Formula One: Vettel wins Malaysian Grand Prix

Scuderia Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel wins the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit on Sunday.

Sebastian Vettel stunned world champion Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes with an audacious Malaysian Grand Prix victory which ignited the Formula One season.

The Ferrari man took advantage of an early safety car as he hit the front and held off Hamilton and Nico Rosberg after pitting only twice, compared to three for the Mercedes pair.

The four-time world champion has now racked up 40 career wins but it is his first with Ferrari, breaking a dry spell which stretches back to his last race with Red Bull in 2013.

Few of the German's victories can have been as telling or as satisfying as Sunday's, since he shattered assumptions of Mercedes' unassailable superiority in 2015.

"Fantastico, fantastico!" he screamed down the team radio in Italian. "Yes boys, can you hear me? Thank you, thank you. Forza Ferrari!"

Further back, there were also celebrations for Max Verstappen as the 17-year-old finished seventh, becoming the youngest points-scorer in Formula One history.