Lewis took his 61st career victory today - his third at the Suzuka International Racing Circuit, eighth of the 2017 season and 40th win with the Silver Arrows. Valtteri finished today's Japanese Grand Prix in P4, his best ever finish in Japan. Today's result marks the tenth victory for the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows of the 2017 season. Valtteri scored the fastest lap of the race, making it the 150th fastest lap for Mercedes-Benz power.
Lewis (306 points) leads the Drivers' Championship by 59 points from Sebastian Vettel (247 points), with Valtteri (234 points) a further 13 points behind in P3 and with 100 points remaining to be scored in the 2017 season. Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (540 points) lead Ferrari (395 points) by 145 points in the Constructors' Championship with 172 points remaining to be scored.
James Vowles, Chief Strategist, today accepted the Constructors' trophy on behalf of the team.
Toto Wolff: This was another perfect performance from Lewis. He controlled the race from start to finish, taking nothing more out of the tyres and engine than he needed to at any point. It got close with Max at a few points, especially in the closing laps when they came up on traffic and were struggling for tyre temperature, but he kept cool and brought it home to the flag. As for Valtteri, he recovered well from the gearbox penalty to claim P4 and come within a few tenths of a second of the podium. He had strong pace today and never gave up pushing to the end, it was a real battling drive. One look at the points standings might give us some brief comfort but there are still four races to go, 100 points to win in the drivers' title and, if the past weeks have shown us anything at all, it's that anything can happen in motorsport. We take no prisoners in how we claim our points - but we are all conscious that we have benefited from our rivals' misfortune and reliability woes in recent weeks. So nothing changes in our approach: we must take the next races one at a time, push to better understand the car and keep our humble attitude. That is the approach that has worked for us so far and the way we will continue until the final race in Abu Dhabi.
James Allison: Having departed Sepang with a good result but in poor spirits because of a tricky weekend, and having arrived here under a bit of a cloud regarding the performance of our car, it is nice to be leaving this weekend with an even stronger result and also off the back of a fine performance in qualifying and the race. This was welcome on many levels: first, for both championships; second, because we were able to categorically answer the questions regarding the development direction of our car; third because this was the vindication of a team that, even when it takes a blow, can spring right back up and apply itself to the challenge with fresh vigour. We have not exorcised all of our Sepang demons but every result like that is an opportunity to learn and improve. We have seen some of that learning applied here in Suzuka and we will continue to do the same for the remainder of the year.
Christian Horner, Team Principal: "Great drives by both Max and Daniel today. After a good start Daniel unfortunately lost out to Esteban Ocon on the first lap but made a fantastic pass around the outside of Turn 1 after the safety car restart and from there onwards we looked as if we had very good pace this afternoon and Max was able to stick with Lewis pretty comfortably in what turned out to be a one-stop grand prix. Towards the end of the race we saw a blister begin to appear on the inside of Max's front left tyre; despite having to manage that he was still able to catch Lewis and put pressure on him. It was unfortunate that there was a back-marker on the last lap that allowed Lewis off the hook or else it might have been a very interesting finish. Nonetheless a fantastic performance by both Max and Daniel to finish second and third here in Suzuka and achieve our first back to back double podium in the hybrid era."
Scuderia Ferrari comes away from Japan with the points for fifth after Kimi made up that same number of places off the grid. From the outset, Sebastian Vettel was robbed of any chance to fight for the win, when a spark plug on one cylinder failed.
However, Kimi's performance proved that the team and the car are capable of getting the job done and until the maths says it's over, we will keep trying.
Moving on to the race: it started wth Seb on the right side alongside Hamilton, with Kimi tenth, after taking a penalty for the gearbox change between P3 and qualifying. Seb got off the line well, but not well enough to take the lead, as Kimi maintained position, before dropping down the order after running off track, while dueling with Hulkenberg. But on Seb's car there was already a problem with the ignition and he lost one place on the opening lap.
The Safety Car came out after Sainz crashed and Sebastian was sixth and losing ground. The number 5 car was called back into the pits and the mechanics tried to fix the problem. However, a few minutes later Seb climbed out of the cockpit. A spark plug was broken and it was pointless to go on.
Meanwhile, having started on the Soft tyres he had used in Q2, Kimi found himself eighth, 18 seconds off the lead. He passed Massa on lap 14 and kept chasing. By lap 28, he was fourth before pitting for Supersofts and rejoining in sixth. At the start of lap 33, he set his sights on Hulkenberg and passed him. From then on, he managed the fuel and tyres in the closing stages, also putting in some very quick laps, while the Virtual Safety Car came out with four laps remaining.
With two cars on track, it would have been a different story.
Maurizio Arrivabene: Once again, despite our car clearly having great potential, things did not go to plan. The problem that stopped Seb was down to a broken spark plug. We spotted that something was not right on the lap to the grid and we tried our best to fix the problem. Seb got a great start, but shortly afterwards we had to call him back to the garage prior to retiring the car. Kimi's race was compromised by his less than ideal start position, which came about because of the penalty he had to take for a change of gearbox following his accident in P3. From there, he was able to move up the order as far as fifth place. As I've said before, we know that the car, the drivers and the team are all on the pace. That is why we will tackle the coming races with great effort and even more determination. Right up to the last corner of the last Grand Prix.
Sahara Force India scored 14 points in today's Japanese Grand Prix as Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez raced to sixth and seventh places at Suzuka.
Robert Fernley: "The entire team can be proud of our performance this weekend. We've had the fourth quickest car yet again and took the fight to the teams ahead of us. Esteban's opening lap was magnificent as he muscled his way ahead of Ricciardo and ran as high as third in the early stages of the race. Sergio pretty much shadowed Esteban all afternoon and, once the pit stops were completed, we asked the drivers to hold station and bring home the points. We take further encouragement from the speed we have shown here, which has taken us a step closer to confirming fourth place in the championship."
Felipe Massa finished 10th and Lance Stroll retired from the Japanese Grand Prix, his first since Bahrain 13 races ago. Both drivers had strong starts, Felipe defending his eighth place in the opening corners, while Lance overtook four cars on the first lap to move up to P11. The safety car was called out early when Sainz spun off and, shortly after the restart, Lance ran off the track and suspected a puncture, so pitted for a new set of tyres which dropped him down the order. Felipe made his only pitstop on lap 18 from eighth, and earned the place back again when his rivals made their stops. But he suffered damage to his car during the race and struggled for pace, dropping to P10 on lap 43 when Magnussen passed him at Turn 2 and Grosjean also slipped through. Lance was running 14th in the closing stages when he suffered a failure on the front right and was forced to retire. Felipe remains 11th in the Drivers' Championship, with Lance 12th. The team also holds position in fifth in the Constructors' Championship with 66 points.
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: We had two very good starts, with Felipe retaining eighth and Lance doing very well to move up to 11th on the first lap. But very early on, Lance suspected he had a puncture, so we stopped to put on another set of tyres. This committed him to a two-stop race, which he executed with good pace, but very near the end he had a car failure which caused a puncture in the Esses and threw him off the circuit. On Felipe's side, he was going fine on a one-stop strategy but took a lot of damage on his car during the race. As he got towards half way, the pace degraded considerably. He lost two places from eighth, but was able to defend 10th and a single point from Alonso in a very tense finish. It was a tough race for both drivers. Even though it was only one point, it feels like one of the more difficult points we've scored, so well done to the team, and to Felipe and Lance, for all they've done this weekend.
The McLaren Honda team left Suzuka empty handed after a frustrating Japanese Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso battling to a spirited 11th position, and Stoffel Vandoorne following him home 14th.
It was a race that never truly came together for either driver: Fernando's grid penalties left him at the back of the grid. And while he climbed through the field remorselessly, it wasn't easy to overtake, and he narrowly failed to make it into the top 10, despite a fierce chasedown of Felipe Massa in the final laps.
Stoffel's race came undone at the second corner when he tangled with Kimi Raikkonen. It dropped him down the order and left him picking up the pieces for the rest of the afternoon. His engineers opted for a two-stop strategy, but it still wasn't enough to help him vault the cars ahead.
Eric Boullier: "Today was just not our day, despite two strong and relentless drives from Fernando and Stoffel. After the difficulties of qualifying, Fernando drove with fearsome commitment today, but was unlucky to walk away without a point, despite a stirring chase of Felipe.
"Stoffel's race was compromised at Turn Two, when he was pushed down the order after being hit by Kimi. But that's what happens in racing, sometimes, and he too pushed hard for the remainder of the afternoon.
"Still, on the whole, this Asian triple-header has been a positive one for the whole team. We've scored some useful points, and I certainly think that we come out of it stronger as a team than when we went in. We'll definitely put that momentum to good use in the final four races.
"Finally, I want to pay tribute to two important groups of people. First, to the whole team for their indefatigable spirit and hard work over five gruelling weeks overseas. Theirs has been a tremendous effort, and I am remarkably grateful for their sheer effort and commitment.
"Second, I want to pay my regards, as ever, to the remarkable Suzuka fans. Their spirit, and enthusiasm is incredibly inspiring, and, while we couldn't reward them with a strong result today, we're grateful for their support, their passion for McLaren Honda, and for Formula 1 as a whole.
"We'll push hard in these final four races with a renewed momentum and confidence."
Yusuke Hasegawa: "It was disappointing that we were unable to finish in the points in our final home grand prix as McLaren Honda.
"Fernando started his race from the back of the grid but he maintained a competitive pace with the cars running ahead. He just narrowly missed out on 10th place after chasing down Massa in the closing laps. I think he had the pace to score points today, so it's a shame.
"Stoffel started his race from ninth but he lost his position due to an unfortunate incident at Turn Two immediately after the start of the race. Luckily, he didn't have any significant damage and was able to continue on, but it was a difficult race and very much damage-limitation for the remaining laps.
"This is our home grand prix, so we obviously have very strong feelings for this race. I want to say a huge thank-you to all of the fans that turned out to support us and also to the team who worked tirelessly throughout the weekend - it is a shame they weren't rewarded with any points, but we still have four races left this season and we'll continue to battle to the end."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "A very frustrating and difficult weekend for us. Carlos had to start today's race from the back of the grid because we had to change the complete Power Unit. He then went off half-way through the first lap and this meant that his race was over, unfortunately. Pierre started from P14 and was close to scoring a point, but we had to end up doing an extra pit-stop, which meant that, in the end, he finished in P13. The positive is that he finished the race and continued to gain experience at the wheel of the car. Generally, our pace over the weekend was not at the level we expected but, hopefully, we can improve in the next couple of back-to-back races in two weeks' time."
For the second time in Haas F1 Team history, drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean delivered a double-points performance as the duo finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in the Japanese Grand Prix Sunday at Suzuka Circuit.
Magnussen came from 12th on the grid to claim eighth and Grosjean followed his teammate, rising from his 13th-place starting spot to earn ninth. The first time both drivers finished in the points was 10 races ago at the Monaco Grand Prix where Grosjean finished eighth and Magnussen was 10th.
The double-points effort allowed Haas F1 Team to regain seventh in the constructors standings, leapfrogging the Renault factory outfit. Haas F1 Team came into the 16th round of the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship trailing Renault by five points. It departs with a single-point advantage over Renault, and it closed the gap on sixth-place Toro Rosso to nine points.
Magnussen seized opportunities right from the start of the 53-lap race, dispatching the Scuderia Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen and the McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne to take 10th after one lap around the 5.807-kilometer (3.608-mile), 18-turn track.
Grosjean's ascent into the top-10 was more gradual. He grabbed 12th on lap two from Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly and then took 11th from Lance Stroll on lap four when the Williams driver went wide in a corner. When Felipe Massa pitted his Williams on lap 17, both Haas F1 Team drivers advanced, with Magnussen moving to ninth and Grosjean taking 10th.
Pit stops ensued, with Magnussen and Grosjean on similar, one-stop strategies. Magnussen pitted on lap 19, swapping the Pirelli P Zero Red supersoft tires he began the race with for a new set of Yellow softs that would take him to the finish. Grosjean pitted on lap 23 and emulated the tire choice of his teammate.
It took until lap 40 for both drivers to return to the top-10, as the Renault duo of Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer were the last to make their scheduled pit stops. Once they did, the Haas F1 Team drivers surged ahead of them.
Running ninth and 10th, Magnussen and Grosjean set their collective sights on eighth-place Massa. After a dogged pursuit, Magnussen made an aggressive move underneath Massa in between turns one and two on lap 42. After some slight banging of wheels off turn two, Magnussen had eighth. This opened the door for Grosjean to also overtake Massa. Without hesitation, Grosjean powered his Haas VF-17 past Massa and followed in the tire tracks of Magnussen.
Magnussen and Grosjean held their spots comfortably for the final 10 tours around Suzuka Circuit, delivering impressive drives for the American outfit.
Making the achievement even more gratifying was the tireless work Haas F1 Team put forth after Grosjean crashed in qualifying on Saturday. Crew members had to rebuild his racecar when a spin in turn five sent him off the track and hard into the barrier. Grosjean walked away unhurt, but his Haas VF-17 sustained heavy damage. But come the start of the Japanese Grand Prix, it was business as usual, with Grosjean taking a gleaming racecar to the grid.
Winning the Japanese Grand Prix from the pole was three-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver scored his 61st career Formula One victory, his eighth of the season and third at Suzuka. Hamilton's margin of victory was 1.211 seconds over Red Bull's Max Verstappen. The triumph, combined with a DNF (Did Not Finish) by Scuderia Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who is Hamilton's nearest championship pursuer, allowed Hamilton to increase his lead in the standings to a stout 59 points.
Grosjean is 13th in the championship standings with 28 points and Magnussen is 14th with 15 points.
Four events remain on the 20-race Formula One schedule, with the series heading to Haas F1 Team's home race in two weeks. The United States Grand Prix takes place Oct. 22 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Guenther Steiner: "It's a great result for the team. It's our second time with two cars in the points. Both drivers drove a great race. It was flawless. It's the best we can do and we did it. I'm very proud of everybody. It was a weekend that started badly. It was complex, but it ended well and that's all that counts."
It was an emotional day at the Suzuka International Circuit as Renault Sport Formula One Team bid a fond farewell to driver Jolyon Palmer who drove a strong race, gaining six positions in the Japanese Grand Prix to finish twelfth at Suzuka. Nico Hulkenberg was also having a strong race - running as high as fifth - but was forced to retire when a component on his DRS mechanism failed.
Nico started the race from P11 on new Soft (yellow) Pirelli tyres and pitted on lap 38 for a fresh set of Supersoft (red) tyres. Jolyon started the race from P18 on a new set of Soft tyres pitting on lap 39 for new Supersofts.
Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director: "Today was Jolyon's last race. It was particularly challenging as he had to start near the back due to grid penalties, but thanks to a good strategy and a solid race, he was able to move up six position and finish twelfth. His performance is another demonstration of his professionalism and his loyalty, and a very good way to bid farewell to the Renault family. We sincerely wish him the best. Nico was also having a strong race, he had a good start, making up positions and the strategy was playing out very nicely.
Unfortunately, shortly after his pit stop, when he was in a good position to move up, we had to retire the car. It is very frustrating as reliability has been our weakness this season. Overall we've had disappointing back to back races without any points. We are in a tight battle in the Constructors' Championship and we need to make the most of each of the last four races. We will regroup before we head to Austin and come back with a renewed dynamic.
"I'd like to congratulate Red Bull Racing for their double-podium finish. They were very strong here again at Suzuka, which is a power sensitive track and demonstrates once again that on Sundays, the Renault engine works."
The Sauber F1 Team finished the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in P15 (Pascal Wehrlein). Marcus Ericsson did not finish the race, as his car was damaged after hitting the barriers on lap eight. The team is now travelling back to Switzerland to prepare for the next back-to-back race weekends in the United States and Mexico.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "It was a tough race for us. Marcus had a decent pace at the beginning, but he then went wide in turn eight and hit the wall in turn nine. As for Pascal, there seemed to be contact with another car on the first lap, so we need to further analyse to what extent his car was damaged. Now we have to focus on the upcoming races in the Americas."
With track temperatures in excess of 40 degrees centigrade providing a marked contrast to the much cooler conditions earlier in the weekend, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Japanese Grand Prix from pole, using a one-stop supersoft-soft strategy.
This was the same tactic adopted by the majority of the field, but one notable exception was Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas, who chose to start on the soft and run a longer first stint after being hit by a grid penalty. The same applied to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, while the longest opening stint on the soft was carried out by both Renaults: the last cars to pit.
Thanks to its long and high-speed series of corners, Suzuka is one of the most demanding circuits for tyres. However, an early safety car and virtual safety car reduced the amount of degradation slightly, lengthening the opening stint.
Lewis Hamilton won the race using one pit stop, going from supersoft to soft on lap 22. He stopped just after Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who finished second, and made a similar tyre change one lap beforehand to try to 'undercut' the Mercedes.
We predicted that a one-stopper would be effective in cooler conditions, but this strategy proved to be equally strong in warmer weather, thanks to the perfect consistency of both compounds and the early safety car periods (both real and virtual).
Mario Isola: "Both compounds performed in line with our expectations, although track and air temperatures were a lot higher than they had been previously during the weekend. Combined with the shortage of running in free practice due to weather and red flags, this meant that teams were slightly lacking in information about the conditions and strategy heading into this race. Despite this, and the fact that we brought a softer compound than previous years, the majority of drivers were able to complete the grand prix with just one pit stop - while the drivers who started out of position on the grid were able to use the alternative soft-supersoft strategy to make up some places."
