Malaysian F1 Grand Prix 2016 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights, Reaction

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo won a dramatic Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton retired with engine failure late on.

Ricciardo eventually held off team-mate Max Verstappen for the chequered flag after some pulsating racing. Hamilton looked poised to take a comfortable win after team-mate Nico Rosberg was shunted down to last place after Turn 1, but the Brit's car caught ablaze with 15 laps left.

After dropping down to last position, Rosberg eventually recovered well to take the third podium position. The German now leads the F1 world championship by 23 points.

POS	NO	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	TIME/RETIRED
1	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER	56	1:37:12.776
2	33	Max Verstappen	RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER	56	+2.443s
3	6	Nico Rosberg	MERCEDES	56	+25.516s
4	7	Kimi Raikkonen	FERRARI	56	+28.785s
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	56	+61.582s
6	11	Sergio Perez	FORCE INDIA MERCEDES	56	+63.794s
7	14	Fernando Alonso	MCLAREN HONDA	56	+65.205s
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	FORCE INDIA MERCEDES	56	+74.062s
9	22	Jenson Button	MCLAREN HONDA	56	+81.816s
10	30	Jolyon Palmer	RENAULT	56	+95.466s
11	55	Carlos Sainz	TORO ROSSO FERRARI	56	+98.878s
12	9	Marcus Ericsson	SAUBER FERRARI	55	+1 lap
13	19	Felipe Massa	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	55	+1 lap
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	TORO ROSSO FERRARI	55	+1 lap
15	94	Pascal Wehrlein	MRT MERCEDES	55	+1 lap
16	31	Esteban Ocon	MRT MERCEDES	55	+1 lap
NC	12	Felipe Nasr	SAUBER FERRARI	46	DNF
NC	44	Lewis Hamilton	MERCEDES	40	DNF
NC	21	Esteban Gutierrez	HAAS FERRARI	39	DNF
NC	20	Kevin Magnussen	RENAULT	17	DNF
NC	8	Romain Grosjean	HAAS FERRARI	7	DNF
NC	5	Sebastian Vettel	FERRARI	0	DNF

POS	DRIVER	NATIONALITY	CAR	PTS
1	Nico Rosberg	GER	MERCEDES	288
2	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	MERCEDES	265
3	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER	204
4	Kimi Raikkonen	FIN	FERRARI	160
5	Sebastian Vettel	GER	FERRARI	153
6	Max Verstappen	NED	RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER	147
7	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	80
8	Sergio Perez	MEX	FORCE INDIA MERCEDES	74
9	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	FORCE INDIA MERCEDES	50
10	Fernando Alonso	ESP	MCLAREN HONDA	42
11	Felipe Massa	BRA	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	41
12	Carlos Sainz	ESP	TORO ROSSO FERRARI	30
13	Romain Grosjean	FRA	HAAS FERRARI	28
14	Daniil Kvyat	RUS	TORO ROSSO FERRARI	25
15	Jenson Button	GBR	MCLAREN HONDA	19
16	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	RENAULT	7
17	Jolyon Palmer	GBR	RENAULT	1
18	Pascal Wehrlein	GER	MRT MERCEDES	1
19	Stoffel Vandoorne	BEL	MCLAREN HONDA	1
20	Esteban Gutierrez	MEX	HAAS FERRARI	0
21	Marcus Ericsson	SWE	SAUBER FERRARI	0
22	Felipe Nasr	BRA	SAUBER FERRARI	0
23	Rio Haryanto	INA	MRT MERCEDES	0
24	Esteban Ocon	FRA	MRT MERCEDES	0

The start has proved so decisive so often this season, and once again, it was crucial at Sepang

MOHD RASFAN/Getty Images

After a solid start, Rosberg settled in behind Hamilton into Turn 1. But the German was caught up in a tangle between Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel and ended up facing the wrong way.

Per the F1 Twitter feed, it was a disappointing start for the Mercedes man but a critical one for the Ferrari:

Vettel’s elimination triggered a virtual safety car, and with Rosberg at the back of the field, things couldn’t have worked out better for Hamilton.

Rosberg, as his team-mate had to do in Spa, now had to plot his way back through, and after another virtual safety car, he was making a pretty decent job of it. After 13 laps, he was up into the points positions.

Meanwhile, there was an interesting battle developing up front between the Red Bulls and the leading Mercedes, with Verstappen jumping into the pits early in an attempt to undercut Hamilton and Ricciardo.

Per motor racing journalist Will Buxton, it was looking like a savvy move:

Indeed, Verstappen was making plenty of time when he resumed racing, with the aforementioned duo staying out on track. It meant that once Hamilton did pit, he came back out a long way behind the Dutchman, and with the hard tyres on, Mercedes were looking for him to go to the end of the race.

It meant a fascinating battle was in store between the front three, with tyre management the order of the day for the usually aggressive Hamilton.

MANAN VATSYAYANA/Getty Images

Further back, Rosberg was continuing to make rapid progress, producing some clinical overtaking to move up into a creditable fifth spot. However, the German’s momentum was shunted when he ran up behind Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari on the same, but fresher, tyres. 

Rosberg’s strong work on the hard tyre was being replicated by Hamilton up top, too, as the leader sought to build a gap to Verstappen, who had pitted.

As noted by F1 journalist James Allen, Red Bull’s hopes of a win were fading as a result:

But just when Hamilton seemed to be taking control of the contest, his hopes of victory went up in smoke—quite literally. On Lap 41, fire appeared on the back of his Mercedes, and the dejected champion pulled up on the side of the track.

Per Sky Sports F1, here’s how his car ended up:

It was a huge blow to Hamilton and a major boost for Rosberg. It also set the race up perfectly for Red Bull, with Ricciardo in the lead and Verstappen in second; the team brought both drivers in to the pits and seemed to set up a battle for the chequered flag.

The drama continued further back, too, as Rosberg was slapped with a 10-second penalty for contact with Raikkonen during an overtake. However, the German was able to put sufficient distance between himself and the Ferrari to take third.

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Up front, all eyes were on the Red Bull pair to see if they’d tussle for the win or come home in a procession. However, it seemed the chance of one-two finish wouldn’t be risked, and Ricciardo's comfortable finish was at odds with an otherwise enthralling race.

Hamilton will be cursing his luck after this gutting retirement. The Briton looked in excellent shape to take the race win and move back into the lead of the world championship. Rosberg will breathe a sigh of relief having diced with danger throughout this contest and somehow still extended his lead.

For Ricciardo, this will be a sweet win, having endured some low moments at the races in Monaco and Spain earlier in the campaign. Verstappen added to his excellent reputation with another fine podium finish, although he will be frustrated at not being able to get past his team-mate for the race win.

As noted here, Ricciardo celebrated in his trademark style:

Rosberg was also happy with his win following a disappointing start:

Afterwards, Hamilton was naturally unhappy. "I've just got to move on," he said, per Sky Sports. "I just can't believe that there's eight Mercedes cars and only my engines are the ones that have gone this way. Something just doesn't feel right. It was a brand new engine...it is what it is. It's just odd, there's been like 43 engines for Mercedes and only mine have gone."