FORMULA 1

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HAAS PREVIEW THE JAPANESE GRAND PRIX

The Japanese Grand Prix marks the fifth to last event in the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship, and fifth-place Haas F1 Team is eyeing Sunday’s race at the 5.807-kilometer (3.608-mile), 18-turn Suzuka Circuit as a strong opportunity to take fourth place in the constructors’ standings before heading home for the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Haas F1 Team comes into Japan trailing fourth-place Renault by 11 points while holding a 22-point advantage over sixth-place McLaren. The third-year American team has tallied 80 points so far this year, easily outpacing its point total from the two previous seasons combined – 29 points in its inaugural 2016 campaign and 47 points last year.

As the Japanese Grand Prix looms, drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen have their eyes pointedly set on Renault and, more specifically, its fourth-place standing in the constructors’ ranks. Renault has it and Haas F1 Team wants it. It’s been a relentless battle, which makes Suzuka an appropriate venue for another round of jousting as the track serves up a relentless flow of corners that drivers find both challenging and rewarding.

Grosjean calls Suzuka his “most favorite track in the world” and Magnussen terms it “a driver’s track”. The duo scored Haas F1 Team’s second double-points result in last year’s Japanese Grand Prix, with Magnussen finishing eighth and Grosjean right behind in ninth.

It was Magnussen’s best finish in three career Formula One starts at Suzuka and Grosjean’s third top-10 effort at the track, a history highlighted by his performance in the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix where Grosjean led 26 laps before finishing third behind the dominant Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Perhaps the reason Grosjean and Magnussen enjoy Suzuka so much is that they can push their racecars to the absolute limit without being stuck to the track via maximum downforce.

The layout of Suzuka is a figure-eight, and it is the only track in Formula One with such a configuration. A bridge overtop the straight that links turns nine (Degner 2) and 10 is a signature of the track, with drivers nearing 330 kph (205 mph) as they go across the bridge through turn 15, better known as 130R, so named because of its 130-meter radius.

The first sector of the track caters to a car’s aerodynamic efficiency, while the second sector rewards horsepower. The entire course features every kind of corner, and its relatively old asphalt surface provides a high level of grip, which combined with high lateral loads through the corners accelerates tire wear.

As such, Pirelli has brought its White medium, Yellow soft and Red supersoft compounds to Japan as the island nation becomes acceleration nation.

While the end of the Formula One season is in sight, the sun is a long ways from setting. And with this weekend’s event in the land of the rising sun, Haas F1 Team seeks more points to further its rise to the top of the midfield.

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal

You confirmed your driver lineup before the Russian Grand Prix, with Grosjean and Magnussen returning for another season. How helpful is it to have your driver lineup set and not a distraction as you battle for fourth in the constructors’ standings?
GS: “It’s the best it can be. You know what you’re doing, everybody knows what we’re doing, and we can focus on trying to get fourth place in the constructors’ standings. There are no negatives, only positives.”

Haas F1 Team has made great strides from last year to this year. How much of that is attributable to having a consistent driver lineup, and do you expect it to deliver continued dividends in 2019?
GS: “It’s difficult to say how much it influences, but for sure it is helpful. Consistency for a team is very good, provided you have the right consistency in the quality of the people. Anything new you do, people need to adapt, and there is a learning period which normally means it’s not taking you forward. At best, it keeps you where you are. It takes time to gel and to work together in any position in the team, especially with the drivers.”

You go from one of the smoothest tracks in Formula One – the Sochi Autodrom – to one of the roughest tracks in Suzuka Circuit. How does the weathered asphalt of Suzuka change your preparation in comparison to what you did for Sochi?
GS: “Nothing changes. We take the data from Suzuka and use it for our preparations. We have all the data from the racetracks. We just adapt our simulations to whatever tires are used and whatever the track surface is.”

After two straight races where the softest tire in Pirelli’s lineup was used – the Pink hypersoft – we’re back to a more traditional White medium, Yellow soft and Red supersoft tire combination. After struggling to sort how much longevity you could get from a set of hypersofts, is it advantageous to get back to a tire lineup you know well where each tire compound is only a step away from one another in terms of grip level?
GS: “With tires, it’s not as easy as this. The track surface is in play, and where the tire works is a second component. It’s not saying they are now close together again and it’s better, it’s different from track to track. You cannot compare one with the other.”

Is tire management more of a factor at Suzuka than it was at Sochi because the surface is more abrasive? If so, how do you manage your tires at Suzuka?
GS: “We don’t know that yet. It depends on how the tires work on Friday. When we test in FP1 and FP2, then we know what we have to do. At this moment in time, it’s very difficult to predict.”

High-speed stability in regard to mechanical stiffness and aerodynamic balance seem to be the key to success at Suzuka. What do you do to achieve that?
GS: “You can’t do a lot more than what your car has already, and we are pretty confident that what we’ve got is working well. We just need to find a balance for the weekend. Japan is high speed and there are some challenging corners, but it’s a nice place to be and I hope we can find a good setup and show what we can do.”

There seems to be a delicate balance at Suzuka in regard to downforce. Too much and you go slowly down the straights. Too little and the driver won’t have the confidence to attack the track’s twists and turns. Obviously, the level of downforce is predicated on how comfortable the driver is at speed. How do you find this balance between the needs of the car and the needs of the driver?
GS: “It’s one of those things that go hand-in-hand. Once you find the quickest way around the track by balancing top-end speed versus downforce, the driver is quite happy because he wants to be quickest around the track. For them, the happiest is when they get a good lap time.”

Understeer through the esses between turns three and seven is often at the top of the to-do list at Suzuka. How do you address understeer and at what point does a change to help the car in one section of the track hurt it in another section?
GS: “It’s mainly about how your car is set up from the beginning. You can always get a little understeer, but then you introduce oversteer into the other parts of the track. We will see how we end up.”

With all the investment that goes on in Formula One, is the investment a team has made in its driver lineup perhaps best on display at Suzuka?
GS: “Absolutely. You need to be a brave man around Suzuka. You’re at high speed and when you go off, sometimes it’s not a soft landing. You need to be brave, but you also need to be very technical to set the car up. Suzuka is definitely a track that tests driver skill.”

Beyond the racetrack, what is most often talked about at Suzuka is the passion its fans have. Can you describe the atmosphere at the track and the fervency Japanese fans have for Formula One?
GS: “I think it’s very special. If you are a fan at Suzuka, you are a diehard fan. They will be lining up outside. It’s quite amazing how much they love it. I think a lot of people look forward to it because it’s so different from anywhere else.”

Japan has some fantastic and unique cuisine. What is your favourite?
GS: “Any sushi or sashimi. I look forward to it.”

When you leave Japan you’ll be gearing up for your home race – the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Where do you want Haas F1 Team to be at that time and what will your thoughts be on that long flight back to North Carolina?
GS: “Hopefully on the flight back, I can think about a lot of points. That always puts your spirits high – when you fly home and you bring something back. We’ve never had a strong United States Grand Prix. I know everyone wants this to happen – to have the American team having a strong home race. Everybody’s working hard for that. Hopefully, this year we can pull it off.”

Romain Grosjean

Haas F1 Team confirmed its driver lineup before the Russian Grand Prix, with you and Magnussen returning for another season. How helpful is it to have your future set and not a distraction as you battle for fourth in the constructors’ standings?
RG: “It’s always good to know what your future’s like. For us, it’s great that it’s been confirmed. It’s a positive thing. We’re looking forward to the future.”

Haas F1 Team has made great strides from last year to this year. How much of that is attributable to having a consistent driver lineup, and do you expect that to deliver continued dividends in 2019?
RG: “There is the driver lineup, which is important, and there is the engineering group, which is getting stronger and stronger and gaining more experience. Altogether, that means today we’re in a much better situation.”

You go from one of the smoothest tracks in Formula One – the Sochi Autodrom – to one of the roughest tracks in Suzuka Circuit. How does the weathered asphalt of Suzuka change your preparation in comparison to what you did for Sochi?
RG: “Sochi is a particular racetrack – not one of my favorites. Suzuka is definitely my favorite. I always look forward to going there. We want to do well everywhere. We’re going to fight as hard as we can everywhere to get those points and try to beat Renault.”

After two straight races where the softest tire in Pirelli’s lineup was used – the Pink hypersoft – we’re back to a more traditional White medium, Yellow soft and Red supersoft tire combination. After struggling to sort how much longevity you could get from a set of hypersofts, is it advantageous to get back to a tire lineup you know well where each tire compound is only a step away from one another in terms of grip level?
RG: “I don’t know. We’ll find out in Suzuka. Definitely the hypersoft is a great qualifying tire, but not such a good tire for the race.”

You’ve been quoted as saying that Suzuka is your most favourite track in the world. Why?
RG: “It’s always difficult to say exactly why. I think it’s the flow, the corners, the high-speed nature of the track. There’s a risk, as well, with all the gravel and the narrow parts of the circuit. Overall though, it’s not one thing, and sometimes you don’t know why you like something, you just do.”

You led 26 laps in the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka before finishing third. Those are the most laps you’ve led at any Formula One venue. Talk about that race and how you were able to run out front for so long.
RG: “I was fourth on the grid and made a really good start. I led from the first corner. Then Red Bull played its strategy. They put one car on a two-stop (strategy) and the other on a three-stop strategy. We led 26 laps, but we lost position to them. It was great, though. I remember telling myself to not go out as all the world’s TVs were on me. It was a great feeling to be leading. I loved it. I remember going to the train station after the race and it was packed with all the fans. It was hectic, but memorable.”

There seems to be a delicate balance at Suzuka in regard to downforce. Too much and you go slowly down the straights. Too little and you won’t have the confidence to attack the track’s twists and turns. Obviously, the level of downforce is predicated on how comfortable you are at speed. How do you achieve this balance?
RG: “It’s one of those tracks where you need quite a lot of downforce and a really good car in the high-speed corners. There are some important low-speed ones, as well. It’s about getting the right confidence in being able to push to the limit in those tricky sector-one turns. It’s not an easy track to set up the car, but definitely a really good one to be on.”

Understeer through the esses between turns three and seven is often at the top of the to-do list at Suzuka. How do you address understeer and at what point does a change to help the car in one section of the track hurt it in another section?
RG: “It’s a fine line. If you start getting understeer too early, you’re out of the phase quite early onto turns three, four, five, six, seven and eight. If you start with oversteer, it’s bad as well. There’s a fine line in having the right balance there, and to not be too far off what you should have in the low-speed corners as well.”

Would you call Suzuka a driver’s track?
RG: “Definitely.”

Can the driver make more of a difference at Suzuka than at some other tracks?
RG: “Not really, unfortunately. It’s about finding the right balance with the car. Your car’s performance dictates your performance at the end. It’s more or less the same everywhere. You can try to drive around and be quite consistent more easily than at other tracks.”

Where are the overtaking opportunities at Suzuka?
RG: “Definitely at turn one with the DRS. There’s also big braking at the chicane at the last corner. There’s the middle hairpin too where you can have a go on the braking.”

What is your favourite part about Suzuka?
RG: “Very difficult to pick just one, but I’ll go for sector one.”

Describe a lap around Suzuka.
RG: “Turns one and two are very high-speed on entry. They’re long corners with a tricky exit. Sector one has a flow of corners where you really want to keep the perfect line all the way through, with the tricky one being turn seven and eight going up the hill on traction. Then you have a double right-hand corner, very high-speed one, very tricky exit curb in between. Then you go underneath the bridge with big braking into the hairpin. Traction is always important in going to Spoon corners. Same stuff here as turn one – very high-speed entry, going down to the second part with a very important exit which then leads to the big backstraight. Then it’s 130R flat out followed by big braking for the last chicane with a very tricky throttle application.”

Beyond the racetrack, what is most often talked about at Suzuka is the passion its fans have. Can you describe the atmosphere at the track and the fervency Japanese fans have for Formula One?
RG: “It’s a pretty crazy atmosphere from Thursday onward. All the grandstands are full. After the race, they’re still there watching the replays of the grand prix on the big screens. They always have really cool fashions on display, with some crazy accessories. They love Formula One and they’re very passionate. It’s a very electric atmosphere. It’s great to see that passion and so many people cheering for teams like us.”

Japan has some fantastic and unique cuisine. What is your favourite?
RG: “When we speak about Japan, everyone brings up sushi first. There’s much more to the country than just that. There’s some great meat, great fish. The techniques there are very different than French gastronomy. It’s very delicate. I love it.”

When you leave Japan you’ll be gearing up for Haas F1 Team’s home race – the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Where do you want Haas F1 Team to be heading into that event?
RG: “I would love to get there and be fourth in the constructors’ championship and strengthen our advantage over the others.”

Kevin Magnussen

Haas F1 Team confirmed its driver lineup before the Russian Grand Prix, with you and Grosjean returning for another season. How helpful is it to have your future set and not a distraction as you battle for fourth in the constructors’ standings?
KM: “It’s just nice to know I have a few more years here with Haas F1 Team. I’m looking forward to that challenge and continuing the relationship that we’ve built over the last two years.”

Haas F1 Team has made great strides from last year to this year. How much of that is attributable to having a consistent driver lineup, and do you expect that to deliver continued dividends in 2019?
KM: “I hope that Romain and I can continue our work together and help the team move even further forward. Hopefully, we can achieve greater success year by year.”

After two straight races where the softest tire in Pirelli’s lineup was used – the Pink hypersoft – we’re back to a more traditional White medium, Yellow soft and Red supersoft tire combination. After struggling to sort how much longevity you could get from a set of hypersofts, is it advantageous to get back to a tire lineup you know well where each tire compound is only a step away from one another in terms of grip level?
KM: “I don’t think it’s something we really pay that much attention to. I mean, we obviously pay attention to getting the tires working, but there’s not one compound that is harder or easier than the other, so it doesn’t really matter for us.”

Is tire management more of a factor at Suzuka than it was at Sochi because the surface is more abrasive? If so, how do you manage your tires at Suzuka?
KM: “It’s not really any worse because we’ve got harder tires, so that compensates for that. Of course, when you’ve got that jump in compound as in the previous races, that qualifying tire may not be very good for the race. There might be an advantage to qualifying on one of the harder compounds, which in Suzuka won’t be an issue. That’s the biggest difference.”

Many drivers claim Suzuka as their favourite track in Formula One. Are you one of them?
KM: “I’m definitely one of them. It’s just a great circuit. It’s extremely fast, and you have the section in sector one with all the esses – that feels amazing going through there in a Formula One car. You have the fastest corner in the world, as well in 130R.”

Would you call Suzuka a driver’s track?
KM: “Absolutely. It’s a real driver’s track with high-speed corners where you need to really push the car.”

Can the driver make more of a difference at Suzuka than at some other tracks?
KM: “I mean, a little bit more, but Formula One doesn’t work like that anymore. We’re all going pretty much to the limit of the cars.”

Where are the overtaking opportunities at Suzuka?
KM: “It’s not the easiest track to overtake. I guess turn one is a good one – probably the best one.”

What is your favourite part about Suzuka?
KM: “Probably the first sector.”

Describe a lap around Suzuka.
KM: “It’s twisty and quite tight and fast.”

Beyond the racetrack, what is most often talked about at Suzuka is the passion its fans have. Can you describe the atmosphere at the track and the fervency Japanese fans have for Formula One?
KM: “It’s a great atmosphere there. The Japanese fans are amazing. They really get into it.”

Japan has some fantastic and unique cuisine. What is your favourite?
KM: “I love sushi.”

When you leave Japan you’ll be gearing up for Haas F1 Team’s home race – the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Where do you want Haas F1 Team to be heading into that event?
KM: “I want us to be as far forward as possible. It’s a really cool race and I love being in America. I’m going there straight from Japan to have a bit of time off in America and to drive around. It’s definitely one of the highlights of the year. Being on an American team simply adds to the experience and makes it even more special.”

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Wolff ‘prepared to play the long game’ with Ocon

Current Force India driver Esteban Ocon is facing the very real possibility of not being on the grid next year. And while it’s not ideal, Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ Team Principal and the man charged with guiding Ocon’s career, believes that it’s far from being the end of the Frenchman’s Formula 1 journey.

Ocon finds himself in his current situation following a series of unfortunate events (for him, at least), that have seen Daniel Ricciardo take a seat Ocon might have had at Renault, McLaren pass up on the Frenchman’s services and Force India get bought out by Lance Stroll’s father, with Stroll likely to move from Williams to the team alongside Sergio Perez in 2019.

And while Ocon has repeatedly stated his desire to be on the grid in 2019 – with Stroll’s Williams seat now looking like his only feasible option – Wolff was still backing Ocon to have a successful career in Formula 1, sabbatical or not.

“We still very much hope we can find a good solution for him for next year,” said Wolff. “But where he is in his career, we are not desperate for a seat next year. We are prepared to play the long game.

“Eventually he is going to be somebody that is going to be successful in Formula 1. If it means having a sabbatical year, then I’m fine with it.”

Ocon himself restated that he had faith in Wolff’s abilities to find him a seat in the future, while inferring that he’d prefer a third driver role in F1 than to go looking for success in another category – with both Stoffel Vandoorne and Marcus Ericsson having expressed an interest in IndyCar after their own F1 exits.

“My focus is to be in Formula 1,” he said. “I’ve done that in the past [Ocon drove for Mercedes in DTM in 2016 until his call-up to replace Rio Haryanto at Manor mid-season] which was very useful, but now… I think the most experience and most I can learn is in Formula 1, so that’s my full focus.

“[For the rest of the year], I’m just trying to enjoy as much as I can really. I’m racing in Formula 1, the best championship in the world, the one I enjoy the most and I’m racing amazing cars and that’s how I see it. I’m just trying to live the moment and get all the negative away and that’s all I can do.

“And if I have to sit out next year, I’m trusting Toto and Mercedes to sort me out.”

Ocon’s focus for now will be to finish the season on a high, with the Frenchman currently 11th in the drivers’ standings, level on 47 points with 10th-placed team mate Sergio Perez.

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JAPAN PREVIEW: The stats and info you need to know

The drivers will no doubt have a spring in their step this week, knowing that one of their favourite tracks on the calendar - Suzuka - awaits them. The high-speed circuit remains one of the ultimate driving challenges, and with the season hotting up, this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix has all the ingredients to cook up yet another memorable race…

It’s now three wins in a row for championship leader Lewis Hamilton, though he perhaps has Valtteri Bottas to thank for his latest triumph in Russia. After his chief title rival Sebastian Vettel only managed P3 in Sochi, Hamilton now leads the championship race by 50 points.

And Hamilton will have an opportunity to extend his lead this weekend, at a track that pushes the drivers to their limits. So let’s dig into the data and see who’s got the wind in their sails heading into the weekend…

The form book

Ferrari have had a tough time of late, and things got worse last weekend when Mercedes triumphed in Sochi, retaining their 100% record at that venue in the process. The latest setback dropped them further behind the Silver Arrows in both championship battles, and with their arch rivals winning the last four editions in Japan, it could well be another tricky Grand Prix for the Italian squad.

That’s not to say the Prancing Horse don’t know how to win at Suzuka. They have won seven times there to Mercedes’ four, though their last triumph came back in 2004 when a certain Michael Schumacher took the chequered flag. But since then, Mercedes have shared Japan success with McLaren, Renault and Red Bull.

Those four Red Bull triumphs were achieved by Vettel, who is currently spearheading Ferrari’s charge for world championship glory. But the German hasn’t mastered the Suzuka track since 2013, and with Hamilton winning three of the last four Japanese Grands Prix, it’s perhaps the Brit who heads into this race with a slight advantage.

What about Red Bull’s chances of success this weekend? Their RB14 doesn’t have the power to match either Mercedes or Ferrari, but they still boast one of, if not the best chassis on the grid – and in Max Verstappen, they have a driver who will be boosted by his Sochi exploits.

Whether the Dutchman can challenge for victory in Japan remains to be seen – but Christian Horner recently suggested that the more powerful ‘Spec C’ Renault engine could go back in the car in Japan, giving Verstappen and Renault-bound team mate Daniel Ricciardo a much-needed horsepower boost.

The stats that matter

Mercedes have won the Japanese Grand Prix every year since the beginning of the hybrid era in 2014, and will be looking to match Ferrari’s record of the highest number of consecutive wins in Suzuka. The Prancing Horse achieved five between 2000 and 2004.

A win for the Silver Arrows or Red Bull this weekend would make them the third most successful team in Japan after Ferrari and McLaren, who have the most wins - nine.

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are tied on four wins each in Japan. A win for either would see them go to second on the all-time list for total wins in Japan behind Michael Schumacher (7).

Should Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas finish in the top three this weekend, it will be the 175th time a Mercedes driver has finished on the Formula 1 podium.

A win from pole this weekend would see Ferrari take their 100th win from pole position.

If Kimi Raikkonen wins this weekend he will surpass Mika Hakkinen as the most successful Finnish driver in terms of wins (20).

A top-three finish for Daniel Ricciardo would mean his 30th visit to the Formula 1 podium.

If Max Verstappen wins without earning a pole position this weekend, he will break the record for the highest number of wins for a driver who has never had a pole position. He is currently tied with Eddie Irvine and Bruce McLaren (4).

Lance Stroll needs four more points to earn his 50th world championship point.

If Sauber score six points or more this weekend it’ll take their points total in F1 to 850, including the BMW era.

The circuit

Suzuka has wasted no time cementing its place as an all-time favourite among teams, drivers and fans - but the Japanese track was a relative latecomer to the F1 calendar, making its first appearance in 1987.

Nigel Mansell would remember that weekend well, after he suffered a crash in qualifying that ruled him out of the race, gifting that year’s championship to his bitter rival Nelson Piquet.

The high-speed circuit remains one of the ultimate driving challenges, with the snaking ‘S’ Curves, the two commitment-rewarding Degners and the white-knuckle ride of 130R all highlights in a series of highlights at what is one of F1’s seminal tracks.

A track that has witnessed an unfair share of legendary F1 moments (not least between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna), plus has a unique set of fans with an unabashed commitment to playing Formula 1 dress-up, a Ferris wheel, and great food – the Japanese GP is always a weekend to remember!

The tyres

After the last two races in Singapore and Russia used the same tyre allocation - soft, ultrasoft and hypersoft – we’ll have different rubber on show in Japan, with suppliers Pirelli opting for a familiar trio of tyres this weekend.

They’ve gone for a combination that has been selected four times already this season – the medium, soft and supersoft rubber – in preparation for the notoriously taxing demands of Suzuka, with long and sweeping corners such as 130R and Spoon.

“Suzuka features some of the highest energy loadings of the season and this can lead to greater levels of wear and degradation than we normally see,” explained Pirelli’s Head of Car Racing Mario Isola. “It’s also the only circuit in a figure of eight on the calendar, which means that the tyre wear between the left and the right side is about even.

“A one-stop strategy triumphed at Suzuka in 2017, but prior to that the trend was mainly towards a two-stopper. It’s going to be interesting to see if this year’s softer tyres – and even faster cars – produces a different set of tactics.

“The teams will always look to do a one-stopper if possible, but this of course has to be balanced against how much tyre management is needed to achieve this. Depending also on the time lost for a pit stop, it could be that a two-stopper is quicker.”

The forecast

Suzuka is famous for its changeable conditions and this weekend should be no exception. Friday and Saturday are expected to be sunny and dry – with highs of 26 and 29 degrees Celsius respectively. But then the rain could arrive on Sunday, with showers a distinct possibility during the 53-lap Grand Prix. That should make it exciting…

When does the Japanese Grand Prix start?

 

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ABITEBOUL: IT WAS EASIER TO GET RICCIARDO THAN SAINZ

If Renault chief Cyril Abiteboul had gotten his way in June, Carlos Sainz would have signed for the French team permanently but the Spaniard’s paymasters – Red Bull – stubbornly refused to release him while remaining blind to Daniel Ricciardo being poached from them.

Asked by reporters at Suzuka why Sainz was overlooked, Abiteboul replied, “I think we felt like there was something between Renault and Carlos, and it’s a bit weird because, in the end, this allowed us to sign Ricciardo more easily.”

“It was easier to reach an agreement with Daniel than with Carlos because clearly, Red Bull was blocking our attempt to sign an extension of our agreement with Sainz.

“Honestly, if Red Bull had a less tough position on Carlos, the final result would have been different: after the French Grand Prix we pushed to try to confirm Carlos, but Red Bull did not want to take this step.

“They had the right to do that, but that strangely led them to lose Ricciardo. Surely it was not what they would have expected, but [Ricciardo] is the result of their hard opposition to letting us continue with Carlos the moment we were interested in doing so,” added Abiteboul.

Sainz might have expected a call up to the Red Bull team, but it became evident that Helmut Marko was not keen to partner the Spaniard with Max Verstappen and they released him to McLaren.

In 2019 Sainz will share a garage with Lando Norris, while Nico Hulkenberg welcomes Ricciardo to the team.

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ERICSSON: THE MOST ATTRACTIVE FOR ME IS INDYCAR

Marcus Ericsson will not be on the Formula 1 grid next year after Sauber ditched him to make way for Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi, although the Swede retains a reserve role with the team he is also keen to expand his horizons, with Indycar an attractive prospect for 2019.

Talking to reporters on the eve of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, Ericsson revealed, “The most attractive for me is IndyCar at the moment, so I’m looking at it. We’re talking to some teams there. I think it’s a realistic target.”

“I want to race at the highest level possible because I see myself coming back to Formula 1 in the future as well. To be able to come back to Formula 1, I think I want to stay in single-seaters and I want to stay in fast cars.”

“Looking at how it is at the moment in motorsport, for me, IndyCar is the one that is the best series to do that in. I’ve always looked at it and thought it would be really cool. Now I think the racing over there is amazing, it looks so much fun.”

“When you speak to drivers or other people that are over there, they all seem to love it and say that the racing is great and the atmosphere is great and the series is really on the up. That’s also something that makes me quite interested in it.”

Formula E is also on Ericsson’s radar, “It’s a very interesting series I think and it’s definitely one of the options, but I don’t know. I keep all options open. I think Formula E is interesting in many aspects, but I think to stay in the F1 sort of driving, I think maybe it’s not the best series for that.

“I think if I go to Formula E, it’s a career move, whereas there are some other options where you can keep on the radar for F1 more and come back here,” added the 28-year-old.

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TYPHOON COULD DISRUPT SUZUKA WEEKEND

The Japanese Grand Prix could be affected by bad weather as result of typhoons coming and going over and around the island nation, with forecasts predicting Suzuka likely to be affected by rain on Friday and Saturday, with Sunday looking dry for now.

Accuweather the heels of deadly Typhoon Trami, Japan will face another dangerous typhoon this week. Typhoon Kong-rey is currently the equivalent of a Category 2 major hurricane in the Atlantic and East Pacific and will remain a dangerous tropical cyclone in the coming days.

A northwest track through Thursday will take Kong-rey toward the Ryukyu Islands, which are still reeling from damaging winds in excess of 160 km/h (100 mph) from Trami last weekend.

Miyako (north east) and Okinawa (north) are expected to face the worst of Kong-rey’s impacts, which will include damaging winds and torrential rainfall. Wind gusts over 160 km/h (100 mph) will again be possible during the worst of the storm.

Suzuka, more to the south, is expected not expected to be affected directly by the typhoon, but storms and rain are being predicted in and around the area.

The first Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in 1976 was rain-drenched, proving to be the decider in the battle between McLaren’s James Hunt and Ferrari driver Niki Lauda, immortalised in the movie Rush.

In 2014, heavy rain from Typhoon Phanfone affected the race, turning Suzuka treacherous. As a result Marussia driver Jules Bianchi aquaplaned and crashed horrifically into a stationary recovery vehicle. He died nine months later due to the injuries he received on that day..

The first free practice session of the weekend, on Friday starts at 10:00 am local time when, according to forecasts, it may be raining, while Saturday rain is predicted with more certainty and is expected to last from early morning until midday.

Meanwhile, F1 reporter Tobi Gruner Tweeted that due to Typhoon Trami earlier in the week, there has been delays in some teams not receiving all their freight, with the likes of McLaren and Williams seriously compromised if their equipment does not arrive on time.

Suzuka weekend weather forecast:

[MIKA27]

BOTTAS: I AM STILL ALLOWED TO WIN BUT IT DEPENDS…

Valtteri Bottas believes he can still taste victory in Formula 1 this season, even if circumstances mean he has to move over again to help Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in the world championship battle.

The Finn lived up to his ‘Wingman’ nickname when he obeyed team orders while leading in Russia last weekend, allowing Hamilton through to win the race and go 50 points clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel with five rounds remaining.

Bottas is now 117 points behind Hamilton in the championship, with a maximum 125 still available.

The 29-year-old denied he was now resigned to playing a supporting role to Hamilton until the championship was decided, however.

“Definitely I am still allowed to win, but it will depend on the situation,” Bottas told reporters at the Japanese Grand Prix. “It will really be case by case. The team told me that and that was also what I expected.”

Bottas was heading for a first win of the season in Sochi after starting from pole position but was told to let Hamilton through because the Briton had a blistering tyre and was under pressure from Vettel.

“I just need to accept it now that I’m in this situation because of everything that has happened earlier in the season,” said Bottas.

“I cannot fight for the championship anymore, Lewis is, I’m a team player and I’m willing to help,” he added.

Bottas claimed the final race of last season in Abu Dhabi, the third win of his career.

“Last weekend was actually very good for my confidence,” added the Finn. “I feel like a winner, from last weekend, so I’m not going to let this kind of situation do anything negative for me.”

Hamilton has now won five of the last six races and could potentially wrap up the championship by the Mexican Grand Prix later this month. He does not need to win again this season to secure his fifth title.

The Briton, who pulled Bottas up on to the top step of the podium with him in Sochi, said he still felt torn over the result.

“I am definitely split, just like all people have split opinions about it, but it’s happened, it’s done and dusted. You have to accept it and move forwards,” insisted the Mercedes driver.

[MIKA27]

STROLL LED CONSORTIUM PAID $117-MILLION FOR FORCE INDIA

Racing Point, a consortium led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, paid 90 million pounds ($117 million) to take over Formula One racing team Force India in August, an administrators report shows.

The report also revealed the parlous finances of the Vijay Mallya-owned team at the time they were taken into administration last July.

The Silverstone-based team had only 240,000 pounds in its account on July 27 while outstanding gross wages due to be paid at the end of that month totalled 2.2 million pounds.

The estimated funding requirement for August, including staff salaries, was 9.6 million with “no meaningful income” forecast to be received. Santander had frozen the company’s bank accounts on July 25.

FRP said engine providers Mercedes were owed 13.7 million pounds while representatives of Mexican driver Sergio Perez were demanding payment of $4.01 million. Supplier Formtech was also owed 2.3 million pounds.

Indian businessman Mallya, who is London-based and fighting an extradition request from authorities in India, previously owned 42.5 percent of the team with a similar shareholding in the hands of India’s Sahara Group.

Indian banks seeking to recover about $1.4 billion in loans made to Mallya’s defunct Kingfisher Airlines obtained an order freezing shares in the team’s holding company last November.

FRP said sponsor BWT provided an immediate unsecured loan of five million pounds to ensure July wages were paid, a sum repaid by a further 15 million loan from Stroll’s Racing Point following an exclusivity agreement on Aug. 7.

The administrators received more than 20 expressions of interest in the team, and had needed to move fast given the financial situation and approaches to key members of staff from rivals.

After an Aug.6 deadline there were five bids left but Racing Point, led by the father of Williams F1 driver Lance Stroll, were the only ones aiming to rescue the company as a going concern.

Racing Point offered to acquire the business and assets for 90 million pounds in the event that a share purchase could not be completed in time, as proved to be the case.

In addition to Stroll, Racing Point includes Canadian entrepreneur Andre Desmarais, Jonathan Dudman, John Idol, telecoms investor John McCaw Jr, Michael de Picciotto and Stroll’s business partner Silas Chou.

The sale process is being contested by Russian potash producer and recent Force India sponsor Uralkali, which claims it offered more for the assets.

The FRP report said two claims against the team of eight and 10 million pounds as commission for introducing a sponsor were pending, with the first scheduled for trial next July.

FRP rejected a claim by the previous owners that they were owed 159 million pounds and said legal advice indicated instead a debt of at least 4.2 million.

[MIKA27]

ARRIVABENE: I AM AT FERRARI AND MY FUTURE WILL BE AT FERRARI

Maurizio Arrivabene is on a shortlist of nine people being considered for general director of football giants Juventus, however at Suzuka, on the eve of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, the Ferrari chief poured cold water on reports he will departing the Maranello hot seat.

Speaking to reporters during the launch of a livery tweak, “I am at Ferrari and my future will be at Ferrari. I have been an part of the [Juventus] Board of Directors for years, before moving to this position at Maranello, I was delegated to the control/risks [Control and Risks Committee and Nominations and Remuneration Committee].”

“I am pleased to remain on the board, provided that the appointment is accepted at the next shareholders’ meeting, I am honoured but my work remains here [with Ferrari],” which means Arrivabene will continue to lead the sport’s most successful and popular team for the foreseeable future.

Next year his management skills could be severely tested when Ferrari young gun Charles Leclerc steps up from Sauber, to replace Kimi Raikkonen and share a garage with four times Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel.

[MIKA27]

Toro Rosso duo excited by updated Honda PU set for Japanese GP

Toro Rosso pair Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley say they are “very excited” about the potential performance gain from Honda’s updated power unit.

Honda introduced its Spec 3 power unit at last weekend’s Russian Grand Prix and both drivers trialled it during practice, with Gasly placing eighth on Friday afternoon.

Honda opted not to run the engine for the remainder of the weekend in order to undertake further calibration checks, ostensibly in a bid to boost its chances on home ground at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

“We haven’t had an update for a long time,” said Hartley.

“We did have an aero update which didn’t really work. We’ve definitely been waiting for an update on any description.

“I think the one from Honda is one that we're very excited about.

“We believe it will bring a good step in performance.

“I don’t want to say exactly how much but the truth is I don’t know the exact numbers. It’s a step that we’ll see on the lap time, which is important.”

Added Gasly: “It’s a gain of performance, as I said in Sochi we don’t know exactly how much, it’s positive, we just needed to run a bit more with it to fine-tune it.

“It should give us more performance. I think in Sochi over one lap we looked better already and on Friday was quite positive, hopefully, similar here this weekend, after it’s going to be the first time we use it all race weekend.

“Clearly more optimistic in terms of performance I have been last few weekends.”

Toro Rosso currently holds eighth position in the Constructors’ Championship but its advantage over Sauber has been cut to just three points following Charles Leclerc’s seventh place in Russia.

[MIKA27]

Sergey Sirotkin: 'More than logical' to extend Williams stay

Sergey Sirotkin believes it is “more than logical” for him to extend his stay with Williams into 2019, in order to see the end of its recovery project.

Sirotkin linked up with Williams for 2018 but his graduation to Formula 1 coincided with the team’s regression through the order, as it initially struggled to understand its recalcitrant FW41.

Williams has spent a large part of the season getting to grips with its weaknesses and has remained at the rear of the field, scoring just seven points.

Williams is one of only two teams on the grid yet to confirm either of its drivers for 2019 – though the other, Force India, is all-but-set – and Sirotkin is hopeful of staying.

“I think it’s how we are with the team, one united group, we recovered from where we found ourselves after Bahrain, I think we can be quite proud of that,” he said.

“It seems more than logical to finish what we started to do and see the end of the… to see actually the pure results of the work we did so far together.

“Many times I spend, honestly too much time, you know, trying to get the things sorted, which obviously were much more long-term than short-term thinking.

“So I mean again I just see it much more than logical to get to the end together and see the results of the work we did together.”

Sirotkin emphasised that Williams has made substantial progress through 2018, having had to play catch-up compared to its rivals, on account of its early struggles.

“If you put our car now in Melbourne I’d say you’d see it in Q3,” he said.

“I mean the only thing is the other people are progressing as quick as we did, obviously the issues we found after Bahrain were quite fundamental, issues coming from the very bottom of all the process building the car.

“It took us a lot longer than all of our opponents to first understand what makes those issues and then find a way to solve the basics right.

“And only afterwards [we were] able to improve the car, working from the right basics, so it takes a much longer process than thinking about just producing a better part on its own.

“I think with the effort we made to recover from where we’ve been, even if we didn’t exactly achieve what we wanted, we can be proud of the work and the effort we did.”

[MIKA27]

Lewis Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in Japanese GP FP1

Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes 1-2 during the opening practice session for Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Hamilton posted a time of 1:28.691 on Soft tyres to finish almost half a second clear of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in warm and muggy conditions.

Bottas, who led the running early on, wound up 0.446s down on Hamilton, though used the Medium tyres to complete his quickest lap.

Hamilton’s session was not without drama as he had to take avoiding action against a slow Pierre Gasly at the chicane in an incident that will be investigated by stewards post-session.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo emerged as the quickest non-Mercedes driver, 0.682s in arrears, as he ran the Supersoft compound, a direction also taken by both Ferrari drivers.

Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel finished fourth and fifth, nine-tenths off Hamilton, though the latter was baulked through the final sector on his hot lap, having been just two-tenths down through the second split.

Max Verstappen finished sixth for Red Bull, while Force India’s Esteban Ocon was the swiftest midfielder, seven-tenths off his former F3 rival, as he used the Soft tyres.

Romain Grosjean placed eighth for Haas while Sauber pair Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson rounded out the top 10.

Gasly recovered from an unusual off through the exit of Turn 2 to place 11th, in front of lead Renault driver Carlos Sainz Jr.

Renault and McLaren both broke the curfew overnight due to their Castrol oil supply arriving late, having been delayed through customs due to a recent typhoon.

Force India’s Sergio Perez had a spin at the chicane en route to 13th overall, ahead of Haas driver Kevin Magnussen – celebrating his 26th birthday – and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg.

Lance Stroll placed 16th for Williams, with Brendon Hartley 17th, as McLaren pair Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris sandwiched Sergey Sirotkin at the back.

Alonso had the wildest moment of a relatively sedate session as he slid through the gravel at Degner 1 after dipping a wheel onto the grass at the entry of the high-speed kink.

Alonso was able to extricate his McLaren MCL33 from the gravel trap and returned to the pit lane, eventually winding up 18th.

Reserve driver and 2019 racer Norris had another FP1 outing, this time in place of the axed Stoffel Vandoorne, and finished six-tenths behind Alonso.

Friday’s second 90-minute practice session will begin at 14:00 local time

[MIKA27]

Renault, McLaren break curfew after oil arrives late

Renault and McLaren were both forced to break the curfew this morning at Suzuka due to the late arrival of their BP/Castrol lubricants from Europe.
Both teams have asked the FIA for a dispensation because weather contributed to the delay. Due to ongoing storms, Osaka airport has been closed on a regular basis in recent weeks, which has led to freight being diverted to Tokyo. That has in turn led to a backlog in the customs warehouses at the capital’s airport.

Some F1 freight destined for Suzuka became caught up in those delays, and crucially for Renault and McLaren it included the oil and hydraulic fluids that they needed to run the cars.

It hadn’t made it to the track on Thursday, which meant that neither team could run through its usual pre-weekend procedures such as firing up the engines. Renault customer Red Bull was not affected, as the team uses Exxon/Mobil.

After some chasing by F1’s freight organization, the missing products finally made it to Suzuka overnight, so both teams sent their crews in early to ready the cars for FP1 and fire them up. That meant breaking the curfew, which ended at 7am.

There is no penalty as in Renault’s case it was the first of the two allowed exceptions, and for McLaren it’s the second. However rather than waste their valuable “jokers” the teams have asked the FIA stewards to consider it as a case of force majeure.

[MIKA27]

Grosjean: Qualifying revamp solving the wrong problem

Haas driver Romain Grosjean believes plans for a change to a four-session qualifying format are Formula 1 "trying to solve a problem" it doesn't have.
The recent Strategy Group meeting discussed a plan to have a fourth session - with the top eight progressing to the final session, and starting the race on the tyres they used in Q3.

If the top six places remain dominated by Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, it would mean that two - rather than the current four midfield cars - would find themselves potentially disadvantaged by being stuck on the "wrong" softer tyre for the start.

Every driver from ninth would have a free tyre choice, while those at the front would often have the pace to go through and thus start on a harder tyre.

"I don't think it's a solution," said Haas driver Romain Grosjean, whose team has been 'best of the rest' for most of the season in 2018.

"It's actually going to disadvantage the first midfield team, seventh and eighth, and it's not going to change anything for the big teams, because they are through whatever happens.

"They do a slow lap, they're two seconds a lap faster, so they're going to go through.

"So it's making things more complicated whilst they shouldn't be and trying to solve a problem which is not the problem we're having."

Grosjean's Haas team boss Gunther Steiner agreed with his driver.

"I looked into a little bit," he said. "The intention of people not getting into Q3 starting with free tyre choice was to mix it up, but in the end it helped the big ones because they can get into Q2 with the harder tyre which helps them in the race.

"We missed the target here, what it was supposed to be.

"If we separate the qualifying into four-four-four-eight it's not getting any better because then the P7/P8 could be screwed very good because the others go through anyway on the tyre which is harder.

"We need to be fair on that one, we can't critique something that hasn't been approved.

"Normally everything [benefits the big teams]. Whatever we discuss it normally goes in that direction. There will be more dialogue before it gets decided anyway."

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel made it clear that he's not a fan of having an extra session.

"Just wondering what we will discuss in 10 years' time, whether we will be talking about Q9 and Q10, if that makes sense," said the German.

"I don't know, maybe we should go less. Without going too deep, my personal opinion is that nowadays I think we need too much entertainment to be happy. I think it would be nice to settle for something less as well.

"My preferred qualifying was back in the days when they had one hour and you could do what you want. Obviously qualifying for some people will never be as exciting as the race but for other people it's more exciting than the race, so it depends on your tastes.

"But I think it's about getting the perfect lap and I don't think it matters how many qualifying sessions you have. Now we have three and the one that most people look out for is the last one, so if you have Q4, Q5, Q6, Q7 what's going to change?"

[MIKA27]

F1 drivers want DRS risk option through 130R

Sergio Perez believes Suzuka should have a DRS zone on the back straight that forces Formula 1 drivers to risk taking the famous 130R corner with the rear wing open.
The FIA has been experimenting with additional or longer zones this year for the drag-reduction system in a bid to improve overtaking. 

However, it opted not to extend the start-finish DRS zone because of the aggressive entry to the first corner, and considered DRS inappropriate for the high-speed, left-hand 130R after drivers’ complaints at Silverstone. 

Drivers could use DRS through Silverstone’s flat-out first corner, but Racing Point Force India driver Perez said: “Turn 1 at Silverstone is a lot harder than 130R.

“If you want to have a lift and then come back to DRS, it is really down to you. 

“There will be drivers that take more risks than others but you leave it down to the driver and I think we are good enough to do that.

Perez and Sauber driver Charles Leclerc expect the matter to be raised in Friday’s drivers’ briefing. 

Leclerc said a second DRS zone would “probably have made sense”, and Williams driver Lance Stroll and Perez’s teammate Esteban Ocon joined the chorus of drivers in favour of the addition. 

Stroll said whether or not 130R would be flat is “probably not the reason we should debate if it is a DRS zone or not on the back straight”. 

“I think it can only help overtaking,” said Stroll. “It is already a track where due to the nature of the track it is very difficult to follow in the high speed corners.”

Ocon agreed it would be “even harder than Silverstone Turn 1”, and added: “It could only help overtaking into the last chicane.

“In the race it would probably not be flat, especially following other cars, but in qualifying it could be an interesting challenge.”

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel is not a fan of DRS and earlier this year compared the addition of a third zone in Austria to playing Mario Kart. 

He reiterated that reference at Suzuka, saying: “Now we are in Japan, I think [about Mario Kart]. 

“It would be more fun to throw bananas out of the cockpit, so maybe this would be better idea than to have DRS. 

“I don’t like it, I think it is artificial, we should find a different way to make the cars follow each other closer and not rely on DRS.”

Haas driver Romain Grosjean agreed that DRS is not a perfect solution, but conceded it might be necessary. 

“In general I think DRS is not great, but on the other hand it’s the only way to get overtaking at the minute,” said Grosjean, who also pointed out that it could “open up a gap” between the midfield and bigger teams. 

“Like Red Bull, they’ve got the downforce to keep it open at 130R,” Grosjean added.

“We probably couldn’t have done that, and then the delta is even bigger than it already is.”

Max Verstappen agreed 130R with DRS would be "possible" for Red Bull, adding: "I would do the first lap straight away with DRS open."

[TheGipper]

I like Seb's idea of throwing bananas from the cockpit.  More qualifying strategy intrigue...do you use your banana during Q1 or save it for Q2 or Q3?

Of course, Mercedes would tell Valtteri he has to give his banana to Lewis.

[avaldes]

Like I said last week, Ferrari has forgotten how to win as a team. A fast car isn’t enough.

 

[skalls]

I think Vettel needs to see a psycologist who specializes with athletes.  To quote Tropic Thunder, he goes full retard during the race.  Can't really fault him for Ferrari's strategy during qualifying (him starting 8th is 100% on them).  It seems like on Sundays Vettel just doesn't have that edge, and hasn't since about the 8th race or so of the season.

Danny had an amazing race coming from the back to where he finished.  

[MIKA27]

JAPANESE GRAND PRIX: HAMILTON WINS IT, VETTEL BLOWS IT

Lewis Hamilton once again capitalised on a blunder by title contender Sebastian Vettel during the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, allowing the Mercedes driver to extend his lead in the championship and just about clinch the 2018 Formula 1 title.

It was Hamilton’s 71st F1 career win, the Briton crossing the finish the 53-lap race by 12 seconds from teammate Valtteri Bottas, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen surviving an incident-packed race to claim the final step of the podium.

The start was pretty clean considering the long run to Turn 1 with Hamilton leading and his teammate tucked in behind him, with Verstappen third, Raikkonen fourth and Vettel powering through the field.

But turning clean to dirty was Kevin Magnussen in the Haas, after a great move on the Sauber of Charles Leclerc through 130R the Dane went trailer trash when he swerved in front of the Monaco kid down the straight.

The result was a puncture for the Haas driver who then drove back to the pits with tyre shredding and debris flying in all directions. The safety car was deployed and when the track went green things got hot.

At this point, Vettel had turned eighth place on the grid to fourth after Raikkonen tripped up, but when he came upon the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, the #5 Ferrari driver was too impatient and again made a move that was not on, got tagged, spun around and was at the back by the time he got going again- Monza deja vu! More of that later…

In contrast, Hamilton hardly put a foot wrong all day as he powered to his ninth victory of the season and crucially extended his championship lead to 67 points with four rounds remaining. Hamilton won the race on the day, the title is now a mere formality.

Hamilton said after his fifth Japanese Grand Prix and his fourth win at Suzuka in five years, “I loved it. The whole weekend has been incredibly strong for the team.”

“It’s a great one-two for Mercedes and a true showing of the real strength in depth we have. This track is the best track in the world, I don’t know why they don’t make tracks like this anymore.”

“I’ve been racing a long, long time but the happiness I have is as much as always. It feels like one of the first. We’ve gone from strength to strength as a team this year. Austin is generally a good track for us and I can’t wait to unleash this beast there.”

Adding to the pain inflicted on Ferrari, Valtteri Bottas made it a Mercedes one-two, the world champions further extending their lead in the constructors’ standings.

The Finn now in the confirmed role of Hamilton’s wingman, provided the buffer which kept the feisty Red Bulls at bay, he too did not put a foot wrong during the course of the afternoon.

Bottas summed up, “Initially in the race everything felt good I knew what I has to do, so I was executing the plan. But in the end of the second stint, I had some blistering which made it tricky, but my job was to get to the finish line in P2. No concern for the car and we managed to save the engine but otherwise no issues.”

Before his Vettel moment, while defending third from Kimi Raikkonen a lap earlier, Verstappen braked too late and was forced to cut the final bit of the last Esses, in doing so he stumbled into the path of the Ferrari, forcing it onto the dirt on the exit.

Thus it was game over for the German, but he dug deep to make it back through the field, and sixth place his reward on an afternoon in which he needed to beat Hamilton but instead departs Japan with his, and Ferrari’s, campaign in tatters.

Of the clash with Verstappen, Vettel gave his side of the story, “With that outcome, you would do different because in hindsight it’s easy. But the gap was there, his battery was clipping, I was boosting, I saved my battery, I had more speed, I would make the corner, I  was side by side, but he didn’t give enough room and then we touched.”

Verstappen was handed a five seconds penalty by race stewards for joining the track dangerously, but that did not stop him from finishing third ahead of Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo in fourth.

The Dutchman gave his version of the Raikkonen incident, “Kimi chose the wrong line at the chicane and we touched a little bit. I think it’s really ridiculous those five seconds.

As for the Vettel moment, “The touch with Sebastian… in that corner you can’t overtake. I even gave him space but he understeered into my car. It’s a shame but glad to be on the podium,” added Verstappen

Raikkonen survived to finish fifth, 20-seconds ahead of Vettel in sixth, the Finn said of his battle with Verstappen, “He ran wide and then went off the track and I left him the space. He didn’t know I was there and he drove into me and pushed me off the track. There was quite a bit of damage, which was far from ideal.”

Sergio Perez was Best of the Rest for Force India, the Mexican delivering a solid performance to win the midfield brawl and take seventh place ahead of the Haas of Grosjean eight seconds adrift in eighth.

Next up in ninth was Esteban Ocon making it a handy double points finish, with Renault’s Carlos Sainz claiming the final point in tenth.

FIA Race-By-Race Report

Hamilton held his advantage at the start, moving across the track to cover team-mate Bottas and the hard charging Verstappen. Behind them, Vettel was on the move. Starting from P8 after a poor qualifying session, the German was soon past the Toro Rossos of Hartley and Gasly and then began to close in on fourth-placed Räikkönen.

That task was made easier when third-placed Verstappen went wide at the chicane and in rejoining tangled with Räikkönen. While Verstappen stayed third, Räikkönen was slow in returning to the track and Vettel powered past to claim fourth place.

The incident was put under investigation and Verstappen was later handed a five-second time penalty for “leaving the track and not returning safely”.

Further back, Ricciardo was on the move in the second Red Bull, and when Magnussen went off track due to a puncture caused in a collision with Leclerc, Ricciardo moved up to 10th place.

Magnussen was able to limp back to the pits, but failing rubber from his rear tyre led to large amounts of debris from his car being spread across the track. As a result rhe Safety Car was deployed.

When the SC left the track Verstappen again found himself tangling with a Ferrari – only this time it was title contender Vettel.

The German attempted an overtaking move into the Spoon curve but Verstappen was already turning in and Vettel hit the side of the Red Bull hard. The Ferrari driver lost as susnatntial amount of bodywork in the collision and spun, but once again Verstappen was able to carry on in third place. Vettel dropped to P19.

After the Safety Car period Ricciardo continued to make progress, passing Perez, Gasly and Grosjean sit in P5 on lap 12. Then, when Räikkönen pitted on lap 17 for medium tyres, the Australian moved to fourth place, 9.5s behind team-mate Verstappen.

Verstappen pitted on lap 21 and after taking on a set of soft tyres rejoined just ahead of Raikkonen who then found himself bottled up behind Grosjean. Räikkönen’s delay prompted a pit stop from Ricciardo and he succeeded in jumping the Ferrai, rejoining in fourth place.

Further back, Vettel pitted from P10 on lap 26 for soft tyres. He emerged in P16 and was soon back into the points positions. On lap 33 he made his way past Grosjean to claim sixth place but with 40 seconds to make up to fifth-placed Räikkönen, his progress ended there.

At the front, Hamilton was in command and after 53 laps, the Briton powered over the line to claim his ninth win of the season and as 67-point championship lead over Vettel, with four rounds remaining.

Bottas held on to second place, whiel Verstappen took his seventh podium finish of the campaign with third place ahead of team-mate Ricciardo.

The Ferraris of Räikkönen and Vettel were fifth and sixth respectively, while Perez was seventh for Force India ahead of Grosjean and Ocon. The final point on offer was taken by Sainz.

[MIKA27]

LECLERC: MAGNUSSEN IS AND WILL ALWAYS BE STUPID, IT’S A FACT

Charles Leclerc was lucky not to crash into the back of the Haas of Kevin Magnussen when the Dane appeared to swerve into the path of the Sauber at top speed down the main straight early on during the Japanese Grand Prix, forcing the Monaco Kid to take avoiding action and triggering his anger at the same time.

Magnussen takes no prisoners and has, in the past, enraged his rivals for his dubious tactics when battling on track, this time Leclerc took exception to the Haas driver’s robust defensive tactics.

And immediately barked over the radio: “Magnussen is stupid and will always be stupid that’s a fact.”

Later, after the race at Suzuka, he told reporters, “For me, there was a similar situation with Kimi and Max one or two years ago in Spa where Max moved at the really last moment and everyone agreed it was dangerous to do that and that it was not allowed anymore.”

“Strangely it’s been accepted today so I will have to get some response on that to just to know what I can do in the car,” added the Ferrari bound driver.

Of his race at Suzuka, Leclerc reported, “It was a fun race, despite not ending the way we would have liked it to. The start was busy, I was fighting with some of the cars around me but eventually had to back off.”

“I lost some places there but fought hard to recover them later on during the race. On the second lap, I was involved in [the] incident.”

“We made a pit stop shortly after that and changed the nose on my car. We knew that it was not ideal to pit so early, but we had to do that to have a chance to fight for points.”

“After that, it went quite well. I was able to recover some positions, but, unfortunately, I had to retire from the race because of a mechanical problem on my car. It is a shame not to finish the race, but I look forward to the next one where I hope to fight for some points again.” concluded Leclerc.

Sauber team chief Frederic Vasseur backed his driver, “It was a tough day. Charles’ race was compromised by the incident with Kevin Magnussen. It was a very dangerous move on his part and Charles’ car was quite damaged after that. We had to change the nose during the pitstop.”

MIKA: Magnussen is indeed an idiot. No race craft IMO, quite reckless. 

[MIKA27]

BOTTAS: MY JOB WAS TO BRING THE CAR HOME IN P2

After playing the role of subservient wingman two weeks ago in Sochi, Valtteri Bottas was ready to play the role again during the Japanese Grand Prix.

However, the Finn was not called on as he followed Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton over the line to notch up another dominant one-two for the team – their fourth this season!

Speaking after a race in which he spent most of the afternoon as the buffer between Hamilton and whoever intended to pursue, Bottas said, “My job today was to bring the car home in P2. There was no panic.”

“I think yesterday was the decisive moment really and after the race started, I knew how the race was going to be,” explained the Bottas who a day earlier was outqualified by the man in the #44 car.

Late in the race, the #77 Silver Arrow appeared to slow considerably, allowing chasing Max Verstappen to have a sniff, but that was all, “It might have looked more difficult with Max than it was. I had a little bit left at the end. I had some blistering on the tyres, but it was not a massive concern.”

“We were lucky that Red Bull were the team challenging us and not Ferrari, as Red Bull do not have the same pace. We need to win this title and the constructors’ championship.”

“I can’t win the title, so I’m hoping for Lewis to win it, and sooner rather than later,” insisted Bottas who has yet to win a race this season while his teammate has bagged nine victories.

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VERSTAPPEN: EVEN THE MOST EXPERIENCED DRIVERS MAKE MISTAKES

In the wake of an eventful and incident-packed Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen is not accepting blame for the two incidents involving him and the two Ferrari drivers.

Verstappen was in the wars with the Reds at Suzuka when stubbornly defending third place when Raikkonen attacked shortly after the early safety car peeled into the pits.

With the Ferrari large in his mirrors, he braked late into the final Esse and was forced to make a trip over the grass to rejoin but nearly into the path of Raikkonen who was forced onto the grass to avoid contact with the Red Bull.

The Dutchman was handed a five seconds penalty by the Stewards for rejoining the track in a dangerous manner, which made him unhappy, “If I get a five-second penalty next time I’ll just cut the track like Valtteri did. I know what to do next time.”

“I think Valtteri was pushing at the end, otherwise he wouldn’t have gone off the track. We were just trying to be as close as possible in case there was a mistake.”

Then on lap eight, with Vettel under Verstappen’s wing, the Ferrari lunged to the inside of the flat-out Spoon Curves but found a Red Bull in its path. By the time the dust had settled, Vettel was facing the wrong way as the field streamed by. He recovered to finish sixth while Verstappen survived to claim third place.

With regards to the collision with Vettel, Verstappen gave his version, “It’s not a corner where you can overtake. He could have gone past me on the next lap. It’s like the mistake I made in China. Even the most experienced drivers make mistakes. Looking back, it was like China and I got a penalty there.”

He added in his race report afterwards, “The car felt good and we were able to compete at the front for the entire race, which at this track makes it even better.”

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STEINER: LECLERC RAN INTO KEVIN

Haas F1 team chief Guenther Steiner is tired of his driver Kevin Magnussen coming under fire for his robust defensive tactics from his rivals, this time Charles Leclerc labelled the Dane “stupid” for an incident early on during the Japanese Grand Prix.

But after the race Steiner questioned Leclerc’s driving, “He ran into him! Kevin didn’t brake, he didn’t push him off or anything, Kevin just moved over to his line and he ran into him. What can he do? Just let him by?”

“It was before the braking point. It was not under braking. [Leclerc] needs to judge what he can do and what he cannot. [Magnussen] didn’t run into the side of him, he was clearly in front because he could move in front of him.”

In the past Magnussen has copped flak from the likes of Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly.

Steiner added, “It’s more of the same. And I’m getting quite tired of this. If they have a problem with him just blame him for it because it’s quite normal.”

Magnussen suffered a puncture as a result of the incident and with it a DNF when a strong points scoring opportunity was on the cards.

He reflected afterwards, “Well, I passed Charles around the outside of 130R, then through the last chicane he kept close and slipstreamed down the main straight. I went to the right, I think he followed for a bit and then went back to the left and clipped my left-rear tire, causing the puncture.”

“It’s unfortunate, but that’s what happens sometimes. The tire delaminated and ripped all the floor. It damaged the rear wing, the brake ducts, etc, so we had to retire,” added the Haas driver.

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HORNER: MAX WON’T BE POPULAR IN ITALY

Max Verstappen’s stubbornness under attack is legendary, he took it to another level on Sunday when he fended off both Ferrari’s during the Japanese Grand Prix, in both instances, the Red Bull driver tripped up the attacking red cars to hold on to his third place position, where he ended despite a five seconds penalty for his shenanigans.

Inadvertently, the Dutchman’s actions may well have put the final nail in the championship coffin for Ferrari and their driver Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told Sky F1 after the race at Suzuka, “Unfortunately I think it’s the end of Sebastian’s championship so Max won’t be popular in Italy today.”

The Vettel incident occurred on lap eight, with the Ferrari driver on a charge after starting eighth. After witnessing Verstappen’s squeeze on Kimi Raikkonen in the sister Ferrari, Vettel, with a clear advantage at that point in the race, tucked behind the Red Bull.

Perhaps too impatient? Misjudgment? Whatever the case it proved to be a costly mistake by Vettel to try and overtake on the inside of Verstappen through the flat-out Spoon Curve.

Horner said of the clash between his current driver and former driver, “For me, it was a racing incident so the stewards came with the right decision, and I think it was too late by then. Max is never going to give an inch and its cost him today.”

Prior to his clash with Vettel, Verstappen had also been in the wars with Raikkonen, the Finn coming off second best when the blue car cut the final chicane, bounced back onto the track into the path of the Ferrari, forcing it on to the sand.

Race stewards looked at the incident and dished out a five seconds penalty: “Car 33 left the track at turn 16 and re-joined unsafely.”

Of the Raikkonen incident, Horner said, “Max made the mistake with Kimi over the grass and he just runs out of space, so how do you get out of the way? He was lucky to come away without much damage, and he got the penalty and he was still able to get out ahead of Kimi.”

“Under race conditions we were competitive. We lost some aerodynamic load as we had some damage from the Kimi incident, but Max was putting pressure on Valtteri at the end and I think we just ran out of laps.”

“We were right on the red line giving everything we could, there’s only one DRS zone here so for Max to get so close to Valtteri even with a penalty at the end is fantastic,” added the Red Bull team chief.

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VETTEL: HE DIDN’T GIVE ENOUGH ROOM AND WE TOUCHED

Sebastian Vettel was making impressive progress during the Japanese Grand Prix, after starting from eighth on the grid and after a safety car period, the Ferrari driver was all over the back of Max Verstappen’s third-placed Red Bull when he had a dive into Spoon Curve…

The result was that on lap eight with third place in sight, Vettel found himself facing oncoming traffic and at the wrong end of the field. What followed was an afternoon of catch-up for the German who finished sixth, way behind title rival and race winner Lewis Hamilton.

Asked after the race if in retrospect he would think twice about the move on Verstappen that resulted in his mistake, the German replied, “Do you ask him if he should think twice when he defends? This is part of racing. I don’t regret the move. With hindsight, it’s always easy. His battery was clipping, mine was boosting. He didn’t give enough room and we touched.”

What was a 50 points deficit to Hamilton in the title race is now a massive 67 points with four races to go, the knock-out punch likely to be landed long before lights out at Yas Marina Circuit next month.

As for his chances, Vettel was obviously at pains to find coherent words, “It’s about everybody. It’s probably the toughest… I don’t know. I find it an inspiration that you walk into the garage and the guys are all fired up.”

“The spirit is unbroken. It’s difficult from where we are, but what have we got to lose? We’re trying our utmost to fight and resist, but I don’t think it can get any bigger.”

The collision with Verstappen was probably the penultimate nail before the final one is driven into the coffin of Ferrari’s and their driver’s season, the lunge through the highspeed double left-hander was reckless at that point of the race when he clearly had an advantage.

Vettel explained his impatience and the result thereof, “I was pushing to get past. I wasn’t desperate to get past. I knew he had a five-second penalty. The gap was there, but as soon as he saw me, he defended, but I had the inside. In my opinion, he tries to push when he shouldn’t.”

“Look at the incident he had with Kimi. It’s not always right the other guy has to move. I got through the whole field without any trouble. You need to always leave a space. In that case I couldn’t go anywhere,” insisted the Ferrari driver.

Heading to United States Grand Prix, the maths is pretty simple: Hamilton will be 2018 Formula 1 World Champion – for the fifth time – if he outscores Vettel by eight points in Austin.