LIVE coverage of the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix - race begins at 9:00am GMT on Sunday.

Vergne and his Toro Rosso are into the garage and their day is over.

Interesting - Raikkonen takes a pit and moves on to hard tyres.

Vettel's also had a reminder about the need to take care of one's tyres. He's now nearly three seconds ahead of Ricciardo and 2.5s behind Rosberg.

Ricciardo gets the suggestion to ease back a bit to save his tyres. He isn't impressed: "If something goes on, I want to be part of it." The team accept that.

Hulkenberg takes his pit stop - does that mean he's planning only two? - and Hamilton resumes the lead happily.

Hamilton makes his pit stop, handing over the lead (temporarily, one presumes) to Nico Hulkenberg. The Mercedes is still in second, though.

Bianchi has retired from the race, by the way. A bad day at the office all round.

Rosberg is first Mercedes in to the pit as Hamilton is reassured that he's "good for fuel".

Vettel and Riccardo are scything their way through the field, and are back into fourth and fifth respectively already.

Vettel follows his team-mate in for a change of tyres and tweak to his left wing. This three-stop strategy is going to have exciting consequences, I think.

So Ricciardo makes his first pit stop in his Red Bull. Important moment there - and he comes out ready to fight his way back through the field, starting with getting past Alonso, now in seventh.

Hamilton is told via the team radio that he was two-tenths quicker in the last lap.

Alonso is into the pit, for a really quick stop.

Hamilton's carefully and quietly extending that lead - up to over six seconds now.

Eventful day for Magnussen - he now gets a five-second stop-go penalty for that clash with Raikkonen, so he'll have to pull in again at some point.

He's having his nose changed, and as he pulls away, Bianchi is coming in.

Magnussen is going to make a pit stop...

Lewis Hamilton is a pleasing five seconds ahead of Rosberg, who in turn is about three and a half seconds ahead of Vettel, who's trying to get further clear of that pesky Ricciardo.

And Maldonado is being pushed into the garage by his mechanical team. More on the reasons for that when we have it.

And Maldonado's just been told he has to bring the car in and retire at the end of this lap - unsure what damage might have been accrued in that spin, or whether it's another technical issue.

There was a clash between Raikkonen and Magnussen on the second lap, which is being investigated; and added to that Bianchi has a stop-go penalty for spinning Maldonado off at the start.