Formula 1: Malaysia GP Overview

Alonso was the surprise victor in Malaysia

Fernando Alonso and Ferrari put a torrid pre-season behind them to claim victory at Sunday's rain-hit Malaysia Grand Prix.

Three weeks ago, if anyone had told Fernando Alonso that two races into the new season he would have a win under his belt and the lead in the championship, he surely would have laughed and dismissed the idea. How quickly things change.

A flawless drive from the determined Spaniard through the rain and the spray handed him the full 25 points for the race win. He didn't have it all his own way however. Sauber's Sergio Perez put in the best drive of his career so far, to push Alonso all the way to the finish. Closing the Ferrari down at the rate of nearly a second a lap, Perez was right behind Alonso before running wide at Turn 14 and missing his chance to seal the deal and take the win. Alonso admitted that the win is no reflection of the car's overall performance; there is still a lot of work to do at Maranello to get the car up to the likes of Mclaren and Red Bull.

Further back, Pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton put in a solid, if uninspiring, performance. Unlucky to be held up in the pitlane by Felipe Massa, Hamilton lost the lead and fell back to fourth. He couldn't keep pace with Alonso and Perez in the changeable conditions, the intermediate tyres on his Mclaren not giving him the grip and confidence in the car. He ended the race third for the second successive weekend. Expect Lewis to do better in China; he has won twice there, 2008 and 2011, and he also narrowly missed out on the win in both 2007 and 2010. He'll be determined to take his first win of the year in Shanghai, a circuit he excels at.

A lack of grip also befell his team-mate Jenson Button. Button threw away his chance of a decent finish by making an ill-advised lunge up the inside of Narain Karthikeyan into Turn 9. The 2009 World Champion lost his front wing and had to pit for repairs, dropping him out of contention all together. He recovered to finish a lowly 14th.

Bruno Senna was a revelation in Malaysia, recovering from a poor start and carving his way through the field to finish a career best sixth. The Force India's of Di Resta and Hulkenberg did well to both finish in the points as did Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne. Senna's team-mate Maldonado was unlucky not to make the finish again; a technical fault on the penultimate lap robbed him of a points finish.

Sebastian Vettel had a disappointing afternoon after sustaining a puncture near the end of the race. He had been fourth, but ended the race a distant 11th. Mercedes had another afternoon to forget, as did Lotus' Romain Grosjean. Another DNF is not a great way to start his first full season of Formula One.

Overall, the Malaysia Grand Prix for 2012 didn't tell us much regarding the pecking order for the year. The mixed-conditions allowed dismal cars like the Ferrari to flourish and excellent cars like the Mclaren to flounder. We'll have to wait until China on the 15th of April to find out more.