The 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the 2013 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Selangor on 24 March 2013 before 90,000 people. It was the second round of the 2013 Formula One World Championship, and the 15th Formula One Malaysian race. Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the 56-lap race from pole position. His teammate Mark Webber finished second, and Lewis Hamilton was third for the Mercedes team.
The race began on a damp track after an earlier downpour, with Vettel in pole position alongside Felipe Massa of Ferrari; Massa's teammate Fernando Alonso, and Hamilton began from third and fourth. Webber moved from fifth to second by the second lap, and took the lead after Vettel made his first pit stop for dry slick tyres on lap five. He maintained that position through most of the race until Vettel ignored a team order from Red Bull to lower the performance of his engine, overtaking Webber for the lead on the 46th lap. Vettel maintained the lead for the final nine laps for his first victory of the season and the 27th of his career. Hamilton finished 12 seconds behind, and his teammate Nico Rosberg was told by Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn to hold fourth place.
Vettel apologised to the Red Bull team and Webber for ignoring the order to hold position; Red Bull did not punish or reprimand him because his attorneys threatened legal action, and he recanted the apology three weeks later. Webber was asked to present his version of events to Red Bull founder and co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz. Vettel's victory placed him in the lead of the World Drivers' Championship, after Lotus driver Kimi Räikkönen finished seventh. Red Bull took the lead of the World Constructors' Championship from Ferrari, with 17 races left in the season.
Background
The 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix was the 2nd of the 19 rounds of the 2013 Formula One World Championship, and the 15th Formula One Malaysian race. It was held at the 15-turn Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Selangor on 24 March. A Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA, motorsport's governing body)-sanctioned race has been held in Malaysia since the 1960s, with the first editions run in Singapore—then part of the Malaysian Federation—before moving to the Shah Alam Circuit. With the arrival of Formula One in 1999, the race was moved to the purpose-built Sepang International Circuit, where all editions were held until 2017.
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought white-banded, medium compound tyres; red-banded, hard compound dry tyres; green-banded, intermediate compound tyres; and dark-blue-banded wet-weather tyres to the race. The drag reduction system (DRS), an adjustable flap at the back of each car that helps with overtaking when activated, had two activation zones for the race: one on the straight, linking turns 14 and 15, and another on the straight between the final and first corners. For the race, a debris fence on the pit lane wall was extended to better safeguard track marshals. There were 11 teams (each representing a different constructor) that each entered two race drivers, with no changes from the season entry list.
After winning the season-opening one week earlier, Lotus driver Kimi Räikkönen led the World Drivers' Championship with 25 points, ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel in second and third, with 18 and 15 points. Alonso's teammate Felipe Massa was fourth with 12 points, and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was fifth with ten points. Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with 30 points; Lotus and Ferrari followed with 26 and 23 points, respectively. Mercedes and Force India held fourth place, with ten points each.
Vettel said that the Australian Grand Prix would be meaningless later in the year, and predicted that with the different conditions and tyres in Malaysia, he would outpace Ferrari and Lotus. His teammate, Mark Webber, explained that Red Bull required an improvement in car performance for the race: "As a team we weren't as strong as we thought we'd be. But that's Formula One – it can change very quickly. We've got a very, very hot track this week in Sepang. So let's see how we go for the next few races. It's the first marker in the sand." Hamilton said that Mercedes would bring what they learnt about team strategy from Melbourne to Sepang, and would have good results if his team then scored ten points.