MAX VERSTAPPEN overcame a thunderstorm, a huge delay and a bonkers formation lap to win his first race of the season.
The Dutchman also held his nerve to bat away the ferocious championship leader Kimi Antonelli late on after a safety car with three laps to go.
Hamilton produced an epic come back after technical drama on the formation lap and a palaver with his tyres to seal the final podium spot, behind Antonelli.
It was heartbreak for George Russell who suffered a fourth DNF of the season due to a power unit fault.
It may have been the moment that his championship hopes went up in smoke.
Disaster struck before the race had even begun as a small drizzle turned into a tropical thunder storm to delay the start.
When the formation lap finally got underway, technical drama arrived as Hamilton and Verstappen were among the drivers who nearly ground to a halt on track.
Hamilton managed to limp back to the pits and his car was pushed by the Ferrari mechanics to return to his original starting position of second.
Amid the chaos, Lando Norris had a big moment at Turn 13 and went off but just about kept control.
It led to the start being suspended again as F1 chiefs confirmed the original starting order would remain.
The race was delayed again and eventually started after a few laps behind the safety car, ONE HOUR and 40 MINUTES late from the original time.
Verstappen kept his cool after Antonelli stormed into the lead when the race eventually started, as Russell shimmied past too.
Ferrari had got their tyre gamble completely wrong as Hamiton plummeted down to 10th and Charles Leclerc was 11th.
A safety car was brought out as Valtteri Bottas spun into the gravel on lap 9, prompting all of the leaders to pit.
At the restart there was wheel to wheel action between Antonelli and Verstappen down to Turn 1 before the Dutchman danced around the outside to have the inside at Turn 2.
In true Verstappen fashion, he put the pedal to metal through Turn 3 to bulldoze into the lead as Russell nipped ahead of Antonelli as well.
Hamilton was flying and began his epic comeback as he gained a whopping six places in six laps.
It begged the question where Hamilton would be in the battle for victory had he started on the intermediate tyres.
There was a nervy moment for Antonelli as we went deep into the last corner and hit the pit entry bollard but was unscathed.
With 20-laps to go Hamilton moved up to sixth and set the fastest lap of the race as he snapped at the heels of Hadjar.
The Virtual Safety Car was called into action on lap 43, as Alex Albon reported his gearbox had broken as he peeled off the side.
Verstappen pitted from the lead and Hadjar followed suit.
Things got spicy when Verstappen’s 10-second lead was wiped out as the Safety Car was deployed due to the marshals being unable to clear Albon’s car which was stuck in gear.
They needed a recovery vehicle and Merc were handed the chance to attack four-time world champion Verstappen.
Russell then stopped on the side of the track and drama spilled to other areas of the track as Norris ran into the gravel at the first corner.
The silly error cost Norris who got back into the track in 11th and was unable to regain any places.
The race restarted with three laps to go and Verstappen bolted ahead to open up a lead over Antonelli.
The crowd went wild as Hamilton eased around the outside of Hadjar for the final podium spot to cap off his incredible fight back.
Hamilton was unable to hunt down Antonelli as Verstappen rolled back the years to win in Malaysia again.
Verstappen won the last F1 race here in 2017, his second win of his career, but it was even sweeter this time around.
