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Hello and welcome to ESPN's live coverage of the Japanese Grand Prix. --- 14:02: Rosberg takes his position on pole for the race. Here we go! --- 14:00: Rosberg leads the field away for the formation lap. Soft tyres the most popular choice. Bottas, Massa, Palmer and Ericsson on mediums. Magnussen, Nasr and Button on hards. --- 13:59:Off come the tyre blankets on all the cars. Just about time for the formation lap... --- 13:58: And for those of you interested in strategy, here's what Pirelli says ahead of the race. Quickest strategy: Three-stopper: 3 stints on soft (12 laps on used tyres) + 1 stint on hard of 17 laps Next quickest: Two-stopper: 2 stints on soft (15 laps on new tyres) + 1 stint on hard of 23 laps Slowest: Two-stopper: 1 stint on soft (12 laps considering the set used) + 1 stint on medium of 20 laps + 1 stint on hard of 21 laps. Also possible: Two-stopper: 1 stint on soft (15 laps on new tyres) + 2 stints on hard of 21 laps --- 13:55: Those of you who like title permutations, consider this: If Rosberg wins any of the next five races, he just needs to finish second at the other four to win the championship. Hence why Hamilton has to win today to stay in control of his destiny. --- 13:52: Hamilton wandering around the front of his car. He's studying the track in front of his car, the "dirty" side of the track is damp - teams aren't allowed to dry the circuit before the race, so everyone starting on that side will be at a slight disadvantage you imagine. --- 13:50: Ten minutes to go until lights out. --- 13:45: Hamilton complaining his seat is too hot, something we heard the world champion say earlier this weekend. --- 13:43: The drivers are walking to the front of the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix. --- 13:40: Replays show Verstappen getting a bit wobbly over a kerb on one of his out-laps. --- 13:37: Rosberg comes back through the pits for another practice start. --- 13:34: Those changes of course mean Button now is running Honda's upgrade, something Alonso has had all weekend. --- 13:33: Despite losing out to both Ferrari's in qualifying it's an all-Red Bull second row this afternoon. Vettel is serving a three-place grid penalty for his Malaysia collision with Rosberg, while a gearbox change for Raikkonen this morning means he's dropped eight places. McLaren and Honda have also changed some components in Button's engine, meaning he drops from 17th on the grid to last. 13:30: The pit-lane is open and a flurry of cars make their way to the end of the road, execute a practice start and then head on down towards Suzuka's famous Turn 1. Nice getaway from Hamilton, too -- he'll need to abosolutely nail his start later if he wants to beat Rosberg into the first corner and at a circuit like this the start is doubly important. --- |
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Lap 1 |
Horrible start from Hamilton! He's way, way down the field as Rosberg leads Verstappen into Turn 1. Hamilton eighth as they come through the Degners. Perez up to third! When was the last time Mercedes were first and second after the first lap? Vettel and Ricciardo dicing with each other through the 130R and the Ferrari driver gets through at the 130R. |
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Lap 2 |
Rosberg already leads by 1.5s. A dream start for the championship leader at the moment. Hamilton in a real problem - he's got two Force India's ahead of him and both Ferraris and Red Bull. If he wants anything from this race, he's going to have to earn it this afternoon. |
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Lap 3 |
Fastest lap from Rosberg, a 1:37.331. Vettel cranks up the power, goes wheel-to-wheel with Perez through Turn 1 and that's enough for third. Lovely stuff from the Ferrari driver. "Sorry guys," a sheepish Hamilton tells Mercedes. "No stress Lewis," replies Peter Bonnington. |
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Lap 4 |
Another fastest lap from Rosberg, who is easing away out in front. Away from the front, Grosjean and Gutierrez running ninth and tenth. How Haas will hope those two can still be there at the end of the race. No first-lap heroics from Alonso this weekend, who started 15th and is still 15th. Perez starting to struggle and that's holding up Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen and Hamilton in a big way. More good news for the guys running first, second and third. Replays of the start show Hamilton just getting bogged down after the launch and very nearly getting wiped out by Raikkonen's Ferrari flying past him on the inside. Verstappen had a nice getaway and got into the slipstream of Rosberg through Turn 1, but the German did well through the first corner to stay ahead. The slow-moving Hamilton meant Ricciardo had to go around the Mercedes, helping Perez and Vettel get past him. |
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Lap 5 |
Replays also show Hulkenberg barging past Grosjean's Haas and putting the Frenchman on the grass. Replays show Alonso being forced wide at Turn 2 by Massa. |
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Lap 6 |
Rosberg flies through Turn 1 and only Verstappen and Vettel are on the main straight as he disappears into the corner. Hamilton has to be put on another strategy, his race is dropping away from him sat behind that Force India. Raikkonen dispatches Hulkenberg through Turn 1. Hamilton has a look on the inside of Hulkenberg at 130R and seemed to think better of it as Hulkenberg slammed the door shut. |
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Lap 7 |
Hamilton stays behind Hulkenberg and in the slipsteam, and with the aid of DRS he's able to pass Hulkenberg into Turn 1. He's up to seventh,now let's see what pace he has in clear air. He's already 16 seconds down on Rosberg.
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Lap 8 |
Hamilton, in some clean air, does a personal best lap. "I'm starting to struggle a bit with grip," Verstappen tells Red Bull. Raikkonen gets very, very wide through the first Degner and he loses some time to Ricciardo. That's brought Hamilton close to the Ferrari. Replays show him get wide through Degner 1, kick up some dust, and then have to compromise his entrance for Degner 2 by going wide. He did well to keep that pointing in the right direction as his car was all over the place at one point. |
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Lap 9 |
Button still running dead last behind the Manors, seems he's struggling to turn his hard tyres on. Mercedes will be very interested to hear that when considering Hamilton's strategy. "This is looking up, other cars struggling with their tyres... you've just seen Raikkonen. Keep these tyres going as long as possible," Mercedes tells Hamilton. Remember, hard compound is the only mandatory tyre here, meaning it has to be run at some point in the race. |
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Lap 10 |
Vettel cutting away at the gap to second-placed Verstappen, who tells Red Bull he's really struggling with the left rear. Alonso makes his first pit stop of the race. Hard compound for the Spaniard, despite the fact his teammate is struggling. The two McLaren-Hondas running dead last at Honda's last race... |
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Lap 11 |
Verstappen and Ricciardo both pit, a quick turnaround in the Red Bull pit box. Hard tyres for both men. Verstappen just gets out ahead of Gutierrez. Grosjean has pitted, as has Kvyat. All of that has moved Raikkonen and Hamilton up to fourth and fifth. Ricciardo has come out right behind Ericsson's Sauber and he has a look at he hairpin and he gets it done on the inside. Looks like Ericsson didn't put up much of a fight. |
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Lap 12 |
Sainz pits for Toro Rosso, Hulkenberg and Gutierrez come in. Mercedes pit crew getting ready. |
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Lap 13 |
Race leader Rosberg pits from the lead of the race. Vettel, Perez, Raikkonen all pit for the hard tyre. Hamilton, yet to pit, leads the race. Perez just get out ahead of Raikkonen but both men emerge behind Ricciardo! Nice undercut from Red Bull, who decided to double-stack their drivers one lap ago. Replays show Ricciardo diving down the inside of Palmer at Spoon and running wide on the last lap. This time, with Perez and Raikkonen chasing him, he gets it done to pass the Renault man. |
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Lap 14 |
Hamilton pits, he gets out ahead of Raikkonen and Perez! As he does, Raikkonen goes wheel to wheel with Perez to pass into Turn 1. Hamilton owes Palmer a drink after that, I think, Perez tried to get past the Renault driver at 130R but backed out of it. Had he got past he might well have stayed ahead of the world champion. Bottas and Massa running fourth and fifth but yet to pit. Ricciardo has a messy exit out of Spoon and Hamilton passes the Red Bull driver on the drive down to 130R. That's moved him up to sixth. |
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Lap 15 |
Fastest lap from Vettel, a 1:36.782. Hamilton has come alive on these hard tyres and eases past Massa down the main straight. He's effectively fourth, as Verstappen and Vettel have pitted ahead. Perez has dropped to ninth. Ricciardo makes a lovely move on Massa on the entry to the Spoon corner. Hamilton passes Bottas' Williams through 130R. It's all going on down the order. |
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Lap 16 |
Raikkonen slices down the inside of Massa for seventh at Turn 1. Personal best lap from Hamilton, who now has a bit of clear air ahead of him. Perez tries to pass Massa on the inside of the hairpin but can't make it stick. He has a look on entry to the Spoon corner but isn't close enough to the Williams driver. |
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Lap 17 |
Perez thinks about a very late-braking lunge into the chicane but opts against it. Ricciardo swoops past the other Williams at Turn 1. Nice move from Perez, who follows suit around the outside of Massa at the same corner. Williams way out of position, having yet to pit on those hard tyres. They are surely hoping for a one-stop strategy but they are way too slow for that to be a good strategy. |
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Lap 18 |
Raikkonen gets a stab of DRS and eases past Bottas on the run down of Turn 1. He waited very, very late before swinging to the outside. Perez still struggling to get past Bottas, this is costing the Mexican driver in a big way. "I'm understeering a little bit, but also a bit of oversteer..." Verstappen says. That's basically drifting, Max. |
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Lap 19 |
Perez finally gets past the Williams with the help of DRS down the start-finish straight. Rosberg just 3.7s ahead of Verstappen and his lap times are almost identical to Vettel in third position. |
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Lap 20 |
Fastest lap from Rosberg, a 1:36.753, half a second quicker than Vettel and four tenths quicker than Verstappen. Hamilton's latest lap just two tenths slower than the race leader but he's going to need some very good strategy calls to get onto that podium this afternoon. Kvyat getting bleeped by the FOM censor as he asks for more power and is denied. |
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Lap 21 |
Replays show Gutierrez having a very sloppy moment at the final chicane, getting all out of shape into the final chicane and spinning. Lucky not to hit Sainz there. He's down in 19th. Lovely stuff from Hulkenberg - passing Bottas around the outside of the final chicane. Nice, nice move. Williams going backwards at this stage of the race but if the one-stop works they've effectively saved themselves a pit stop. "See you later!" says Hulkenberg on a delayed radio message. |
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Lap 22 |
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Lap 23 |
Vettel continues to chop away at the gap to Verstappen. As it stands, the championship standings will be: Rosberg 313, Hamilton 277. |
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Lap 24 |
FOM broadcast currently running on board with Alonso, who is released into 16th by Kvyat making his second stop. Horrible weekend for McLaren so far. |
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Lap 25 |
Hamilton lapping quicker than anyone in the top six but he's still got 11 seconds to make up on Vettel. He was around 19 behind when he exited the pits earlier. Alonso has a look down the inside of Nasr at Turn 1 but opts against what would have been an outrageous move down the inside. Raikkonen now within DRS range of Ricciardo. |
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Lap 26 |
Nasr locks up at the hairpin and Alonso gets even closer. "For your info Max, Massa has done a 24-lap stint on medium with relatively low deg," Red Bull tells Verstappen. Alonso gets alongside Nasr and passes through 130R. Lovely stuff. Sainz charges past Nasr on the entry to the chicane. He has a look on the outside of Alonso at Turn 1 but the McLaren driver is having none of it. |
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Lap 27 |
"I've flat-spotted the hards!" Nasr tells Sauber after that lock up. Raikkonen pits from sixth. He had been closing in on Ricciardo, so this suggests its Ferrari attempting the undercut this time around. Hard tyres for the Finn which should take him to the end of the race. "OK Fernando, we need to push now," McLaren tells Alonso. "Yeah yeah, I wish! Which tyres I push now?" he replies. Alonso and Sainz battling through Turn 1 and Sainz is forced wide and across the run-off area. Replays show a slow stop for Bottas, whose right rear tyre is slow to come off. |
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Lap 28 |
"Unbelievable, they're just not moving!" Verstappen complains about some backmarkers. Massa all over the back of Sainz through Turn 1 but he bails out before the two men collide, Sainz defending for dear life. Red Bull mechanics out in the pit lane. |
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Lap 29 |
Verstappen makes a rapid stop for hard tyres, which he will hope takes him to the end of the race. Ricciardo stays out and is now right behind Verstappen. "I can't go too much longer on these tyres," he tells Red Bull. "They're starting to drop off quite a bit." Fastest lap from Raikkonen on the new hard tyres, a 1:36.084. Oooh, very nearly a big collision at Turn 1 as Massa passes Sainz. The Toro Rosso driver then locks up heavily and nearly whipes out the Brazilian, allowing Bottas to dive down on the inside for good measure. |
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Lap 30 |
Race leader Rosberg pits for new hard tyres and emerges in third, six seconds behind Hamilton, who is now up to second -- albeit with his final pit stop still to come. Hamilton still has a set of soft tyres in this race. If he can extend this stint out a bit longer, he might be very racey. Vettel getting very upset with a Manor in front of him. "Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous. I lost a second for nothing!" Looks like the Manor was all over the place coming through the hairpin, Vettel gesticulating angrily at him as he passed on the inside. Perez pits for the medium tyre... |
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Lap 31 |
Vettel's lead currently 5.5s over Hamilton, but the two men are yet to pit. "Pity sake, make him go!" Vettel vents. "It's ridiculous!" His radio messages on blue flags this year have been good. |
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Lap 32 |
Hamilton closing in on Vettel, who might need to calm himself down in that cockpit a little bit. If Mercedes and Hamilton go super-aggressive on the strategy they can try and undercut the Ferrari driver here. Verstappen looks good for second as it stands... This race now all hinges on Hamilton's strategy and how long he can stay out. If he can put soft tyres on at the end, he'll be very racey but this circuit is notoriously difficult to pass. Finishing off the podium would be a huge, huge blow for his title aspirations. Perez asks Force India why they pitted Hulkenberg before him. "Because you were safe, Checo," is the reply. There's now just two seconds between them. |
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Lap 33 |
Ricciardo pits... Problem on the right front! That's cost him around three seconds. That might have put him under pressure from the Force Indias. He's on the hard tyres. Replays show the front right just not coming off as quickly as the other tyres. A lot can change in a week in Formula One... |
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Lap 34 |
Hamilton pits from second.... And it's another set of hard tyres. He just emerges ahead of Raikkonen to keep fourth position, that was nip and tuck stuff for the world champion. Mercedes were forced to pit there, with Raikkonen's pace on the hard tyre. You imagine they would have kept him out a bit longer if the Ferrari driver hadn't been so quick. No surprises as Vettel and Ferrari respond to Hamilton's stop with a stop of their own. |
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Lap 35 |
Vettel emerges behind Hamilton! Vettel on the soft tyre, though, so that one ain't over yet. That's 18 laps to go on the soft tyres, though... Seems like an optimistic shout and he's got Raikkonen behind on the hard tyre. |
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Lap 36 |
Vettel within DRS range of Hamilton, but the world champion sets a fastest lap, a 1:35.458. Vettel has so much more grip than Hamilton through the Turn 1.. This could be an inspired choice by Ferrari but he'll need to pass Hamilton, stay ahead and then keep grip in the tyres as those are going to go off very, very quickly. Vettel even closer to Hamilton coming down the main straight... |
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Lap 37 |
Fastest lap from Vettel... but he's not close enough to Hamilton's Mercedes. Hamilton will now be using his battery power strategically to give himself everything he has down the main straight. He's going to have to do that a few more times, yet. This is interesting: while Vettel is closing up on Hamilton, Hamilton is closing up on Verstappen. With every lap Vettel doesn't get this done, the harder it will be to finish ahead of Hamilton. |
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Lap 38 |
Vettel a little bit further back this time around as they cross the line. Verstappen responds to Hamilton's pace with a personal best, but it's still 0.08s down on Hamilton's last lap. "He's pulling away, he's pulling away on the straights," Vettel says. "Keep your head down," replies Ferrari. There's lots of traffic for both men to navigate in the next few laps, so that could play into Vettel's hands before long. |
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Lap 39 |
Vettel has to wait behind Gutierrez through the chicane before passing the Haas driver. Nasr then has to jump out of the way of Hamilton and then Nasr through the first sector. Have to sympathise for those backmarkers as Nasr was in a close fight with Button, and now the McLaren has got past. |
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Lap 40 |
Rosberg and Verstappen split by four seconds and post nearly identical times. Hamilton now out of DRS range so that Ferrari gamble has backfired. Hamilton now 5.8 seconds behind Verstappen in the battle for second. |
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Lap 41 |
Hamilton now just over three seconds down on Verstappen, so he could yet get himself to second. "We are working on this blue flag situation, mate," Red Bull tells Verstappen. "Yeah, it's a joke!" the teenager replies. Hamilton has a nice long train of cars to pass now, however, which might halt his charge slightly. |
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Lap 42 |
Hamilton eases past Alonso, he's now 2.5s behind Verstappen. Replays of Vettel getting stuck behind Sainz at the hairpin. He complains about the blue flags and angrily waves a hand at the Spaniard as he passes. Hamilton now can see Verstappen in front of him. "They're being given the blue flags but they're not listening!" Verstappen complains again. He passes Palmer on the start-finish straight, so Hamilton will have to get past him too. |
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Lap 43 |
Hamilton two seconds down on Verstappen. Seven seconds behind Rosberg... "Blue flag, come on, blue flag!" Vettel complains again. Hamilton finally dispatches the Renault, who doesn't get out of his way immediately under blue flags. Hamilton keeps his hands in the cockpit, however, unlike Vettel who has been gesturing and swearing his way through the last few laps. |
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Lap 44 |
Verstappen responds to Hamilton's pace with a personal best lap, gaining 0.6s on Hamilton. Rosberg warned about his front tyres out in front. Rosberg leads by 5.4s. Verstappen's lead over Hamilton now down to 1.3s, so he's nearly in DRS. "Tyre temps are now looking a bit cold Max," Red Bull tells Verstappen. Those backmarkers won't have helped. |
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Lap 45 |
Hamilton on the cusp of DRS range, now. He should have it on the next lap with the Red Bull struggling a bit with his tyres. Focusing away from the front, Grosjean and Palmer closing down on Bottas for the final points-paying position. |
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Lap 46 |
Hamilton opens up the DRS flap and bears down on Verstappen, he's way too far away on this lap to make a move but that gap is going to keep coming down. Hamilton, like Hulkenberg and Raikkonen, has made some lovely moves without DRS this afternoon. "Come onnnnn!!!!" Raikkonen complains. "Get out of the way" Blue flags will be a big topic of discussion after this race, especially at Ferrari. |
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Lap 47 |
Hamilton was 0.9s behind last lap, he's 0.6s behind this time but Verstappen uses his energy recovery to give himself all the beans he needs to defend. He's got seven laps to get this done. Tony Ross calmly tells Rosberg the situation behind him. He's in complete control out in front. |
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Lap 48 |
This is by no means a given for Hamilton. Verstappen doing very well with his traction out of the final corner, and then the stab of battery, to keep Hamilton at bay. Hamilton might fancy a move at the final chicane instead of down the start-finish straight... |
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Lap 49 |
Verstappen once again gets a great exit out of the final chicane and Hamilton again has to stay behind the Red Bull driver. Verstappen has him well covered down the main straight at the moment. Hamilton needs something special to get past the Red Bull driver at the moment. |
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Lap 50 |
Verstappen holding firm at the moment, will be a super impressive drive if he can stay ahead of the world champion here. Hamilton drops out of DRS zone. Has he settled for third there? Not good for the car to run behind another car that closely for so long. |
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Lap 51 |
Verstappen is so, so cool under pressure. Not a single mistake from the teenager yet. Hamilton closes the gap up again, he's back inside DRS range and will have two laps to get past. |
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Lap 52 |
Hamilton crosses the line 0.3s behind Verstappen but it isn't close enough, especially without a heavy braking zone into Turn 1. It's now or never for Hamilton. Hamilton has a go down the inside of Verstappen, who moves late and forces the world champion to bail out down the outside. "Max moved under braking!" Hamilton says. Not the first man to have made that complaint this season. |
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Lap 53 |
Rosberg, meanwhile, is on his final lap. Hamilton might well rue that move not working, he set it up perfectly in the middle of the second sector. Rosberg wins the Japanese Grand Prix! It's a huge step towards a maiden world championship. Verstappen holds off Hamilton for second with a wonderful drive, though that defensive move might well be a talking point after the race. "Thanks a lot guys, amazing weekend and congrats on the win in the constructors'," a very calm Rosberg tells Mercedes. |
