Mercedes took the 2019 F1 constructors’ title with Valtteri Bottas winning Japanese GP ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.
Pole-sitter and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel made a slow start to F1 Japanese GP at Suzuka as he dropped back behind Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, who took the lead of the grand prix. Vettel was investigated for a false start, captured on the onboard video.
The FIA looked into it but there was no penalty, which could be because the sensor did not set off which is the indicator to a penalty. His teammate Charles Leclerc had a tangle as well against Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, who spun at Turn 1.
There was damage to both Leclerc and Verstappen’s car, with the Monegasque continuing on still for few laps before eventually pitting for a front wing change. His left-side mirror also came off, which hit the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.
The FIA initially stated no investigation needed but re-opened the case midway in the race. But with Verstappen’s retirement, the investigation was deferred to after the grand prix. Leclerc, meanwhile, had to get through the field after an early stop.
With couple of cars out, Red Bull’s Alexander Albon was fourth after under-cutting McLaren’s Carlos Sainz. The Thai racer had lost a place to McLaren’s Lando Norris on Lap 1 but got past him in a brave move on the inside in the final corner.
The move was put under investigation but no penalty was warranted as Norris was forced to pit though after damage. Before Leclerc made a charge back into Top 10, Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly had track position over Racing Point’s Lance Stroll.
The rest of the Top 10 had Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, with Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo just outside. With degradation high, teams were forced into two-stopper with Vettel leading the way by putting soft in the second stint.
The two Mercedes drivers had soft-medium-soft on their mind but the question remained on whether Hamilton would pit or not while leading the Japanese GP at that juncture, as Bottas was second and Vettel third after their second stops.
Albon stationed himself in fourth ahead of Sainz with Leclerc in sixth after his multiple stops. The fight for seventh was extremely close with Gasly leading Stroll, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo and Perez as Norris was long way off from the battle.
The questions regarding Hamilton pitting or not was answered soon as Bottas was back in lead with Vettel second and Hamilton re-joining in third. It was close between Vettel and Hamilton towards the end as the British racer chased him for second.
At the front though, Bottas hung on to secure the win in Japanese GP, which is first F1 win since the Azerbaijan GP as Vettel held off Hamilton to keep second by 0.410s. With the points scored, Mercedes are crowned the 2019 F1 constructors’ champion.
For the drivers’ title as well, Hamilton only has Bottas as the remaining contender with Vettel, Leclerc and Verstappen out of contention. Behind the Top 3, it was Red Bull’s Albon in fourth with McLaren’s Sainz in fifth as the best of the rest.
Ferrari’s Leclerc was sixth eventually and a late attempt to set the fastest lap went in vain with Hamilton securing it. A late stop for Renault’s Ricciardo helped his cause as the Australian managed to claw back in the Top 10 to be seventh.
Toro Rosso’s Gasly was eighth despite a late tangle at Turn 2 with Racing Point’s Perez, with the Mexican not seeing the chequered flag. He is still classified in ninth still due to the results take on Lap 52 as a system glitch did not record the final lap.
Renault’s Hulkenberg, therefore, was 10th to take the final point as the German not only lost to Ricciardo but also a charging Perez towards the end. This pushed out Racing Point’s Stroll to 11th with Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat overtaking McLaren’s Norris for 12th.
Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen was only 14th with Haas’ Romain Grosjean dropping back to 15th ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen was 17th with Williams’ George Russell in 18th and Robert Kubica 19th.
The Williams duo were the only ones to finish two laps down in the grand prix, while everyone from Leclerc until Magnussen finished a lap down, with only the Top 5 on the lead lap.
