After a dramatic conclusion to the Malaysian Grand Prix last weekend, the teams were on the track once again for the second part of the fifth and penultimate back-to-back race weekend of the season. This time the scene was set at the Suzuka Circuit for this year’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Mercedes got things off to a strong start on Friday, as they managed to sit on top of the time sheets, more than a second faster than Ferrari. It wasn’t smooth sailing for the team however, as there were multiple complaints from the duo regarding car performance. Fernando Alonso tested the barriers after an early spin, so too did Romain Grosjean after locking the tyres. The other teams were able to close the gap on Mercedes in the second free practice session, with the top five drivers lapping within a second of the leader’s time. Nico Rosberg led the way once again, as he had managed to do in free practice one, but Lewis Hamilton was able to close the gap to less than a tenth of a second. Daniil Kvyat spun his car during the session and Rosberg’s car was smoking a little in the pit lane, although all was good.
Rain was forecast for Saturday and it hindered the start of the final free practice session, as many drivers ventured out onto the track with intermediate tyres. However, the poor conditions improved throughout the session and drivers were able to switch to the dry compound tyres before the end of the session. Although the weather was different, the story was the same for Nico Rosberg, as he managed to top the session once again. Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Kimi Räikkönen concluded the top five, as Lewis Hamilton found himself in seventh position. Things were close in qualifying, as Rosberg took pole position from Hamilton by just 0.013 seconds. Ferrari and Red Bull remained close, although Sebastian Vettel dropped three grid positions for his penalty from the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Rosberg took the early lead on Sunday, as Hamilton had his worst race of the season and lost multiple positions off of the grid. Hamilton was able to get ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and Sergio Pérez after pitting for the hard tyre. He also got by Daniel Ricciardo, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas for P4, proving that the Mercedes car was strong on the hard compound tyres. There was a large amount of position swapping within the top ten, with multiple overtakes succeeding in the first half of the race. Esteban Gutiérrez spun in the final chicane, nearly hitting the Toro Rosso, although he was able to quickly continue his race. Hamilton was able to recover to third position and close the gap to Max Verstappen in second position. However, he wasn’t able to overtake the Red Bull, despite an attempt in the final chicane that resulted in Hamilton cutting the chicane. His teammate took the race victory. This was enough to secure Mercedes the World Constructors’ Championship title.
Next up is part one of the final back-to-back weekend on the calendar in a fortnight time. The teams will travel to the United States of America to the Circuit of the Americas (known as COTA) on the weekend of October 23.
