Japanese Grand Prix – Race: Rosberg had to abdicate: Hamilton wins easily at Suzuka!

One year later, the drivers gather for a new Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. Motorsinside.com and the world of Formula 1 hold a very special memory of Jules Bianchi and his family on the occasion of the start of the 2015 edition…

Thinking of you today, Jules. God bless. pic.twitter.com/b94enQMvz9

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) 27 Septembre 2015

The 20 drivers will therefore be racing primarily in his honor today. As a reminder, the Qualifying session was favorable to Nico Rosberg. Well-assisted by the spectacular crash of Daniil Kyvat during the final Q3 attempt, the German secured his second pole of the season. He will start with Lewis Hamilton alongside him on the front row. Mercedes has thus regained its position after a very challenging weekend in Singapore. Behind them, Williams and Ferrari occupy the next two rows: Bottas and Vettel ahead of Massa and Räikkönen.

Will Nico Rosberg be able to capitalize on his fine effort yesterday by claiming this Grand Prix right under the nose of his teammate

Let’s hope in any case that the battle is fierce between the two men! But the big question remains the strategy, uncertain after the low mileage during the two sessions on Friday. Experts predict a race with two or even three stops, but nothing is truly set.

Regarding the weather, the conditions are mild this Sunday afternoon in Japan: the sun is shining! 24 degrees in the air compared to 40 degrees on the track, so no chance of rain during the Grand Prix.

At 2 p.m. (local time, 7 a.m. in France), the formation lap begins: Nico Rosberg complains of neck pain and some muscle soreness over his radio. Will he still manage to stay ahead?

The start of the 930th Grand Prix in the history of Formula 1 has been given: Lewis Hamilton got off to a better start than Nico Rosberg!

LIGHTS OUT: The 2015 #JapaneseGP is…GO! pic.twitter.com/YYvM7N1ssE

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 Septembre 2015

On the momentum, the world championship leader passes the day’s poleman on the inside, taking the lead of the Grand Prix. However, Nico Rosberg finds himself squeezed in the maneuver, losing speed; he is overtaken by Vettel and Bottas. The Williams thus yields to the Ferrari. Behind, there’s chaos in the pack: starting seventh, Daniel Ricciardo gets a good start but finds himself funneled by the drivers in front of him. His front left tire meets Felipe Massa’s rear right tire, and a puncture is inevitable. The two Force Indias of Hülkenberg and Pérez also have a tough exchange. The aforementioned two, along with Pérez, are forced to pit again, losing precious seconds to the rest of the pack.

REPLAY: First corner drama at the #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/iZm2MoSImA

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 Septembre 2015

At the end of the first lap, Lewis Hamilton leads the pack. He is ahead of Vettel by more than a second. Following are Bottas, Rosberg, Räikkönen, Grosjean, Maldonado, Hülkenberg, Alonso, Sainz.

The big loser of this start is therefore Nico Rosberg, who finds himself stuck in a very disappointing fourth position: he will have to overtake while managing his tires. The first stint overall will be decisive for the engineers and understanding the strategy. The German driver asks his engineer for permission to increase his engine power, even if it means excessively heating his tires.

Behind, Fernando Alonso had a good start by breaking into the Top 10. The 2005-2006 World Champion is nevertheless still struggling with his recalcitrant McLaren-Honda, especially on the straight, stating that he is “ashamed” of his engine’s power when talking to his pit wall. A bit further behind, Max Verstappen once again puts on a show by overtaking the drivers one by one: he started only in 17th position due to a problem he encountered at the end of Q1, which forced him to stop his car in the middle of the track.

The pit stop window opens on the ninth lap: Daniil Kyvat switches to the hard tires (orange band).

After 10 laps, Lewis Hamilton extends the gap over the competition. 5.7 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who is currently the only one holding onto the lead.

CLASSIFICATION (LAP 10/53): @LewisHamilton leads Vettel by 6.040 seconds, @ValtteriBottas trails by 11 secs in third pic.twitter.com/hbDwGyv7vy

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 Septembre 2015

At McLaren-Honda, it’s also time to pit for Fernando Alonso. Jenson Button follows suit on the next lap.

The leading drivers stop from the 12th lap: Valtteri Bottas leads the pack. Romain Grosjean, who was in 6th position, follows suit. The Frenchman comes back on track behind Nico Hülkenberg, who had undercut him on the previous lap. The tactic pays off for the Force India driver, who makes a very impressive climb in the standings: he started thirteenth!

Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen make their stops on laps 14 and 15. Two good pit stops credited to the Scuderia Ferrari mechanics.

The final stops of the first wave are actually credited to the Mercedes team: Nico Rosberg stops on Lap 18. A different strategy for Mercedes, opting for hard tires. He comes out behind Bottas, but his fresher tires give him promising prospects. He doesn’t wait long and surprises the Finn at the chicane after Turn 130 R: a very well-executed maneuver by Rosberg, who takes third position.

LAP 18/53: Rosberg is in no mood to hang around though and passes Bottas with a slick move to claim P3 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/eyRGXmdOxc

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 Septembre 2015

The race leader also made his pit stop: Lewis Hamilton exits smoothly to reclaim his pole position.

After 20 laps, we still find Fernando Alonso holding on tenaciously. However, the Spaniard is very slow in top speed and keeps complaining to his engineers about the difficulties with his car…

LAP 28/53:

Verstappen dépasse Alonso pour prendre la 10e place

ALONSO TO MCLAREN: “GP2 engine. GP2. Aargh!”

#JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/EJAIZ8MFU7 — Formula 1 (@F1) 27 September 2015

The comparison is humiliating for Honda, who is competing in a home race here at Suzuka!

And he nonetheless loses his place as we now pass the halfway point of the race: Max Verstappen performs an overtaking move before the sequence of the first corner. Youth (17 years for Verstappen) takes precedence over experience (34 years for Alonso).

Bad deal on the 28th lap for Carlos Sainz: the Spaniard starts to slide before entering the pits, hits the entrance cone and breaks his front wing. Debris now litters the track…

At the same time, Räikkönen also came in to change his tires for his second stop of the Grand Prix. Under the watchful eye of Maurizio Arrivabene, the mechanics perform flawlessly. Valtteri Bottas is now under pressure during his pit stop: he comes out behind Räikkönen and even behind Maldonado, who has not stopped yet! Often aggressive in his driving, the Venezuelan shows little resistance this time and lets Bottas go in his duel against his Finnish compatriot.

Returning gradually with each lap, Rosberg is this time the winner of this wave of pit stops. Sebastian Vettel loses the benefit of his second place! The two Mercedes drivers once again find themselves in their usual configuration this season by occupying the top spots. The Ferrari driver gave it his all by lighting up his front tires as he entered the pits, but it wasn’t enough: as Maurizio Arrivabene had predicted, Ferrari’s dominance in Singapore was only fleeting…

LAP 31/53: Disappointment for Ferrari as Vettel boxes but emerges behind Rosberg and is relegated to P3 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/tJD7CsuLhr

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 Septembre 2015

**Most drivers having observed their second respective stop,** here is the updated Ranking concerning the top 10:

Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel, Räikkönen, Bottas, Hülkenberg, Grosjean, Maldonado, Sainz, Verstappen. It is interesting to note that the Toro Rosso cars are competitive on the Japanese track. Quite the opposite for Red Bull: neither Daniel Ricciardo nor Daniil Kvyat are climbing up from the bottom of the pack. But the competition is fierce for the last points. Felipe Massa is also closing in on the Top 10.

In the lead, Hamilton has opened up a significant gap on Nico Rosberg, who is now nearly twelve seconds behind. The race leader is in a league of his own, as evidenced by the fastest lap times…

FASTEST LAP (LAP 34/53): @LewisHamilton posts a 1:36.145 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/vI9JT4urLz

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 Septembre 2015

The positions are solidifying, and the battle is mainly interesting from the 9th position onwards. Verstappen and Sainz find themselves on track after the turbulent episode in Singapore. This time, the Spaniard is ahead, but he yields without contest, and Verstappen moves up to ninth. This result would be a nice way to honor his eighteenth birthday, which he will celebrate on September 30th.

We are now entering the final 10 laps of the race and nothing seems to be able to threaten Lewis Hamilton. Few overtakes on the track, Red Bull, for the sake of the gesture, allows their drivers to fight, to the detriment of the leaders who lap them. In fourteenth position, Daniil Kyvat is well placed to finish ahead of Daniel Ricciardo. But these positions are unworthy for the honor of a team that is a four-time world champion, currently contemplating its future in Formula 1…

However, within this group of drivers, Marcus Ericsson also has an honor: he does not let Felipe Massa pass, even though Massa is a lap behind him.

A little further on, we’ll remember the image of the spectacular spin by Will Stevens while battling with his teammate Alexander Rossi. The two Manors narrowly avoid an accident at the exit of the 130 R…

LAP 45/53: A tight battle between the Marussias results in Stevens pushing hard and taking a spin #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/NDMkPFCafV

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 Septembre 2015

With 2 laps to go, Felipe Nasr retires, marking the only retirement of the day.

Lewis Hamilton enters his final lap: after the concerns in Singapore, after the defeat to Nico Rosberg in Qualifying, the Englishman regains victory!

Lewis Hamilton clinches the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix! With this 41st career victory, he joins his idol Ayrton Senna in the record books. Winning here holds significant symbolism for him, given the history that ties Suzuka to the three-time Brazilian world champion.

HAMILTON: “To come here, where I used to love watching Ayrton drive, and match his career wins, is amazing for me” pic.twitter.com/Ws4LGsh2uF

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 Septembre 2015

This victory also allows Hamilton to extend his lead in the World Championship standings.

Eighteen seconds later, Nico Rosberg must settle for second place: Mercedes thus achieves a one-two finish. Sebastian Vettel could do nothing this time against the renewed forward momentum of the German team.

A little further, we see a great overall result from the Lotus team: Romain Grosjean finishes seventh ahead of Pastor Maldonado in eighth.

Here is the complete ranking of this race:

N°	Driver	Team	Times	Gap	Laps
1	Hamilton	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1h28m06.508s		53
2	Rosberg	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team		+18.964
3	Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari		+20.850
4	Räikkönen	Scuderia Ferrari		+33.768
5	Bottas	Williams Martini Racing		+36.746
6	Hülkenberg	Sahara Force India F1 Team		+55.559
7	Grosjean	Lotus F1 Team		+72.298
8	Maldonado	Lotus F1 Team		+73.575
9	Verstappen	Scuderia Toro Rosso		+95.315
10	Sainz Jr.	Scuderia Toro Rosso		+1 lap
11	Alonso	McLaren Honda		+1 lap
12	Perez	Sahara Force India F1 Team		+1 lap
13	Kvyat	Infiniti Red Bull Racing		+1 lap
14	Ericsson	Sauber F1 Team		+1 lap
15	Ricciardo	Infiniti Red Bull Racing		+1 lap
16	Button	McLaren Honda		+2 laps
17	Massa	Williams Martini Racing		+2 laps
18	Rossi	Manor Marussia F1		+2 laps
19	Stevens	Manor Marussia F1		+3 laps
20	Massa	Williams Martini Racing		+4 laps