World Story

KIMI RAIKKONEN won his 16th grand prix as Ferrari took the honours in Malaysia.

The Finn finished ahead of Robert Kubica in a BMW with Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen third.

Hamilton came in fifth, one place behind Jarno Trulli’s Toyota following a disastrous 20-second pitstop for the British driver.

Pole-sitter Felipe Massa saw his race end after 30 laps when he beached his Ferrari in the gravel.

A Ferrari victory had looked odds-on before the race as McLaren rivals Kovalainen and Hamilton had both been hit by five-place grid penalties for impeding Nick Heidfeld and Fernando Alonso, meaning they lined up eighth and ninth respectively.

And with the threat of rain failing to materialise, a clean start from both Ferrari drivers did little to change that assumption.

Massa managed to fend off Raikkonen through the first corner and set about consolidating his advantage, while Kubica climbed to third and Webber fourth as a poor getaway from Trulli saw him slip to sixth.

An excellent start from Hamilton saw the McLaren driver jump to fifth after the first lap.

But Timo Glock was unable to continue after his Toyota collided with Nico Rosberg’s Williams, while Adrian Sutil’s race also ended in retirement on lap six.

The Ferraris proved dominant in the early stages as Massa established a slight advantage over Raikkonen, the pair leaving Kubica trailing in the distance.

Hamilton was beginning to catch Webber and moved up to fourth when the Australian was the first of the front runners to come in at the end of lap 15, before Massa made his first stop a lap later.

The Brazilian rejoined behind Kovalainen leaving Raikkonen out in front and the Finn tried to make the most of a clear track before diving into the pits for a 7.9-second stop.

It was an excellent effort and saw him come out in fourth place, behind Kovalainen but crucially in front of his Ferrari team-mate.

But disaster struck for Hamilton when he pitted from second as a problem with the right front wheel saw him stationary for 20 seconds and scuppered any hopes of a podium. He rejoined in 11th behind Webber.

Raikkonen continued to forge ahead once Kubica pitted from the lead and had established a five-second gap over Massa when his afternoon suddenly became considerably less stressful.

The Brazilian spun at turn eight and ended up in the gravel, his race over after 30 laps.

That pushed Kubica up to second but 22 seconds behind the leader, while Kovalainen had crept up to third, a further 17 seconds adrift.

Hamilton was harassing Webber but could not find a way past the Red Bull while Heidfeld had also joined the scrap.

Raikkonen made his second stop of the afternoon at the end of lap 37 with a 24.5-second advantage over Kubica and a clean effort saw him rejoin in second place, around six seconds back.

Hamilton was still tussling with Webber for fifth but Heidfeld had begun to fall away before the Red Bull pitted and the Brit at last had a clear track in front of him.

It proved decisive as he made his second stop at the end of lap 44 and an 8.9-second effort allowed him to leapfrog the Australian.

But once Kubica had again handed the lead to Raikkonen after pitting for a second time, there was no stopping the Finn and he cruised to victory by 19.5 seconds.

Kovalainen claimed his first McLaren podium in third, 38.4 seconds behind Raikkonen.

Despite managing to chase down Trulli in the closing stages, Hamilton was unable to pass the Italian and had to settle for fifth.

Heidfeld crossed the line in sixth, Webber claimed seventh when his afternoon had promised more while Alonso picked up the final point for Renault in eighth.

David Coulthard finished ninth in the second Red Bull while Jenson Button rounded out the top 10. Anthony Davidson crossed the line down in 15th but will be encouraged by the fact his Super Aguri completed the race.

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LEWIS HAMILTON’S 100 per cent start to the F1 season was ended by Malaysian water-torture.

 

Hamilton had to race 56 laps WITHOUT a single drop to drink.

 

He said: “I couldn’t get water from the bottle. It just didn’t work — I didn’t have any all race.

I was really thirsty and needed to drink lots of bottles after the race.

 

“But the great thing is my fitness and, physically, I felt fine. I was able to push all the way.

 

“For me it is great that I feel OK and could drive the car without any water.

Hamilton loses 7lbs

“I feel a lot better than I did after the race here last year.”

 

McLaren ace Hamilton, 23, lost over half a stone during his Sepang sauna as temperatures soared to over 100 degrees.

 

He started ninth on the grid after getting demoted five places following qualifying when race stewards ruled he impeded BMW’s Nick Heidfeld.

 

Despite seeing Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen cruise to victory, Hamilton came home in fifth place and still leads the championship by three points after the opening two races.

 

The Formula One circus now heads to Bahrain for the next race in 13 days.

 

Hamilton added: “It was one of those weekends. So-so.

 

“It wasn’t easy with the penalty and the Ferraris’ pace but we can bounce back.

 

“Without the penalty we would have been second and third maybe. But this is racing, these are the rules.

 

“We can improve and I am looking forward to the next race. I am still leading the championship.

“I still got four points and that is key.

 

“I was push, push, pushing to get as many points as possible. At least the reliability of the car was great and we had good pace.

 

“I got stuck in a lot of traffic and had the wheel-nut problem at the pit-stop.

 

“If that had not happened it would have been a lot easier. In my first and second stints behind people, my tyres were shot.

 

“When I was in the clear my pace was good.

 

“I pressed really hard to get that fourth place at the end.

 

“I really wanted that extra point and believed we could get it but Jarno Trulli drove really well.”