The race was full of twists and turns, with both drivers having to fight their way back through the field after a wrong tyre choice for the start saw them drop down the order in the opening laps. It was the team’s tenth podium of the season, and Lewis’s sixth. The 27 points scored today also consolidated the Scuderia’s second place in the Constructors’ Championship.
The race. The race was due to start at 15:00, with Hamilton and Leclerc lining up in second and fourth places. However, a violent thunderstorm forced race control to delay the start by 40 minutes. After several laps behind the Safety Car, a widespread software issue led to the race being stopped. The race finally got underway at 16:30, 90 minutes later than originally scheduled, by which time the rain had stopped. The team therefore decided to start both SF-26s on Soft tyres. The choice of slicks proved costly in the early stages, with both Lewis and Charles dropping down the order. The Monegasque also sustained damage to his front wing on the opening lap following contact with Nico Hülkenberg and he had to pit for a replacement, taking the opportunity to switch to Intermediate tyres. The Safety Car, which appeared on track on lap nine, bunched up the field and that signalled the start of the Ferrari fightback. Hamilton worked his way through the field with a series of overtakes that quickly took him into the points and then the leading positions, followed not far behind by his team-mate. At two thirds distance, Lewis was fifth ahead of Charles.
The finish. In the closing stages, Alex Albon stopped on track, forcing race control to deploy the Safety Car. Both drivers pitted for fresh Soft tyres and, at the restart, Lewis was fourth ahead of Charles, following the retirement of George Russell. The race resumed on lap 51, and on the following lap Lewis managed to pass Isack Hadjar to move into third place. One lap later, Leclerc also got the better of the French driver, securing fourth place at the chequered flag for a solid team result.
Singapore next. The Formula 1 calendar is relentless and the teams now travel straight to Singapore for next Sunday’s 17th race of the season at the Marina Bay street circuit.
Lewis Hamilton #44
Sepang is always a great track to race on, but today is definitely one of the most memorable. It was a really demanding race and not an easy one to manage from the start, but the team did a fantastic job staying calm and executing well after a difficult opening phase.
We found ourselves on the back foot very early on with the tyre choice, yet everyone stayed focused and kept pushing. We didn't give up despite a big gap building straight away, and step by step we managed to fight our way back into contention and keep the pressure on until the flag.
To finish on the podium after the way the race began feels really satisfying and is a great reward for the hard work, determination and resilience everyone showed today. A big thank you as well to the fans, who were incredible all weekend.
Charles Leclerc #16
It was an eventful race. A lot of things went wrong in the first part, and everything that could have gone right did in the second part, so I would say P4 is a good result today all things considered.
I collided with Nico (Hülkenberg) on lap 1 as I started on slicks and the track turned out to still be very wet. It was a close call which tyres to start on, with a mixed grid, and we will learn from today to be prepared should these conditions come up again.
We’re heading to Singapore next, so let’s see what we can bring home for the team there.
Fred Vasseur - Team Principal
Overall our result is good, especially considering where we were at the end of the first lap. To finish third and fourth after dropping to the back of the field is a very strong comeback from the whole team.
The tyre choice on the grid was a difficult one: in those conditions, you can only judge from what you see around you on the grid and in the pit lane. We did not have the full picture of the track and, in the end, we got the call wrong. We will analyse everything carefully and make sure we learn from it for the future.
From that moment on, we stayed calm, executed well and made the right decisions. The strategy worked as intended, our pace was strong and both Lewis and Charles did an excellent job managing their tyres while fighting their way back through the field. Charles' race was made even more difficult by the need to stop after the first lap to replace the front wing following a collision, which makes his recovery to fourth place particularly impressive.
We scored good points, secured another podium and showed strong pace in difficult conditions.
