Lewis Hamilton has extended his World Drivers’ Championship title lead with another victory this season at the Japanese Grand Prix, while Ferrari suffer another nightmare weekend. The race was full of quite a few battles throughout the field and a tense finish.
As we saw in Malaysia, Ferrari began to have issues before the race even started, with a spark plug issues on Sebastian Vettel’s car. The issue was resolved so that he could start the race normally. On the opening lap, Sainz lost control of his car at the S Curves and hit the barrier. Meanwhile, Vettel began dropping like a rock due to mechanical issues. The safety car was deployed briefly to allow the marshals to remove the stranded Toro Rosso of Sainz from the circuit.
Shortly after the safety car returned to the pits, so did Vettel. It was an unfortunate terminal mechanical issue for Ferrari, believed to be the same spark plug issue from the pre-race. A few laps later, the virtual safety car was deployed for Marcus Ericsson. The Sauber driver had rammed his car into the barriers at Degner.
When the race resumed to regular action, Lewis Hamilton was able to build a comfortable gap to the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Verstappen was the first of the leaders to pit for fresh rubber, with Mercedes responding the following lap. Hamilton maintained his lead to Verstappen, despite a solid gain for Verstappen in the undercut.
After running at the front of the field for many laps, Daniel Ricciardo finally pitted for new tyres, leaving Valtteri Bottas in front. Running on newer tyres, Hamilton and Verstappen were easily able to catch up to the Finn. As the Finn hung out in front, Hamilton’s pace began to get compromised by his teammate, allowing the Red Bull to get within DRS range. Mercedes made the driver swap through team orders, placing Bottas into the position to hold back Verstappen from the new leading car. By the time Bottas pitted, Verstappen was over 3 seconds behind Hamilton.
While battling in the mid-field, Nico Hülkenberg’s DRS got stuck open. He pitted, but the fist of the Renault mechanic couldn’t repair the damage. Hülkenberg was wheeled back into the garage and his day was done.
With not many laps remaining in the race, the virtual safety car was deployed for a scary tyre puncture on Lance Stroll’s Williams. The Canadian suffered a right front tyre puncture while turning into the corner. He skidded out of control across the gravel and back onto the track, almost collecting a Red Bull.
The race resumed with just four laps remaining in the race, giving Verstappen limited time to chase down Hamilton in front. However, the Brit began complaining above tyre vibrations over the team radio. Meanwhile, Bottas began his chase of Ricciardo.
Hamilton and Verstappen came upon a battle between Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, who were battling for the final points position. Alonso moved out of the way for Hamilton, but held up Verstappen slightly. Massa did the same the following lap. The traffic worked in Hamilton’s favour and allowing him to win the Japanese Grand Prix, with Verstappen, Ricciardo, Bottas and Räikkönen wrapping up the top five.
With another win in Hamilton’s collection, you can’t help but think that Vettel’s World Drivers’ Championship title hopes have died. Hamilton and Vettel are now separated by 59 points, giving Hamilton the opportunity to win the championship title at the next race in the United States.
Above results table does not include any post-race penalties
