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Daniel Ricciardo wins Malaysia GP, Rosberg comes third

Daniel Ricciardo has won the 2016 Malaysia Grand Prix, while his team mate Max Verstappen finished second. Mercedes driver and current championship leader Nico Rosberg took third place, while his team mate Lewis Hamilton suffered a retirement due to an engine failure. This has helped Rosberg extend his lead over Hamilton in the World Drivers Championship to 23 points.

The Malaysia GP was filled with drama and retirements. The start of the race saw Sebastian Vettel squeezing into turn 1 and thus making contact with Max Verstappen's Red Bull. This contact turned the Ferrari's nose towards Rosberg's Mercedes, which was turning in on the outside line. The Ferrari's left front tyre collided with the Mercedes' right rear tyre, sending the latter into a massive spin. Though Rosberg was able to control the spin and get on with the race, Vettel suffered a broken front suspension, thus ending his race. He was later penalised with a three-place grid drop in the next race for causing the collision.

Meanwhile, Hamilton led the race with a decent gap until lap 20, when he made his first pit stop. This put Ricciardo in the lead, though he too went into the pits on the next lap. However, Red Bull had swapped tyres of Verstappen's car on the ninth lap itself, thus giving him the window to take the lead while all others made their pit stops. The Dutchman led the race till lap 27, when he pitted for his second tyre switch of the race.

Hamilton clocked some of the fastest laps of the race, though the Mercedes suffered an engine blowout on lap 41. Massive flames from the back of the car meant a retirement for the British driver. Meanwhile, his team mate Nico Rosberg was climbing up the order. He even made some bold moves on lap 38, when his Mercedes touched Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari, earning him a 10 second penalty. However, he managed to hang on to his podium place, thus extending his lead over Hamilton.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth, ahead of Williams' Valtteri Bottas, Force India's Sergio Perez, and McLaren's Fernando Alonso. The other Force India of Nico Hulkenberg crossed the line in eighth place, while McLaren's Jenson Button finished ninth. Renault's Jolyon Palmer earned his first F1 point after taking the tenth place.

With five more races to go, the World Drivers Championship standings are:
1. Nico Rosberg - 288 points
2. Lewis Hamilton - 265 points
3. Daniel Ricciardo - 204 points

 
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