Formula 1®
DHL Fastest Lap Award: 2016 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIA GRAND PRIX
Lap 38: Nico Rosberg has Kimi Räikkönen ahead of him and mounts an attack – it’s his last chance of a podium finish. There is a brief clash of wheels, but Rosberg gets past and sets about chasing down the Red Bulls ahead of him. A few minutes later, he gets a shock: at 16:19 local time, the race stewards impose a ten-second time penalty on the German. Presumably that’s put paid to the podium? Not a bit of it.
Following his pit stop on Lap 41, Rosberg ignites a fireworks display of fast laps. Between Laps 43 and 45, he posts three successive times around the 1 minute 36 mark – all three of which would suffice to win him the DHL Fastest Lap Award on this occasion. Between the 43rd and 52nd lap, he exclusively clocks in at 1:36 or 1:37. Rosberg is the only driver to beat the 1 minute 37 benchmark four times during the race. Räikkönen is therefore doomed. The Finn cannot compete with the German fast extending the gap, and despite his ten-second time penalty, Rosberg beats the Ferrari man to the remaining podium spot.
“I had to give it everything at the end to eke out that ten-second gap but at the same time save the engine, as after Lewis’ problem we were a bit hesitant to run it flat out to the end,” said Rosberg. “I was fortunate to be able to fight through the field. But I got the knife between my teeth and went for it. I fought my way through, with some great battles along the way which I really enjoyed, and was pleased to make it back up to the podium. To be honest, I can’t believe that I’ve just been standing up there from last!”
Rosberg continues to lead the 2016 DHL Fastest Lap Award on six fastest laps this season. His team-mate Lewis Hamilton and 2016 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIA GRAND PRIX race winner Daniel Ricciardo are equal second on three fastest laps each.
The 22 contestants get another opportunity to advance their cause in the 2016 FORMULA 1 EMIRATES JAPANESE GRAND PRIX this coming weekend. The 17th round of the campaign (7th - 9th October) will be hosted by the Suzuka International Circuit. For the teams and the logisticians, this once again means a lot of hard work. Within a few days, all the equipment must be transported from Malaysia to Japan. This amounts to between 35 and 40 tonnes of freight per team.
Fastest race laps: 2016 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIA GRAND PRIX
01 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 01:36.424 - on lap 44
02 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 01:37.376 - on lap 44
03 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 01:37.449 - on lap 44
04 Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) 01:37.466 - on lap 47
05 Nico Hülkenberg (Force India) 01:37.793 - on lap 43
06 Fernando Alonso (McLaren) 01:38.291 - on lap 44
07 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 01:38.595 - on lap 31
08 Jenson Button (McLaren) 01:38.740 - on lap 51
09 Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 01:39.199 - on lap 53
10 55 Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) 01:39.243 - on lap 44
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