrari on their two-stop strategy, and the time we lost in traffic in the first laps after the Safety Car, left us with a gap to Sebastian that proved too much of a challenge for us to recover – especially considering that we did not have an underlying pace advantage to Ferrari, who were very competitive this weekend. Nonetheless, we scored a good haul of points with P2 and P3 and I must also say well done to the team, who performed brilliantly on one of the most difficult weekends for human endurance.”

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FERRARI: GRANDE GARA, BELLA MACCHINA!

Ferrari report from the Malaysian Grand Prix, Round 2 of the 2015 Formula 1 world championship, at Sepang International Circuit.

Sergio Marchionne: “My heartfelt gratitude to Maurizio Arrivabene and the men and women of the Scuderia. What we have seen today is the result of incredibly hard work in the last few months, work that has been carried out in silence and with humility which are the real sign of a great team. Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen for a fantastic race. I am really happy for all the fans who have been waiting so long for a day like this. Forza Ferrari”.

Maurizio Arrivabene: “This is no one-man win: it’s a success for the whole team, which has been working impeccably at all levels. Seb was just unbelievable today, and Kimi was able to put on a fantastic charge from the back. The whole team has showed a great deal of discipline, just like a Swiss watch-or should I say, an Italian one! Today, the whole team gave me great emotions and I wish to thank everybody, including the women and men back at the Maranello factory, for putting on an incredible effort over the last months, burning the midnight oil. Now we’ve got to be realistic, keep our feet on the ground and our concentration at a high level, because Mercedes is still a formidable contender. After the race our President Mr. Marchionne congratulated the whole team. He’s really one of us, he likes to stay away from the spotlight but still gives us a powerful contribution. And he’s a real Ferrari fan!”.

Kimi Raikkonen: “We had a pretty poor weekend in terms of things going wrong. I had a good speed but in qualify it didn’t go well and then today, after a poor start where I had too much wheelspin right off the line, I found myself fighting with all the other drivers and I had a puncture on the rear left tyre while battling Nasr at the last corner, which means I had to go one full lap before coming back to pits with no tyre. At that point my floor had got a little bit damaged, I had to do a full lap with no tyre and then, even if the safety car helped us, I had to start from way back behind. We did our best and the forth position was the maximum we could achieve. The win of Sebastian is a very good thing for him and for the whole team , knowing how difficult the last year has been; it’s a very good job what the team has done. We knew from winter testing that we have a good car, so it did not come as a total surprise, and probably the track with these high temperatures suited us. I don’t know how it will be in other circuits, but the car has been strong so far, not yet as we want but we have a good package, and we are getting stronger”.

Sebastian Vettel: “Grande gara, bella macchina! (A great race and a beautiful car). Sorry for starting to speak in Italian, but today is such a special day for me. I don’t really know what to say, I am speechless. It’s not only one childhood dream that becomes true, it seems to be many dreams together. It was amazing to look down from the podium and see the mechanics, the engineers, the whole team and listen to the German and Italian anthems. The atmosphere in the team has always been great, but it’s just getting better and better. For today, the important thing is for all of us to enjoy this moment together and celebrate. I did not swap teams that much in the past, so winning for a new team is always a relief. Since I joined Ferrari I felt incredibly welcome and together we have worked to improve things. The potential, as I always said, is huge, it’s good to see what a step forward we did over the winter. There were a lot of changes in the background (including one driver…) which never make things easy, but everyone saw the positives of that. It just doesn’t compare to last year, when the car was also good but I couldn’t get on top of it. With Ferrari I had a good feeling right from the start. This is a special day, it has been a while since both I and team won for the last time. I’d like to be in the same position at every race, but we must be realistic, Mercedes were a bit struggling today but they have a great package and our target is to make the gap smaller at every Grand Prix and make sure that we are the team right behind them”.

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MCLAREN: A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT

Despite failing to get both cars to the flag, the Malaysian Grand Prix marked a significant step-up in performance for the whole McLaren-Honda team.

The two MP4-30s were the only cars to start the race on the Hard (Prime) tyres, but were able quickly to switch to the Medium (Option) when both boxed during an early Safety Car period. Jenson was delayed at his stop by an issue with the left-front, and was also hampered behind Manor’s Roberto Merhi, who failed to catch the cars in front ahead of the restart.

During the race itself, both our cars ran more strongly than they had in Australia two weeks ago – Fernando ran as high as eighth before an ERS cooling problem required him to stop his car on lap 21. Jenson was able to latch onto a midfield battle but was also ordered to stop by the team. He retired on lap 41 with a turbo issue.

Jensen Button: “The start of the race was a bit of a mess for me: I’d had a longer-than-normal pit-stop under the Safety Car, and came out behind Roberto [Mehri], who didn’t close down the gap before the Safety Car came in. At the restart, I then started about four or five seconds behind the pack, had to get past him, then chased down the cars in front – which hurt my tyres. But I enjoyed it out there – we’re actually racing people. To be able to see one of the Red Bulls ahead of me – and so far into the race – was obviously a nice surprise. And we were able to mix it with the others a little bit more, too. Fighting in the pack is the most positive thing to take away from this weekend – hopefully, before too long, we can start to pick them off on a race-by-race basis. Today has been a useful day; it’s just a pity that both Fernando and I ended up finishing it early.”

Fernando Alonso: “This whole weekend has been better than I expected. The main positive to take away from today is the fact that we were able to run with other cars – Jenson and I weren’t simply fighting with each other. That was the first step we needed to take, and we’ve taken it already. Indeed, our race pace was surprisingly good; I was running with the pack, and I was even able to catch the Red Bulls before the pit-stops. That was a nice surprise. We still need a little more time to investigate the exact cause of my retirement. The team came over the radio to tell me to back off a little, to save the car, so I brought it back to the pits. For us, these are the sort of reliability problems you’d usually discover in pre-season testing, but, given our lack of running over the winter, unfortunately we’re likely to encounter such issues in the first few races of the year. Hopefully, we can take another step forward in China.”

Eric Boullier, racing director, McLaren-Honda: “The fact that neither Fernando nor Jenson finished today’s race is of course disappointing, but they both drove extremely well in arduous, challenging and frustrating conditions. Moreover, in line with the MP4-30’s improved qualifying pace of yesterday, its race pace today was also a significant improvement over what it showed in Melbourne two weeks ago. Furthermore, the 62 laps driven by Fernando and Jenson this afternoon have garnered us additional invaluable data that will inform the ongoing intense development programme in which we are relentlessly engaged. Last but far from least, I want to say ‘merci beaucoup’ to our mechanics, a mettlesome troupe who have been working with indefatigable tenacity, in severe heat and humidity, ever since we arrived in Sepang.”

Yasuhisa Arai, Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport: “Fernando was showing some good pace today until we had to pull his car out of the race with an ERS cooling issue. Obviously, that was a big disappointment for us. Jenson’s car then encountered a turbo issue, when we were just about to push to maintain his position within a busy, jostling pack. Both retirements were a result of the harsh use of the power unit within competitive race conditions, not the result of the high-temperature conditions encountered at this circuit. We’ll investigate the issues further and aim to improve things before Shanghai.”

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TORO ROSSO: A BIG SUCCESS FOR THE TEAM AND DRIVERS

Toro Rosso report from the Malaysian Grand Prix, Round 2 of the 2015 Formula 1 world championship, at Sepang International Circuit.

Max Verstappen: “I really enjoyed that! I’m very happy to have scored my first ever points in F1 and to end seventh! I think we did a great job as a team. The first few laps were a bit tricky for me as I was struggling a lot on the Medium tyres, so we boxed early for the Hard ones and that worked perfectly, the car felt great. We had a few good fights with other competitors and it was good fun. This was the right strategy and we did a great job managing the tyres. I felt well physically, it was quite hot at the end but I was still able to cope with it and be consistent, so I’m happy with that. This is a big boost for the team, we couldn’t have done a better job today.”

Carlos Sainz: “It was a mega day for me today! A two-stop strategy at a track like Sepang was never going to be easy, but it worked out well in the end and it’s definitely made me forget yesterday’s result in qualifying. Starting from P15 and making it to P8 is amazing! There was a lot happening around me throughout the whole race, so it was very easy to lock-up, make mistakes or lose positions, but I kept calm and in the end it paid off. The conditions have been very tough here in Malaysia, much more than in Australia obviously, but we prepared well for it and I had no problems. Such a result gives us great confidence and motivation to keep up the good work. The team is doing an excellent job and to finish with both cars in the points is a great way to end the weekend.”

Franz Tost (Team Principal): “To finish in seventh and eighth positions today here in Malaysia was a big success for the team as well as for the drivers because if both Ferrari’s, Mercedes’ and Williams’ don’t have any problems, this is the best position which we can achieve. Therefore, the team showed a very good race performance, of which I’m very proud. We were fast in yesterday’s qualifying session but this was no surprise. Max ended up in an excellent sixth position and I think that also Carlos could have been in the top ten as he certainly had the speed, which he also showed in today’s race. Both drivers did a reasonable start. Max had some problems during the first laps, where he was blocked by some traffic, but later on, after the safety car, he was able to overtake his rivals and put on a good show. Carlos had a great start as he gained lots of positions after starting from 15th position. He was also the only driver a part from Sebastian Vettel to go for a two-stop strategy and he really looked after the tyres well and drove a fantastic race. I’d like to congratulate the whole team as well as to Scuderia Ferrari and Sebastian, who won the race here today. This great result now gives us a big boost and we look forward to the next race in China in two weeks’ time.”

Cedrik Staudohar (Renault Sport F1 track support leader): “We are clearly delighted with the results today. After the disappointment of Melbourne, everyone at the factory worked very hard. We made a step forward in driveability and performance and right from the start of the weekend the drivers reported a big improvement in both areas. We’re pleased both contributed to the double points’ finish today. The package has a lot of potential as Max’ qualifying and the drivers’ pace during the race showed so it’s renewed our confidence. A great result for the team.”

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RED BULL: A REALLY FRUSTRATING RACE

Red Bull report from the Malaysian Grand Prix, Round 2 of the 2015 Formula 1 world championship, at Sepang International Circuit.

Daniil Kvyat: “We took the maximum out of the situation today. We are lacking some pace and need to catch up, I am confident that the team can do it; it’s a challenge and we have to face it with a strong mind. Fighting for P9 and P10 is not what we want, we struggled today and we need to work out why.”

Daniel Ricciardo: “A really frustrating race. I was ready for a fight going into the race and hoping for something special – but it wasn’t to be! I had a bit of contact on the first lap, which hurt us and then we had a few issues throughout the race, which we had to manage. It took a long time to pass cars as we didn’t have the pace and we had some problems with the brakes, which didn’t make our afternoon easy. It was a good job by Seb, a great drive from him.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal: “A really difficult afternoon. Some contact at the first turn damaged Daniel’s front wing, which seemed to deteriorate through the race. Then after the safety car we started to see brake temperatures climb and needed to nurse the cars quite significantly through the second half of the race. I don’t think the drivers could have done anymore today. There’s plenty to understand following this weekend and plenty to address before China in two weeks. Sebastian drove an incredible race, so congratulations to him and Ferrari. Hopefully we will give them a harder time soon.”

Thierry Salvi, Renault: “This weekend we made a step forward in driveability compared to Melbourne, which was essential in the wet Quali. There are still improvements that can be made to bring lap time gains, but so far both drivers are happy with the work completed. As usual in Malaysia, we were on the limit cooling wise during the race and had to compromise to stay safe, especially when following competitors. Daniel’s front wing issue cost him a lot of lap time and Dany had to work hard to come back after the clash with Hulkenberg. Reliability was much better this weekend, which will allow us to spend more time working on the performance of the Power Unit and with the team.”

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WILLIAMS: A GOOD TEAM PERFORMANCE

Williams report from the Malaysian Grand Prix, Round 2 of the 2015 Formula 1 world championship, at Sepang International Circuit.

Valtteri Bottas finished fifth and Felipe Massa sixth in today’s Malaysian Grand Prix

After a poor start Valtteri benefited from an early safety car, as did Felipe, who at one stage was running in fourth position

A recovering Kimi Raikkonen jumped both drivers at the final of three pitstops as Felipe and Valtteri raced wheel-to-wheel to the end, swapping positions on the final lap

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It was a good team performance and we finished with the maximum points on offer considering the pace of the car. It was a tough race in the heat but we have highlighted some areas of the package that we need to improve. We made a good recovery from a difficult Saturday and it was good to have both cars racing each other at the end.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It was a nice race in the end. I was always in the wrong place at the start and lost a lot of time and positions. I made the most of the performance of the car and it was great to be able to race Felipe at the end. We know we have some work to do, we need to learn from our mistakes and keep progressing. We have some upgrades that are due shortly which will hopefully be a further step in the right direction.”

Felipe Massa: “I don’t think we had a fantastic day today. We had a small problem in the pitstop which lost a little time. Valtteri was able to catch me in the final few laps, but it was good to race wheel-to-wheel. We have got the best points we could for the team given the where the car is at the moment.”

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SAUBER: UNFORTUNATELY BOTH DRIVERS WERE INVOLVED IN INCIDENTS

After a quite a promising qualifying to the Malaysian Grand Prix on the Sepang International Circuit, the race ended in disappointment for the Sauber F1 Team: Felipe Nasr had to pit on lap two after he made contact with Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari.

The mechanics had to fit a new nose to his car, and, as a result, his chances were significantly reduced. He finished in P12. Marcus Ericsson’s race ended on lap four, when he tried to overtake Nico Hülkenberg and got stuck in the gravel trap.

Marcus Ericsson: “It is a very frustrating end to a good weekend. I felt comfortable in the car straight away and had a good start during which I could make up one position. Nico (Hülkenberg) must have had a good start as he was ahead of me, but I felt I had more pace than he did. When I tried to pass him down to Turn 1, I went for the move to the outside. I know it is possible to overtake there, but unfortunately I lost the rear, went off and got stuck in the gravel trap. Anyway, we need to take the positives out of this weekend, and I have learned from what happened in the race. In China we will be even stronger.”

Felipe Nasr: “It was overall a difficult weekend for me. I was struggling to find a good set-up for the car. We need to reflect and understand why we didn’t have enough pace. The race itself was not easy, as I had contact early on with Kimi (Räikkönen). I should have avoided this incident, but it can happen sometimes when we are racing. Now we have to look forward to the next race weekend in China.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: “It’s a shame that today we were not able to score points, because, for sure, the opportunity was there. Unfortunately, both drivers were involved in incidents in the first few laps. For Marcus the race was over, and Felipe’s chances were significantly reduced. But he fought strongly afterwards, although unfortunately he was not rewarded with points. This result is obviously disappointing, but there are also positives we can take from this race weekend. Our package is competitive, which puts us in a position to fight for points. We have to make sure that we grab these chances.”

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: “On the technical side it was another flawless afternoon without any noteworthy issues, which is the positive we can take out of this race. Unfortunately we had both drivers involved in incidents within a few laps, and our planned strategy was destroyed. So we had to reinvent the race with only one car, because Marcus was out. We switched from three to four stops, which was not planned. Nothing was wrong with that, but after the early incident the race was lost. It’s obviously a big disappointment.“

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LOTUS: UNFULFILLED POTENTIAL

Romain Grosjean finished just shy of the points whilst Pastor Maldonado had to retire from a promising but ultimately rather frustrating Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit.

Romain ran as high as third during the race, but later traffic and an induced 360° spin meant a P11 finish. Pastor suffered from a first lap puncture then had to retire nine laps from the chequered flag due to a braking issue.

Romain started from P10 on the grid on his qualifying medium compound tyres, changing to new mediums on lap 15 and scrubbed mediums on lap 26. His final tyre change was to new hards on lap 34.

Pastor started from P12 on the grid with new medium compound tyres, coming in at the end of the first lap to change to another set of new mediums due to a rear right puncture. He subsequently changed to scrubbed mediums on lap 18 and new hards on lap 33. He retired nine laps before the end of the race due to a braking issue.

Romain Grosjean: “Overall we had quite a good race with a strong first lap and some nice overtaking, although I lost a lot of time behind Hulkenberg and then the spin with Perez in such a fast corner. I had some fun overtaking with Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India, which was great, and we had a good strategy but we lost too much time to benefit from it. I also had an issue with my drinks bottle which added to the fun. Overall the car behaved well though and we’re not far from the top ten so we’ll work to close the gap for China.”

Pastor Maldonado: “The potential is clearly there, especially in the race where the car pace is very competitive and we can score good points. Unfortunately there was an incident on the first lap which lost me a lot of time and compromised the race from then on. Despite dropping to the very back fo the field, we switched to a different strategy and we recovered well. Unfortunately, we suffered from a brake issue, which isn’t great but it’s effectively our first race and we need to keep working through issues, ready for the next Grand Prix. As soon as we have a clean race, we will be fighting for good points.”

Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal: “Today was about unfulfilled potential. Both Pastor and Romain could have scored strongly but events out of their hands meant they did not. That’s motor racing sometimes and we’re firmly focused on China to open our points account. We’ve shown again that the E23 is a great package and both our drivers are capable of delivering with the very best. Shanghai will present a challenge very different from the one seen here so that’s our next focus.”

Nick Chester, Technical Director: “Romain was looking set for a pretty strong result however traffic and being tipped into a spin undid that potential whilst Pastor suffered from a first lap puncture then a problem with the brakes late in the race. It’s a shame as we demonstrated good pace in qualifying and reasonable race pace in clear air in the very high temperatures here today. We’re very eager to get back out on track in Shanghai and we’re learning more about the E23’s potential every time it’s out on track.”

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FORCE INDIA: IT WAS A CHALLENGING AFTERNOON

Sahara Force India battled hard in the Malaysian Grand Prix with Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg finishing in P13 and P14 respectively.

Sergio: “We knew ahead of the race it would be a big fight to get close to the points and it turned out to be just the case. I struggled with degradation in my first stint, on mediums, and that cost me a lot of time after the Safety Car. We had slightly better pace with the hard compound, but in the end it was not enough to get back in contention. The penalty didn’t help us either; I felt I had nowhere to go and couldn’t avoid contact with Romain. I thought it was a racing incident but it ended up costing us a lot. It’s a disappointing result but at least we were able to learn a lot from this race and this will help us going forward.”

Nico Hulkenberg: “It was a tough afternoon and I was always kept very busy with lots going on around me. I was really struggling with the general balance and the car was sliding around, especially as the tyres became older. We chose not to pit during the early safety car, which gave me good track position, but it was not an easy decision. We were trying to make the two-stop strategy work, but it just wasn’t possible with the degradation and so we switched to three stops. Perhaps it would have been better to commit to the three-stop earlier, but I’m not sure it would have changed the result that much. The penalty for the contact with Daniil [Kvyat] also dropped me out of the fight for points. I went a bit wide in turn one and chose to go back on the inside going into turn two. I was quite well alongside him, but he probably didn’t think I would try to come back at him.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: “It was a challenging afternoon for the team, although we were unlucky not to come away with at least a point. Both Checo and Nico gave everything in these conditions and featured in a lot of battles for the majority of the race. We seemed to have the measure of some of the stronger cars, but the penalties effectively cut us out of the fight for the top ten positions. We knew going into the race that we were lacking ultimate pace today and with a fully dry race there was not much that would disrupt the strategy or offer any opportunity to exploit. Now we need to regroup, continue our work back at base and come back stronger in the near future. Everyone is putting in a real effort to get us back where we belong quickly and it will be hugely rewarding when we are once more fighting closer to the front.”

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MALAYSIA SIGNS F1 CONTRACT EXTENSION

The Malaysian Grand Prix will stay on the Formula One calendar until 2018 after organisers signed a three-year contract extension on Sunday.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s office said in a statement the extension was announced after Germany’s Sebastian Vettel won this year’s race at the Sepang circuit for Ferrari.

Organisers said state oil giant Petronas would also continue as title sponsor of the race, which has been on the calendar since 1999, for the next three years.

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Trio hit with penalty points

Pastor Maldonado, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg have all been handed penalty points following the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Maldonado suffered a puncture during a first-corner incident on lap one at Sepang before he retired later in the race due to a brake problem.

However in between he was handed a 10-second penalty for "failing to stay above the required time set by the FIA ECU during the deployment of the Safety Car".

He was later handed three penalty points for the incident and his tally now stands at eight, which leaves him only four short of the 12 points that will automatically result in a one-race ban.

Meanwhile, Force India's Perez was handed a penalty after he sent Maldonado's Lotus team-mate Romain Grosjean into a spin at Turn 12 midway through the race.

Although the Mexican was also handed a 10-second penalty, he was given two penalty points post race.

It wasn't a great day for the Force India drivers as Perez's team-mate Hulkenberg also received a 10s penalty and a two penalty points for tagging Daniil Kvyat at Turn 2.

Perez's tally now stands at three while Hulkenberg is on two.

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Merhi: Huge reward for great effort

Roberto Merhi completed his first grand prix and then heaped praise on his Manor team for their "fantastic effort".

The Banbury-based squad were forced to sit out the season-opening Australian GP due to a software problem, but they were back on the grid at Sepang this weekend.

Merhi, who before this weekend had only competed in one free practice session, was their sole driver on Sunday after Will Stevens failed to make it onto the grid due to a fuel system problem.

While his more illustrious counterparts Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso from McLaren failed to see the chequered flag, Merhi completed the race.

"I’m so happy for the team. P15 is not only a great result from today's race, but also a huge reward for a fantastic effort over the past few months," the Spaniard said.

"I’m really proud of us. Coming into the weekend we knew things would not be easy; we had to work very hard and stay focused every step of the way.

"We missed out on some of our targets but in the end it was the race that mattered and we brought the car home with a full race distance. That was my main objective, as the information we now have is so important for our development, but it’s good to know that we got a good result along the way and finished ahead of some of the other teams.

"I’m sorry for Will that he was unable to race today but we have a very good starting point for us both to work from in China and beyond. My thanks to the whole team for a really positive weekend."

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Record-breaker Max: It was a good day

Rookie Max Verstappen became Formula 1's youngest-ever points scorer in Malaysia as he finished seventh.

Just a day after he set a new record for highest grid position with his P6 in qualifying, which also equalled his father Jos' best-ever starting place, the 17-year-old went on to finish the race in seventh place.

The Toro Rosso youngster made a poor getaway as he slipped down the pack on the opening lap, but he fought back brilliantly and overtook his team-mate Carlos Sainz as well as Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo in the process.

"It was a good day. The first few laps were a bit difficult for me, I struggled a bit with the brakes and the tyres," Verstappen told BBC Sport. "But when we went on to hard tyres, it worked much better, I found good balance and good rhythm. From there, the car felt great."

He later added: "I really enjoyed that! I’m very happy to have scored my first ever points in F1 and to end seventh! I think we did a great job as a team. The first few laps were a bit tricky for me as I was struggling a lot on the Medium tyres, so we boxed early for the Hard ones and that worked perfectly, the car felt great.

"We had a few good fights with other competitors and it was good fun. This was the right strategy and we did a great job managing the tyres. I felt well physically, it was quite hot at the end but I was still able to cope with it and be consistent, so I’m happy with that. This is a big boost for the team, we couldn’t have done a better job today."

His father Jos was naturally proud.

"I'm very pleased for what he has done today. I'm happy that he finished the race and the way he raced, he deserved it. I'm very proud," he said.

Asked who the better driver is, Jos told BBC Sport: "He certainly is. Max is more complete. He is better prepared than me and Red Bull are doing an incredible job, physically, mentally and the way he feels at home on the track. He has to be better than me!"

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Wolff: A wake-up call for us

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says in hindsight there were things his team could have done different in the Malaysian GP, a race they lost to Ferrari.

Sebastian Vettel took the chequered flag at the Sepang circuit on Sunday, some eight seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

The Brit was left frustrated in the latter part of the race when he questioned Mercedes' decision to put him on yet another set of hard tyres.

But having ventured out in Q1 on a set of medium tyres, those hards were the only option available to Mercedes and their drivers.

"We've got a massive battle out there. It is a wake-up call for us," Wolff told the BBC.

"We've not made any mistakes for 20 races or more. Many things in hindsight we could have optimised. It doesn't matter now, it's a wake-up call for us.

"Well done to Ferrari. We saw on Friday they were very fast in the long runs."

Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda also took the opportunity to applaud Ferrari's performance on the afternoon.

He said: "What did I always say about Ferrari? Just wait. I was surprised by the pace of the Ferrari at the end but Vettel did an incredible job. They were unbeatable.

"They had the right pit stop strategy and Vettel's speed was outstanding."

Magnanimous in defeat, the Austrian concedes that even if Mercedes had opted for the same strategy as Ferrari, Vettel probably would have still won.

"We have to analyse whole thing," he said. "I don't think we could have won race even with the Ferrari strategy. The Ferrari car was quicker and better. We have to take our hat off to them."

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Vettel: 'I was s***ing myself in the last few laps'

Sebastian Vettel says it was a "real relief" to finally cross the line to realise his dream of winning a race for Ferrari, after admitting he was "s***ing" himself toward the end of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Vettel is the first to win a race for Ferrari since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, and the first German since Michael Schumacher back in 2006.

"I shouldn't say it, but I was s***ing myself in the last few laps because here and there the thought was coming into my head, I was looking at the top of the chassis, and thinking 'this is a red car, you're about to win!'.

"Then I thought 'stop thinking about it otherwise you'll miss the next apex or something'. Real relief to cross the line in the end," said Vettel.

He overcame the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton to win the race in sensational style and says the victory is all the more special because of his 2014 struggles and his decision to switch to Ferrari.

"A phenomenal day. How does it feel? It feels incredible, to see the guys when I looked down from the podium. I can only recall the victories Fernando [Alonso] had at Ferrari and especially Michael [schumacher].

"It's incredible to become part of this team, it's something special. It makes me very happy obviously. It's the first win in more than a year now. I missed not only the champagne but the top step in particular. It's great to come back after a tough season last year where I just didn't get on top of the car."

Vettel feels emotion of Schumacher connection

Michael Schumacher was on Sebastian Vettel’s mind after the Ferrari driver scored his first win for the team in Malaysia today.

Vettel is close to the seven-times world champion, who enjoyed his greatest F1 successes with Ferrari between 1996 and 2006. Schumacher suffered serious head injures in a skiing accident at the end of 2013.

Vettel has been described as Schumacher’s successor following his move to the team this year, and said winning for them had been his dream.

“When I grew up, Michael was my hero and for all of us – and I speak for all of the kids at the go`kart track at the time in Germany – we were looking up to him and when he turned up every year and to look after us a little bit, it made our lives.

“So, that’s why I think today I probably don’t understand yet how special it is. Very, very emotional.”

Vettel took only two races to score his first victory with Ferrari, but he believes the team is in a stronger position now than when Schumacher joined it.

“I don’t think his car in ’96 was as good as our car this year,” said Vettel. “And I think if we could get anywhere close to – and I’m speaking for the whole team, I’m speaking for both drivers – if we could get anywhere close to the victories he had with Ferrari then we’d be in a very, very good place.”

Schumacher had left “very large footsteps”, said Vettel, “but the target is not to fill those, the target is ideally to leave some new ones”.

Vettel added he was “especially proud” to have beaten Mercedes “because they have been phenomenally strong the last year and a bit”.

“So to be the first one to beat them really fair and square, I think is an incredible achievement, so big thanks to all the guys back in Maranello.”

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Ferrari is back! But is it really?

Sebastian Vettel gave Ferrari its first win in nearly two years at Sepang, and he beat the Mercedes on pure pace. But can the Scuderia keep it up in future?

The Malaysian Grand Prix was Ferrari's first win since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, and confirmed the wisdom of Sebastian Vettel's decision to leave the once dominant Red Bull for the red-suited Italians.

Not only did Vettel secure the victory of Fernando Alonso's dreams, but he managed to lap both of his former employer's cars in the process – a moment of sweet schadenfreude.

But on the quadruple-champion's slow-down lap the world TV feed broadcast a victory song, a triumphant "Ferrari's back!"

To those watching Sunday's race at Sepang International Circuit, the assured victory did not point to a more open championship, but rather to potential problems further down the line for the Italian racers.

Vettel's win hinged on three factors...

First, the German racer's assured performance in the cockpit – it was an error-free afternoon from Ferrari's newest recruit, and a drive he should be rightly proud of.

Second, the team's decision to keep him out when almost everyone else pitted under the safety car proved to be the right strategic call – the first such move from the Scuderia in many, many moons, and one helped by others staying out and delaying the Mercedes duo.

The final factor – and the one which really raises question marks over the strength of Ferrari's renaissance – was the impressively low tyre degradation seen on both SF-15Ts, with Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen able to maintain pace on long runs on both the hard and medium compound.

Raikkonen may have been 53.8 seconds behind his teammate when he crossed the finish line in fourth place, but given the Finn's first-lap puncture and subsequent pitstop, it was an impressive recovery indeed.

By the time the top three finishers were standing on the Sepang podium, track temperatures had dropped to 55 degrees centigrade from a start temperature of 62 degrees.

That the Ferrari was able to maintain consistent pace over long runs in such conditions was a boon this weekend, but one which does not bode well for the cooler track temperatures found across the bulk of the calendar.

Can Ferrari win in lower temperatures?

Endurance in extreme temperatures implies a difficulty in getting heat into the tyres in cooler climes. The desert races of Bahrain and Abu Dhabi take place under twilight and night skies, and in 2014 the Sakhir race got underway with a track temperature of 28 degrees, while the Yas Marina start was 38 degrees on track.

The other hot race on the calendar – steamy Singapore – split the difference, with a track temp of 33 degrees when the lights went out.

The track conditions on offer in Malaysia this weekend were anything but typical, and it remains to be seen whether Ferrari will be able to repeat the low degradation, high performance rubber trick at any of the forthcoming races.

While the tyres themselves may have had a flukey role to play in Ferrari's return to the top step of the Formula 1 podium, the Scuderia looks like a completely different team from the one we saw when it was Alonso leading the charge.

Without taking anything away from the Spanish racer's impressive performances in uncompetitive equipment, Alonso is not a driver known for creating team harmony. His reputation is quite the opposite.

Vettel the team player

Vettel, on the other hand, may have struggled to harmonise with former teammate Mark Webber, but is roundly praised by everyone else he has worked with for being the ultimate team player.

He is the man who never forgets to thank his team in person (in addition to the de rigeur podium platitudes spoken by all), and who stays late alongside his mechanics when there is work to be done. In fact, he was even spotted visiting his old mechanics in the Red Bull Racing garage on Friday!

His arrival in Maranello will have been a breath of fresh air for a team used to opprobrium from its star performer, and there can be no underestimating the effect of a simple morale boost on team unity and performance.

Add to that the improvements to the Ferrari power unit and a car that looked to be competitive straight out of the box, and the Gestione Sportiva certainly looks to be in the mix this year.

But are they back on previously dominant form?

Probably not; Vettel's emotional Malaysian Grand Prix win was a collection of circumstances that saw Ferrari capitalise on every opportunity going, and not a clear statement that the SF-15T will threaten the W06 for the next 17 races.

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Hamilton regrets F1 strategy decisions

Lewis Hamilton believes he lost his chance to challenge Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for victory in the Malaysian GP because he lost too much time after pitting his Mercedes under the safety car.

Reigning world champion Hamilton finished 8.5s behind Vettel, who scored Ferrari’s first Formula 1 win in almost two years at Sepang.

Hamilton now holds just a three-point lead over Vettel in the F1 championship race.

When asked where he felt he lost his shot at victory, Hamilton replied: “It felt like it was at the first stop, which we had planned from the beginning, but perhaps we didn’t expect so many cars to stay out, because it was a lot of cars to work past after the pitstop.

“Trying to catch up with Sebastian, he had great pace. I think we were a little bit quicker than them, through some of the stints, but it was too big a gap to close. It was generally lost at the first pitstop.”

Tyre choice also proved vital

Hamilton was given the hard tyre for his final stint after a third pitstop, as the team had run out of new medium-compound tyres.

The team felt new hards would be quicker than the mediums he had already used in Q1 on Saturday.

“I don’t really remember,” replied Hamilton when asked about the choice, although he criticised it on the radio at the time.

“I remember there was some conversation going on, Paddy had pressed the wrong button and was just yapping away in my ear. I was like, ‘guys, I can hear you’ – he was asking if we were going to do another stop, and I thought that was my last stop, so it confused me. Which was not helpful.

“When I put the prime tyre on it didn’t feel good. When I had the option it felt better. But I wasn’t generally happy with the balance that much. Then we went back onto the prime at the end and it really wasn’t good.”

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Ecclestone says Formula 1 is "sick"

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says the sport is 'sick', and has criticised the teams for being too egoistic.

Ecclestone also reckons the current complex technical rules are a big part of the reason why television audiences are declining.

"Sick for a start," said Ecclestone when asked what diagnosis would he make of Formula 1.

"We have lost audience and I want to know why. There are so many options people have these days for entertainment.

"Before you had a handful of channels - and on one you could watch Formula 1. Now people can choose from too many options - that confuses."

The F1 boss insists Formula 1 has become too complicated for the average fan.

"Commentators add to the situation as they explain for an expert audience and not for people wanting to have an entertaining afternoon in front of their tellies," Ecclestone told the official Formula 1 website.

"And many times these commentators hide behind technical terms because they themselves don't fully understand what is going on. There you have it."

"We have meetings"

Ecclestone was also critical of the teams for not allowing change to happen, saying all they do is think about themselves.

"The teams are egoistic. They do nothing for the sport, only for themselves. They only do what is good for them.

"It is frustrating to see that they just think about the present and have no visions for the future. I think there are people in the paddock who don't think beyond the next race.

"Somebody goes into hospital because they're sick and a surgeon might say that they've got to have their arm cut off - and they do it, and that's it.

"They don't have a meeting about it. We have meetings."

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Bernie brings the germs to the party and then complains that everyone got sick???

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WOLFF: HOPEFULLY THE EQUALISATION NONSENSE STOPS NOW

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said after the Malaysian Grand Prix he hopes Ferrari’s unexpected breakthrough win stops the “nonsense” talk about equalisation in Formula 1.

After Australia, Red Bull threatened to quit F1 over Mercedes’ huge supremacy amid the current engine regulations, arguing that only artificial “equalisation” mechanisms can fix the sport’s broken show.

But just two weeks later in Malaysia, Sebastian Vettel beat both silver cars in just his second race for a strongly resurgent Ferrari.

“We beat them fair and square,” said the beaming German, even though some suggested it was a strategy error for Mercedes amid the early safety car that contributed.

But Ferrari, already strong in Australia, were neck-and-neck with Mercedes throughout the Sepang weekend, and in crucial ‘long run’ pace even looked marginally better than the reigning world champions from the very beginning in Friday practice.

“Ferrari is back,” Vettel’s engineer told him on the radio.

Melbourne winner and reigning champion Hamilton agreed, privately telling Vettel before the podium ceremony that the red car was “so quick” this weekend.

“Geez, they had some good pace today,” Hamilton told Eddie Jordan on the podium. “They were too fast for us.”

So after all the political talk about ‘equalisation’, defeated Mercedes chief Wolff said it had been a bad day for Mercedes but “a good day for formula one”.

Hamilton said Ferrari’s win will make some unnamed people in the paddock “eat their words”.

“Hopefully all the nonsense about equalisation stops now,” agreed Wolff.

At the very minimum, Ferrari’s success in equalising Mercedes’ pace in the conventional manner in Malaysia has dented Red Bull’s political push.

It leaves the energy drink-owned camp needing to patch up its broken relationship with Renault and push forwards.

With Vettel having lapped both Red Bulls on Sunday, Dr Helmut Marko told German television Sky that the team is now working hard to improve hand-in-hand with its engine supplier.

“In Australia there was a lot of emotion,” he said, “but we have now found a way forward. Thank god it has already looked better here.”

But Marko said Red Bull is still looking towards F1’s “stakeholders”, especially after both the team and Renault threatened to quit the sport.

“That is why all the stakeholders, not just Red Bull and Renault but also the FIA and the commercial rights holder (must look at) how a company like Renault can again get the necessary value from F1 that makes sense,” he said.

So he doesn’t think even Ferrari’s victory on Sunday is evidence enough that the controversial engine regulations are actually able to work for the sport.

“Ferrari was very strong here,” admitted Marko, “but they also have a very good car and the tyre wear is very good and Sebastian Vettel loves this track.

“Without doubt they have made a great leap forward with the engine, but under normal circumstances they are still more than half a second away from Mercedes.

“That is not enough,” said Marko. “There is also the high temperatures [in Malaysia] and the specific track, while Mercedes did not find the ideal setup. The general balance of power has not yet changed.”

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RON DENNIS: NO PROBLEM BETWEEN THE TEAM AND FERNANDO

Ron Dennis has played down suggestions that McLaren his team’s relationship with Fernando Alonso is once again breaking down, insisting that there is no problem with their superstar driver.

In 2007, paired with rookie Lewis Hamilton and amid the spy scandal, Alonso’s first McLaren tenure ended after just one acrimonious season.

The parties are back together in 2015, but some regard it as little more than a marriage of convenience, following the breakdown of Alonso’s relationship with Ferrari after five consecutive title-less campaigns.

But Alonso-McLaren in 2015 has arguably already been more tumultuous than eight years ago, even though barely a wheel has turned.

Not only is the MP4-30 slow, the 33-year-old’s mysterious Barcelona crash has reportedly driven a wedge between Alonso and McLaren.

Some observers remarked that Alonso’s press conference on Thursday, during which he directly contradicted most of the official claims made by McLaren in the past weeks, was an obvious “attack” on the British team.

Team supremo Ron Dennis, who clashed so spectacularly with Alonso eight years ago, arrived at Sepang on Saturday.

He insisted: “There is no problem between the team and Fernando.

“He gave his recollection of events, we provided our data relating to the accident, and that’s the end of the story. Everything is fine,” Dennis is quoted by the Telegraph.

But glaring questions about the bizarre Barcelona testing crash and aftermath remain. Reigning champion Hamilton was a lone voice in the drivers’ briefing in Malaysia when he pressed Charlie Whiting for answers.

“He crashed and then they did what?” the Briton is quoted as saying, after hearing about Alonso’s account of the crash. “They gave him medication?

“Really? Has the FIA come out with their statement (following an investigation)? That will be very interesting to hear,” said Hamilton.

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BOULLIER ADMITS MCLAREN AND HONDA STILL TO GEL 100%

McLaren and Honda are working hard to make their new works collaboration gel, amid a torrid start to their second era together in Formula 1 and despite the cultural differences in working methods.

Back together in 2015 after more than two decades apart, the British team hailed Honda’s return as simply the next chapter in an ultra-successful, title-winning tale.

But that was before the silver cars lined up dead last in Melbourne, and McLaren-Honda has only been spared a repeat of that ignominy in Malaysia because backmarkers Manor have been granted an exemption from the 107% qualifying rule.

However, drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button insist the MP4-30 is now taking giant strides forwards.

“As a team we are now 90 per cent,” explained team boss Eric Boullier, according to the El Pais. “The remaining 10 per cent is because we find two very different cultures that need time to fit together.”

The newspaper said one example was at the opening winter test at Jerez, where McLaren mechanics twice fired up the MP4-30 only to realise that no oil was in the Honda engine.

“Honda has recognised that it needs more help from our people; not so much on the engine itself, but in everything that surrounds it,” Frenchman Boullier revealed.

Meanwhile, another big talking point in Malaysia this weekend has been Fernando Alonso, and suggestions he must surely now be regretting his switch from Ferrari.

He is now in one of the slowest cars on the grid, while his replacement at Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel, is nipping the heels of the otherwise dominant Mercedes. But the Spaniard insists he is “patient”.

“Many of the Japanese are new to F1 but we will grow up together,” said Alonso. “I am very happy to be back here. I knew that if I wanted to win again, I had to do something different, not just try to copy what Mercedes has done.”

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DISGUSTED ECCLESTONE REGRETS LETTING MANOR RETURN

Manor appears to have lost the backing of Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, acknowledged as the most powerful man in the sport.

Ecclestone was furious with the former Marussia team after Australia, claiming it travelled to the 2015 opener with no intention of running its cars.

Ecclestone, 84, responded by docking Manor one nineteenth of its official prize-money haul, and sending the Yorkshire-based outfit a bill for air freight.

Now, he has launched a scathing attack on Justin King, the former Sainsbury’s chief who is now the chairman at Manor under new ownership. Earlier, King was named as a potential successor to Briton Ecclestone.

But Ecclestone seemed to rule that out, suggesting King’s stewardship could not even allow Manor to fire its engines in Melbourne, let alone race.

“This shows you what that Justin King is,” he told The Independent newspaper. “King is the genius businessman.

“The guy that was going to do all these things,” Ecclestone was quoted by business journalists Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid.

“It’s bloody disgusting, to be honest with you,” he charged. “They never had anything (in Australia) which could let them run.”

He admits he regrets letting Manor return so that it can collect over $50 million in official prize-money this year, distributed by Ecclestone, the chief executive of F1’s commercial rights holder.

“We should have chopped them off when we found out that they were insolvent,” said Ecclestone.

“The trouble is that they went into administration, and when they get themselves out of administration, they are back as if nothing has ever happened. I have never heard anything so mad but that is how it is.”

MIKA: Pretty damn harsh if you ask me... perhaps Bernie seriously needs to go

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SUSIE WOLFF SLAMS IDEA OF FEMALE ONLY F1 SERIES

Susie Wolff has slammed suggestions that an all-female version of Formula 1 should be launched.

Alarmed at the current state of the sport he built, F1 supremo Ecclestone has been full of ideas in Sepang, such as allocating points for qualifying and mixing up the grids.

And according to Britain’s Mirror newspaper, the 84-year-old’s next idea is a separate F1 series only for women.

But Susie Wolff, the female test driver for Williams, blasted: “It’s most definitely not the right way forward.

“First of all, I don’t know where you’d find a full grid of female drivers who are good enough,” said the 32-year-old.

“Secondly, I have raced my whole career in motor sport as a normal competitor. Why would I ever look for a race where I was only competing against women?

“I can hand on heart say it would not interest me at all to win such a race. I would rather not be in the race because what am I winning? A race where they’ve just looked for any girl to make a grid up,” Wolff added.