The two antagonists were involved in a tense battle for third place at Sepang on Sunday with Hamilton leading Alonso as the Spaniard attempted to find a way past. However, instead of passing Hamilton, he drove into the back of him, damaging the front wing of his Ferrari.
Alonso was forced to pit for a new nose and dropped down to sixth place while Hamilton, who had to come in for a late pit stop, finished the grand prix in seventh place.
The duo, though, were called into the stewards' office in the aftermath of the grand prix where both were handed 20-second penalties.
Alonso's was for the crash while Hamilton's was because the stewards deemed him to have been too aggressive in defending his position against the double World Champ.
Hamilton, though, is the only one who suffers as a result of the penalty as he dropped from seventh to eighth in the final classification. Alonso remains sixth.
Revised Results
01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h37:39.832
02. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 3.261
03. Heidfeld Renault + 25.075
04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 26.384
05. Massa Ferrari + 36.958
06. Alonso Ferrari + 57.248
07. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:07.239
08. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 69.957
09. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:24.896
10. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:31.563
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:45.000
12. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
15. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
16. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
17. Petrov Renault + 4 laps
Source: Planet-F1
