Mayhem in Malaysia

A disappointing day for Fernando Alonso at Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix was topped off with another piece of bad news: the Spanish former world champion was slapped with a penalty for clipping competitor Lewis Hamilton while trying to overtake him. The 20 seconds added to the Ferrari driver's time did not, however, alter his race result: he stayed in sixth place.

The thrilling race was won by Red Bull driver and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, who has made the perfect start to the season after his win at the opener in Australia two weeks ago. Unlike at that Grand Prix - where the quick-wearing Pirelli tires and new drag-reducing wing systems seemed to have a muted effect on the racing - it was all out action in Sepang, as Red Bull, McLaren, Lotus-Renault and Ferrari battled it out on the track.

Alonso, who started from fifth, ran into trouble with 10 laps to go, as he tried to overtake his former McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton. Clearly faster than the Briton, Alonso was all over the back of the car, but turned out to be too close when it came to making the move, colliding with Hamilton's rear right tire, and damaging the Spaniard's front wing.

It was this contact that landed Alonso in trouble with the stewards, although Hamilton was also given a 20-second penalty for excessive weaving in the preceding lap. That saw him fall from seventh to eighth place.

"It doesn't change positions, so there is no a big drama," Alonso said after the race. "I finished sixth anyway, and it was a race incident. I tried to overtake, we touched each other and unfortunately I broke the front wing and had to pit again, and I lost the podium possibility. But in the next race I will try again."

After two races, Vettel leads the championship, with McLaren's Jenson Button in second place, his teammate Hamilton in third, Red Bull's Mark Webber in fourth, and Alonso down in fifth.