2018 Japanese Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:Japan
Grand Prix:Japanese
Details Ref:[1]
Year:2018
Race No:17
Season No:21
Previous Round:2018 Russian Grand Prix
Next Round:2018 United States Grand Prix
Image Link:Suzuka_circuit_map--2005.svg
Image-Size:200px
Official Name:Formula 1 2018 Honda Japanese Grand Prix
Location:Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Course:Permanent racing facility
Course Km:5.807
Course Mi:3.608
Distance Laps:53
Distance Km:307.471
Distance Mi:191.054
Weather:Partly cloudy
Attendance:165,000[2]
Pole Driver:Lewis Hamilton
Pole Country:GBR
Pole Team:Mercedes
Pole Time:1:27.760
Fast Team:Ferrari
Fast Time:1:32.318
Fast Lap:53
First Driver:Lewis Hamilton
First Country:GBR
First Team:Mercedes
Second Driver:Valtteri Bottas
Second Country:FIN
Second Team:Mercedes

The 2018 Japanese Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 2018 Honda Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One racing event held on 7 October 2018 at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka in the Mie Prefecture, Japan. The race was the seventeenth round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship and marked the 44th running of the Japanese Grand Prix. The 2018 event was the 34th time that the race had been run as a World Championship event since the inaugural season in, and the 30th time that it had been held at Suzuka.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton entered the round with a fifty-point lead over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the World Drivers' Championship. Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas sat third, a further 67 points behind. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes held a lead of fifty-three points over Ferrari, with Red Bull Racing a further one hundred and fifty points behind in third place.

Report

Background

Ferrari introduced a new livery, carrying the logo of Mission Winnow, a joint promotion with major sponsor Philip Morris International.[3]

Pirelli opted to bring the supersoft, the soft, and the medium tire to the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton was the defending winner, having won the previous round in Russia. He was also the defending winner at Suzuka, having won the previous Japanese Grand Prix in 2017. Weather was a potential factor, with a chance of rain through many sessions of the weekend.[4]

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for the race and claimed his 80th pole position in his career. His teammate Valtteri Bottas finished second, and together they achieved Mercedes’ fifth one two in qualifying in a row at Suzuka. Rain was a factor in the Q2 and Q3 sessions. Mercedes’ strategy was key to their one two as they sent both their drivers out on supersoft tires, despite the chance for rain in the Q3 session.

Hamilton’s main title rival, Sebastian Vettel, as well as his teammate Kimi Raikkonen, was sent out by Ferrari on Intermediates. However, neither Raikkonen nor Vettel completed their laps, and switched to supersofts immediately.[5] Not being on the track on the correct tire at the optimal time, Vettel could only manage 9th after he made a mistake on his lap on the dry tires. Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen started third and fourth respectively. Vettel would start 8th after Esteban Ocon received a 3 place grid penalty for ignoring red flags in Free Practice 3.[6]

Other noteworthy qualifying performances include Romain Grosjean qualifying 5th for Haas, and Brendon Hartley achieving his best ever starting position of 6th in his Toro Rosso. Hatley's teammate Pierre Gasly, lined up behind him in 7th. Daniel Ricciardo failed to set a time in Q2 due to power unit issues and started 15th as a result. The noteworthy incident of qualifying, apart from he rain, was Marcus Ericsson, who hit the Barriers in Q1 and brought out the red flag.[6]

Both Hamilton and Bottas, along with Grosjean, completed their fastest laps in Q2 on soft tires. As they progressed to Q3, they would start the race on softs. All other Q3 drivers qualified in Q2 on supersofts. Everybody who had a free choice of tire started on the softs, apart from Nico Hulkenberg who opted for the mediums.

DriverConstructor
Q1Q2Q3
144data-sort-value="HAM" Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:28.7021:28.0171:27.7601
277data-sort-value="BOT" Valtteri BottasMercedes1:29.2971:27.9871:28.0592
333data-sort-value="VER" Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-TAG Heuer1:29.4801:28.8491:29.0573
47data-sort-value="RAI" Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:29.6311:28.5951:29.5214
58data-sort-value="GRO" Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari1:29.7241:29.6781:29.7615
628data-sort-value="HAR" Brendon HartleyScuderia Toro Rosso-Honda1:30.2481:29.8481:30.0236
710data-sort-value="GAS" Pierre Gasly1:30.1371:29.8101:30.0937
831data-sort-value="OCO" Esteban OconForce India-Mercedes1:29.8991:29.5381:30.12611
95data-sort-value="VET" Sebastian VettelFerrari1:29.0491:28.2791:32.1928
1011data-sort-value="PER" Sergio PérezForce India-Mercedes1:30.2471:29.5671:37.2299
1116data-sort-value="LEC" Charles LeclercSauber-Ferrari1:29.7061:29.86410
1220data-sort-value="MAG" Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari1:30.2191:30.22612
1355data-sort-value="SAI" Carlos Sainz Jr.Renault1:30.2361:30.49013
1418data-sort-value="STR" Lance StrollWilliams-Mercedes1:30.3171:30.71414
153data-sort-value="RIC" Daniel RicciardoRed Bull Racing-TAG Heuer1:29.806No time15
1627data-sort-value="HUL" Nico HülkenbergRenault1:30.36116
1735data-sort-value="SIR" Sergey SirotkinWilliams-Mercedes1:30.37217
1814data-sort-value="ALO" Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Renault1:30.57318
192data-sort-value="VAN"McLaren-Renault1:31.04119
209data-sort-value="ERI" Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari1:31.21320
107% time

1:34.911

Source:[7]
Notes

Race

Race start

Hamilton got a good start and led from pole position. Bottas also started well and preserved the Mercedes one two. Vettel started well and was in fifth by the end of lap 1.[8] Also on lap 1, Lance Stroll pushed Fernando Alonso off the track. Stroll would later receive a five second penalty for this, but Alonso would also receive a five second penalty for the same incident as he was deemed to have gained an advantage by going off the track.[9] On lap 2, Verstappen pushed Raikkonen off the track when rejoining the track, and Vettel took fourth as a result. Verstappen would be given a five second penalty for this incident. By lap 3, Riccardo had reached 10th position from his starting grid position of 15th.[8]

On lap 3, the safety car was deployed to allow marshals to clear up debris from the incident between Charles Leclerc and Kevin Magnussen on the pit straight.[8] Magnussen had moved across the track to defend from Leclerc, with Leclerc moving to avoid Magnussen, and crashing into his rear. The incident gave Magnussen a puncture and Leclerc a broken front wing. Both would pit shortly to fix the damage that resulted from the incident. Magnussen's lap to return to the pits with his puncture created much of the debris that needed to be cleaned up during the safety car period.[8]

Mid-race

The safety car period ended on lap 7. On lap 8, Vettel proceeded to attack Verstappen, however, an overtake attempt on the third placed Verstappen sent Vettel spinning, and resulted in him rejoining the race in 19th. Verstappen sustained some floor damage to his car as a result of this incident, and Vettel also took some damage to his sidepods. The stewards deemed this collision to be a racing incident, and as such, no penalties were handed out.[8]

On Lap 9, Magnussen would retire his car from the damage it sustained in the collision with Leclerc. On lap 13, Ricciardo overtook Pierre Gasly for 6th, and a lap later, he would take fifth position from Grosjean. Raikkonen was the first of the frontrunners to pit, on lap 18, and swapped his supersofts for medium tires. He was followed by Verstappen on lap 22 pitting onto the softs, who was able to preserve third over Raikkonen despite serving his five second penalty.[8]

Both Bottas and Ricciardo pitted on lap 23, both onto mediums, with Ricciardo able to overcut Raikkonen to take fourth position. A lap later Hamilton would also pit onto mediums, meaning at this point all the frontrunners had completed their first stops. On lap 27, Vettel, who had climbed to 10th position by this point, pit for soft tires. On lap 36, after overtaking a few cars, and a few pitstops by midfield drivers, Vettel would take 6th. On lap 39, Hulkenberg would retire his car to become the second DNF. He would be followed by Leclerc who retired his car by stopping on the side of the track. This brought out the Virtual Safety Car, and racing would resume in lap 42.[8]

Finish

The top 5 would stay in their positions to the finish. Hamilton picked up his 71st career victory, and his ninth win of the season, having led every lap of the race. It also marked his 50th win at Mercedes. Bottas picked up his first podium finish in Suzuka with his second place result, and with Hamilton’s victory, combined for Mercedes’ 44th one-two result. Verstappen was close to Bottas for the last few laps of the race, but was unable to overtake, and took 3rd place. He picked up his third podium in three races at Suzuka. Vettel finished the race in 6th position, but was able to take the fastest lap of the race on the last lap. Sergio Perez finished in 7th to claim the “best of the rest” position for Force India.

This win moved Hamilton 67 points clear of Vettel in the Driver’s Championship Standings. Beating Vettel by 8 points in the next round in the United States would win Hamilton his fifth Driver’s World Championship. This race also left Perez, Magnussen, and Hulkenberg tied for the same number of points in the championship. All three were battling for the best of the rest position of 7th behind the 6 big team drivers. Perez held 7th after Suzuka thanks to his 3rd place finish in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.[10]

Post race

In post race interviews, Vettel blamed his spin on Verstappen, stating that he had not been left “enough room”.[11] Verstappen put the blame on Vettel, claiming that the Spoon curve, where the incident occurred, is not a spot to overtake. He claimed that Vettel “understeered into” him.[12] Verstappen also expressed his disappointment with the five second penalty he incurred for his rejoining incident with Raikkonen, stating that he rejoined the track “in a safe way”[13] and that he felt that Raikkonen should have waited for him to reenter the track. Lewis Hamilton would describe himself as “very, very happy” with his drive, also describing the weekend as “very strong” for the team.[14]

Race classification

DriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
144data-sort-value="HAM" Lewis HamiltonMercedes531:27:17.062125
277data-sort-value="BOT" Valtteri BottasMercedes53+12.919218
333data-sort-value="VER" Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-TAG Heuer53+14.295315
43data-sort-value="RIC" Daniel RicciardoRed Bull Racing-TAG Heuer53+19.4951512
57data-sort-value="RAI" Kimi RäikkönenFerrari53+50.998410
65data-sort-value="VET" Sebastian VettelFerrari53+1:09.87388
711data-sort-value="PER" Sergio PérezForce India-Mercedes53+1:19.37996
88data-sort-value="GRO" Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari53+1:27.19854
931data-sort-value="OCO" Esteban OconForce India-Mercedes53+1:28.055112
1055data-sort-value="SAI" Carlos Sainz Jr.Renault52+1 lap131
1110data-sort-value="GAS" Pierre Gasly52+1 lap7
129data-sort-value="ERI" Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari52+1 lap20
1328data-sort-value="HAR" Brendon HartleyScuderia Toro Rosso-Honda52+1 lap6
1414data-sort-value="ALO" Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Renault52+1 lap18
152data-sort-value="VAN"McLaren-Renault52+1 lap19
1635data-sort-value="SIR" Sergey SirotkinWilliams-Mercedes52+1 lap17
1718data-sort-value="STR" Lance StrollWilliams-Mercedes52+1 lap14
data-sort-value="18"Ret16data-sort-value="LEC" Charles LeclercSauber-Ferrari3810
data-sort-value="19"Ret27data-sort-value="HUL" Nico HülkenbergRenault37Engine16
data-sort-value="20"Ret20data-sort-value="MAG" Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari812
Source:[15]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
DriverPoints
1 Lewis Hamilton*331
2 Sebastian Vettel*264
3 Valtteri Bottas207
4 Kimi Räikkönen196
5 Max Verstappen173
Source:[16]
Constructors' Championship standings
ConstructorPoints
1 Mercedes*538
2 Ferrari*460
3 Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer319
4 Renault92
5 Haas-Ferrari84
Source:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Japan. Formula1.com. 30 September 2018.
  2. Web site: Formula 1 Honda Japanese Grand Prix 2022 – Media Kit . . 5 October 2022 . 5 October 2022.
  3. News: Collantine . Keith . Ferrari reveals new 'Mission Winnow' livery in Japan . 4 December 2021 . 4 October 2018 . en.
  4. Web site: Jadra . 2018-10-04 . What to expect from the 2018 Japanese F1 GP? . 2024-01-10 . F1-Fansite.com . en-US.
  5. Web site: 2018-10-06 . Japanese GP: Hamilton grabs pole, disaster for Vettel . 2024-01-10 . us.motorsport.com . en.
  6. Web site: F1: Qualifying report from the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix . 2024-01-10 . www.formula1.com . en.
  7. Web site: Formula 1 2018 Honda Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying . Formula1.com . Formula One World Championship Limited . 6 October 2018 . 6 October 2018.
  8. Web site: F1: 2018 Japanese Grand Prix report . 2024-01-10 . www.formula1.com . en.
  9. Web site: 2018-10-08 . Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton wins eventful 2018 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix . 2024-01-10 . Motor Authority . en.
  10. Web site: F1: 2018 Japanese Grand Prix report .
  11. Web site: Japanese F1 Grand Prix 2018 Results: Lewis Hamilton Closes in on Title After Win . .
  12. Web site: F1 - Japanese Grand Prix 2018 - Verstappen annoyed with penalty, Vettel, despite third place .
  13. Web site: Hamilton on cusp of fifth title as Vettel throws in the towel . 8 October 2018 .
  14. Web site: FIA post-race press conference - Japan .
  15. Web site: Formula 1 2018 Honda Japanese Grand Prix – Race Result . Formula1.com . Formula One World Championship Limited . 7 October 2018 . 7 October 2018.
  16. Web site: Japan 2018 – Championship . StatsF1. 18 March 2019.