Malaysian Grand Prix: Nico Rosberg extends his lead, Hamilton fumes while Ricciardo gets ‘shoey’

Red Bull sat tight as the field collapsed around them, with Daniel Ricciardo holding on for the win from his team-mate Max Verstappen. The Bulls indulged in the now-traditional "shoey" on the podium, inviting third-placed Nico Rosberg to join them.

It was a camaraderie-laden end to a dramatic day. The virtual safety car had come out on the first lap, as a stricken Rosberg loitered at the back after his collision with Sebastian Vettel at the start.

Fans of irony will have been amused by Verstappen complaining about Vettel's over-exuberant driving, calling the former champion "an idiot". Still if anyone can recognise a veer towards recklessness it should be the young Dutchman. Vettel himself apparently noted that when he effectively said, "Takes one to know one."

Indeed, Force India's Sergio Perez decided to tell tales out of school - reporting over the radio that the Red Bull had overtaken Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari before the end of the safety car spell.

It looked like Lewis Hamilton would owe Sebastian Vettel several drinks. The Ferrari's audacity at the start, sacrificing his own race in the process of attempting to bisect the Mercedes from the third row, meant that Nico Rosberg was horribly hampered.

Then on Lap 42, Hamilton's engine went up in flames. The driver himself was fine; his championship chances are surely not.

Quiet on the radio this week. Post-race brilliance from Pascal Wehrlein, who found his day rather hot and hungry work.

Oh, and don't argue with Fernando Alonso. Jenson Button got the acclaim what with it being his 300th grand prix weekend, but the Spaniard is once again turning in some impressive performances. He started right at the back of the grid, which meant he avoided all the chaos at the front, and carefully worked his way up - and he wasn't going to adopt the strategy the team suggested for him, telling them firmly over the radio they were fools. It paid off - he finished seventh.

The way that Rosberg sliced through the pack like a silver arrow through butter was a thing of beauty. It showcased the sheer speed of the Mercedes once again as he carved up the field with class and grace. He had dropped down to P21 after that disastrous start and was back in the top 10 within 15 laps.

He got a little too aggressive, though, when he threw his car past Kimi Raikkonen. He clipped the Ferrari and got a ten-second penalty, wrapping up a terrible day for Mercedes.

Probably Rosberg's thrust past Sergio Peres as he closed on eighth place was the best piece of driving on a day when it was more about keeping your head and your car together than courageous moves.

The two early virtual safety cars effectively ripped up any tactics the teams had; most were initially planning a two-stop strategy. The limitations of the VSC, however, encouraged some teams to hedge their bets, splitting strategies between drivers; some like Renault had to call cars in for quick fixes after being caught in the Lap 1 crossfire; and others like Ferrari suddenly had only one car to focus on. The conditions were good too: those on soft tyres found them lasting for a decent length of time, those on hards got some pace out of them. The Red Bulls were both on newish softs as they fought to the end, with Ricciardo making an impromptu second stop which ultimately won him the race.

Credit also to Renault for a piece of pit stop innovation - Jolyon Palmer stayed on his hard tyres for over half the race, laughing in the face of convention.

It served him well, too, as he finished 10th and grabbed his first points.

Valtteri Bottas had a poor qualifying but got on with the race quietly and effectively, finishing fifth and grabbing much-needed points for Williams after team-mate Felipe Massa found himself stranded at the start and could only manage 13th.

Everyone was stunned by the plethora of technical problems. What's with all the fires this weekend? With Kevin Magnussen starting the weekend in flames and Hamilton ending it likewise, it was like going back in time 20 years to that kind of engine unreliability.

Hamilton evidently had his own theories, centring on the kind of conspiracy Toto Wolff has already been at pains to publicly dismiss.

There'll be questions asked too about the peril of Esteban Gutierrez's retirement: one of his tyres simply popped right off the car. Glitch or human error? Either way, something that needs to be addressed.

Limited. Unless you're looking to spot F1 legends, of course.

And of course there was another former driver doing the podium interviews - this time chatting with his compatriot.