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A storm of monsoon proportions caused the race to be suspended, and while the weather eventually cleared, the impending gloom made it impossible to run the remaining laps.
In Australia the previous weekend Button had taken the chequered flag with the field lined up under caution behind him. At Sepang he didn’t even manage that, learning that he’d won while sitting in his car on the grid, waiting for a resumption that never came.
Cars stop on the main straight as the race is red flagged on lap 33 due to weather conditions
Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
It was an unusual end to an extraordinary afternoon, one that saw half points awarded for only the fifth time in the sport’s history, and regular pacesetters McLaren and Ferrari earn just an eighth place between them.
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The eventful afternoon allowed everyone to take their minds off the big story of the week. The reconvening of the Australian GP stewards and subsequent disqualification of Lewis Hamilton from his Melbourne third place – for not telling the full story about waving Jarno Trulli by in the safety car queue – had dominated the headlines, and the be …