Sebastian Vettel won a spectacular Malaysian GP at Sepang with an altogether sublime performance — a “titanic battle” per Eddie Jordan — bringing Scuderia Ferrari its first F1 win in two years and leaving the seemingly unbeatable Lewis Hamilton not only well beaten but very frustrated. “Yes, yes,” shouted Vettel as he took the flag, and then “Ferrari is back! Grazie, grazie.” “Fantastico, fantastico,” said the ecstatic German over the team radio as he embarked on a celebratory victory lap.

The race was also, ultimately, a triumphant afternoon for Vettel’s teammate Kimi Räikkönen. Despite starting in 11th place, and then suffering a puncture which put him to the back of the field, he finished fourth, ahead of the Williams pair Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas.

It was a thrilling Grand Prix, with plenty of overtakes, lots of strategies vying with each other and a fresh winner. Formula One’s business model may be broken but the sport still has the capacity to thrill.

Sebastian Vettel wins the Malaysian Grand Prix – as it happened! | The Guardian

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene observed, “I said to you in Barcelona ‘Ferrari is Formula 1′ and we are back now.”

‘Ferrari’s win has revitalised F1″
Reaction to Vettel’s Malaysian GP win in our podcast #bbcf1 http://t.co/vPhoFWv8OZ pic.twitter.com/hN1a8G8lsD

— BBC Radio 5 live (@bbc5live) March 29, 2015

Arrivabene is refusing to get ahead of himself though, having set a target of two or three wins during pre-season testing. “Yesterday, after qualifying, and especially this morning when we had a meeting relating to the strategy,” he said, “we started to dream, but we kept our feet on the ground.”

Arrivabene: Ferrari is back, but must keep focused | MotorSportsTalk