Fisichella leads Renault to a 1-2 podium

While Bahrain showed close combats, Malaysia showed more of the true Renault performance that was expected of them after winter testing. As Giancarlo Fisichella won the race from pole, Alonso managed to get into second place from 7th starting position. Jenson Button completes the podium while a disappointing Montoya is 4th.

Track temperature: 36°C
Air temperature: 33°C

Even before the start there was surprise about where every car would be placed on the grid. However as expected and to be remembered: any car which cannot set a time in one of the qualifying sessions he takes part in starts from the back of the grid.

However, after that became clear, Alonso decided to take a cannon start, immediately putting himself in between the two McLarens. He takes the first corner on the outside and thereby also passes the two Williams cars. Rosberg afterwards lost a few places and saw him cross the finish line for the first time in 7th place. Kimi Raikkonen on the other hand did not manage to complete one lap as he was touched on the right rear tyre and saw himself end up in the gravel one corner later with a broken rear suspension.

What caused the confusion of penalties before the start also caused Rosberg to stop his race. In lap 6, Nico blew up his Cosworth engine in corner number 8. Just as with Villeneuve in Bahrain, this came as a surprise and accompanied by fire and a huge cloud of white smoke. This event moves Jacques up in 8th place. The Canadian at that time holding of a challenging Schumacher who would pass few laps later in corner 1.

After 10 laps, David Coulthard enters the pitlane and appears to be stuck in one gear, effectively ending hier race. Seconds later, Klien also comes in to have his front suspension checked. Klien already had his tyres changed after one lap as he suffered a left front tyre puncture. Klien too is pulled into the box, ending the race of team Red Bull. Klien would however later rejoin the circuit as some kind of testing session for his team.

In lap 13, Schumacher also passes Trulli to put himself in 7th place with a provisional 2 points. One lap later Webber enters the pitlane, something Alonso will have been happy to see. While Fisico and Button were vastly quicker, Alonso had his hands full to keep Webber behind because being heavier loaded with fuel. 16 laps from the start, and after his first stop, Webber blew his engine too and makes Williams leave Sepang with empty hands.

The same lap, Fisico comes into the pitlane after having put in several fastest laps after another. Giancarlo had a 11.1s stop in during which the engineers fuelled his car up with 28 laps of gasoline. Only two laps later it's Button's turn to come in for a 7.9s stop. Jenson rejoins the circuit just behind Montoya who at that moment is 3rd behind the two Renaults.

Montoya and Michael Schumacher make their stops in lap 23. Quickly afterwards Villeneuve also comes in for new tyres and fuel. In front, Alonso is still driving his first stint, around 6 seconds ahead of his teammate in 2nd place. Both are surprisingly well on the same pace at that time. However in lap 26, Alonso enters for a short stop and with the aim to push ahead two short stints in orde to regain his lost first place to Fisico and Button.

Half way through the race is the time for the world champion. Having new tyres and a low level of fuel, the Spaniard puts in the fastest lap so far of the race, closing in on Jenson Button who is 6 seconds ahead of him. Fisichella on the other hand has 15 seconds in advance of Alonso, which means everything is still possible for Fernando as he is 0.7s quicker a lap that his teammate and 0.4s quicker than Button's Honda.

The other Honda with Barrichello is in the points until being punished with a stop and go penalty after speeding in the pitlane. At the same moment, Ide's race is ended with an apparent technical problem. One lap after that, Fisico and Button enter the pitlane. The latter lost 2s in his last lap to Alonso because of traffic who has 5 more laps up his sleeve before having to pit a second and last time. Button rejoinds the track just behind Montoya who will pit 4 laps later.

With 14 laps to go, Alonso enters the pitlane with 24s ahead of Jenson Button. While Fisichella takes over the lead again, Alonso is 2 seconds ahead of Button after his pitstop, opening a clear chance for a Renault 1-2 on the podium. A true champion worthy, Alonso does not give up and realises the fastest lap, being a full 2 seconds faster than Fisichella, at that time 11s ahead.

Meanwhile, BMW Sauber is doing excellent as Heidfeld is in 5th place and Villeneuve 8th. In between them are the Ferraris of Massa in 6th place and M Schumacher closely tied together.

Only 8 laps from the end, Heidfeld's engine blows out white smoke as Heidfeld sees 4 points go up in smoke in his mirrors. Ralf Schumacher thereby enters the points as he comes in to 8th place. Ralf is close to Villeneuve and destined to give him a hard time for the points.

After those two blistering laps of Alonso just after his pitstop, the Spaniard's pace dropped back to a similar level as Fisico, most likely because Renault asked him to save the engine. Contrary to his teammate, Alonso is after all driving an engine that has worked in two GP's.

Flavio Briatore, managing director of RenaultF1 had the following to say: "Fantastico, bravo bravo bravo!".

The complete results are as follows:
1 G. Fisichella Renault 1:30:40.529 10 2 F. Alonso Renault + 4.585 8 3 J. Button Honda + 9.631 6 4 JP. Montoya McLaren + 39.351 5 5 F. Massa Ferrari + 43.254 4 6 M. Schumacher Ferrari + 43.854 3 7 J. Villeneuve BMW + 1:20.461 2 8 R. Schumacher Toyota + 1:21.288 1 9 J. Trulli Toyota + 1 laps 10 R. Barrichello Honda + 1 laps 11 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 2 laps 12 C. Albers Midland F1 + 2 laps 13 T. Monteiro Midland F1 + 2 laps 14 T. Sato Super Aguri + 3 laps Did not finish 15 N. Heidfeld BMW + 8 laps 16 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso + 15 laps 17 Y. Ide Super Aguri + 23 laps 18 M. Webber Williams + 40 laps 19 D. Coulthard Red Bull + 46 laps 20 C. Klien Red Bull + 50 laps 21 N. Rosberg Williams + 50 laps 22 K. Räikkönen McLaren + 56 laps