Lewis Hamilton wins for the eighth time this season followed by teammate Nico Rosberg and that means a double victory for Mercedes this weekend. But Ferrari remains close on the heels of the Silver Arrows.
from B.Fleckenstein
The Silver Arrows already showed their old strength in qualifying this weekend in Suzuka. But despite pole, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) blew the start and lost three places in the first few corners. His teammate Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) took the lead followed by Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) and Valtteri Bottas (Williams). Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), meanwhile, remained behind Nico Rosberg. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), still on the podium in Singapore, had bad luck in the starting phase and touched Felipe Massa's Williams. This led to tire damage and a poor classification for both. Sergio Perez (Force India) was another unlucky driver at the start and was forced into the gravel in the scrum.
Sebastian Vettel was the first to initiate the round of first tire changes on lap fourteen. And so it was clear that two pit stops was the strategy for the teams. Nico Rosberg had meanwhile worked his way back up to third place and was just under two seconds behind Vettel. The Mercedes driver then went in for his second pit stop on lap thirty. Rosberg set a fast lap and Vettel came in for a tire change one lap after Rosberg. Sebastian Vettel pulled out of the pits and was already exiting the pit lane next to the white line when Nico Rosberg whizzed past him. The surprise at this time was the fourth intermediate place of Nico Hülkenberg (Force India).
With four laps to go, Sebastian Vettel was still about two seconds behind Nico Rosberg, who was running in second place. Rosberg couldn't shake Vettel, but Vettel wasn't really able to attack either. But it seems clear that the Ferrari has improved. So it seems possible that Sebastian Vettel can win again in the next race on October 11 in Sochi (Russia). He is in third place in the overall season standings with 218 points. Nico Rosberg has eleven points more and 59 points separate Vettel from the leader Lewis Hamilton. A lot can still happen in the last five races.
The finish was a matter for Mercedes, Vettel in third was also back on the podium. Nico Hülkenberg pulled off a remarkable result with sixth place. Lotus with Grosjean in seventh and Maldonado in eighth also delivered a good performance. Only for Red Bull was it a race to forget, especially after last week's performance.
Results GP of Japan 2015
1. lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2nd Nico Rosberg Mercedes + 18.964 sec.
3rd Sebastian Vettel Ferrari + 20.85 sec.
4th Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari + 33.768 sec.
5th Valtteri Bottas Williams + 36.746 sec.
6th Nico Hülkenberg Force India + 56 sec.
7th Romain Grosjean Lotus + 1:12 min.
8th Pastor Maldonado Lotus + 1:14 min.
9th Max Verstappen Toro Rosso +1:35 min.
10th Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso + 1 lap
11th Ferando Alonso McLaren Honda +1 lap
12th Sergio Perez ForceIndia + 1 lap
13th Daniil Kvyat Red Bull + 1 lap
14th Marcus Ericsson clean + 1lap
15th Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull + 1 lap
16th Jenson Button McLaren Honda + 1 lap
17th Felipe Massa Williams +2 laps
18th Alexander Rossi Manor Marussia + 2 laps
19th Will Stevens Manor Marussia + 3 laps
20th Felipe Nasr Sauber + 4 laps
21st Roberto Mehri Manor Marussia + 4 laps
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