Formula 1 2017: Malaysian Grand Prix starting grid, lineup

The Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix is almost here, and it should be a good one. After Ferrari dominated the pace in practice, Sebastian Vettel suffered a power unit problem and will have to start from the back of the grid, while teammate Kimi Raikkonen came up just short of taking pole position.

Instead, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes will have pole again, and a solid opportunity to increase his lead in the Drivers Championship standings. Sunday’s race will begin at 3 a.m. ET and will be broadcast by NBCSN in the United States. A live stream online will be available via NBC Sports.

Hamilton is performing extremely well, and watching him scrap with Raikkonen — who did not finish the previous race, the Singapore Grand Prix, as all of himself, Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Vettel crashed out on the opening lap — should be plenty exciting.

That said, Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, will be starting from fifth on the grid, behind Hamilton, Raikkonen and the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. Mercedes is expecting more out of Bottas, and he isn’t producing at the level expected of him.

Either way, the big story is Vettel starting from the back. Vettel held the lead in the Drivers Championship for much of the season, but lost it recently and the Singapore race did him no favors, as he collected no points. Now he’ll be trying to control the damage from the back of the grid on Sunday.

Vettel should be able to make his way up into the points, especially if there is a safety car or two and driver retirements. Still, Hamilton is the favorite to win the race from pole position, so he’ll increase his lead no matter what if that winds up happening.

There is a new face on the grid in Pierre Gasly of Toro Rosso. He is replacing Daniil Kvyat, who is struggling. With Carlos Sainz Jr. leaving Toro Rosso for Renault in 2018, it makes sense for the Red Bull “feeder” team to give someone like Gasly a chance, whereas someone like Kvyat has already had an opportunity to race for Red Bull and lost it to Verstappen.

Below you can find the full lineup and starting grid for Sunday’s race, and below that is everything you need to know to watch the action.

Date: Oct. 1, 2017

Location: Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur

Time: 3 a.m. ET

TV: NBCSN

Online Streaming: NBC Sports Live