Good morning and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the Malaysian Grand Prix from the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur.
It's a typically hot day in Malaysia's capital for the second Grand Prix of the season. However, the dark clouds are gathering and rain is expected ten minutes prior to race time.
For the second week running, Lewis Hamilton will start in pole position, backed up by his teammate Jenson Button.
Michael Schumacher is third on the grid, ahead of Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, for what should be an exciting race.
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Race standings: Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber, Kimi Raikkonen, Bruno Senna, Paul Di Resta, Jean-Eric Vergne, Nico Hulkenberg, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button, Felipe Massa.
FERNANDO ALONSO WINS THE MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX!
LAST LAP!: Alonso, Perez, Hamilton, Webber, Raikkonen, Senna, Di Resta, Vergne, Hulkenberg, Schumacher, Ricciardo, Button, Rosberg, Massa
Lap 55: Schumacher passes Maldonado, who is forced to retire after an engine blowout!
Lap 52: Vettel has clipped a HRT car blows out his tyre and he drops to 12th. Button is in 14th and is similarly frustrated.
Lap 50: Perez makes an error and goes wide on turn 14, losing five seconds to Alonso. A long strait was approaching where the Sauber could have attacked the Ferrari, but Alonso gets some respite.
Lap 48: Kobayashi becomes only the second driver to retire.
Lap 47: Perez is catching Alonso and the gap is now less than one second!
Lap 46: TEN LAPS TO GO! Alonso, Perez, Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Raikkonen, Senna, Di Resta, Vergne. Hulkenberg, Maldonado, Schumacher, Ricciardo, Button, Rosberg, Kobayashi, Massa, Petrov, Glock, Kovalainen.
Lap 44: Alonso's gap over Perez is now four seconds, with Hamilton a further seven seconds back. Hamilton's crew are confident of catching Perez.
Lap 41: Perez and Hamilton now come in a lap later. Another poor pit for Hamilton but he manages to hang onto third. So Alonso now resumes the lead, ahead of Perez, Hamilton, Vettel, Webber and Raikkonen.
Lap 40: Alonso and Webber pit for new tyres. Perez doesn't and now leads.
Lap 39: Dark clouds loom and the crews seem unwilling to switch to slick tyres. They are watching the weather. Massa comes in to switch tyres, and an awful stop means he loses more ground. It has not been his race today.
Lap 38: Perez has cut the gap on Alonso from over seven seconds to just over three. The Sauber driver is absolutely flying!
Lap 36: Ricciardo now passes Massa, who drops to 18th position. The Brazilian can't seem to find any grip on the track and is suffering for it.
Lap 35: Button takes Massa and moves into 16th! Expert driving from Button, who clearly has his sights set on a points finish! Massa managed to hold off Ricciardo, who also threatened to pass him.
Lap 34: Button is currently in 17th behind Massa and Petrov. Nothing seems to be going right for the Englishman!
Lap 33: Hamilton has cut the gap on Perez down to just over two seconds, but Perez sets another fastest lap and is gaining on Alonso.
Lap 32: Perez sets a fastest lap in second behind Alonso. Hamilton is in third, ahead of Vettel, Raikkonen, Webber, Di Resta, Vergne, Senna, Hulkenberg, Schumacher and Kobayashi.
Lap 30: Schumacher overtakes Kobayashi and moves into 11th behind Hulkenberg.
Lap 28: Paul Di Resta currently 7th ahead of Vergne, Senna and Hulkenberg. Rosberg and Massa have dropped back to 15th and 16th.
Lap 27: Vergne retakes Massa after a braking error from the Brazilian. Action all over the track as Button once again sets a fastest lap from way back in 19th.
Lap 26: Massa and Vergne battle for tenth with the Ferrari man eventually taking the Frenchman.
Lap 25: Just under half way through the race, and the drivers are as follows: Alonso, Perez, Hamilton, Vettel, Raikkonen, Webber, Rosberg, Massa, Di Resta, Vergne. Button pits from 19th position for another set of new tyres.
Lap 25: Webber takes Rosberg into sixth.
Lap 24: Raikkonen passes Rosberg. Webber now sizing up the German as he looks to move up the field.
Lap 23: Paul Di Resta and Jean-Eric Vergne are in the last two points positions as Vettel expertly passes Rosberg into fourth position!
Lap 22: Button is struggling to get past Pastor Maldonado and languishes in 20th place. He is 46 seconds off the lead and struggling.
Lap 20: Ricciardo passes Senna into 14th with a quality move. Perez is now nearly six seconds ahead of Hamilton.
Lap 18: Button sets the fastest lap of the race so far but finds himself way down in 22nd place. Alonso is opening up a sizable gap in first ahead of Perez!
Lap 17: Alonso leads Perez, Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel, Raikkonen, Webber and Massa after chaos in the pit lanes.
Lap 16: Button damages front wing in a clash with a HRT car and is forced to pit. Frenetic pace as drivers pit and pass each other!
Lap 15: Terrible pit stop for Hamilton and he drops to tenth! He missed his mark in the lanes and was unable to be released due to a busy pit lane.
Lap 14: Hamilton pits and Perez leads. Alonso and Webber also pit. The drivers are all changing to intermediate tyres.
Lap 14: Button holds off pressure from Perez before pitting, letting Perez into second. Vettel takes Webber at turn four before the Australian hits back at turn five to retake fourth.
Lap 14: Three laps behind the safety car have been completed and wheel-to-wheel racing resumes!
Lap 10: The safety car is still out and visibility looks poor for the drivers. The rain is expected the stop before the end of the race.
10.15: Race resumes! The safety car leads the way after a 50-minute delay.
10.02: 13 minutes until the race resumes. Wet tyres must be fitted behind the safety car and DRS is disabled.
09.51: The rain is apparently easing up in the pit lane, but there is standing water on the race track. Drivers will get a ten minute warning before having to return to their cars. The restart will be under the safety car.
09.42: According to new regulations, races can last no longer than four hours, giving us a time window for how long we can wait for a restart. Some drivers are out of their cars and walking around, while others, such as Felipe Massa, remain in the cockpit.
Lap 9: RED FLAG! Race suspended due to torrential rain! The drivers come in after 8 laps of the circuit.
Lap 8: As the safety car leads the drivers, lets catch our breath. Hamilton leads Button, Perez, Webber, Alonso, Vettel, Vergne, Massa, Rosberg, Karthikeyen.
Lap 7: The Safety car is out as forks of lightning strike nearby!
Lap 6: Perez leaves the track after an aquaplane but hangs on to his place... just!
Lap 6: With every driver now on new tyres, it's Hamilton leading Button, Perez, Webber, Alonso.
Lap 5: All the drivers are now coming in one by one for wet tyres as the downpour continues. Hamilton's return from the pit lane is just in time to deny Button the lead!
Lap 5: First retirement! Romain Grosjean once again becomes the first casualty as he was about to come in for a switch to wet tyres. Frustrating for the Frenchman!
Lap 3: The rain is getting heavier and Felipe Massa becomes the first man to pit. Full wet tyres for the Ferrari driver. Narain Karthikeyen and Jean-Eric Vergne were the only men to start on wet tyres and their gamble looks to have paid off.
Lap 2: Hamilton leads from Button, Webber, Vettel and Alonso.
Five red lights and... GO! GO! GO!: Hamilton holds off Button to keep the lead after turn one. Romain Grosjean makes a great move into third, but it looks as though he and Michael Schumacher tangled and both now find themselves at the back.
Formation Lap: The light rain is not bad enough to start under a safety car and the 24 drivers begin the formation lap on intermediate tyres.
08.50: Ten minutes to go. David Haye, Fabio Cannavaro and Owen Wilson are among the luminaries on the starting grid as the teams make the final preparations ahead of the starting lights.
08.39: Lightning can be seen in the distance and the rain has started spitting. With little under 20 minutes to race time, the stewards are expected to declare a wet race.
