Lewis Hamilton's 100th points finish of his Formula One career proved to be a comfortable lights-to-flag win of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
It was a consummate performance from Hamilton and Mercedes, ending a run of nine races without a podium, one of his worst droughts since he entered the top tier of the sport at the start of 2007.
Hamilton is congratulated by Sebastian Vettel on the podium
From pre-season testing the suspicion was Mercedes had the best car, and so it has proven so far, with Nico Rosberg following up his win at the opening race in Australia by finishing second to Hamilton this time.
Hamilton waves from his car after winning the Grand Prix at the Sepang circuit
For the 29-year-old Briton, after claiming his 33rd pole on Saturday, this was his 23rd victory, and his first at the Sepang International Circuit.
It will now ignite the fire of his championship challenge this year after retiring just a handful of laps into the race at Melbourne.
Hamilton finished 17.3 seconds clear of Rosberg, with four-times champion Sebastian Vettel third in his Red Bull but 25 seconds down on the lead Mercedes.
