Sebastien Vettel added some early intrigue to the 2015 Formula 1 season after holding off world champion Lewis Hamilton to claim the chequered flag at the Malaysian grand prix on Sunday.

The Ferrari driver had qualified behind Hamilton on pole in qualifying, but benefitted from bad choices by the Mercedes team to claim a 40th career GP win.

With the win, Vettel now occupies second spot on the drivers’ championship standing with 40 points, three points behind Hamilton while Nico Rosberg falls to third place with 33 points.

An ecstatic Vettel after winning in Malaysia

Vettel’s win continues a massive turnaround for Ferrari, which had its worst season in years last year, with teammate Kimi Räïkkönën emphasising the Italian teams improvement with a fourth place finish having started in 11th on the grid.

With three podium finishes already after two races this season, Ferrari have bettered the entire campaign of last season which saw them claim only two podium finishes.

Vettel as well has shown massive improvement in his debut season at Ferrari, adding to his third place finish at the curtain raising Australian grand prix earlier this month.

His teammate Räïkkönën finished behind the Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Hamilton, who finished third and second respectively, as Mercedes failed to win a race for the first time since Daniel Ricciardo’s thrilling win at Hungaroring last July.

Ricciardo had to settle for a ninth place finish in his Red Bull, behind Toro Rosso duo of 17-year old Max Verstappen in seventh and Carlos Sainz jr. in eight.

Former world champion Fernando Alonso made his return to racing after recovering from injuries sustained in a preseason crash, but failed to finish the race in his McLaren after being forced to retire on lap 21 due to overheating.

Teammate and former world champion Jenson Button also had to retire due to turbo failure, to complete a disappointing weekend for McLaren in Kuala Lumpur.

The Formula 1 season remains in the Far East, with the next race taking place in China in a fortnight.