If you ignore four-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas claiming their second consecutive easy 1-2 finish, the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix had a wealth of excitement.
Formula 1 traveled to the high-speed, sweeping Suzuka Circuit road course in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan for the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix. Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport finished the race with a 1-2 finish and avoided the controversy of team orders that they faced as a result of the previous race in Sochi, Russia.
Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas qualified in first and second place, respectively, and locked out the first two positions for every lap of the 53-lap competition. With some of the excitement tailed off from the emotional weekend, we can now take a look at the winners and losers from the Japanese Grand Prix.
Winners
Lewis Hamilton all but clinches the 2018 championship
Lewis Hamilton was once again victorious in Japan, earning him his ninth win of the 2018 Formula 1 season and bringing him to 71 career wins, a total that is only 20 wins shy of the career win total of Michael Schumacher, which is 91.
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The Japanese Grand Prix started well for Hamilton, who qualified convincingly on pole after Scuderia Ferrari had a disaster of a qualifying session (more on that later). Hamilton moved on to dominate the race, as he received no challenge from his teammate or any other competitors. He finished the race 12.919 seconds over Bottas, who finished in second place.
This latest result has propelled Hamilton even further into the lead of the driver standings, as he now has 331 points. His closest competition is Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who has just 264 points. Hamilton has arrived at this comfortable points position through consistent team strategy and by being the fastest driver on the track.
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo started the Japanese Grand Prix in 15th place after a mechanical issue prevented him from qualifying in the second of three qualifying sessions for the race. However, he put on another classic display of how to make passes without running into other drivers (looking at you, Ferrari).
Even in the age of DRS, the art of passing is still alive in the form of Ricciardo, who put on a masterful display on how and where to pass around Suzuka Circuit. As fans saw with Charles Leclerc vs. Kevin Magnussen, Max Verstappen vs. Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen vs. Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll vs. Fernando Alonso, passing is not as easy as throwing a car into a corner and hoping you come out in front of the other driver.
Ricciardo moved up from 15th to fourth place during the Japanese Grand Prix and earned the Formula 1 Driver of the Day in the process, which was well deserved.
Losers
Scuderia Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel
The Japanese Grand Prix should be stored in Ferrari memory as a “what not to do when trying to get back in championship contention” example. Starting in qualifying, the team made the fateful decision in the third and final qualifying session to wait and see what the weather was going to bring as the rain was “potentially” on the way.
While both Ferrari drivers started the session on intermediate tires, Mercedes and most other teams decided to go out while the track was somewhat dry and managed to set decent times on slick tires. By the time the Ferrari drivers switched to slick tires, only Raikkonen qualified well by qualifying in fourth place. Vettel qualified in ninth.
Once the race got going, both Ferrari drivers had trouble attempting and completing overtakes. Raikkonen had his challenges passing Verstappen, who locked up and ran wide in an attempt to rejoin the track and not pick up a penalty for cutting the track. Verstappen did, however, pick up a five-second penalty for squeezing Raikkonen and making contact with him.
Next came the downfall of Vettel, who, while trying to work his way up through the field for the first time, ran into the side of Verstappen while trying to make a pass that he had no business attempting.
Yes, it is true that Vettel is trying to fight for a championship, but that in no way means that other drivers are relegated to pulling aside and letting the German pass by. Vettel tried to make multiple lunges during the race that depended solely on the other driver allowing him to drive by. He has been his own worst enemy throughout the 2018 season and likely put the final nail in the coffin in the Japanese Grand Prix.
Scuderia Toro Rosso: Both drivers
When the rain came during the final session of qualifying at Suzuka Circuit, it shuffled the normal running order and resulted in Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly qualifying in a strong sixth and seventh place, respectively. The opportunity for a double points finish for the team was a possibility.
The trouble began at the beginning of the race when both Toro Rosso drivers got poor starts and were passed by competitors. Both cars and drivers lacked pace and the team failed to keep them in positions to score any points at all.
Formula 1 travels next to Austin, Texas for the United States Grand Prix from Circuit of the Americas. Tune into ABC on Sunday, October 21 at 2:10 p.m. ET for live race coverage.