That’s it from Suzuka, thanks for joining us today. Lewis has bounced back from a shocker in Singapore, and has levelled Senna’s career wins total in just one more race than the legend. The title is very much in his hands now, with Rosberg and Vettel needing a miracle to go into the last two races of the year with any chance of grabbing the title.
Next it’s off to Russia on the weekend of October 9th to 11th. Who would bet against another glorious afternoon for Hamilton? Not me that’s for sure.
The winner’s trophy has been presented by the Deputy Governor of Mie Province (getting some much needed international exposure), champagne has been duly dispatched and a poor German commentator has been sent up on stage to do a live spot with the drivers for his 400th race only for the microphone to fail.
They finally find him a working microphone, but a close-up reveals that it was probably interference from his ludicrously designed animal print pants which was causing issues in the first place.
HAMILTON TO MERCEDES: "Fantastic job, guys. Great to be back up here. You did a flawless job as always" #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/WxdxB7cQzS
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 27, 2015
Meanwhile there’s something Orwellian about the command “Bernie says think before you drive” on the front of the podium.
Final points standings
- Hamilton (now level with Senna for career wins)
- Rosberg
- Vettel
- Raikkonen
- Bottas
- Hulkenberg
- Grosjean
- Maldonado
- Verstappen
- Sainz
And at the other end of the field the good news is that Nasr has been officially classified as a finisher so it’s just the fifth race in Formula 1 history with no retirements. And I survived live blogging it. Might put out a commemorative t-shirt.
(Actually everyone but the commentators is counting Nasr as a retirement so maybe not..)
Updated
Hamilton wins!
Lap 53 - No late drama, and Lewis wins comfortably. Once he took the lead he was never troubled again and gradually pulled away to an 18.9 second victory.
Lap 52 - There’s not been the slightest drama for Lewis since he pushed ahead on the first corner. He’s going to win you know.
Lap 51 - Retirement! Felipe Nasr is shown dejectedly walking down pit lane. It had to happen eventually but it’s hardly Olivier Panis winning Monaco in a Ligier because barely anybody else finished.
Lap 50 - Lewis is nearly there, he won’t put too much extra space between himself and Rosberg in the title race but that’s not what he needs now. It’s Nico who needs to pick up points, and that’s not going to happen today. Get the trophy out of the cabinet, polish it up, and hand it to a man in white gloves for safekeeping because in a few weeks he’ll be the World Champion again.
Lap 49 - Kvyat is still extremely active for somebody whose car is running like a Lada Samara, having a go at Ericsson in the high profile battle for 13th. Guess who is winning?
Lap 48 - Five laps remain and Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton MBE remains 16.4 seconds in front. Rosberg now 2.1 in front of Vettel.
Lap 47 - What a great event this has been for fans of mid-range teams, with the host broadcaster far more interested in battles halfway down the field than anything happening at the front of the field. As an old Jordan man how I wish this sort of avant garde coverage was on offer in the 1990’s.
Lap 46 - The gap is now 15 seconds at the front of the field, and barring disaster your top 10 is set now. In other news Will Stevens is having quite the day out
LAP 45/53: A tight battle between the Marussias results in Stevens pushing hard and taking a spin #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/NDMkPFCafV
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 27, 2015
Lap 45 - Verstappen nicks ninth as teammate Sainz locks up. They’re both still a mile off Maldonado in 8th, but a good day out for the Toro Rosso lads. Meanwhile Kvyat is belying the fact that his breaks are rapidly failing by trying to pass Perez for 13th.
Lap 44 - Top 10:
- Hamilton
- Rosberg
- Vettel
- Raikkonen
- Bottas
- Hulkenberg
- Grosjean
- Maldonado
- Sainz
- Verstappen
Lap 43 - Ericsson pinches 12th off Perez in a brave overtaking move. Meanwhile Kvyat’s rubbish afternoon continues as he radios in to report that he’s losing brakes.
Lap 42 - Vettel now 6.3 seconds in front of Raikkonen and still on the road (as it were) towards a podium finish. Rossi is now the last of all runners, two laps down.
Lap 41 - Have I mentioned that Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes is winning? Because he is, and extremely comfortably. Verstappen is now 10th, the last man unlapped.
Lap 40 - “Derby County 3, Milton Keynes Dons 1” is what I’m sure we’d hear from Lewis is they cut to his audio now. He’s got 12 seconds on Rosberg, who is now only a second in front of Vettel. Still no retirements, which if you grew watching Formula 1 in the era I did seems absolutely ludicrous.
Lap 39 - Hamilton’s doing it so easily that he could read out the classified football results over the radio and not lose any time. Meanwhile Will Stevens has received a five second penalty for his pit lane offence, which just seems cruel to me.
Lap 38 - Alonso has decided that if nothing else of interest is going to happen that he’s at least going to send us home laughing, calling to the garage to sarcastically ask who the men he’s racing against for 10th and 11th, and the hapless Marussia backmarkers, are.
Updated
Lap 37 - It’s a flat 10 second lead for Hamilton now, and with 16 laps left he just needs to keep on track to claim his second consecutive win at the track. For dedicated followers of Button he’s down in 13th but sadly there’s no record of whether he shares the same views on the car as Alonso.
Lap 36 - Unless there’s a disaster your podium is set - Vettel is now 12.8 seconds in front of fourth placed Raikkonen. Meanwhile Bottas has steadied in fifth.
Lap 35 - The Lewis lead is steady at 9.5 seconds, but Rosberg pulls out even further on Vettel to open up a 3.1 seconds lead.
Meanwhile Will Stevens has made light of having the slowest car in the race by being pinched for speeding in the pit-lane.
Lap 34 - Speaking of going off-road (gripped! sorted!) Perez has recovered from his first lap dramas to find himself in the points. He’s 9th, with Sainz in 10th 0.6 seconds behind.
Lap 33 - The debris is still on the track, but it’s off the racing line so Race Control are leaving it well alone. It’s Lewis by 10.6, then 2.1 seconds between Rosberg and Vettel. After his brief challenge to Bottas we now see an artistic slow motion replay of Grosjean tearing up the Astroturf as he takes an excursion off-road.
Lap 32 - Bottas’ day gets even worse with Grosjean’s Lotus challenging him. He stays in front for now. Hamilton is in and out of the pits with no dramas and it’s seemingly happy days again for Mercedes after their hiccup in Singapore. Lewis remains 9.2 seconds in front of his team-mate.
Lap 31 - Rosberg grabs second as Vettel comes out of the pits. He’s back into second and clutching on in the title race by his fingernails.
Lap 30 - Bottas comes out and gets stuck behind Maldonado as well. A race that promised so much on the opening lap is rapidly going south for the Finn.
Lap 29 - It’s a 13.2 second gap at the front. While Rosberg and Bottas pit simultaneously. Kimi gets out ahead of Bottas.
Alonso - the man don’t give a... err... damn.
LAP 28/53: Verstappen passes Alonso to take P10 ALONSO TO MCLAREN: "GP2 engine. GP2. Aargh!" #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/EJAIZ8MFU7
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 27, 2015
Lap 28 - It’s all Lewis as Carlos Sainz is forced to pick up a new front wing. He ran over a bollard on the way into the pits, leaving his crew completely baffled as they expected your bog standard stop and he showed up needing major repairs. He’s left debris on the track, leaving open the prospect of a traditional Suzuka safety car.
Lap 27 - At Honda’s home Grand Prix we’ve just heard an anti-engine outburst from Fernando Alonso which sounded like the noises you make when you kick your toe on a doorway. The President of Honda is at the race, he might not want to go in for a friendly handshake with Fernando after the race.
Lap 26 - Verstappen grabs 10th! In his last race as a 17-year-old he runs Alonso down on the straight and gets in front by the first corner. Lewis by 13.5 seconds.
Lap 25 - Bottas is now 6.1 seconds behind third place and watching his chances of a podium finish drive off into the distance. At the other end of the field Kvyat’s nightmare weekend continues as he takes a brief detour onto the grass.
Lap 24 - Lewis leads by 12.7 seconds, but I’m duty bound to point out that ‘anything can happen’ in Formula 1 and suggest that you stay glued to this page just in case it does. Predictions of Rosberg catching Vettel have come to nothing as he’s still 2.0 seconds behind.
Lap 23 - Alonso and Verstappen are scrapping for 10th, while 16th placed Kvyat receives bad mechanical news from the garage. He fought hard from the back of the grid to the verge of the points but he’s already been told not to push in a battle and now this. Not a great weekend for the Russian.
Lap 22 - No retirements yet, with Massa still running 20th and last after his opening lap clash with Ricciardo.
Lap 21 - Hamilton by 11 seconds, but some relief for Vettel as he extends the gap to third to 1.9 seconds. No change in the top 10.
Lap 20 - It’s just 1.8 seconds between Rosberg and Vettel now, while Raikkonen is right on Bottas’ tail now.
Lap 20 - It’s a procession. Lewis more than 10 seconds ahead, but Rosberg is gaining rapidly on Vettel.
Lap 19 - Another 1.1 seconds added the lead. Current race order:
- Hamilton
- Vettel
- Rosberg
- Bottas
- Raikkonen
- Hulkenberg
- Grosjean
- Maldonado
- Sainz
- Alonso
Lap 18 - Hamilton’s lead continues to grow, now out to 8.1 seconds. Rosberg’s pass on Bottas has freed him and he’s pulled away by 2.4 seconds. He’s still 3.8 behind Vettel though.
Lap 17 - Rosberg is called upon to attack Bottas to “destroy his tires”. And he’s through! No need for Machiavellian schemes, the Williams man simply had a moment and allowed Nico to duck past him into third.
Lap 16 - Now it’s Hamilton’s chance to pit, putting his lead of nearly 30 seconds on the line. No problems at all for Lewis and he’s back out with a huge gap over Vettel. I’m not saying the title race is over but the engraver might want to get a start now because it will be soon.
Lap 15 - Rosberg pits with 38 laps remaining. Hard tires go on and Bottas jumps in front of him during Rosberg’s pit lane exit.
Lap 14 - Hamilton out by 13 as Raikkonen pits. That leaves the two Mercedes cars as the only big guns not to have pitted so far. At the other end of the field Massa is running last with no retirements as yet (despite my best efforts to incorrectly get rid of Perez on the opening lap).
Lap 13 - Vettel is coming in for hard compound tires, leaving Rosberg to move temporarily into second 12.8 seconds behind Hamilton. He’s in and out quickly with no dramas.
Lap 12 - Hamilton extends the lead to 7.5 seconds, with Vettel a second slower on that lap. Rosberg was faster than both of them on that lap, but he’s still 5.5 down on Vettel and 13 on Hamilton. Bottas is down to sixth after his stop but flying on his out lap.
Lap 11 - A full six seconds lead now for Lewis, as the garage tells Rosberg to push hard and overtake Bottas - who pick their game perfectly and pit first to throw Nico’s tactics off.
Lap 10 - Rosberg has drawn to within 1.1 seconds of Bottas but 4th isn’t going to do anything for his title aspirations so you wonder if he’s going to go for it at some point and hope his engine holds up.
Marcus Ericsson spins in the same spot he went off during qualifying but makes it back on track in 9th.
Lap 9 - So far it’s a procession, Lewis still 5.2 seconds in front with only bad luck likely to get him from here. Alonso pits from 15th, suggesting a three stop strategy.
Lap 8 - Hamilton extends his lead to 4.7 seconds. Meanwhile down the field Kvyat made it to 15th before pitting. With little happening at the front the host broadcaster is concentrating on a battle between Nasr and Verstappen for 12th.
Lap 7 - Rosberg is informed by the garage that his engine temperature is high which is causing damage. It hurts any chance he has of getting in front of Bottas on the track, and the idea that the world championship is slipping away from him can’t be doing anything for his headache. The garage has told him to hold off for five laps for the sake of the engine.
It’s now 4.2 seconds Hamilton from Vettel, and a further 4.1 to Bottas in third.
Lap 6 - No change at the top, with Rosberg stuck behind Bottas in fourth place.
Lap 5 - Hamilton sets the fastest lap of the race, and opens a 3.2 second lead on Vettel. If the race continues like this he’ll have one hand on the world title.
Lap 4 - It’s all Lewis, still 2.5 seconds in front as Sainz nicks 9th position from Alonso at the first corner. Raikkonen is 5th, Grosjean 6th, Maldonado 7th and Hulkenberg 8th.
Lap 3 - Lewis remains in the lead by 2.4 seconds. Bottas remains third, 1.9 behind Vettel and 4.3 behind Hamilton.
Lap 2 - Hamilton increases his lead to 2.2 seconds as Massa limps into the pits with damaged tires and a replacement nose required. Rosberg is now 5.5 seconds behind and his quiet afternoon has been replaced with a battle just to get to the podium.
Lap 1 - Hamilton leads Vettel by 1.6 seconds with Bottas now into third and Rosberg down to fourth. Ricciardo is also damaged from his run in with Massa and they’ve both been forced to pit. I was a bit quick on declaring Perez gone, he’s made it back to the pits with a puncture.
First corner
It’s go at Suzuka! Hamilton takes the lead! Vettel grabs second and Perez is into the dirt. Massa and Riccardio have touched wheels and Massa is suffering serious mechanical issues.
Updated
As drivers set off on the formation lap we see that everyone’s on medium tires except Jenson Button who has opted for hard compound, and when you’ve had a season like he has why not do something alternative?
To confirm Alexander Rossi has been given permission by stewards to start despite being well outside 107% of Rosberg’s pole time. He’ll start last on the grid, but will get away before Kvyat who is coming out of pit lane.
The Rosberg exclusive has got nothing on the incident early in the coverage where Johnny Herbert attempted to interview Sebastian Vettel while the Ferrari man was rolling past for a ceremonial lap in an open top vintage car.
To nobody’s surprise Johnny didn’t manage to score an exclusive as the driver of the car wasn’t waiting for anything and shot off, leaving Johnny to run alongside the vehicle for 20 metres at the risk of shirtfronting a photographer or tripping over a camera cable before Vettel shot off into the distance.
In a slightly more successful trackside chat Johnny managed to pin down Jenson Button on foot so he couldn’t get away, but Jenson refused to be drawn on whether the speculation is correct that it will be his last Japanese Grand Prix.
Martin Brundle later added to the carnival atmosphere of the coverage by ruthlessly cutting off an interviewer from another channel who was trying to get a word with Felipe Nasr. No doubt he’ll be assigned a penalty in the post-race catering tent for his aggressive interviewing tactics. If somebody can go back and make a GIF of the look on the jilted interviewer’s face when Martin cut her off the world will be better for it.
Breaking! Nico Rosberg has a headache and has taken paracetamol. The team has also put out a banana for him. I’m sure he’ll appreciate a day without too much drama, at least until the medication kicks in.
Updated
Here’s a look at what’s ahead for us this afternoon.
ONE HOUR TO GO 53 Laps 307km 18 Turns Here's what awaits the drivers at the iconic Suzuka circuit #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/h6CLfklVo1
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 27, 2015
Sunny weather aside that stat about the safety car seems to indicate that you should have your Megadrive plugged in to a second TV just in case a quick round of Super Monaco GP is required to fill in the time.
Speaking of everything being better when you were a kid, am I the only person who fondly remember’s Ayrton Senna’s Super Monaco Grand Prix 2 on the Sega Megadrive?
Obviously not considering some visionary has gone to the trouble of posting a 100 minute long video of themselves playing it to YouTube. Skip to 5074 seconds in (if you must) to see how Suzuka looked in the 16-bit era.
To catch up on the events of the weekend so far:
- Daniil Kvyat was fastest in practice on Friday, but torrential rain and a number of cars not appearing during the session made it difficult to draw any conclusions from the session. In significantly less treacherous conditions during qualifying he wrecked his car, and while he qualified 10th he’ll have to start from the Pit Lane with a newly constructed car.
- Teammates Rosberg and Hamilton filled the front of the grid for the 10th time this year, and are both talking up the way their cars are feeling going into this crucial race after struggles in Singapore.
Kvyat’s red flag inducing mishap denied Lewis a chance at his first pole in Japan, but all he needs from here is consistency. Importantly only two cars have won from outside the front row at Suzuka since 1991.
- Lotus is in trouble, and this might be the last time we see them in their current form. The team is desperately awaiting a bailout from Renault, but a week’s reprieve from a substantial unpaid income tax bill is over and the team is running on empty. In the face of possible impending unemployment third driver Jolyon Palmer has opted for gallows humour:
Only an install lap in the rain this morning. Now just kicking back and enjoying the @Lotus_F1Team VIP hospitality! pic.twitter.com/hAtV8ApKZ9
— Jolyon Palmer (@JolyonPalmer) September 25, 2015
Today is also a return to Japan for the first time since the tragic accident which ultimately took the life of Jules Bianchi.
Marussia has struggled this season, and they’ll race with heavy hearts today. They’re the only team not to score a point, and Alexander Rossi’s qualifying time was over eight seconds slower than teammate Will Stevens.
Lewis Hamilton has been one of many to pay tribute to Bianchi before the race:
Thinking of you today, Jules. God bless. pic.twitter.com/b94enQMvz9
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) September 27, 2015
Good afternoon, and welcome to Virtual Suzuka for the 2015 Japanese Formula One Grand Prix.
It’s a scientifically proven fact that everything was better when you were a kid, and that means for me the Japanese Grand Prix (the short lived Pacific GP hosted in the same country is about as fondly remembered as the team of the same name) is defined by the title deciding collisions between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.
It wasn’t just that classic rivalry, the first five times the race was run at Suzuka the championship was decided that day - and 11 of 26 previous races have seen somebody leave as an unbeatable champion.
In 1993 Alain Prost had already won the title, but back when McLaren and Honda were still a winning partnership Senna made sure the race would be fondly remembered by biffing Eddie Irvine afterwards.
The upstart Jordan driver had nicked a point in his debut F1 race, but even though Senna won he was miffed by Irvine unlapping himself during the race and after a heated ‘debate’ quite frankly lamped him. Violence in sport should never be condoned etc.. etc.. but Irvine’s cry of “That’ll be an insurance claim!” after he was struck goes down in history as one of the most ice cold reactions to assault ever recorded.
The race became famous for rain and pivotal battles for the championship, but with the F1 season blowing out to a 19 race schedule it’s merely the sixth last of the year now. That removes some of the drama, but it doesn’t mean we don’t race today without major title implications.
Lewis Hamilton has a comfortable lead on Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. He’s almost two full wins in front of his nearest competitor, having missed out on the podium just twice all year, but his first retirement of the season in Singapore leaves the door ever so slightly ajar for his nearest challengers. You feel all he has to do now to take the title is to keep turning up and keeping his wheels in contact with tarmac, but in the weird world of Formula 1 he won’t be taking the threat of a comeback lightly.
Updated
Hello, Adam Woolcock is the man tasked with taking you through lap-by-lap action from today’s Japanese Grand Prix.
While Adam pulls on his gloves, helmet, protective skin suit etc why not remind yourself of how things stand in the overall drivers’ standings:
Following his retirement in Singapore, Lewis Hamilton’s lead in this year’s title race has been slashed by his team-mate Nico Rosberg. The world champion has also identified Vettel, who went on to win the race, as a rival for this year’s title despite the fact the Ferrari driver is languishing 49 points behind him.
Hamilton said: “For me, everyone is a threat and they have been since Malaysia. They won there so since then we have always kept them in view.
“When we got to Monza, Ferrari took another step so nothing has really changed for us. It is great for the sport.”
Rosberg, who is now only eight points ahead of Vettel, said: “He is a threat and we are keeping an eye on him and Ferrari in general, because they have been very strong at times this year. They are our closest competitors and they are capable of anything – we need to be careful.”
This excerpt comes from Paul Weaver’s lovely tribute to the retiring Jenson Button – read more about that, here.
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