Alonso leads McLaren 1-2 at Malaysia

F1 Grand Prix, GP Malaysia, Sepang International Circuit

World champion Fernando Alonso has won his first Grand Prix with McLaren and was exctatic about the event. Lewis Hamilton is second, finishing just half a second ahead of Raikkonen. The result marks the first McLaren 1-2 since Brazil 2005 where Raikkonen and Montoya were on the podium. Felipa Massa meanwhile finished a slightly dissappointing 5th after an error got him stuck behind Heidfeld.

Before the start of the race it became clear that Christijan Albers had suffered a bad night after food poisoning. Both McLarens are also whispered to be a bit lighter on fuel than the Ferraris, although the race will have to show.

The actual start was an incredible success for McLaren as Fernando Alonso easily took the lead even before the first corner, while Lewis Hamilton managed to pass both Ferraris and become second, ahead of Massa and Raikkonen. The young Brit from McLaren proved to be a perfect buffer for Alonso as both Ferraris were unable to pass Hamilton initially. As Alonso pulled away, Massa ended up in the grass after a failed attempt to overtake the stunning Hamilton. Massa was able to rejoin the track just behind Heidfeld, hence becoming 5th att he time.

After 8 laps in the race, Alber's weekend is over as the Ferrari engine fails him. Since Adrian Sutil also dropped out of the race after hitting a Honda, Spyker can go home. The Williams' on the other side peform extremely well during the race. Each driver manages to pass several drivers. Rosberg is thanks to that in 6th at lap 15 while his teammate Wurz is 11th.

At Renault things are going a bit better too. Fisichella has moved up to seventh place. Kovalainen is 9th.

The first string of pitstops is even better for McLaren. Apart from Ron Denis' panick in the pit at McLaren and Alonso pitting one lap too late, both cars come out ahead of the Ferraris. It appears as if Alonso is having radio problems and missed the pit board. The team were shaking with the board on his second pass so that he would not miss it that time. The the first Ferrari is meanwhile blocked blocked behind Fisichella. The Renaults have obviously improved on their race pace. Neither of them have made their first stops after 20 laps. Heidfeld on the other hand enters the pit in lap 19 after having led the GP for about 3 laps. This event put Alonso bck in the lead.

The second stint for the drivers proved to be quite sterile as nothing major happened. Hamilton was able to reduce the difference with Alonso by 5s to around 8.5s. Raikkonen in 3rd place is unable to follow the same pace but was loaded with more fuel at his first stop. Felipe Massa is also having trouble in his Ferrari as he is still in 5th and did not find any chance to pass Heidfeld.

18 laps from the end, Hamilton is the first to nter the pitlane for his third stop. He will drive his final stint with the hard tyres.

Coulthard meanwhile retired after having problems with his brake pedal. He already suffered a similar problem on Friday. Kubica must also be having problems as he is far off the pace of his teammate and easily lets every faster car pass by. With 14 laps to go he is in 16th place, effectively only being ahead of Schumacher, Davidson and Liuzzi. One lap later Rosberg is aside too as his Toyota engine blew. What a pity for Rosberg as he drove an extremely good and solid race.

Without further happenings, Alonso takes his first win with McLaren while Hamilton and Raikkonen complete the podium.