The return of the Formula 1 circus to Sepang after a hiatus of 9 years was dramatic, wet, confusing and enthralling from start to finish - But Max Verstappen held his nerve whilst all about him lost theirs, to deliver a complete and fully deserved win that also most likely saw the end of George Russell's title hopes, as a power unit failure in the final few laps saw him retire from the race.
In some ways it was fitting that the race was a bit all over the place. The turmoil in world events that led to the Bahrain Grand Prix having to find a new temporary home in Malaysia, had followed Formula 1 to the start of the race itself. Before the race could even start there was a 40-minute delay due to heavy tropical rainfall that made driving the circuit completely impossible and when it finally did get a formation lap underway, things went from bad to worse. First Isack Hadjar lost control and took a trip through the gravel trap and then several Ferrari powered cars seemed to have software issues that kept them from keeping up behind the safety car - first Lewis Hamilton, followed by Charles Leclerc and then the Haas cars all slowed to a complete crawl, to the point that they were nearly lapped. The call was made to suspend the start procedure and return all the cars to the pit lane whilst the FIA figured out what the hell to do.
To be fair, this was a completely unique scenario which was not covered clearly by any official regulations. The crowd in the stands maintained their good spirits, but were unfortunately left completely out of the loop for more than 30 minutes while the rain had stopped, the cars were all ready and in the pit lane, but no one quite knew what to do. In an era of ultra-professionalism in the sport, this was something of a throwback, to hear commentators and analysts reaching for the rulebook and trying their best to make clear what should happen next. In the end, it was decided that the race had not officially started yet, so the cars were returned to their grid order in the pit lane and common sense won through.
But common sense only holds for so long. Now that the rain had stopped and the cars would return to the grid for a standing start, there was the choice of what tyre to start on. Again, the agents of chaos came to play. Nine of the cars went for the intermediate wet tyre whilst the other thirteen (unlucky for some) had a mixture of the soft and medium slick tyres attached. You could say it was unlucky that the track had not dried enough, but it is worth pointing out that it was clear on the formation lap it was still in no condition for the slick tyres to be in use and so it was surprising that only Oscar Piastri dived back into the pit lane to correct the error before the lights went out and we finally got underway in earnest.
On the first two laps those with intermediate tyres on their cars surged to the front lapping up to 25 seconds per lap quicker than those with the slicks. Mercedes in particular nailed the restart, with Kimi Antonelli leading from George Russell by the end of turn 1. Lewis Hamilton was on the soft tyres and it looked to be another classic Ferrari strategy call as he sunk down to 15th at one point.
Finally, the race was up and running enabling Max Verstappen to show that he had genuine leading pace to back up his pole position, passing both the Mercedes cleanly and pulling out a lead at the front. The next hurdle for the Dutchman would be picking the best time to change from the intermediate tyre to one of the slick options - step forward once more, a little bit of disorder. Valterri Bottas spun into the gravel trap and beached his car on lap 10 bringing out the full safety car and creating an ideal opportunity for everyone to get themselves onto the right tyre.
That's right, we're only at lap 10. But don't worry, things became more measured in the final 80% of the race.
Verstappen controlled proceedings at the front while Antonelli and Russell battled for 2nd place behind him. The young championship leader finally came out on top on lap 21 then proceeding to increase the gap to the British driver lap after lap.
Behind them Lewis Hamilton was having a charge through the field reminiscent of his early years in Formula 1, having been brought right back into contact with the field by the Bottas safety car. He made use of the lower-than-expected tyre degradation on the softs to make a series of decisive moves. I will say though, it is something of a bugbear of mine that through this entire season, all the best bits of on-track action seemingly get relegated to the smaller "picture in picture" screen. The TV directors are insistent this year that our main focus goes to two cars at the front, that follow each other closely, but have no real prospect of an overtake occurring. They know that action is happening elsewhere and choose not to fully show it...it's a little perplexing for sure.
There was still time for one final act of drama and of course, one more safety car. Alex Albon's Williams came to a halt on the outside of turn three, giving everyone the chance to change onto soft tyres. The pack was backed up and everyone prepared for an expected mini sprint race to the flag...everyone that is except George Russell, who's power unit failed in the back of his Mercedes. Surely the end of any hope of a maiden world title this year for the Englishman. Kimi Antonelli extended his lead in the championship by 18 points in finishing 2nd today - it is clear the battle is over and the preparations to crown the sport's youngest ever champion can truly begin.
Verstappen was clearly delighted to have broken his duck for the season said after the race, "We made the right call with the intermediates, even with the safety car we kept it all under control." He will take a great deal of satisfaction from his first win of the season today, a huge amount of belief that Red Bull are back on the right track...and have finally got a handle on the regulations. All teams on the grid will now know that Red Bull will be willing and likely able to fight for the championship next year.
Hamilton's drive through the field got him onto the podium following Russell's late retirement, a huge result considering how far behind he was on the first five laps, "What a tough race that was. We had the wrong tyre choice at the beginning and I saw we were more than a minute down. But, I kept my head down and made the most of it."
One more drive worthy of mention was that of Fernando Alonso, fresh from agreeing a new contract to race for Aston Martin again next year he managed to cross the line in 8th place securing 4 points for his team. Whenever there's mixed conditions or an opportunity to show what he's capable of, he always steps up. Even at 45 years of age. He really is something special.
Next week Formula 1 rolls into Singapore for one of the toughest races for drivers on the calendar - a race where the driver can make a real difference.
Final Result
1. Max Verstappen
2. Kimi Antonelli
3. Lewis Hamilton
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Isack Hadjar
6. Oscar Piastri
7. Liam Lawson
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Lando Norris
10. Arvid Lindblad
11. Nico Hulkenberg
12. Lance Stroll
13. Franco Colapinto
14. Oliie Bearman
15. Estaban Ocon
16. Pierre Gasly
17. Carlos Sainz
18. Gabriel Bortoleto
19. Sergio Perez
20. George Russell
21. Alex Albon
22. Valterri Bottas
