Talking points from the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix

WHILE wheels were flying and champions were being sledged into the ground — Daniel Ricciardo was pulling off a piece of genius at the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix.

Third-place finisher Daniel Ricciardo of Australia. Picture: Clive Mason/Getty Images

MAX Verstappen had a 20th birthday to remember in Malaysia as he pulled off his second career win.

The Red Bull young gun squeezed into first place over Lewis Hamilton in the fourth lap and didn’t look back for the rest of the race.

Chaotic scenes descended on the Sepang International Circuit minutes before lights-out as Ferrari star Kimi Raikkonen was forced to retire with a turbo issue, giving up a chance at his first win of the year after claiming second place in qualifying.

In short, it was a memorable send-off to the Malaysian Grand Prix, which will be scrapped from next year’s roster.

Here were the major talking points from F1’s Sepang farewell.

DANIEL RICCIARDO’S STELLAR RUN

What a race.

As the theatrics of the race unfolded, Daniel Ricciardo found himself playing a workhorse role for Red Bull while teammate Verstappen battled to hold first place.

Ricciardo snuck his way into third and pressured Lewis Hamilton in second with a number of his laps outdoing the Briton for pace.

But there was also a predator hot on the Aussie’s tail with a vengeance against a horror qualifying weekend.

Sebastian Vettel drove out of his skin from the back of the grid to slide into fourth place for the final quarter of the race. The German took no prisoners in his climb to the top, catching the eye of Martin Brundle. “He’s been pretty relentless in moving forward,” Brundle said as Vettel edged closer to potential podium.

Ricciardo expertly held off the Ferrari despite him closing the gap as the final laps waned. Then a word of encouragement came from the Red Bull radio.

“You’ve broken Vettel’s spirit — he’s having to look after his tyres now. Good job, mate,” Ricciardo was told.

“Seb came really quick at the end and I thought he was going to be a handful,” Ricciardo said after the race. “But he only had one strong attack and then we were able to pull away.

“I guess it was pretty lonely, but it was hot and physical so it was nice to get a podium. Congrats to Max, he drove great all weekend and a good race for the team.”

BIZARRE BRAIN SNAP RUINS VETTEL’S CAR

Well, at least he finished the race.

Sebastian Vettel was forced to hitch a ride off Pascal Wehrlein after completing the race in one of the more bizarre scenes seen throughout this year’s F1 season.

Vettel was caught in a messy collision with youngster Lance Stroll during the victory lap, forcing him to spin out with his rear wheel finding itself on top of his vehicle.

“I went on the outside to pick up a bit of rubber,” he said. “I think Lance wasn’t looking and wanted to do the same. I was there already and we had contact — it was completely unnecessary. I think he just didn’t look ... it’s not my fault if someone decides to pick up rubber and hit another car.”

Stroll admitted it was an accident and was in favour of the stewards having a look at the weird collision.

“It was the in-lap, I was just driving very slowly back to the pitlane,” he said. “I think we’ll have to go to the stewards, but it was a very strange incident. The race wasn’t going on so there was no intention from either of us.”

Officials later deemed no driver was “wholly or predominantly to blame” for the clash.

‘WHAT A F***ING LUNATIC’

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen blasted Jolyon Palmer for a collision through Turn One which saw Palmer spinning as Max Verstappen lapped the struggling drivers.

“What a ****ing lunatic,” Magnussen said after clashing wheels with the Briton.

The pair had forgettable races at Sepang with Magnussen claiming 12th and Palmer snagging 15th.

Verstappen laps Magnussen & Palmer who then make contact
SSF1: https://t.co/BNikV8W5jq
Blog: https://t.co/W4Jk8Z66xd #SkyF1 #MalaysiaGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/CsiG1dwQK7

— Sky Sports F1 🏎 (@SkySportsF1) October 1, 2017

VETTEL SLEDGES ALONSO AFTER CHEEKY MOVE

When it’s late in the race, it doesn’t matter who you are. If you’re getting on Sebastian Vettel’s nerves, he’s going to let you know about it.

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso found himself on the wrong side of the rampaging Ferrari as Vettel tried to lap him.

Alonso let Ricciardo through earlier but chose to sit ahead of Vettel for a little too long.

“Hey come on Alonso, really? I thought you were better than that,” a frustrated Vettel said.

RAIKKONEN HORROR SHOW: ‘ONCE IN A LIFETIME’

Kimi Raikkonen’s car was wheeled to the pits minutes before lights out in Malaysia with turbo issues. The Scuderia looked to start the F1 veteran from the pits, but their hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed as the damage looked too severe to work with, forcing the Finn out of the race.

“It’s impossible to say if I could have won but I’m pretty certain I would have had a very, very good car today,” he said.

Disaster for Ferrari! Even if they fix Kimi's car it'll be a one/two at the back of the grid. Heads might roll over this. #MalaysiaGP

— Iain Thomson (@iainthomson) October 1, 2017

Kimi off the grid! Nah, this Ferrari bad luck was once in a lifetime. #MalaysiaGP

— Yomi Kazeem (@TheYomiKazeem) October 1, 2017