The Japanese GP was one of the few races held this year, where the wheel-to-wheel racing overshadowed the complex technical specifications associated with the sport. Skills on the wheel influenced the result much more in Japan than it had in the recent years. Rain threatened to play spoilsport all weekend but remained noticeably absent on the race day.
The GP did not have any the safety car period (not even the virtual one!). All twenty-two drivers on the grid finished the race.
Nico Rosberg won the race after starting from the pole position. With 4 races left, he increased his lead over Lewis Hamilton to 33 points. Lewis Hamilton had a start to forget as he found himself in the 8th position before the first turn. Putting aside the disastrous start, Lewis drove with confidence to limit the damage.
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Mercedes won the 2016 Constructors Championship title at Suzuka,Japan. With this title, they have also joined the elite league of teams who have won the Constructors championship for three and more consecutive years.
Honda had a race to forget at home. Both the former World Champions Button and Alonso could not even qualify to Q2. Scuderia Ferrari was surprisingly competitive all weekend.
Here are the five moments from the Japanese GP.
#1 Rosberg tightens grip on the Driver’s Championship
Nico Rosberg has further increased the lead over his teammate in the recently concluded Japanese GP. He is now 33 points clear off Lewis with only four races left in the present season.
At Suzuka, Rosberg made a clean start and dictated the race from start to finish. During the entire race, he managed his car with aplomb. The gap between Nico’s car and the one behind his car never dipped below 5 seconds mark.
During the later stage of the race, Max Verstappen pushed hard to defend his track position from Hamilton. Rosberg responded to the situation to maintain a substantial lead over the Red Bull driver.
On current form, Nico Rosberg is all set to win his first World Championship title. If he finishes 2nd in the remaining races, he will surely win the title. If he finishes 3rd in the next three races, the title would be decided in the season finale at Abu Dhabi.
#2 Ferrari and Competitive Edge
For the 1st time this season, Scuderia Ferrari outperformed the Red Bulls on Saturday. The famous red Ferraris locked the 2nd row of the grid ahead of the Redbulls.
Both Ferrari drivers received penalties before the start of the race. Sebastian Vettel earned the penalty of three grid places courtesy to his little adventure in Malaysian GP. The Iceman, Kimi Raikkonen, got his penalty of five places due to a gearbox change.
The penalties did not deter the drivers’ confidence. Both the drivers drove in stellar fashion through the entire race. Vettel challenged for the podium finish throughout the race while Raikkonen shrugged off the challenges from Riccardo and the Force Indias.
Vettel and Raikkonen finished an impressive 4th and 5th on the grid. If not for the penalties, the Ferrari could be on the podium. Over the weekend, Ferrari showed a competitive edge which has been lacking this season.
#3 Lewis Hamilton feeling the pressure
A disappointing engine failure had robbed Hamilton an inevitable victory in the Malaysian GP. At Suzuka, he got beaten by his teammate for the pole position. An error-free start and fight for the victory were expected from the current World Champion.
For an umpteenth time this season, Hamilton flunked his race start. As a result of a slow start, he dropped to the 8th position leading into the first corner.
From the 8th position on the grid, he drove sensibly and patiently to earn a podium finish.
For the large part of the race, Lewis had to battle with Kimi and Daniel rather than his teammate. A barrage of slower cars too blocked his way. Lewis overtook where he could and gained positions on pit stops to overcome the challenge.
To take the fight to the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP, he just can’t afford to make any more mistakes.
#4 Mercedes are the World Champions
Mercedes had set the benchmark in F1 ever since the new 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid engine was introduced. Since 2014, they have 47 race victories to their name out of 55. In the on-going season, they have won 15 races out of 17 held including the Japanese GP.
In the Japanese GP, Mercedes had to outscore the Red Bull by 23 points. The Silver Arrows did that in style.
In 2016 season, the German team had won the Constructor’s Championship with four races to spare.
The Silver Arrows have joined an elite league of F1 teams who had won the Constructor’s Championship three or more times in a row. The other teams to achieve this feat are Ferrari, Williams, McLaren and Red Bull. Scuderia Ferrari is the only team to accomplish this rare feat twice.
New rules and regulations will come into effect from next season. The likes of Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren would be working extra time to reduce the gap between themselves and Mercedes. Will these teams succeed or the Silver Arrows will continue to dominate?
#5 Wheel-to-Wheel Racing and Overtakes
The Japanese GP started off with a barrage of overtakes. Before the 1st turn, track positions of cars interchanged due to Hamilton’s slow start.
The majority of the overtakes were seen in the DRS zone starting from the exit of the chicane and ending at Turn 1.
The first half saw an exciting, nail-biting racing. Three cars were battling for the 6th position and had less than two seconds between them. Sergio Perez rose to 3rd position on the grid at one point and was leading the two Ferraris, a Red Bull, and a Mercedes. Slower cars too held off the faster cars. Kimi lost some precious time due to his inability to overtake the slower cars.
In the 2nd half, Lewis Hamilton tried hard to pass Max Verstappen for the 2nd position. In one attempt, he attacked on the outside and went onto the wrong path. Earlier in the race, Lewis had to defend himself from Sebastian.
