Japanese Grand Prix Tag

By FIA Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes one-two in the opening practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix finishing half a second clear of team-mate Valtteri Bottas and almost seven tenths of a second ahead of the third-placed Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo. Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen and championship challenger Sebastian Vettel finished the session in fourth and fifth places, but both set their best times using the supersoft Pirelli compound, while Hamilton session-best time of 1:28.691s was delivered on soft tyres. Vettel ended the session just under a second offRead More

Frank Santoroski and the Drafting the Circuits panel — Joey Barnes, Gray Warren & Richard Youden — breaks down Charlotte, previews Talladega, and has an in-depth debate regarding the pluses and minuses of the F1 safety car. Credits: Host – Frank Santoroski DTC Panel – Joey Barnes, Gray Warren, & Richard Youden Producers – Anthony Arnold & Keith Hayes Special thanks to Whoobazoo for hosting the DTC Podcast. Social Media: Follow DTC on Facebook Follow DTC on Twitter Follow Whoobazoo on Twitter Note: Also heard on iHeartRadio and iTunes.Read More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Victory in the Japanese Grand Prix wasn’t much of a contest for Lewis Hamilton after Sebastian Vettel retired his Ferrari with a spark plug issue, but it nevertheless served up an abundance of fascinating statistics. Chief of which is the incredible nature of Hamilton’s pole lap time and the time in which he finished the Grand Prix the next day. His lap record in qualifying on Saturday of 1:27.31 matches up exactly with the 1 hour 27 minutes and 31 seconds he took to finish theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief There is a lot to be proud of at Haas F1 Team as both Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean put in a stout effort in the Japanese Grand Prix as the team scored double-points for just the second time in their short Formula One history. Magnussen’s day started from 12th and drove a masterful race and capped it off with a tough wheel-to-wheel battle with Williams’ Felipe Massa in Turn 1 on Lap 42 en route to an eight-place finish. The aggressive move also opened theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sebastian Vettel saw his chances at a fifth Formula One championship dealt its biggest blow yet with an early retirement from Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix. It was the third consecutive weekend that Scuderia Ferrari have dealt with problems at the start of the race in some form or another. The 30-year-old German was leading the championship up to the Italian Grand Prix, but with just four rounds left in 2017 he now sits second behind Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton – who stretched his margin out toRead More

Lewis Hamilton edged closer to a fourth Formula One world championship title as he kept Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at bay to take a third career Japanese Grand Prix win. It was a disastrous day for Sebastian Vettel, however, as a spark plug problem forced Hamilton’s only real title contender to retire from the race on lap five. Hamilton now has a 59-point lead over Vettel with four races remaining. At the start Hamilton got away well to hold his lead. Initially Vettel too looked to be in good shapeRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Renault and Toro Rosso have agreed that Carlos Sainz Jr. will move to the French team after the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend. This had been the original aim of the deal between Red Bull and Renault when it was agreed that Toro Rosso would loan Sainz to the French outfit. However, negotiations between Renault and Jolyon Palmer broke down and the British driver remained alongside Nico Hukenberg. The negotiations later resumed and Palmer has announced that tomorrow will be his last race with the team,Read More

Lewis Hamilton took his 71st career pole position and his first at Japan’s Suzuka Circuit as he beat Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by three tenths of a second with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel third. However, title contender Vettel will start alongside championship leader Hamilton on the front row as Bottas is set for a grid penalty due to an unscheduled gearbox change. Hamilton set the pace in Q1, rising to the top of the timesheet around 10 minutes into the session with a lap of 1:29.047 on soft tyres. He wasRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Kimi Raikkonen’s shunt in final practice has led to a gearbox from Ferrari and a five-place grid penalty for the Japanese Grand Prix. The 37-year-old Finn lost control of his SF70Hwhile running through the pair of Degner corners when he lost control at the second part and slid off into the gravel trap and ultimately the wall. The heavy damage to his left rear was enough to end his session and provide Ferrari mechanics a busy task before qualifying. Regulations state that the each unit must lastRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Fernando Alonso has been assessed a 35-place grid penalty after his McLaren-Honda team had to change out the power unit and will start the Japanese Grand Prix. The big blow comes at Honda’s home race after the engine was found to have a hydraulic issue following the second practice session, leaving the team to break curfew for the second time this season in order to complete the task. The 36-year-old Spaniard’s tally of power unit work has become lengthy this Formula One season – Six controlRead More