Alonso Takes Victory In Malaysia

What started off as a hazy day in Malaysia turned into a wet one. All 24 cars started the race on intermediates and the race was off. Within the first few corners, the standings where completely in chaos. And then the heaven's opened....

With the rain causing problems from the very start (as it began to fall 10 minutes before the lights went out) the results saw all the drivers starting on intermediate tyres (except the HRT pair). Hamilton held of Button off the line but the drivers found sector two very wet. Romain Grosjean made a good start but slightly tapped Michael Schumacher in to a spin at turn four and both were forced to pit.

Conditions were terrible in some areas but dryer in others  which made tyre choice a very difficult call. Eventually all the drivers pitted for full wets, and Perez benefited and rose to third behind the McLarens by being the first in. As the rain intensified the safety car was deployed and after two laps behind it the race was red flagged on lap nine. 

With the unknown weather, Ferrari and Fernando Alonso were able to call the perfect race strategy. Being able to hold the race in the wet and keep Sauber's Sergio Perez behind him even with the pressure being put on his by the young Mexican in the last 6 laps of the race. Ending his race 2.2 seconds ahead of the Sauber, Fernando Alonso was able to claim his first victory in 2012 (even though many think that Perez could have and maybe should have won the race). 

It was a bad day for Jenson Button as when contact with Narain Karthikeyan it dropped him to the back of the grid (20th after pit stop). Starting from P2, Button seemed as though he just couldn't get a 'leg up' the entire race (Button struggled with intermediate tyres as well).

"It was totally my fault, I hit the brakes and locked the rears, but I couldn't do anything but hit him really. It broke my front wing and I had to do an extra pit stop which took quite a while. I just couldn't get heat in any of the tyres and everything that could have gone wrong in terms of strategy just went wrong. It was one of those tough afternoons where everything spiralled out of control." Button stated. 

Sebastian Vettel suffered a late puncture after contact with the same HRT which saw him com out of pits in 12th. Vettel's 12th became 11th when Pastor Maldonado ended his race with an apparent Renault engine failure on Lap 54. The clash between Vettel and Karthikeyan is still under investigation by the stewards.

All in all, the 2012 Malaysia Grand Prix was one for the records. The race started on lap one and continued  all the way to the checkered flag. Driver vs. driver ... wheel to wheel. Exactly what and Formula One fan wants to see!

Sergio Perez ended the 2012 Malaysia Grand Prix as both this writer's and fan's choice 'driver of the day'. Starting his race in P10 and ending in second. Being able to put pressure on a world champion for nearly the entire race. Being given a 'mid-field' car and showing that he has the audacity to take charge and take on a Ferrari. Well done Sergio!

Fernando Alonso	Winner
Sergio Perez	2nd    Fan's Choice
Lewis Hamilton	3rd
Mark Webber	P4
Kimi Räikkönen	P5
Bruno Senna	P6
Paul di Resta	P7
Jean-Éric Vergne	P8
Nico Hulkenberg	P9
Michael Schumacher	P10
Sebastian Vettel	P11
Daniel Ricciardo	P12
Nico Rosberg	P13
Jenson Button	P14
Felipe Massa	P15
Vitaly Petrov	P16
Timo Glock	P17
Heikki Kovalainen	P18
Pastor Maldonado	P19
Charles Pic	P20
Narain Karthikeyan	P21
Pedro de la Rosa	P22
Kamui Kobayashi	Retired
Romain Grosjean	Retired