2014 Malaysian Grand Prix: The Top 10 Reader Results!

The second Grand Prix of the season, in Kuala Lumpur, was therefore won by Lewis Hamilton, ahead of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. The rest of the top 10 included, in order, Fernando Alonso, Nico Hülkenberg, Jenson Button, Felipe Massa, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, and Daniil Kvyat. Let’s see if you followed the order of the race…

1 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 25 points

Author of the pole position and a solo ride during the Grand Prix, all accompanied by a fastest lap and leading 100% of the laps at the Sepang circuit, the Briton also finishes far ahead in your votes.

You are almost unanimous, in the comments, in describing Hamilton’s performance as impressive, while highlighting his great mastery in the face of difficult race conditions for tires and mechanics. Some of you do not hesitate to foresee him continuing to dominate races in this manner, relying on his car and his displayed confidence.

2 – Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 18 points

More in difficulty than his teammate in managing the tires during the race and during the rainy qualifying, the German still manages to secure his 2nd position for a few points in your top 10.

If you generally speak of a wise and clean race, you can’t help but be disappointed with his performance after an Australian Grand Prix dominated from start to finish. Furthermore, it is interesting to note the discrepancy between readers who publish their top 10—where Rosberg is never better than 3rd and is sometimes even out of the ranking—and the results of the top 10, which are kinder to the Mercedes driver who was obviously not gentle enough with his tires.

3 – Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 15 points

Who would have bet, before the Australian Grand Prix, that the reigning four-time world champion would be on the podium for the second race of the season? Probably not many people. And yet, after a clean race where he had to assert his authority with his teammate to get back on track, Vettel was able to taste the champagne and might have hoped to challenge Nico Rosberg a bit more if the DRS zone hadn’t been neutralized by Sutil’s retirement.

Most of you emphasize both his performance in qualifying, where he narrowly misses pole position in the rain, and his performance in the race where he is clearly the best of the rest and ultimately the only one to have been able to challenge one of the Mercedes in the two Grand Prix contested so far. You also note that, without having the best car—particularly due to a lower top speed than the W05—he remains a threat.

4 – Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 12 points

If his race hasn’t been the most flamboyant, the Spaniard and his Ferrari are consistently there to pick up valuable points, waiting for better days and further developments to hope to catch up with Mercedes and now Red Bull. You have therefore decided to leave him in his place, too.

Your comments rightly highlight the part, still considered important, of Alonso’s driving in his performance, with a car that some of you judge as average. The race is clean but not very exciting, sometimes leaving you with mixed feelings.

5 – Nico Hülkenberg (Force India) – 10 points

The only driver among the top 12 finishers to attempt the gamble of making only two pit stops, the German once again managed to position himself well and was able to score significant points for his team, which was deprived of its second car even before the start of the race. He engaged in a battle with Fernando Alonso in the final laps, but the Ferrari with its fresh tires made the difference without any trouble.

On this race, you highlight both his very impressive performance and his consistency, as well as the fact that he holds his own against top drivers. You also commend his strategic gamble.

6 – Felipe Massa (Williams) – 8 points

First driver not in the same position as in reality, the Brazilian experienced a unique race for his first completed Grand Prix of the season. After a good start, he seemed to get stuck behind a “wounded” but combative Kevin Magnussen and, towards the end of the race, struggled to overtake Jenson Button. His lead over his teammate melted away like snow in the sun, leading to the already infamous Williams team orders episode.

Overall, the sentiment is mixed about the Massa case: readers who commented on the article and placed it in their top 10 praise his disobedience to orders, while sometimes noting that he will need to raise his level against a fiercely competitive teammate. Otherwise, the other readers remain indifferent and don’t even rank him among the top 10, likely due to the few positions gained during the race.

7 – Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) – 6 points

After a daring start in which he showed no hesitation in attacking and overtaking his prestigious teammate, the Australian’s race was rather calm and solid until the last pit stop where a poorly secured front-left wheel sealed Ricciardo’s ill-fated destiny. As in Melbourne, you wanted to reserve the 7th position for a driver who didn’t make it to the finish.

Overall, you all almost unanimously highlight the fact that his race was clean and that he was nearly keeping up with Vettel’s pace. You also remind us that he is not responsible for his misfortunes and in that sense, his presence in most of your top 10 lists is well-deserved.

8 – Jenson Button (McLaren) – 4 points

Starting 10th and finishing 6th, the Brit managed, as in Melbourne, to take advantage of his racing skills and a reliable car to smoothly carve out a path to a good top 6 finish, holding off Felipe Massa’s Williams at the end.

If you praise the race performed by the McLaren driver—which you consider discreet but solid—you cannot help but express your astonishment and concern regarding the performance of the MP4-29, which seemed more at ease in Melbourne.

9 – Valtteri Bottas (Williams) – 2 points

After a failed qualifying session and a penalty pushing him back three more places on the grid, the Finn wasted no time in quickly catching up to his teammate at the start. Subsequently, he had to hold back initially from attacking Massa and was then held back at the end by both the Brazilian, who refused to comply, and by his team intent on minimizing the damage.

Lack of success in qualifying, a new specialist in comebacks… these are all arguments you develop to explain your choice, while noting that he seems more at ease than Massa, despite being less experienced.

10 – Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 1 point

After a rather good qualifying session, the Malaysian weekend ended on an optimistic note for the Frenchman who finished the race considered one of the most challenging for the mechanics – the E22’s weak point since the start of the season – but just narrowly missed out on the points, due to a diffuser issue at the end of the event that distanced him from Kvyat.

Like for many of you, this point earned by Grosjean in the readers’ top 10 is one of merit for a driver who has learned to weather difficulties and almost made it into the top 10 in the second race of the season at the wheel of what some of you call a “cart.” You also highlight his great resistance against Räikkonen.

Outside the top 10, no words, just a ranking:

11th – Kimi Räikkönen

12th – Daniil Kvyat

13th – Kevin Magnussen

14th – Kamui Kobayashi

15th – Jean-Eric Vergne

16th – Pastor Maldonado

17th – Jules Bianchi

18th – Adrian Sutil

19th – Marcus Ericsson

20th – Max Chilton / Esteban Gutiérrez

22nd – Sergio Pérez

Thank you all for voting (138 forms were filled out) and see you on Sunday, April 6th to elect the top 10 of the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix!