The race, held on 29 March 2015 with practice and qualifying sessions on the two preceding days,[2] was the seventeenth running of the Malaysian Grand Prix, which had been part of the Formula One World Championship without interruption since 1999.

[6][7] A race sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, motorsport's governing body, had been held in Malaysia since the 1960s, with the first editions being run in Singapore, then part of the Malaysian Federation, before moving to the Shah Alam Circuit.

[2][9] Going into the weekend, Lewis Hamilton was leading the Drivers' Championship, having won the first race ahead of his teammate Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel.

[16] While many commentators pointed out that Red Bull had enjoyed their own share of dominance in the prior years,[16] Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone voiced understanding for the team, saying: "There is a rule that I think [former president] Max [Mosley] put in when he was there that in the event... that a particular team or engine supplier did something magic - which Mercedes have done - the FIA can level up things.

"[17] Mercedes' executive director Toto Wolff reacted to the calls by urging his rivals to "get your fucking head down and work to sort it out".

While Renault contemplated exiting the sport, another scenario that received media attention was a possible buy-out of the Toro Rosso team.

[21] The discussion about the future of the sport was additionally fuelled by the news that the German Grand Prix would be dropped from the 2015 calendar, due to a lack of financing.

[23] Fernando Alonso returned from his pre-season injury to take back his seat at McLaren, which had been filled by Kevin Magnussen at the previous race in Australia.

[24] Also returning was Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, who missed the previous race due to a back injury sustained during qualifying.

[29] Nico Rosberg set the fastest time in the first practice session on Friday morning, while championship leader Lewis Hamilton was sidelined due to engine problems.

[31] Fernando Alonso made his debut in the new McLaren, finishing 14th and 16th in the two Friday sessions respectively, outpacing teammate Jenson Button both times.

Joining Räikkönen were Pastor Maldonado, the Force Indias of Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez and the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz Jr., as they could not improve on their original lap times due to the conditions.

They were followed by the Red Bull cars of Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat, while Toro Rosso's young driver Max Verstappen took sixth place.

[46] At the start, Lewis Hamilton got away well, while Nico Rosberg challenged Sebastian Vettel for second place, but the Ferrari was able to come out on top.

Both Pastor Maldonado and Kimi Räikkönen suffered punctures on lap one after contact with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Nasr respectively[47][48] and had to come in for a new set of tyres.

When racing resumed on lap seven, Vettel led Nico Hülkenberg, Romain Grosjean, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Sergio Pérez, with Hamilton the first of the cars who made pit stops right behind.

Jenson Button retired from the race on lap 40 due to a turbo failure,[51] while Maldonado's bad day turned worse when he had to park his car suffering brake problems.

[52] Bottas was able to overtake his teammate Felipe Massa on the final lap, after both Williams drivers had an uneventful race to finish fifth and sixth respectively.

[55] Speaking about the experience as a Ferrari driver, he told Eddie Jordan during the podium interview: I remember when the gate opened in Maranello it was like a dream coming true.

[59] During the post-race press conference, Vettel expressed hope to emulate Schumacher's success at Ferrari and win the world championship.

[60] Controversy arose when Force India's Bob Fernley accused Manor Marussia of intentionally only running one car during qualifying and the race and urged the FIA to investigate the matter.