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Hello and welcome to ESPN's live coverage of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. ---- 14:00: Hamilton returns to pole position. Nearly time for this one to start... --- 13:59: Hamilton leads the formation lap away. Correction to our grid on the left - Bottas is starting sixth, not seventh, due to Raikkonen dropping from sixth to serve his own penalty. --- 13:58: On softs: Bottas, Hulkenberg, Ericsson, Wehrlein, Palmer and Sainz. Everyone else on super-softs -- Vandoorne, Magnussen, Grosjean, Gasly and Ericsson on a brand new set. The drivers who made it to Q3 start on the tyres used to set their quickest Q2 lap. --- 13:56: Optimum strategy for this one, courtesy of Pirelli: Two-stopper: Two stints on super-softs (16 +16 laps + one stint on soft to the flag). --- 13:55: Let's hope everything is fine for Vettel's car. This one is primed to be a great fight between the two men racing for the championship. Reports from the grid are the issue is fixed. --- 13:54: They've started up the Ferrari's engine, so that will be a positive sign the four-time world champion can start the race. Vettel is stood right next to the car and has a pained expression on his face. --- 13:52: All eyes on Vettel's Ferrari, now, with a lot of frantic work going on to it with time to lights out. Reports are its a spark plug issue. --- 13:51: Significant news occurred yesterday after the session, with Renault confirming this will be Palmer's last race for the team. Sainz will be in the car for Austin, with Kvyat returning to partner Gasly at Toro Rosso. --- 13:47: Vettel won't have time to worry about that just now, he's at the front of the grid for the Japanese national anthem. Reigning world champion and last year's race winner Nico Rosberg is up at the front of the presentation with F1 boss Chase Carey. --- 13:45: Lots of work going on at the rear of Vettel's car again, just 15 minutes before the start of the race. Nervy moments for Ferrari again. --- 13:43: Vandoorne, one of the stars of qualifying, starts ninth. Because he actually didn't progress to Q3 he has a free choice of tyres today, but given the cars ahead it's hard to see either McLaren progressing too far ahead. --- 13:41: The Red Bulls look to be a way off the lead pair on pace but, with Bottas serving a penalty, have locked out the second row of the grid. Force India has the third row, with Bottas starting seventh. Raikkonen also had a grid penalty and dropped to 11th. --- 13:38: Mercedes' race pace yesterday looked pretty special, but as Hamilton said on Thursday and Friday, we're yet to see Ferrari really unleash its latest upgrade. Race pace has really been where Ferrari has impressed in 2017. 13:35: We've got the two championship contenders on the front row today. Vettel's hopes of winning this race might lie in the first few hundred metres of this race -- the narrow Suzuka circuit isn't brilliant for overtaking, so getting past Hamilton and that pacey Mercedes might be difficult after the opening stages. --- 13:00: The pit-lane is open. It's time for the drivers to head to the grid. |
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Lap 1 |
Good start from Vettel and Hamilton moves across to defend on the inside and he leads into Turn 1. Verstappen gets the jump on teammate Ricciardo, who then gets gobbled up by Ocon! Flying start from the Frenchman. Sainz is out in the gravel but has lkept his engine running. Verstappen on the inside of Vettel at the hairpin! What a move from the Dutchman! Caught Vettel napping. Raikkonen has been knocked off the race track by Hulkenberg. Vettel now defending from Ocon! The Frenchman struggling for pace. |
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Lap 2 |
Problems for Vettel! He's going backwards! He' loses three places down the start-finish straight! Safety car deployed. Sainz has gone off again. In all that madness, Vettel dropped to sixth. Replays again show Hulkenberg getting his elbows out as he fought Raikkonen at Spoon. It then flicks to Vettel being passed by Ricciardo, Ocon and Bottas down the main straight -- clear lack of power in that Ferrari. We haven't seen what happened for Sainz to put him back in the grave. |
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Lap 3 |
Delayed radio from Sainz, who apologises for his last race at Toro Rosso ending so prematurely. His engineer says its fine and thanks him for all his time at the team. Safety car in this lap. Hamilton bolts on the exit of 130R. |
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Lap 4 |
Stroll runs wide at Spoon and Raikkonen inherits 12th. Ferrari call Vettel in to retire the car. Unbelievable. Hamilton leads comfortably. Ocon sitting nicely between the two Red Bull drives. |
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Lap 5 |
This season really got away from Vettel quickly. It looked set to go right to the wire. |
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Lap 6 |
Hamilton leads by 1.2s. Such a shame to see this one unfold like this but there need to be big questions asked at Maranello after this one. |
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Lap 7 |
Ricciardo within DRS range of Ocon in the pink Force India. Big chance for him to get a first career podium. I imagine everything in the lead Mercedes will be turned down now. Possibly that gives Verstappen a chance of a second victory but Mercedes' race pace this weekend has been on another level. |
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Lap 8 |
Raikkonen has climbed to ninth and he's now back behind Hulkenberg, the man who knocked him off the circuit on lap one. |
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Lap 9 |
Ericsson has gone off at the second Degner. Virtual Safety Car deployed while they remove that. This requires drivers to stick to a delta time. Replays show Raikkonen passing Hulkenberg on the inside of the final chicane on the previous lap. If Hamilton wins this race, he will lead Vettel by 306 points to 247 going to Austin. He'll be able to wrap up the championship at COTA if he finishes ahead of the Ferrari man. |
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Lap 10 |
Vandoorne pits for soft tyres under the Virtual Safety Car. That VSC period has ended now and Ocon has Ricciardo all over his gearbox at 130R. He has a look on the approach to the chicane but he's not close enough to get by. |
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Lap 11 |
Oh, nice move! Ricciardo moves alongside Ocon on the run to Turn 1 and finally gets past the Force India. Nice move. Hamilton's lead is three seconds but having two Red Bulls behind him will put his lead under pressure. Chance for Red Bull to try and undercut the championship leader. Bottas now the next man up, key to Red Bull's race that Ocon holds Bottas up a bit before the first stops. |
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Lap 12 |
Bottas eases past Ocon for fourth position. |
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Lap 13 |
F1 editor Laurence Edmondson at Suzuka: "Just six weeks ago Sebastian Vettel was leading the championship. After three awful races for Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton could win the title at the next round in Austin. It's a remarkable turnaround in fortunes and such a shame for neutral fans as this promised to be a title battle to remember between two of the best drivers of a generation." |
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Lap 14 |
Hamilton looks comfortable out in front, leading by 3.7s. Verstappen not letting that lead grow too big, though.
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Lap 15 |
Hamilton unleashing a bit of Mercedes pace as we approach the pit window, gap up to 4.1s. Pits should start occurring in the next few laps. |
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Lap 16 |
Raikkonen now closing on the two Force Indias in fifth and sixth. |
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Lap 17 |
Palmer watch: He's just set a personal best lap, but he's two seconds off Gasly in the battle for 12th. |
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Lap 18 |
Vettel walks down the Ferrari pit wall and pats the backs of everyone sitting there. He waves to the fans on the opposite grandstand, which is good to see. He must be hurting inside, Ferrari (rightly) had a strong belief they would win this championship last month. |
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Lap 19 |
Brief double waved yellows fly in the final sector, but whoever caused that must have continued. |
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Lap 20 |
Hamilton starts lap 20 as he is told he is still on "Plan A", suggesting a one-stop strategy for the Briton. Raikkonen sweeps around the outside of Perez into Turn 1 to snatch sixth place! |
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Lap 21 |
Hamilton extends his lead to 5s over Verstappen as he begins lap 21. Ocon heads into the pits and switches onto the softs. A little bit of a tardy stop for the Frenchman, who has returned to the circuit in 12th and behind Alonso. |
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Lap 22 |
"Box and confirm please Max," Verstappen is told. He does indeed pit, with the Dutchman taking on the soft tyres. Verstappen returns out fractionally ahead of Raikkonen as the pair went wheel-to-wheel into Turn 1. That could prove crucial for Verstappen's race. |
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Lap 23 |
Hamilton is the next man to stop, as he pits from the lead of the race to take on the soft tyres. It's a quick stop from Hamilton, who is back ahead of Verstappen as he feeds back onto the circuit. Ricciardo, who is yet to stop, now takes over the lead of the race. |
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Lap 24 |
Verstappen gained around 2s on Hamilton in the pit-stop phase, indicating Mercedes made the right call by shadowing Verstappen's stop. Ocon breezes past Palmer along the main straight as he moves up to seventh. |
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Lap 25 |
Ricciardo has a 4s cushion over Bottas, with both men yet to pit. Hamilton is a further 2.5s back. |
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Lap 26 |
Red Bull could be employing a different strategy to Mercedes, with the team telling Verstappen that Hamilton is trying to go to the end. |
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Lap 27 |
Ricciardo pits from the lead and takes on the soft tyre. He returns to the circuit in clear air in fifth place. Hamilton is catching Bottas and a fast rate. |
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Lap 28 |
Bottas is just 1s clear of Hamilton as Verstappen closes up to the back of Hamilton. We imagine Bottas will be getting a call shortly to let Hamilton past. |
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Lap 29 |
Bottas moves aside on the run to the chicane as Hamilton sweeps by. The Briton retakes the lead of the race, with Bottas now halting Verstappen's charge somewhat. |
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Lap 30 |
Hamilton leads by 1.8s as Bottas continues to circulate. Verstappen is all over the rear of Bottas' car but the extra grunt of Mercedes power is making Verstappen's job of getting past Bottas all the more difficult. |
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Lap 31 |
Bottas finally pits, releasing Verstappen back up to second, though he has lost a couple of seconds to Hamilton after spending a couple of laps stuck behind Bottas. |
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Lap 32 |
Verstappen takes 0.4s out of Hamilton now he is in clear air, but is 3s behind. "Are the tyres looking ok?" asks Verstappen. "All fine he is told." Hamilton, however, reports he is struggling with his rear tyres. |
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Lap 33 |
Honda is not enjoying a competitive home race, with the McLaren pair of Alonso and Vandoorne circulating 15th and 16th and last. |
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Lap 34 |
Raikkonen makes a move on Hulkenberg to take fifth place as he continues his recovery drive through the field. Just 2.7s separates Hamilton and Verstappen out front. This race is far from over with Hamilton seemingly struggling with his tyres. |
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Lap 35 |
Ricciardo is running well in third and is making inroads on the leading pair, while Bottas is the fastest man on circuit following his stop and is catching Ricciardo. |
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Lap 36 |
Verstappen continues to nibble away at Hamilton's lead, as he takes another 0.2s off the Briton's advantage. |
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Lap 37 |
Meanwhile, the Haas duo of Magnussen and Grosjean are closing up to the back of Massa's 10th-placed Williams. Are points on the cards for the American outfit? |
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Lap 38 |
"If we can overtake these cars in front points are on offer, Massa is struggling," Gasly is informed. |
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Lap 39 |
"Guys can I attack Esteban," Perez asks. "No Checo, no. Hold position," is the reply from Force India. The team doesn't fancy another round of fireworks between its two drivers in Japan. |
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Lap 40 |
The gap at the front has remained the same for a few laps now, Verstappen still 2.4s behind Hamilton and both men churning out personal best laps. "Big flat spot, I need to pit!" Gasly tells Toro Rosso. Setback for his hopes of his first points in F1. Grosjean passes Hulkenberg with a nice move at Turn 1. That has moved him to 10th. |
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Lap 41 |
Hulkenberg's DRS is stuck open, which explains why he was unable to battle Grosjean. That will be a handful through some of the corners and he pits. |
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Lap 42 |
Magnussen barges past Massa on the exit of Turn 1! Grosjean also gets himself past the Williams. Lovely opportunistic move from Magnussen. Replays show it again it's some firm but fair driving soon. "Good boy!" is the radio message to the Haas man. |
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Lap 43 |
Hulkenberg forced to retire for that DRS issue. |
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Lap 44 |
Magnussen and Grosjean running eighth and ninth for Haas. That is a significant haul of points for the American team with neither Renault or Toro Rosso up in the points. |
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Lap 45 |
Verstappen has slipped 3s behind Hamilton. The Mercedes man looks comfortable out in front. Bottas needs something pretty special to happen if he wants to pass Ricciardo - the Australian is over 4s up the road. |
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Lap 46 |
Alonso churning in some personal best laps as he looks to overhaul the 2.3s gap to Massa in 10th, the final points-paying position. |
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Lap 47 |
Stroll has gone sliding across the gravel at the start of the Esses and he nearly collected Ricciardo as he came back onto the track! Stroll's car isn't moving anywhere, so he's out. Virtual Safety Car deployed. "Yep. Something's wrong with the car," Stroll reports. |
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Lap 48 |
Scary replay onboard with Stroll. Looks like a puncture as he approached the corner and then he was just a passenger. Luckily he had already started pointing the car into the apex of the corner otherwise he would have been going straight on to a wall with not a lot of space to slow down. |
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Lap 49 |
Virtual Safety Car ends and we have four laps remaining. Biggest battle out on the circuit is for tenth, Alonso has the pace in hand to catch Massa. Perez has closed up behind Ocon. |
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Lap 50 |
Alonso has Massa in his sights now. Race leader Hamilton bearing down on both of them, so there will be some blue flags coming into play soon. |
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Lap 51 |
Bottas has just turned in a fastest lap and suddenly he's within striking distance of Ricciardo. He's just outside DRS range, has he left himself too little time to get himself on the podium? |
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Lap 52 |
Well, this one is interesting, Hamilton reporting a vibration in his tyres and Verstappen has closed to within DRS range. Hamilton finally passes Alonso, who cuts in front of Verstappen. The Dutchman locked up going into Degner, he might just get one lap to pass the championship leader just yet. Suddenly, every Ferrari fan is a Verstappen fan! |
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Lap 53 |
Hamilton now in clear air and he's opened up a bit more of a gap and Verstappen might just have run out of time for this one. Alonso all over the back of Massa at Spoon! They are scrapping tooth and nail for 10th position but it looks like Massa will hold on to it. Despite that late scare, Hamilton wins the Japanese Grand Prix! |
Vettel drops another position down the main straight, huge problems for Ferrari.
