Ricciardo triumphs

Aussie makes most of Malaysia mayhem

DANIEL Ricciardo has won an incredible Malaysian Grand Prix, fighting off Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen after a disastrous race for Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton dominated much of the race until his engine exploded down the front straight with a third of the race to go, while Nico Rosberg’s race was torpedoed at the first corner by Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel attempted a bold ma- noeuvre that prompted a collision with Rosberg and Verstappen.

The contact ended Vettel’s race and relegated Rosberg – in the midst of a torrid battle with teammate Hamilton for the drivers’ championship – to 21st position on the first lap.

Ricciardo was a major beneficiary, improving from fourth to second.

“Sebastian is crazy,” Verstappen said on team radio. “Crashed into Rosberg like an idiot.”

Vettel said: “I made contact with the Mercedes. I think that’s it. Front suspension is damaged.”

Former F1 driver and Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle said: “Vettel drove into a wedge that was pretty sure to disappear there and turned his fellow countryman around in Nico Rosberg. That’s critical for the world championship.

“To be fair to Vettel, seeing it again there was a space, the door was open. It’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll make some contact when you get there.

“But actually what spun Rosberg around is the contact between Vettel and Verstappen.”

With Verstappen finishing second, it was the first one-two finish for Red Bull since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix, and also denied Mercedes the chance to wrap up the constructors’ title.

Rosberg finished third, despite a 10-second time penalty after colliding with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, to extend his gap over Hamilton to 23 points in the overall standings.