Sepang hosted 18 editions of the Malaysian Grand Prix between 1999 and 2017, and few venues on the calendar constructed a repute fairly prefer it.
Hermann Tilke’s first purpose-built circuit mixed sweeping high-speed corners with a brutal tropical local weather, and that mixture produced a few of the most chaotic afternoons in F1.
Monsoon downpours arrived with little warning, tyre degradation was cruel within the warmth, and title fights repeatedly discovered their technique to Sepang late within the season. The end result was a run of races that swung championships and ended afternoons in a matter of laps.
Forward of F1’s return to Malaysia this weekend, with the Bahrain GP going down within the nation, choosing the very best 5 from 18 years is not any small process, however these races stand out for the drama, the strategic gambles and the results that rippled nicely past the end line.
Michael Schumacher comeback and a title thrown into chaos – 1999
The inaugural race at Sepang carried huge stakes, arriving because the penultimate spherical of a title struggle between Mika Häkkinen and Eddie Irvine.
Schumacher, coming back from a damaged leg, drove in help of Ferrari team-mate Irvine, serving to the Ulsterman to victory forward of Häkkinen. However the drama didn’t finish on the flag.
Scrutineers subsequently disqualified each Ferraris over bargeboard dimensions, briefly handing the drivers’ and constructors’ championships to Häkkinen and McLaren, earlier than the FIA Court docket of Enchantment overturned the choice days later and restored Irvine’s win.
Though Häkkinen went on to take the title within the remaining race in Japan, few leads to the game’s historical past have been thrown into such doubt after which reinstated so dramatically.
Ferrari’s monsoon masterclass – 2001
Michael Schumacher’s win in solely the second spherical of 2001 stays one of the weird outcomes of his profession.
An early engine failure from one other automotive left oil on the monitor, and when the rain arrived on lap three, each Ferraris of Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello slid into the gravel collectively.
Restoration seemed inconceivable, however Ferrari’s name to suit intermediate tyres throughout an prolonged safety-car pit cease, whereas rivals gambled on full wets, proved impressed.
Because the monitor dried, each automobiles lapped seconds sooner than the sphere. Schumacher took victory from Barrichello, with David Coulthard a distant third, in a end result constructed completely on a single strategic name.
© xpb.cc
Jenson Button’s soggy affirmation – 2009
Jenson Button’s Brawn had dominated the opening spherical in Australia, and Malaysia provided an early check of whether or not it was a real title bundle. The reply arrived via a downpour.
Torrential rain and fading daylight compelled officers to red-flag the race on lap 33, with the ultimate classification reverting to the order on the finish of lap 31.
Button, who began from pole, was declared the winner, with Nick Heidfeld and Timo Glock finishing the rostrum.
As a result of barely half the scheduled distance had been accomplished, solely half factors had been awarded, for under the fifth time in F1 historical past, a quirk that later mattered in a tightly fought championship battle.
© XPBimages
Fernando Alonso conquers the storm – 2012
Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari lacked the outright tempo to problem McLaren that weekend, as Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button locked out the entrance row, however one other Sepang storm modified the equation completely.
A prolonged red-flag suspension turned the race right into a tyre-crossover gamble, and Alonso’s wet-weather execution proved decisive.
Sergio Pérez, on a exceptional run for Sauber, closed in late on the prime tyre and seemed able to snatching the lead, just for a large second at Flip 9 to finish his problem.
Alonso held on to win from Pérez and Hamilton, a end result constructed on endurance and tyre administration moderately than uncooked pace.
© XPBimages
Nico Rosberg takes title management after Lewis Hamilton engine blows – 2016
Few single mechanical failures have altered a championship as sharply as Lewis Hamilton’s did in 2016.
Rosberg held an eight-point lead over his Mercedes team-mate going into what was the sixteenth spherical of the 21 that 12 months.
Though Hamilton and Rosberg locked out the entrance row, the title image seemed set to vary dramatically when Rosberg collided with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel into Flip 1, dropping the previous to the again of the pack.
Hamilton then seemed set fare for victory till, on lap 41 of the 56, he suffered an engine failure after a sudden lack of oil strain, ending his race in a plume of smoke.
Behind him, Rosberg recovered from his collision with Vettel to assert third, a damage-limitation drive that proved pivotal within the vacation spot of that 12 months’s title.
Daniel Ricciardo took the win forward of Max Verstappen for Pink Bull’s first one-two for 3 years, however the story of the day belonged to the hole Hamilton’s retirement opened within the standings, one Rosberg by no means surrendered.
