Fernando Alonso may have taken a surprise victory for Ferrari, but Sergio Perez’s star shone the brightest at a monsoonal Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
The Sauber driver, in his second year in Formula One, finished a superb second place, which only serves to add ammunition to calls for the young Mexican to replace the languishing Felipe Massa at Ferrari.
Perez could have gone one better if he hadn’t run wide at the notoriously off-camber turn fourteen with just five laps remaining, and Alonso just a DRS-boost away after catching the Spaniard at a rapid rate, but second place was a majestic result nevertheless.
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton rounded out the podium with a third place alongside the same third place he lamented at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix got underway in a haze of spray, with the dark clouds which loomed ominously in the minutes leading up to the race turning into solid rain.
Michael Schumacher’s third position on the grid came to nothing as his Mercedes was spun by Romain Grosjean at a bottlenecked turn four on the opening lap, the German falling to sixteenth.
Grosjean himself came a cropper on lap three, victim of the unforgiving elements, beaching his Lotus in the gravel at turn six, and by lap seven, the safety car was deployed as visibility and traction became non-existent.
Two laps later, the call came from Charlie Whiting at race control that the event was red-flagged, evoking memories of the 2009 race at the same circuit, when monsoonal rain ended the race at just over half-distance.
Thankfully, these fears weren’t realised, though a lengthy wait on the grid of nearly an hour was endured as the typical Malaysian monsoonal evening downpour subsided.
The race was restarted behind the safety car and four laps later, the cars were finally unleashed.
A tardy pitstop cost Hamilton track position to team-mate Jenson Button, but he too encountered problems, clumsily running into the side of Narain Karthikeyan’s HRT, requiring a new front-wing, dropping the Briton to the back of the field.
After the McLaren duo’s misfortunes, Alonso and Perez emerged at the head of the field, though it certainly wasn’t expected to remain this way.
The Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were helpless as the W03 continued to be blighted by tyre problems, the former progressively falling back through the field, finishing a disappointing thirteenth.
The forecast return of rain never materalised as Perez continued his assault on Alonso, the Sauber coming into it’s own in the unique elements, with the duo finally making the switch to slick rubber with fifteen laps remaining.
This didn’t stop Perez’s charge, as he continued to assault the Ferrari’s rear wing until his untimely error on lap 51, effectively handing Alonso victory.
Red Bull’s Mark Webber kept his nose clean, battling for most of the race with Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen, moving up to fourth when team-mate and reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel suffered a puncture in the dying laps, the German ultimately finishing eleventh and outside the points for only the second time in twenty-three events.
Williams’ Bruno Senna made up for his disappointing Australian outing, finishing a fine sixth position after coming from thirteenth on the grid, with Force India’s Paul di Resta putting in a similarly pleasing drive to finish seventh.
Toro Rosso rookie Jean-Eric Vergne made the most of the mayhem, reminding his bosses that he is also keen on a seat at the senior Red Bull outfit, beating Nico Hulkenberg home to eighth.
Williams’ Pastor Maldonado endured heartache for the second consecutive weekend, the Venezuelan’s engine expiring with just two laps remaining, handing Schumacher the final point for tenth position.
Behind Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo came home twelfth, Rosberg thirteenth, Button fourteenth – unable to recover from his incident, whilst Felipe Massa cut a sorry figure with his team-mate at the front of the field, finishing a dismal fifteenth.
Alonso remarkable victory places the Spaniard at the head of the drivers’ standings after two rounds with 35 points, followed by Hamilton on 30, Button on 25, Webber 24, with Perez fifth on 22 points.
Ferrari were as surprised as anybody at their triumph, given the troubles they endured in the pre-season and as recently as qualifying, but as it goes in Formula One, when luck comes your way, you embrace it for all that it is worth, though it can’t be denied that Alonso put on a masterclass to remain at the front of the field once the track had dried.
But the overwhelming feeling is that the race will be remembered more than anything for the unearthing of a future superstar in Sergio Perez, than Ferrari’s renaissance, and it could prove that the Mexican finds himself joining Alonso in red overalls sooner rather than later.
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