Lewis Hamilton has nearly cemented his place as Formula One world champion in 2017 with his runaway win on Sunday in the Japanese Grand Prix.
The battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel has taken many turns at the end of summer, with the former champ driving for Mercedes now having the upper hand. But the battle for the Formula One world championship still has a handful of races before it reaches its thrilling conclusion. Now, Vettel must dig out of an even deeper hole following the Japanese Grand Prix, with Hamilton running away to victory.
Hamilton, who started on pole for Sunday’s race at the Suzuka Circuit, took off from the front row and never looked back. He by far had the fastest ride around the “figure eight” track, winning comfortably over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, and Kimi Raikkonen would round out the top five.
Sebastian Vettel had a day he wishes he could do over in Japan. Problems with a spark plug plagued the car when rolling to the grid, and continued in the race. Vettel would slip quickly from second to the back end of the points-paying spots in the opening laps. The #5 Ferrari would eventually be retired with a broken spark plug, a problem that is likely to stew some negative emotions between Vettel and his team.
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Sunday was also the final race for two drivers with their current teams. Carlos Sainz Jr. was racing with Scuderia Toro Rosso for the final time, set to move to Renault Sport at the United States Grand Prix, replacing Jolyon Palmer. Neither had a memorable final race with their teams, with Sainz crashing out of the event on the opening lap, and Palmer finishing outside the points once again.
Hamilton now holds greater than a two-race lead in the championship standings over Vettel heading to Austin, Texas. In theory, the Mercedes driver could clinch the title in the United States with a win, and Vettel finishing no better than sixth.
Here are the full race results from the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit:
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Mercedes AMG Petronas
- Max Verstappen, Tag Heuer, Red Bull Racing
- Daniel Ricciardo, Tag Heuer, Red Bull Racing
- Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, Mercedes AMG Petronas
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari
- Esteban Ocon, Mercedes, Force India
- Sergio Perez, Mercedes, Force India
- Kevin Magnussen, Ferrari, Haas F1
- Romain Grosjean, Ferrari, Haas F1
- Felipe Massa, Mercedes, Williams Martini Racing
- Fernando Alonso, Honda, McLaren
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, Renault Sport
- Pierre Gasly, Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Stoffel Vandoorne, Honda, McLaren
- Pascal Wehrlein, Ferrari, Sauber
- Lance Stroll, Mercedes, Williams Martini Racing
- Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, Renault Sport
- Marcus Ericsson, Ferrari, Sauber
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari
- Carlos Sainz Jr., Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso
Next: Palmer Out, Sainz In at Renault at COTA
The next race for the Formula One world championship comes from the USA. Coverage of the United States Grand Prix from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas can be seen on Sunday, October 22 live on your local NBC station at 3:00 pm eastern.