Track Torque: Hamilton goes ‘big in Japan’
With Sebastian Vettel experiencing car problems, the championship race looks all but over.
There was excitement – or disappointment depending on who you support – at the beginning of Japanese Grand Prix, and again at the end, with the middle pretty standard stuff.
Racing at the Suzuka International Racing Course, Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) had to retire early in the race due to a faulty spark plug. It would seem the championship title is all but done for him now.
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Max Verstappen (Red Bull) stormed into second place on the opening lap and kept up the pressure right until the end of the race.
This resulted in a very exciting finish, with Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) just 1.2 seconds ahead at the chequered flag.
It was Hamilton’s 61st grand prix win and he now has a 59 point lead over Vettel in the championship.
This means that the next race at Austin in Texas could decide the world championship if Vettel finishes fifth or lower.
In Japan, the Red Bulls were both superb, despite still having a slight power disadvantage.
It was thus fitting for Verstappen to have his teammate Daniel Ricciardo on the podium with him.
Valtteri Bottas kept the pressure on Ricciardo right to the finish but could not make it past the Australian’s wide and cleverly driven car.
Kimi Raikkenon did pretty well to finish fifth after being penalised five places on the grid for a gearbox change, the same penalty that Bottas had received.
The two Force Indias again showed their pace and perhaps were unlucky to make it home in only sixth and seventh places.
The Haas team of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean also did well for a minor team, both earning world championship points for finishing eighth and ninth respectively.
Wily old fox Felipe Massa made it home in tenth, earning the last championship point available.
It is interesting to note that Red Bull will be giving up Renault engines in the future.
I have a hunch that they might use Badge engineered Mercedes engines with Aston Martin name plates on the power units. We shall have to wait and see.
Next up is the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on Sunday, October 22.
Top five:
1 Hamilton 306; 2 Vettel 247; 3 Bottas 234; 4 Ricciardo 192; 5 Raikkonen 148.
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