Lewis Hamilton wins Japanese Grand Prix

A PECULIAR snap of Sebastian Vettel before the Japanese Grand Prix has summed up the shattered star’s 2017 season.

SUZUKA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 06: Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari prepares to drive in the garage during practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on October 6, 2017 in Suzuka. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

• Palmer dumped by Renault
• ‘Ashamed’: Alonso cops penalty
• Sebastian Vettel retires
• Dejected Vettel snap says it all

F1 Japanese Grand Prix

Formula One’s trip to Suzuka has seen Lewis Hamilton destroy Sebastian Vettel’s hopes of a 2017 championship.

CHAMPIONSHIP leader Lewis Hamilton has won the Japanese Grand Prix, taking a huge step towards winning his third world title. The Mercedes star finished 1.2 seconds ahead of Malaysia Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen to claim his eighth victory of the year.

7pm

Heartbreaking Vettel snap sums it all up

A lonely Vettel sitting before the race.

Sebastian Vettel’s journey to Japan has left the German star shattered as Lewis Hamilton takes an almost undefeatable 59-point lead going into the final four races of the 2017 season.

Vettel led the championship race early in the year and looked to have the wood over Hamilton as he chased down his fifth career title, but a series of errors late in the season has seen him almost completely drop out of contention.

A faulty spark plug thwarted the Ferrari driver early in the race, resulting in a loss of power and ultimately retire to the pits.

A snap of the 30-year-old brooding before the race surfaced on the post-race coverage. “Did he already know there was a problem?” Sky Sports’ David Croft questioned after the race.

Vettel said he had a duty to “protect” Ferrari’s season after the past month of disappointment in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.

“It’s normal you’re critical, especially if things go wrong, so it’s part of our job,” he told Sky Sports after retiring.

“I think I need to protect them. We’ve done an incredible job so far. It is obviously a pity the last two races with the reliability issues, but you know, it’s like that sometimes.

“Of course it hurts, and we’re all disappointed. But now we need to get back, get some rest and then go flat out for the last four races and see what happens.”

6:50pm

Vettel scolded for anthem snub

Sebastian Vettel’s Sunday could not get much worse after engine problems at the Japanese grand prix all but killed off his title hopes.

But Formula One stewards reprimanded him anyway for missing the national anthem before the race.

The German failed to turn up on time for the Japanese anthem, an understandable absence given the commotion around his car as mechanics hurried to fix a sparkplug problem.

The non-driving reprimand for the rules breach, as opposed to one handed out for something that happened on the track, was his first of the season. Vettel lasted only four laps of the race before the unresolved issue forced him to retire, a setback that left Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton 59 points clear at the top with four races remaining.

There are two types of reprimand, for driving and non-driving offences, with three reprimands in a season triggering an automatic 10-place grid penalty for the next race.

The penalty, however, is only imposed if at least two of the three reprimands were for a driving infringement.

— with Reuters

5:30pm

Lewis Hamilton wins Japanese Grand Prix

Nothing is stopping him now.

Lewis Hamilton has brought home his third win at Suzuka in spectacular fashion, holding off an aggressive Max Verstappen on his tail in the final lap and overcoming a potential rear tyre failure midway through the race.

The Brit now has a huge 59-point lead over Sebastian Vettel in the 2017 driver’s championship race with just four races to go in the year.

Verstappen took second with teammate Daniel Ricciardo taking third, giving Red Bull a second consecutive race with both drivers on the podium.

5:15pm

Hulkenberg retires, Dan rides his luck

Nico Hulkenberg has been forced back to the sheds after a mechanical issue saw his DRS stay stuck open in the waning laps of Suzuka. The Renault driver was immediately brought back to the pits.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton has appeared to shake off his rear wheel problem and has shot ahead of Verstappen with a three second lead.

Daniel Ricciardo, who is in third, looks to snag another podium, but a rampaging Valtteri Bottas sits hot on his tail.

The Aussie was almost taken out by Williams youngster Lance Stroll as the 18-year-old slid off the track into the grass and almost collided with Ricciardo’s Red Bull on the other side.

It was later revealed the teen had a puncture which made him lose control of his car.

5pm

Hamilton reports a problem

Lewis Hamilton has hit a snag in the 33rd lap, reporting a problem with his wheels to his team over the radio.

“I’m struggling with my rears,” he said.

He now sits in first with a 2.5 second lead over Max Verstappen in second. This will be an interesting 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso has worked his way up to 12th after copping a grid penalty before the race which saw him start in the back row.

4:40pm

Can anything stop Lewis Hamilton?

Race leader Lewis Hamilton is on a warpath after a dominant qualifying weekend saw him take pole with relative ease.

The Brit comfortably held first place for the first half of the race and had a 13 second lead over Daniel Ricciardo in second before taking to the pits.

He’s now taken soft tyres and will need to pass Valtteri Bottas and Ricciardo as they follow suit for a tyre change.

Sebastian Vettel’s engine problem was diagnosed as a spark plug fault, making it the Scuderia’s second mechanical bungle in as many weeks after Kimi Raikkonen blowout before lights-out in Malaysia.

4:20pm

Virtual Safety Car after Ericsson blunder

Marcus Ericsson has been forced out of the race after crashing into the barriers inside the first 10 laps.

The Swedish star’s retirement called in a virtual Safety Car.

Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo has reclaimed third place with a superb overtake to pip Esteban Ocon. The youngster had a killer start to the race but was eventually caught by the Aussie after the Safety Car departed.

4pm

Ricciardo thwarted by teammate, Vettel retires

Ouch.

Max Verstappen has blasted ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo in a stellar start to the Japanese Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old also overtook Sebastian Vettel to take second place behind Lewis Hamilton. Vettel found himself in sixth place after starting on the front row of the grid.

“I’m losing power,” the Ferrari driver told his team before eventually coming into the pits to retire from the race.

“What a tragedy for Sebastian Vettel,” Sky Sports commentator David Croft said. “That is a disaster.”

BBC F1 guru Andrew Benson said Ferrari’s late-season flop was surprising given their trailblazing start to the year. “(It’s) quite astonishing how Ferrari’s campaign has collapsed. Six weeks ago, Vettel was leading the championship,” he said.

The Safety Car was called after departing Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz ran into the dirt in the first lap.

3:15pm

Alonso flop leaves boss fuming

Another setback for the two-time champ.

Fernando Alonso will start at the back of the grid despite finishing in the top 10 over the qualifying weekend after a penalty thwarted his chance at snagging his first podium of the year.

The two-time world champion was handed a 35-place penalty after Honda discovered a hydraulic leak on his engine after Friday’s practice run. The struggling F1 team opted to replace the power unit and cop the penalty over attempting a last-minute fix.

Honda boss Yusuke Hasegawa was fuming at the setback at his team’s F1 Japanese homecoming.

“I’m very ashamed,” Hasegawa told Motorsport.com. “We didn’t have an engine failure, we had some hydraulic leakage, which we can change if we find out (the cause) with enough time, but we couldn’t, that’s why we need to change the engine.”

2:55pm

Palmer to leave Renault after Japan

Renault no more.

Jolyon Palmer will leave Renault after Sunday’s Japanese GP with Carlos Sainz replacing him from the US GP.

Daniil Kvyat will return to a seat at Toro Rosso in Austin to race alongside Pierre Gasly after being dropped for the Malaysia-Japan double header.

Sainz had already signed a deal to race for Renault next season but the Spaniard is being released from Toro Rosso four races early as “circumstances have changed”.

Palmer had previously insisted he would complete the 2017 season with Renault but announced his departure on Instagram several hours after qualifying at Suzuka.

Renault said the split was agreed by “mutual consent”.

“Tomorrow’s Japanese GP will be my last race for Renault,” Palmer said. “With my grid penalty I’ll be starting near the back but I will be giving it my all as always.

“Thanks everyone for the support during the last two years, it means a lot!”

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul paid tribute to Palmer: “I would like to thank Jolyon for his commitment to the team and his professionalism. Since Renault’s return to Formula 1, Jolyon has been highly dedicated in an evolving environment. He has shown great personal qualities and we wish him all the best in his future career.”

Sainz has scored all-but four of Toro Rosso’s points this season and Renault will hope the highly-rated Spaniard’s arrival will help them make up late ground in the Constructors’ Championship. Toro Rosso are currently sixth, 10 points ahead of Renault.

“First of all I would like to thank Toro Rosso and Red Bull for allowing me the possibility of finishing this season with Renault Sport Racing,” said Sainz. “More specifically, I really want to thank all my engineers and mechanics for their support and tremendous work throughout these years.

“Toro Rosso is made up of a fantastic group of people and I wish them only the best for the future. On my side, I will definitely do my very best in tomorrow’s race … this would be the best possible send-off!

“Additionally, competing in these last four races with Renault gives me a good opportunity to get to know the team and the car earlier than expected. I am looking forward to start working with them.”

Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost thanked Sainz for his three years at the Red Bull junior team and quipped: “We look forward to beating him on track!”

With few seats available elsewhere on the 2018 grid, Sunday could be Palmer’s final F1 race for at least the foreseeable future.

— Jonathan Green at Suzuka and James Galloway, Sky Sports.com