Japan – Race: Lewis Hamilton Alone in the World at Suzuka
Already dominant during the qualifications, Lewis Hamilton was never threatened during the race in Suzuka. He was also quickly rid of his main rival for the title, Sebastian Vettel, who was forced to retire as early as the 5th lap. The two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo completed the podium.
Since returning from the summer break, Lewis Hamilton seems untouchable. While he acknowledged not defending excessively in Malaysia against Max Verstappen, the Briton resumed his forward march at the Japanese Grand Prix where he was never threatened.
The hardest part was already done after the first corner since the championship leader was able to maintain the advantage over Sebastian Vettel even though the German had a better start. It didn’t take long to understand why the Ferrari couldn’t take the lead: its car was not at its best and was showing obvious signs of weakness. Thus, Max Verstappen had no trouble taking the lead by diving into the hairpin. It was even more evident during the first pass on the start-finish straight: no less than three cars (Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciardo, and Valtteri Bottas) managed to get ahead of the red car.
It only stayed on track for four more laps, just enough time for the safety car to return to the pits, allowing the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz, which had gone off in the second sector, to be evacuated. Thus, the Spaniard concluded his career with the Italian team with a retirement.
Far from his concerns, Lewis Hamilton was able to perfectly seize the opportunity to widen the gap in an almost irreversible manner. He now has a 59-point lead and could clinch his fourth title as early as Austin if Sebastian Vettel does no better than 6th in the American round.
Behind driver 44, the Red Bulls were once again able to capitalize on their rivals’ misfortunes to both make it to the podium. Daniel Ricciardo’s consistency is impressive, as he brought home his ninth trophy of the season.
Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen endeavored to make a comeback after their grid penalties, which had relegated them to 7th and 10th places. The Finnish Mercedes driver contributed to his leader’s peace of mind by delaying Max Verstappen through an offset tire strategy.
We can also observe that team orders are now clearly respected at Sahara Force India as Sergio Perez wisely stayed behind his teammate.
The Frenchman was able to dream for a while of stepping on his first F1 podium before having to bow to the additional power of his rivals.
Haas can smile on this night of Japanese racing as both its drivers finally finished in the points (Kevin Magnussen 8th and Romain Grosjean 9th), which allows the American team to move ahead of Renault in the Constructors’ Championship. The French team was once again let down by its reliability as Nico Hülkenberg had to retire after his DRS broke.
Regarding Felipe Massa, he completes the top 10, just ahead of Fernando Alonso.
