Japan – Race: Hamilton Dominant, Vettel Commits Hara-kiri

It is under a bright sun and the warmest temperatures of the weekend that the 20 drivers set off for this Japanese Grand Prix.

The Mercedes on the front row perfectly secure their place at the first corner, Lewis Hamilton ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Max Verstappen follows without any issues while Sebastian Vettel, who started 8th after Esteban Ocon’s penalty, passes the two Toro Rossos and begins an unexpected comeback. All the participants in this start have therefore been rather wise, and there are no collisions to report in the first corners.

At the last chicane, Max Verstappen missed his braking point and overshot the corner entry. He rejoined the track alongside Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari, nudging him slightly towards the outside, even tearing off some bits of carbon from the red car. The Red Bull driver will receive a 5-second penalty for this maneuver.

The race is briefly interrupted by the intervention of the Safety Car on the 4th lap to clear the debris from Kevin Magnussen’s Haas, following a maneuver he’s known for on Charles Leclerc’s Sauber. The Danish driver changed trajectory in the braking zone of the first corner, and the Monegasque couldn’t avoid the crash. The Sauber continues, but the Haas finishes its lap on three wheels before retiring a few laps later…

A look back at that early incident 👀#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 #F1 pic.twitter.com/7BIDhx3mLP

— Formula 1 (@F1) 7 octobre 2018

The race is back on track and Vettel continues his comeback after overtaking Romain Grosjean on the 2nd lap to gain 4th place. The German is on fire and immediately attacks Max Verstappen on the 8th lap. But his move is somewhat telegraphed, and the two men collide at the exit of Spoon Curve. The Dutchman goes wide and doesn’t lose much time, but Vettel spins and rejoins the track in last position!

LAP 8/53

VERSTAPPEN AND VETTEL COLLIDE 😱

Vettel went for a lunge at Spoon, but there was no room – he drops to P19 👀#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 #F1 pic.twitter.com/hYNMSvrC3R

— Formula 1 (@F1) 7 octobre 2018

Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo is making a fantastic comeback from 15th place on the grid, overtaking all his opponents one by one. Kimi Räikkönen is the first to pit on lap 18. He is followed by Verstappen 4 laps later who, despite his 5-second penalty, stays ahead of the Ferrari on Soft tires.

The two Mercedes, Bottas before Hamilton, pit on the 24th and 25th lap to switch to medium tires, without losing the lead of the Grand Prix.

The pit stops come one after another for the drivers, and Romain Grosjean’s exit from the pits is very close, just in front of Sergio Pérez who narrowly avoids the Frenchman! Vettel also continues his comeback and finds himself in 6th place, behind his teammate, but more than 40 seconds behind!

LAP 30/53

Perez spars with Leclerc, but has to back off to avoid Grosjean 😯

The Haas man exited the pits right in the middle of the action#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 #F1 pic.twitter.com/OafJ6WkQzT

— Formula 1 (@F1) 7 octobre 2018

Charles Leclerc climbed back into the Top 10, but the Monegasque driver needs to make a second stop. He puts on Soft tires on his Sauber for a maximum attack. Unfortunately, he has to retire on the 40th lap after a mechanical failure. The Virtual Safety Car is deployed to clear his car, but the race resumes quickly.

Max Verstappen is setting a blistering pace behind the Mercedes and closes to within a second of Valtteri Bottas. He puts the Finn under pressure, who struggles a bit to overtake lapped cars and misses his braking at the chicane on lap 47.

LAP 42/53

The Virtual Safety Car ends, and Verstappen has come alive

The Red Bull man is right behind Bottas 👀#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 #F1 pic.twitter.com/LigYJ1WJhm

— Formula 1 (@F1) 7 octobre 2018

The position of best of the rest is currently held by Sergio Pérez, ahead of Grosjean, who accuses the Mexican of gaining his place under the Virtual Safety Car. The Toro Rosso-Hondas, despite being impressive in qualifying, have fallen back to finish only 10th with Pierre Gasly and 13th with Brendon Hartley.

Max Verstappen complains once again about engine cuts and has to let Bottas pass him, settling for the last step of the podium. In the final laps, Carlos Sainz takes the point for 10th place from Gasly. Ahead, after a solitary race, Lewis Hamilton wins the race and takes another step towards a world title that seems increasingly out of reach for Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel after a series of errors.

The complete race standings:

RACE CLASSIFICATION (LAP 53/53)

Another 1-2 for Mercedes, despite Verstappen pushing to the line 💪#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 #F1 pic.twitter.com/SsYs1yNWvY

— Formula 1 (@F1) 7 octobre 2018