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Daniel Ricciardo has won a thrilling Malaysia Grand Prix after engine failure robbed Lewis Hamilton of a certain victory.
Hamilton made a good start from pole position, with team mate and championship rival Nico Rosberg in tow until a charging Sebastian Vettel tagged his compatriot, sending the Mercedes driver spinning and taking him out of the race.
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From then on, Hamilton held the lead apart from during pit stop cycles. The Red Bull duo held on to the other two podium spots.
Despite strategy gambles for both Red Bull drivers in an attempt to overhaul Hamilton, the Brit continued to lead until lap 41 when a dramatic engine failure ended his race and his hopes of reclaiming the championship lead this weekend.
That handed Ricciardo the lead and despite a close battle with team mate Max Verstappen, he held on to record his first victory since 2014.
Rosberg recovered from dropping to the back of the field to take third place, despite being handed a 10 seconds penalty for contact with Kimi Raikkonen. Once the penalty had been factored in, Rosberg finished the race three seconds ahead of the Ferrari driver.
Valtteri Bottas gave Williams a vital fifth place, ahead of Force India's Sergio Perez. Fernando Alonso took a fine sixth place after starting from last place, he beat Nico Hulkenberg in the other Force India.
Jenson Button made it two points finishes for McLaren - only the third time that has happened all season - while Jolyon Palmer's long wait for his first Formula One point ended with a tenth place finish.
Carlos Sainz and Marcus Ericsson were in 11th and 12th, with Felipe Massa in 13. The Brazilian had a nightmare race after throttle problems saw him start from the pit lane, and then a puncture during the race set him back further.
Daniil Kvyat and Manor duo Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon were the final finishers in a race that featured an unusually high attrition rate by modern standards.
Felipe Nasr was a late retirement, joining Hamilton, Esteban Gutierrez who lost a wheel, Kevin Magnussen who sustained damage on the opening lap, Romain Grosjean who appeared to have another brake failure, and Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton's retirement coupled with Rosberg's excellent recovery drive and podium means that Rosberg now holds a 23 point lead in the championship with just five races remaining.
Sepang International - 02 October 2016
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