F1 in Malaysia: Five dramatic Sepang moments as iconic track makes shock return

While Malaysia and not the Malaysian Grand Prix has been confirmed as returning to the Formula 1 calendar in October, that has not stopped us from taking a look back at the Sepang highlights from the championship's 19 previous visits. 

First featuring in 1999, there have been many standout moments from Malaysia's F1 history. Let us know in the comments if we missed any of your favourites. 

1999: Schumacher plays number two for Ferrari

Formula 1 made its Malaysian debut in 1999, and the race immediately created a lasting memory, as Ferrari caused controversy. 

Having recovered from a broken leg, which had seen him out of action since the British Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher returned with a bang, storming to pole by over a second from his championship-chasing team-mate Eddie Irvine. 

Given that he had been out for so long, Schumacher accepted that he was contesting the closing rounds for little more than pride, and was committed to helping Irvine’s title bid, despite rumours that he did not want the Irishman to be the one to end Ferrari’s wait for a crown.

Throughout the race, Schumacher managed the pace of McLaren driver Mika Hakkinen, and allowed Irvine past in the closing stages to take a vital win. 

Ferrari saw both cars disqualified for running illegal bargeboards, but this would be overturned later in court, meaning that Schumacher’s actions had kept both Irvine and Ferrari ahead in the standings. McLaren and Hakkinen would ultimately prevail across the season, but this was a rarely seen side to Schumacher.

2009: Monsoon halts play for Button win

More than any race, the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix is the one that gives the venue its reputation for monsoon levels of rain. 

Starting in dry conditions, teams were cautious of the looming shadow on the weather radar. In the case of Ferrari, they were so cautious that the team would pit Kimi Raikkonen for full wet tyres on a completely dry track, before realising the error of their ways a handful of laps later with the wet rubber destroyed.

The weather then teased fans, teams and drivers alike, with a smattering of rain falling from lap 19, which made most switch to the wet tyres. But again, this was a mistake, as proven by Timo Glock, who gained positions by running the intermediate option instead. 

But then came lap 31, and the biblical storm hit. Cars went off the track in every direction imaginable, visibility was zero, and it was pure chaos. 

With the red flags thrown on lap 33, the result was taken from the end of lap 31, with Jenson Button winning for Brawn GP, Nick Heidfeld second, and Glock in third. 

2012: Perez comes close for Sauber

Given that Fernando Alonso is one of the more popular F1 drivers on the grid, this entry is a peculiar one, in that for one race only, absolutely no one was a fan of the Spaniard. As soon as it became apparent that Sergio Perez could deliver Sauber its second victory, most every fan was cheering on the Mexican. 

With the race starting on a track that was bone dry in parts and fully submerged in others, it did not take long for the safety car to be deployed and the race to be suspended. 

But as the action resumed Perez began to charge. Having closed the gap to just over a second before Alonso stopped for slick tyres, Sauber kept its driver out for an extra lap after Ferrari pulled in the Spaniard, and this undid all his good work. The gap was back up to over seven seconds.

But Perez didn’t give up, and closed back to Alonso before clipping the Turn 14 kerb and running wide after being told, “be careful, we need this position”.

Speculation was that this was a coded message, telling him not to pass the Ferrari driver, with Ferrari supplying Sauber’s engines. He finished second, but the result marked Perez out for future success. 

2013: "Multi 21" order sparks Red Bull trouble

Perhaps the most infamous post-race comments in Formula 1 history; “Multi 21 Seb”. 

If there had been questions over the frosty relationship between Mark Webber and Vettel before the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, these became statements of fact, as the team-mates saw the biggest flashpoint in their relationship since the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix. 

In mixed conditions, Webber had gained the lead by staying out longer on the intermediate tyres. But following the second round of stops, both Red Bull drivers were advised to protect their tyres by going slower through the high-speed corners. 

While Vettel asked for the positions to be switched, the team denied this request and issued the much-quoted instruction.

Ignoring this, Vettel pulled a risky move which took in much of the first sector, going wheel-to-wheel and getting close to contact. “This is silly Seb,” said team boss Christian Horner, and the rest is history. 

2016: Hamilton's title chase takes a turn

The 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix all but put an end to Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of claiming a third straight world title, as his dreams quite literally went up in smoke on lap 41. 

“Oh no, no!” came the cry down from the Briton’s team radio, as flames burst from the rear of his Mercedes. 

While Mercedes had been the dominant team in the championship, both Hamilton and Nico Rosberg saw their form fluctuate as a direct result of poor reliability – is this sounding familiar at all?

Having started from pole position, Hamilton was leading and looked in control when his engine expired, denying him a second win at a venue where his only previous success came in 2014.

The result after all of this was a one-two for Red Bull, with Daniel Ricciardo leading home Max Verstappen, while Rosberg, who had been tagged into a spin by Vettel at the start, came home in third place.