The battle for the Formula One world championship was joined on Sunday when Kimi Raikkonen won the Malaysian Grand Prix to move within three points of championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

After a disastrous opening race in Melbourne, where he scored a single point, the reigning champion was rampant in Kuala Lumpur, winning by 20 seconds from BMW’s Robert Kubica and finishing 38 seconds clear of Heikki Kovalainen, the nearest McLaren driver.