Three-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel held off Red Bull’s teammate Mark Webber in a scintillating battle to win the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Vettel, who earlier in the race complained to the team about Webber’s slow pace, battled the Australian for much of the race, with the cars almost touching as the German grabbed the lead on the 46th lap for his 27th victory.
The surprising run of Mercedes continued with 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton coming in third ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg.
Vettel leads the championship with 40 points from two races against Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus (31 points), who had to settle for seventh after his victory at last week’s season-opener.
It was a disastrous day for Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who crashed out of the race on the second lap after damaging his front wing when he bumped Vettel a lap earlier.
