Verstappen beats Hamilton to win F1’s Malaysian Grand Prix

Fortune finally favoured Max Verstappen in Malaysia as the Red Bull driver who has endured a trying season secured his second grand prix victory at Sepang. He and the legion of Dutch fans were all smiles afterwards.

But the form on display from both Red Bull and Ferrari has left only frowns at Mercedes in their wake, as Lewis Hamilton and his team were forced to consider why they had been comprehensively beaten on a track at which they were expected to dominate and how it has rendered their championship challenge a far from foregone conclusion. Ostensibly, Hamilton’s second place to Verstappen was a good result. He has extended his lead over his title rival Sebastian Vettel to 34 points with five races remaining. But while Vettel scythed through the field after starting from the back of the grid to take fourth, Hamilton could do nothing about Verstappen and on this form might have been outpaced by both Ferrari’s had they started at the front. Mercedes and Hamilton took their points advantage but were far from celebrating. They had entered the race with the possibility of putting an almost insurmountable lead on Vettel but ended it rather licking their wounds and contemplating just how much work they have to do before the meeting at Suzuka next weekend. Hamilton believed that even the second they achieved had been “lucky” and suggested that the team had been far from at their best across the weekend. His team, in turn, were left unusually perplexed as to why they struggled when not only Ferrari had such strong pace but also the Red Bull proved superior. - THE GUARDIAN