by H. Mayor – photo: f1.com | Malaysia kisses the F1 world goodbye for good after a weekend that has brought Lewis Hamilton a bit closer to the World Champion title. What everyone is talking about however is Sebastian Vettel’s memorable performance, as he asserts his presence once more and refuses to be pushed aside just yet. The ten times champion had endured a terrible weekend which included having to change engines during the classifying rounds and a position 20 start. But then he delighted fans with a legendary comeback which took him to a fourth position finish. Hamilton was able to increase his advantage by a few points, although not as many as he would have obtained if it wasn’t for Max Verstappen’s victory. The triumph of the young Dutch driver limits damages for Ferrari but also brings the title closer to Mercedes and their British star.
The Sepang circuit bids farewell with a thrilling and slightly off-script race. Considering Vettel’s uncertain situation everything pointed to Hamilton striking the final blow, but Mercedes seemed somehow uncomfortable throughout the race and the German driver managed to raise above his precarious position. Furthermore, nobody was expecting the burst into scene of Max Verstappen, who takes his second victory at just 20 years of age, mitigating slightly the disappointment of a dire season. His meteoric overtaking of Hamilton confirmed the theory that the silver arrows were having difficulties and did not dominate the track this time, as we are all so accustomed to see.
Hamilton adopts a safe approach
Hamilton was able to secure what was always going to be a good result. He was focused on Vettel who was performing such a frantic comeback at the back that it seemed his life depended on it. At the 14th lap and with the first pit stops under way, the German driver rised to sixth position and for a moment he might have pictured himself climbing the podium, but the feat was to be more complicated than it seemed at first. Initially there was the scuffle with Fernando Alonso, then came Bottas’ impenetrable wall, and finally he had to face the impassable Ricciardo. An array of difficulties which give his fourth position even greater credit.
Vettel’s glowing performance however, had a bitter after-taste given the context he finds himself into at this point. He managed to save the day and remains alive and kicking but the truth of the matter is that the distance with Hamilton widened in Sepang. 34 points and only five races to go. A considerable margin but not a definite sentence yet. Also the role of Red Bull at this final sprint still remains to be seen.
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