Malaysian GP: Ricciardo let down in the pits

A HORROR pit stop cost Daniel Ricciardo dearly as Lewis Hamilton has scored an emphatic win in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

A HORROR stop cost Australian Daniel Ricciardo dearly as Lewis Hamilton scored an emphatic win in the Malaysian Grand Prix last night.

Hamilton led from pole position to cruise to the chequered flag by 17.3 seconds at the Sepang International Circuit ahead of his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull was third, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished fourth and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg fifth.

Vettel's team-mate, Ricciardo, was fourth when he pitted with 15 laps to go.

But mechanics failed to secure his left front tyre properly and Ricciardo had to stop in the pit lane and be pushed back for the tyre to be fixed.

He then almost immediately had to return to the pits with a broken front wing and was punished with a 10-second stop-go penalty for an unsafe release in the first pit stop.

He retired with four laps remaining.

The win was sweet for Hamilton, who has not topped the podium since Hungary last July and retired early at the season-opener in Australia.

“Incredible, incredible,” Ham­ilton said of the win.