Starting second at the Sepang International Circuit, Lewis Hamilton dropped to the rear on the delayed wet formation lap after a power unit software issue, though the FIA later reinstated the original grid order after a red flag. Ferrari then put Hamilton on dry tyres at the restart, a wrong call as the intermediate compound proved correct and left him tumbling through the field and around a minute down. Hamilton kept his head down, urged his team into contrarian strategy calls and benefited from strong pit work and a late safety car to carve his way back to third. Max Verstappen won the race; Hamilton described the afternoon as an emotional rollercoaster but called it the best race Ferrari has had at Sepang.
