Imperious Raikkonen wins Malaysian Grand Prix

BMW-Sauber driver Robert Kubica finished second with Heikki Kovalainen third in a McLaren-Mercedes. Jarno Trulli in a Toyota came in fourth while championship leader Lewis Hamilton in the second McLaren had to be satisfied with fifth after a problematic first pit stop.

 BMW's Nick Heidfeld claimed sixth, followed by Mark Webber of Red Bull and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in a Renault.

 The result means Hamilton continues to lead the drivers' standing with 14 points, followed by Raikkonen and Heidfeld on 11 points with Kovalainen a point further adrift.

 Raikkonen started from second on the grid behind team-mate Felipe Massa but took the lead after the first round of pit stops and the race was only his to lose once Massa spun out on lap 31.

 The Finn went on to complete the 56 laps of 5.543 kilometres in a winning time of 1 hour 31 minutes 18.555 seconds.

 "The car was handling perfectly and I was able to pull away," said Raikkonen.

 "We had quite a difficult weekend in Australia (when both Ferraris failed to finish). We weren't so sure things would work differently here."

   Kubica was also delighted to get on the podium in Sepang after missing out on points at Albert Park, calling his second-place a "fantastic finish."

   Kovalainen, who like team-mate Hamilton was penalized five places on the grid for impeding Heidfeld and Alonso in Saturday's qualifying, said a podium finish was the best he could have hoped for under the circumstances.

 "I think we have to be pleased with the result after yesterday's penalty," he said. "Today, this was the maximum we could do."

   All the lead cars got off to a clean start with Raikkonen pushing Massa going into the first corner.

 Hamilton, who started from ninth as a result of his penalty, made almost immediate amends, moving up four places to fifth after the first lap thanks to some aggressive driving.

 Timo Glock in a Toyota saw his race end after coming into contact with Nico Rosberg on lap one while the incident forced the Williams driver, who finished third in the season-opening GP in Australia, to crawl back to the pits for a new nosecone.

  The two Ferraris pulled well clear of the field in the early stages while Hamilton put in similar lap times to Webber in fourth.

 Hamilton finally moved up a place with 40 laps remaining when Webber pitted. Next up was Massa while Raikkonen made his first stop a lap later, returning just in front of the Brazilian.

 Disaster struck for Hamilton on lap 19 as the McLaren pit team struggled to get the right front tyre off. The problem caused the Briton to lose around 10 seconds.

 Kubica moved up to second with 26 laps remaining as Massa spun off into the gravel and out of the race and the Pole briefly held the lead as Raikkonen pitted for the second time.

 Raikkonen regained top spot when Kubica made his final stop on lap 43. The BMW driver returned in third behind Kovalainen.

 The Finn made his final stop with 11 laps remaining, returning in third place behind Kubica but ahead of Trulli and Hamilton.

 The 2008 F1 season continues on April 6 with the Bahrain GP in Sepang.

By Jens Marx, dpa