Japan – Race: Rosberg wins again, two titles for sure for Mercedes!

The Formula 1 season was entering its money-time this Sunday at Suzuka. More than ever, this seventeenth round was full of dangers for Lewis Hamilton. Under pressure despite himself due to his engine failure, a week ago at Sepang, was the world champion thinking about his negative spiral as he climbed into his W07? Since the return from Spa-Francorchamps at the end of August, the Briton lost points in every race to Nico Rosberg! Continuing on this trend, Saturday’s qualifying session illustrated the current situation: number 6 was again ahead of number 44, even though Hamilton seemed rather happy to have saved a setup that was previously in technical no man’s land.

For the tenth time this season, the two Mercedes were on the front row. Behind them, the Ferraris temporarily regained the upper hand over the two Red Bulls. But both Vettel and Räikkönen fell back on the grid, from 4th to 6th place for the German after his mistake at the last start in Malaysia, and from 3rd to 8th for the Finn due to an unexpected gearbox change.

Verstappen, Ricciardo, and also Sergio Pérez gained two positions this way, while Romain Grosjean, impressive in 8th, started 7th, just behind Vettel. Much further back, the local stars appeared lackluster. Revitalized in recent races, the McLaren-Hondas started only from 15th place (Alonso) and 22nd place (Button). Qualified 17th, the 2009 world champion took advantage of the opportunity to change all elements of his Honda engine.

Moreover, contrary to his teammate’s wish, the rain hadn’t completely made an appearance on the grid. However, it had fallen during the night, thoroughly cleaning the track and reshuffling the grip conditions. Traces of moisture were visible on several grid spots, including Lewis Hamilton’s. The reigning world champion had even wanted to dry his starting spot, a decision that proved costly a few minutes later…

In any case, the earliest European viewers were watching the start of this Japanese Grand Prix, scheduled at 7 AM French time (2 PM Japan time).

The first corner battle between Rosberg and Hamilton didn’t happen!

Another blow for Lewis Hamilton, completely stuck at the start! The Briton fell to eighth place, while Rosberg kept his first position. Daniel Ricciardo also had a sluggish start while moving around Hamilton’s Mercedes: he slipped to 5th place. The advantage went to Verstappen, but also to Pérez, who moved up to third! At the end of the first lap, there were no major incidents: all 22 drivers passed through the challenging obstacle of the first turn without trouble. Even though the replay of the start showed that we narrowly avoided disaster with Grosjean and Pérez.

From the third lap, Sebastian Vettel wasted no time overtaking Pérez’s Force India. Lewis Hamilton had not yet made any overtakes. He even apologized to his engineer via his race radio. It wasn’t until the 7th lap that the now title-contending challenger made his first offensive move. After a daring initial attempt in the 130 R, the Mercedes driver passed the Force India competitor using DRS on the start/finish straight. Just ahead, Kimi Räikkönen took a small off-track excursion at the first corner, without any severe consequences. A pack formed from Pérez in 4th to Hamilton in 7th.

The two Red Bulls dictate the timing of the first pit stop

On his side, his teammate capitalized on his current opponents, gaining tenths by tenths on Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver was mostly looking in his rearview mirrors, struggling with his tires. By the 11th lap, the second in the race made his first pit stop… just like Daniel Ricciardo a few seconds later.

The two Red Bull drivers had fitted hard tires, with mixed fortunes: the recent winner of the Malaysian Grand Prix was just behind Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber, which bothered him for a few moments.

Two laps later, it was the leader himself who covered the Red Bull strategy. Nico Rosberg was next to switch to hard tires. The German pit wall was right: their protégé was only two seconds ahead of Verstappen. The loser of this early second stint was Pérez, who dropped to 8th place… then was overtaken on the 14th lap in a bold move by Räikkönen, who also passed Palmer’s Renault in front of them!

At Lewis Hamilton’s camp, they were rubbing their hands at the good timing of the pit stop. Through this single maneuver, the overtaking of Räikkönen and Pérez was accomplished. Unstoppable, he then overtook Ricciardo on track at the 15th lap of Spoon, and Bottas on the following lap, which brought him up to 4th place. Starting from the edge of the Top 10, both Williams drivers were on an alternate strategy with medium tires, allowing them to battle with the big guns for a while.

By the 20th lap, Rosberg recorded the fastest provisional lap time of 1:36.753. However, Verstappen performed well, staying within a gap of less than four seconds. At the same time, Nico Hülkenberg boosted his reputation over the radio after a very nice overtaking maneuver on Bottas at the entrance of the final chicane.

But overall, the positions at the top were solidifying. The action focused on mid-pack battles. Palmer was penalized for rather aggressive blocking against Romain Grosjean. Fernando Alonso was somewhat disillusioned fighting in the mid-pack, responding with a laconic “I’d love to!” to his engineer’s request to push…

Hamilton and Vettel play extra time on the track

The drivers were then passing the halfway point of the race. It was the moment Räikkönen chose to fit his second set of tires. Two laps later, Verstappen made a similar move. With fresh hard tires, both mentioned could consider taking their respective cars to the finish line. Would it be the same for Nico Rosberg, who went into the pit lane on the 30th lap? The end of the race would provide us with the answer…

Provisional leader, Sebastian Vettel held an entire conversation with his engineer on the pit wall about a Manor that stayed in his way a bit too long. From a general standpoint, it was indeed a festival of complaints from drivers over their radios, as if Suzuka had become more demanding in terms of traffic than Monaco. The Ferrari driver was still under threat from Lewis Hamilton, the virtual second, who also had not made his second stop.

But it was actually Ricciardo who initiated this triptych of the last pit stop on lap 33. One lap later, Hamilton; two laps after, it was finally Vettel’s turn to go to his mechanics to fit his last set of tires for the day. The four-time world champion lost one place, ending up fourth behind Hamilton, but his soft tires could give him some hope! The top five on lap 35 consisted of Rosberg, ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton, then the Ferraris. And the duel of the moment was indeed between Hamilton and Vettel. For the Scuderia driver, it was important to attack and overtake the Mercedes opponent as soon as possible. But he couldn’t find an opening: as a result, Hamilton gradually pulled away. Ferrari’s strategy will still be up for debate…

LAP 36/53

HAM’s mirrors full of Ferrari red…

Vettel flying on the ‘quali’ softs 👀 #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 #F1 pic.twitter.com/570Q2bRH6T— Formula 1 (@F1) 9 octobre

Une dernière bataille importante pour la deuxième place

The end of the race at least promised an exciting battle for second place, especially between Verstappen and Hamilton. However, it was also necessary to keep an eye on the gap directly with Hamilton, which was now only eight seconds with ten laps to go.

LAP 46/53

More drama to come at Suzuka!

Hamilton is catching Verstappen… he’s just 0.9s behind#JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/6aXG5D1J1P

— Formula 1 (@F1) 9 octobre /f1/actualite/21376-malaisie-course-ricciardo-et-verstappen-offrent-un-double-a-red-bull-.html

Suspense on the track but also for the evolution in the driver standings, every point counts and Hamilton had the opportunity to recover three additional points. But the now 19-year-old driver was Rosberg’s best ally and perfectly resisted the English threat. Most notably, we will remember this last-minute attack before the final chicane: Max Verstappen’s late maneuver might spark debate among the most active fans on social media!

BREAKING: Nico Rosberg wins the #JapaneseGP from Max Verstappen (P2) and Lewis Hamilton (P3), to move 33 points clear in the title race #F1 pic.twitter.com/924F4Tpf3W

— Formula 1 (@F1) 9 octobre /f1/actualite/21376-malaisie-course-ricciardo-et-verstappen-offrent-un-double-a-red-bull-.html

Ultimately not penalized, the Red Bull Racing driver kept his position. And ahead of him, the leader was entering his final lap and crossed the finish line as the winner.

Victory for Nico Rosberg, victory for Mercedes! With this 23rd personal career victory, the ninth of the season, the driver bearing number 6 confirms his exceptional season in all statistical aspects. The podium was confirmed, with Max Verstappen second and Lewis Hamilton third. Behind them, Vettel and Räikkönen maintained their positions.

Here is the full ranking of the Japanese Grand Prix /f1/actualite/21376-malaisie-course-ricciardo-et-verstappen-offrent-un-double-a-red-bull-.html

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION: ROS wins the #JapaneseGP, VES and HAM complete the podium! #F1 pic.twitter.com/eXS0FRdpf9

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 9 /f1/actualite/21376-malaisie-course-ricciardo-et-verstappen-offrent-un-double-a-red-bull-.html

In the constructors’ championship, there was hardly any suspense, but it’s officially confirmed: the Mercedes team is crowned world champion /f1/actualite/21376-malaisie-course-ricciardo-et-verstappen-offrent-un-double-a-red-bull-.html!

BREAKING: @MercedesAMGF1 have clinched the /f1/actualite/21376-malaisie-course-ricciardo-et-verstappen-offrent-un-double-a-red-bull-.html constructors’ championship #F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/FyTzE0dYEZ

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 9, /f1/actualite/21376-malaisie-course-ricciardo-et-verstappen-offrent-un-double-a-red-bull-.html

With 313 points on the driver’s standings, compared to Hamilton’s 280 points, Nico Rosberg now has his destiny in his own hands, four second places will be enough for him to obtain the title!

Furthermore, Daniel Ricciardo is now out of the running for the title chase, with a 101-point deficit to Nico Rosberg (with only 100 points remaining to be awarded). **As in 2014 and 2015, the Brackley team takes both titles on offer.** It remains to be seen who, between Rosberg and Hamilton, will claim the Grail. A clear trend is emerging: Lewis Hamilton will need more than his driving skills to turn the tide…

Stay connected to our site to discover all the reactions from the various players in this Grand Prix held in Suzuka! In the meantime, like on the official Formula 1 website, feel free to vote for your choice of driver of the day in the following poll. Don’t hesitate to justify your choice in the comments section!