"Angry" Rosberg takes pole in Mexico

Nico Rosberg has taken his 4th consecutive pole of the 2015 Formula 1 season at Mexico, beating his team mate to the top by just 2 tenths of a second. In a post qualifying interview, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff described to us that Rosberg took pole because he was "angry". It was an impressive effort after Hamilton was on top of him on in both Q1 and Q2.

Pole sitter Nico Rosberg (right).

It was an interesting and entertaining qualifying session(s) and sadly for McLaren's Jenson Button he was out before the first session even began. His car had a problem that the team couldn't identify and with him already receiving a 50 place grid drop they figured he would be starting from the back either way.

Into Q1 and Mercedes were on the pace quickly whilst Red Bull and Ferrari chose to save a set of mediums and went straight to soft tires. Most teams believe that the medium compound will be the preferred race tires. At the end of Q1 Button, Stevens, Rossi, Nasr and Alonso were all knocked out. No surprises there.

Valtteri Bottas in action.

Heading into Q2 we began to see more pace from Mercedes, Red Bull and Williams. Force India looked strong enough to challenge for Q3 but would need to overcome Toro Rosso and Lotus. Early in Q2 Kimi Raikkonen's session was ended with brake problems after he spun at Turn 1. This means he is likely to be starting from 18th or 17th on Sunday. It was unlucky for Kimi as he is in desperate need of a strong result. Towards the end of Q2 the rain began to spit lightly and many thought that Q3 would be an inters session, pushing Red Bull into a strong position. Q2 ended with Raikkonen, Ericsson, Maldonado, Grosjean and Sainz in the drop zone. This saw both Force India's, Red Bulls and 1 Toro Rosso (Verstappen) surprisingly into Q3.

Pastor Maldonado goes through the difficult stadium section on route to his P13 grid slot.

The rain stopped though and Q3 was dry. It saw Mercedes out straight away with Rosberg going faster than Hamilton. Hamilton bounced back to go fastest on his 2nd lap with Rosberg to swiftly reply with an even faster lap. Something seemed to surprisingly click for Nico Rosberg as he looked on another level than his rivals. Towards the end of the session, Hamilton didn't improve thus handing pole position to Rosberg. Behind them Sebastian Vettel was in third and was "giving it everything" but it wasn't enough as he was quite far off Mercedes pace. He finished 3rd. The altitude of the track continued to bring Red Bull into play at Kvyat out qualified team mate Ricciardo for 4th. A distance 6th and 7th was Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa for Williams respectively. The Williams never looked threatening as they struggled for grip through the slow stadium section. Verstappen was alone in 8th and will be looking to cause and upset in the race. Rounding out the top 10 was both Force India's with local hero Sergio Perez ahead of team mate Hulkenberg. Force India are confident that there race pace is more impressive and now they shift full attention to Sunday where they will be looking to cause a stir in the points.

Fans out in force for local hero Sergio "Checo" Perez.

The official order without penalties applied is:

1) Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
2) Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
3) Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari
4) Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing-Renault
5) Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing-Renault
6) Valtteri Bottas - Williams-Mercedes
7) Felipe Massa - Williams-Mercedes
8) Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso-Renault
9) Sergio Perez - Force India-Mercedes
10) Nico Hulkenberg - Force India-Mercedes
11) Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso-Renault
12) Romain Grosjean - Lotus-Mercedes
13) Pastor Maldonado - Lotus-Mercedes
14) Marcus Ericsson - Sauber-Ferrari
15) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari (5 PLACE GRID PENALTY)
16) Fernando Alonso - McLaren-Honda
17) Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari
18) Alexander Rossi - Manor-Ferrari
19) Will Stevens - Manor-Ferrari
20) Jenson Button - McLaren-Honda (50 PLACE GRID PENALTY)

So what should we be watching for in tomorrows race? Firstly, Turn 1, lap 1. We saw it in Japan and last time out in the US. Lewis Hamilton isn't afraid to get dirty and aggressive. I personally thought that in the US his wheels clearly weren't on full lock and the move on Rosberg was misjudged and wrong. However the run to Turn 1 in Mexico is just a little under 1km and slip stream should see 2 cars going through there side by side. Further back, can Williams get a jump on the Renault powered cars and and can Force India truly bounce back from a disappointing qualifying? Find out tomorrow when the 2015 Mexican Grand Prix gets underway!

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Long straights should favor Mercedes power in Mexico. - 2015 Mexican Grand Prix Preview

In just a couple of days till the first practice session for the newly reinstated Mexican Grand Prix will be taking place. The last time Formula 1 visited the country was back in 1992 and it saw Nigel Mansell take victory. Now 2015 will see a similar layout used but not exactly the same. The track has been repaved and revamped with the notable changes being the removal of the classic "esses" and the removal of the last corner parabolica type "Peraltada" with the new circuit cutting through a baseball stadium and joining back on the circuit halfway through the old Peraltada.

The Red arrow points to the old Peraltada whilst the Orange markings represents Mexico's main straights.

The image above shows the main straights (Orange) on the new Mexican Grand Prix circuit. For me I think its the point of interest on the circuit this weekend. As the teams have never run on it we can't be 100% sure of who will be the strongest but it looks as though it's going to be a power hungry circuit. Teams such as Red Bull and McLaren should find trouble as teams will most likely close up on the main straight and then overtake on the second biggest straight that follows after Turns 1, 2 and 3. The teams the circuit should suit are Mercedes, Williams, Force India and Lotus. In other words, the Mercedes powered teams. Here is what to watch for this weekend:

Force India

Force India have been a team to watch for many races and Mexico won't change that. Firstly there main battle to contend with in the Constructors Championship is with Red Bull. It is highly unlikely that Force India can take 4th in the Constructors race but they will keep trying everything. Force India will also be hoping to have a strong showing here as there driver Sergio Perez is a proud Mexican. Checo has said he is aiming for a podium to really give his home fans something to cheer about this weekend. With his good run in the last few races I wouldn't doubt him. Nico Hulkenberg will also be hoping he can have a good result after retirement in the previous two races after being in a strong points scoring position.

Force India driver Sergio Perez will be hoping for a good result at his home race.

Turn 1

Turn 1 on lap 1 will be an interesting prospect this weekend as none of the drivers have gone through it before. Decisions on lines to take will be different and could truly bring some extra and unexpected shock exits on the first lap. The new turn 1 at Mexico is a tight 90 degree right hander that has not much room on the track, but plenty of asphalt run off around for the people who cannot make the corner.

The start will be critical in Mexico.

Anyone

Lets remember that no driver has raced a Formula 1 car around this circuit yet meaning that the teams are very inexperienced in terms of set up, they really have no clue and are coming into this weekend on the back foot. This can mean that if a team such as Williams can hit the set up bang on they could find themselves on the top step of the podium. So expect a few teams to be out of place this weekend.

Lastly Lewis Hamilton has now won the Drivers World Championship meaning that the race between Ferrari and Mercedes is relatively irrelevant. So take your eyes of the front of the field and set them on teams like Force India and Lotus who should provide some real thrills and spills this weekend.

Stay here for coverage and analysis over the weekend.
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Hamilton wins 3rd World Title in Austin thriller - US Grand Prix 2015

Lewis Hamilton has been crowned the 2015 Formula 1 World Champion after he took victory at the 2015 US Grand Prix. Nico Rosberg (2nd) and Sebastian Vettel (3rd) did not manage to score enough points to mathematically stay in the championship for the last 3 rounds.

Lewis Hamilton is the 2015 World Drivers Champion!

The race started off in intermediate conditions with Rosberg leading from pole with Hamilton behind in 2nd. Going up to Turn 1 Lewis Hamilton pulled a very risky and arrogant move up the inside by not turning the wheel fully which in turn led his team mate to run wide, dropping him (Rosberg) down to 4th.

However during the first part of the race run in intermediate conditions Mercedes were not the dominant team and Nico Rosberg was dominating Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo briefly led the race and pulled out a huge 9 second lead over the Mercedes. It wasn't to be though as once the switch over to slicks was made on lap 18-19 and Mercedes completely began to dominate to the end.

Red Bull were the strongest in the rain.

Even though when the slicks were on the Mercedes were the fastest on paper, 2 safety cars and 2 Virtual safety cars threatened to ruin the Constructor Champions day. During the first safety car period for Ericsson on lap 24, Sebastian Vettel pitted for mediums to go to the end, whilst Mercedes opted to stay out on softs and do a two stop race to the end. At this point it looked like Ferrari were best suited to win the race, but a VSC period laps later saw Rosberg get a free pit stop and get back ahead of Vettel. Had safety cars and VSC not played a part in pit stops Mercedes would still likely have won, but had only 1 safety car been deployed, Ferrari would have been in the hot seat to win.

There was 8 DNF's throughout the race with crashes and reliability problems. First to retire was Will Stevens on the first few laps and Valtteri Bottas following just laps later, both due to first corner incidents. Grosjean and Raikkonen retired with brake problems whilst Felipe Massa pulled up for an unknown reason. Marcus Ericsson called a safety car out when he lost power on the start of the back straight. Hulkenberg collided with Ricciardo taking him out of the race whilst Daniil Kvyat spun into the wall at the penultimate corner completing the 8 DNF's.

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg retired after colliding with Ricciardo.

The strongest race for me was by far run by Max Verstappen after making smart moves and staying patient. Mistakes from other cars allowed him to move up to a strong 4th place, equaling his best finish in Formula 1. Results like this will only reinforce that fact that Verstappen deserves a drive next season as it looks more likely that Toro Rosso won't exist in 2016.

Also another mention to Sergio Perez who had another strong finish with 5th place for Force India. He took his tires many laps and showed true skill in keeping the car out of trouble and waiting for the perfect time to pass Fernando Alonso for 5th. Perez is definately a driver to watch in 2016 as the new b spec Force India seems to suit Perez more than Hulkenberg.

The start of the race.

Lastly Jenson Button drove a typical Jenson race as he continued to fight and took home a strong and unexpected 6th place finish for McLaren-Honda. The Honda power unit seemed to hold up well on the long straights at COTA and it definately it proved reliable which was the main reason McLaren did so well today. Unlucky for Fernando Alonso to miss out on points.

Here is the order:

1) Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
2) Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
3) Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari
4) Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso-Renault
5) Sergio Perez - Force India-Mercedes
6) Jenson Button - McLaren-Honda
7) Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso-Renault
8) Pastor Maldonado - Lotus-Mercedes
9) Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari
10) Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing-Renault
11) Fernando Alonso - McLaren-Honda
12) Alex Rossi - Manor-Ferrari
13) Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing-Renault (DNF)
14) Nico Hulkenberg - Force India-Mercedes (DNF)
15) Marcus Ericsson - Sauber-Ferrari (DNF)
16) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari (DNF)
17) Felipe Massa - Williams (DNF)
18) Romain Grosjean - Lotus-Mercedes (DNF)
19) Valtteri Bottas - Williams-Mercedes (DNF)
20) Will Stevens - Manor-Ferrari (DNF)

So Lewis Hamilton is the World Champion and Mercedes are Constructors Champions leaving the mid field teams to be the most important ones in the championship now. McLaren v Sauber v Toro Rosso and Force India v Red Bull? It was a great race to watch today in the US and every team and driver had ups and downs. The next race will be run in Mexico and its a circuit that will favor a strong power unit. More to follow.

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Rain and Thunderstorms disrupt any suitable running in Texas - Practice 1 and 2 Analysis

Heavy thunderstorms and rain have severely disrupted Friday's practice session's for the 2015 US Grand Prix. Practice 1 saw limited running with the best times being set on intermediate tires. Unfortunately Practice 2 was abandoned as the weather worsened into a full blown thunderstorm.

Thunderstorms stopped FP2 from being run.

From the running we did have in practice 1, Nico Rosberg appeared to be the king of the conditions. He was 1.2 seconds up on the next best time from Daniil Kvyat in the Red Bull. Kvyat's team mate Daniel Ricciardo, finished 3rd just 3 tenths behind his team mate, rounding off a decent session for the Milton-Keynes based unit.

So what have we learned? Not much really. This running can't be a 100% representative of what we will see on Sunday, but it can't be 0% either as it appears the thunderstorm isn't going to stop any time soon.

Championship leader, Lewis Hamilton.

The teams which impressed from practice 1 were definitely both Renault powered teams, Red Bull and Toro Rosso. They finished 2nd and 3rd as well as 4th and 7th respectively. Daniil Kvyat led Ricciardo whilst Carlos Sainz led young gun Max Verstappen. These results are very out of place and the worsening conditions seem to favor the strong chassis both teams possess. Both teams will be one to watch if qualifying and the race are held in wet/intermediate condtions.

Renault aside, Williams looked relatively strong in there car which comes as a massive surprise given there cars track record with rain and there common strategy of running heavy fuel in practice. However we can't be sure if Williams opted to run the heavy fuel today which leaves the result a little in the dark on whether there is any more pace to find. Another team to watch on Sunday.

The team which didn't impress in practice 1 were Force India. They had a weak session with both cars outside the top 10. Sergio Perez led Nico Hulkenberg in 12th and 14th respectively. However I wouldn't be too worried if I was them as both drivers did only set 4 laps. Barely enough to make a judgment that they are weak here.

Force India didn't get much running in FP1.

Honestly there isn't too much to say about the on track action from FP1 and the endless walking around waiting for FP2 to never start. Off track news coming out of the US Grand Prix is that Jolyon Palmer has been selected to drive along Pastor Maldonado at Lotus next year. This is positive for Palmer himself who has appeared in countless practice sessions for the team this year. I hope he has a strong debut in 2016.

Jolyon Palmer has been confirmed to drive for Lotus in 2016.

So with limited Friday running, the teams all now focus on FP3 and pray to the weather gods that it can clear it, even though it likely won't. It should be a very interesting and exciting qualifying and race to follow. Can Mercedes stay on top in the changeable conditions, its all theres too lose and the conditions don't do anyone favors. More to follow.

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The Championship battle WON'T be the most important at the US Grand Prix.

The US Grand Prix is coming up this weekend and the most important battle won't be for the lead. It is almost certain that Lewis Hamilton will win the championship either this round or the next. If he outscores Nico Rosberg by two points, the German won't be a mathematical chance, and if he outscores Sebastian Vettel by 11 points he too will be out of mathematical contention. This means fights between Force India, Lotus, Toro Rosso and Sauber become the most important as finishing higher in the championship pays out more money to said team.

Current World Championship leader, Lewis Hamilton.

The battles taking place range from Force India in 5th down to McLaren in 9th. The biggest gap between two teams between 5th and 9th is 26 points and the lowest being just 9. The maximum points a team can score in 1 weekend is 42. However the battles this year will be easier to defend with the removal of double points for the last race. I think this is a good thing as it could have seen a team lose it all in the last race after being strong and consistent throughout. Retirements due to car problems had a bigger impact and it just didn't really work for Formula 1.

Here are battles playing out in Austin:

Force India v Lotus 

Force India and Lotus are 5th and 6th respectively in the Constructors Championship and separated by only 26 points. At this stage of the season a strong result for each team could see Lotus really in reach, or Force India far out in front.

The track realistically suits the Force India car much better as Lotus appear to not quite have the same aerodynamic efficiently. On straightaways both teams should find themselves relatively equal as they both run the same Mercedes power unit. But as mentioned earlier the Force India will be much stronger through high speed corners such as the Esses through sector 1 and the Multi Apex corners of Turn 17 and 18. Force India also have the advantage of general reliability as Lotus have struggled this season with Maldonado recording 8 retirements in 15 races. Force India also dominate Lotus in terms of confidence after Force India recorded only there 3rd podium in the teams 8 year history, meaning they'll be very bright and chirpy coming to Austin.

If Lotus can shrink the gap to Force India ahead, I'd be very surprised. All of us know the talent that Romain Grosjean has and all it takes is another first lap incident from Hulkenberg to see Lotus ahead. This will be a battle to watch.

Sergio Perez will be feeling confident after a strong 3rd in Russia.

Toro Rosso v Sauber v McLaren

Toro Rosso currently find themselves in 7th place in the Constructors Championship after they have struggled for reliability all season. 11 points behind them is Swiss outfit Sauber, and they look hungry for the positions to change.

Sauber could really do something this weekend as the power demanding circuit will strain the Renault engine in the back of the Toro Rosso. Sauber have a Ferrari engine in the back of there car and have proved they can have the pace. They'll take confidence into this weekend after Felipe Nasr scored himself a well driven 6th place finish last time out in Russia (which you can read more about here). Sauber have been quiet assassins this year by taking strong results when nobody expected (Australia, 5th and 3 consecutive points finishes from Marcus Ericsson). However there is no denying the aerodynamic efficiency of the Toro Rosso as it has proved all season that it is a strong chassis with results such as 4th in Hungary. Toro Rosso will be at there strongest through the Esses in sector 1 and the Multi Apex corner of Turns 17 and 18. This could see a strong qualifying for the team, but weak race performance as other teams (for instance Sauber) dwill take advantage on the straights.

Toro Rosso v Sauber will most likely be the best battle in Austin and its almost too close to call. Sauber have always got points when least expected and this weekend is no different. The real question is: Will Toro Rosso's straight line speed deficit be overcome by there strength through the corners?

But wait, where do McLaren drop into all this? They are 9th in the Constructors Championship and 15 points behind Sauber. As mentioned above, you cannot always rely on Sauber to fire, and if they don't in Austin, a surprise shock result that McLaren keep producing could see them jump in front. If McLaren's claim of having one of the strongest chassis on the grid is true, then this is a track to show it at.

McLaren pit stop for Fernando Alonso.

Overall it's shaping up to be a good weekend. Personally I would love to see a retirement to Hamilton, to just throw a curve ball into the championship fight. Sadly I think even a retirement won't push Lewis Hamilton away from crown.

Force India will fight Lotus, Sauber will take it Toro Rosso. Which one though will be the more interesting? Its up to you. Ask yourself, who's side are you on?

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The Elite Drivers from Sochi - Perez, Vettel and... Felipe Nasr?

In the 2015 Russian Grand Prix, we saw some spectacular driving from the front to the back of the field. Lets take a look at the top 3 drivers who showed us throughout the weekend that they had the skill to create a good result for themselves.

1st) Sergio Perez - Force India-Mercedes, started P7, finished P3.

The best drive of the weekend without a doubt went to Sergio Perez. The Mexican scored his 5th podium in Formula 1 with a brilliant, but very lucky 3rd place finish. To read more about Sergio's tense last few laps, click here. Sergio Perez deserves the top drive of the weekend as he performed throughout. He finished 4th overall in both Practice 1 and Practice 3 and then took that form over to qualifying and took a very comfortable and convincing 7th place on the grid directly behind team mate Hulkenberg. The race went even better for Perez as he firstly managed to miss the first lap calamity caused by his team mate, and secondly was the first person to pit under the second safety car (for Romain Grosjean) on lap 12. Once every else pitted under the usual pit window (laps 27 through 35) Perez found himself in effective P3 with both Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen behind him. The class of his driving began to show as he continued to post the lap times he needed to stay competitive in 3rd whilst also managing the tire degredation to a desirable amount. The car was a handful for him and he defended brilliantly whilst he still had the rubber. When Bottas and Raikkonen overtook him on the penultimate lap, millions of hearts round the world sunk as Perez throughly deserved to be on the podium. It was only fate that Raikkonen and Bottas would collide on the last lap, giving Perez the podium he truly deserved, one that I'm sure he won't forget for a long time.

Sergio Perez celebrates his brilliant 3rd place.

2nd) Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari, started P4, finished P2.

Sebastian Vettel drove a brilliant race after a mediocre qualifying in Sochi. He could only manage 4th on the grid behind the Williams of Valtteri Bottas. On the start his team mate Kimi Raikkonen just behind jumped him and he was down into 5th. The German's day hadn't gotten off to a good start and he made sure it didn't get worse. On the second safety car restart he got a run on Raikkonen into Turn 2 and they went side by side. Raikkonen however left the track and conceded the position to Vettel. He then preceded to continue with blistering pace toward the second placed Valtteri Bottas. Then 14 laps later on Lap 27 Vettel was within DRS range and forced Bottas to dive into the pits as he was struggling to hold off Vettel. As Bottas got fresh and faster rubber, he was hampered by traffic ahead. Meanwhile Vettel was posting some incredible lap times in clear air and when he eventually pit on lap 31 he comfortably jumped Bottas with Daniel Ricciardo in between them. Vettel was now in 2nd. He stayed there for the rest of the race and drove with smooth and calm manner which meant he never looked challenged. I thought Vettel drove brilliant simply because with a bad qualifying and a bad start to the race he still knuckled down and got his 4th consecutive podium.

Sebastian Vettel gets caught in an awkward pose on the podium.

3rd) Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari, started P12, finished P6

Felipe Nasr is one driver from the Russian Grand Prix who everybody has bat a blind eye too as they've been too busy focusing on Perez's achievements up front. The Brazilian secured a spectacular 6th place finish for the team, there 2nd best finish of the season behind 5th in Australian Grand Prix. This puts him 13th in the Drivers World Championship, just ahead of Pastor Maldonado and now just 8 points behind Max Verstappen. It wasn't the most entertaining drive as he didn't fight his way to 6th, he actually drove a patience and well timed race and managed to finish "best of the rest" ahead of rivals such as Maldonado, Verstappen and both McLarens. Nasr stayed out of trouble and definitely got the reward for it. I think he deserves more credit than he has been given. He is a driver to watch out for Austin.

Felipe Nasr of Sauber-Ferrari.

These are my 3 Elite Drivers from Sochi, Agree of Disagree? Comment your thoughts below. Keep right here for updates on the 2015 US Grand Prix.

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2015 Russian Grand Prix - Race Recap and Analysis: Hamilton has dominant win as Force India achieve unexpected podium.

The 2015 Russian Grand Prix has finished and it saw Lewis Hamilton take his 9th victory of the 2015 season. He now leads the World Drivers Championship by 66 points from Sebastian Vettel and only needs to score 11 more points than Vettel in the next round to take the Title. Mercedes have also rapped up the 2015 Constructors Championship after Kimi Raikkonen received a 10 second time penalty which dropped him lower than the points Ferrari needed to still be a mathematical chance.

Race winner Lewis Hamilton.

The race was contested over 53 laps and saw Nico Rosberg start from the pole. People were very optimistic that Rosberg could produce a result as he had dominated Hamilton all weekend. It came to the start and Rosberg got away ahead of Hamilton and slip stream saw them go side by side through Turn 1 and into Turn 2. Rosberg got Hamilton up the inside through 2 and we were expecting a good battle through the next corners but it was cut short as the safety car was deployed for trouble down the field. Nico Hulkenberg had spun by himself on the exit of Turn 2, this caused Verstappen to spin and get a right rear puncture and Marcus Ericsson had no where to go but straight into Hulkenberg, taking them both out of the race.

The first lap incident between Nico Hulkenberg and Marcus Ericsson.

The safety car was in on lap 3 and we were back to racing. On the restart the Mercedes engine in Valtteri Bottas's Williams showed its strength as he overtook Raikkonen for 3rd behind the two works Mercedes. But 2 laps later trouble began. Nico Rosberg reported a "sticky" throttle pedal. Then on lap 7 Lewis Hamilton breezed past Nico Rosberg as he struggled to slow the car down for Turn 2 having clear problems with the throttle. Then on lap 8 he pulls into the pits to retire, an unfortunate end to what was looking like a good weekend. Hamilton took a comfortable lead from Bottas, Raikkonen then Vettel.

Fast forward to Lap 12 and the safety car was back out, Romain Grosjean had a snap of oversteer through the endless left hander of Turn 3 and he found himself in the wall. Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo dive for the pits whilst the top 4 all choose to stay out. This decision by the leader not to pit put the people who choose to stay out, mainly Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo in a very strong position to challenge for the podium.

On the restart on Lap 16 Vettel found himself side by side with Raikkonen down into Turn 2. Raikkonen was forced wide and off the track but rejoined ahead in Turn 3, Kimi yielded the position in the next corners and Vettel was ahead into 3rd. After this Vettel began to catch Bottas ahead in 2nd. By Lap 26 Vettel had closed the gap down so much he was within DRS range. Lap 27 Bottas takes a gamble and pits, but comes out behind traffic. Vettel takes the opportunity and puts his foot down and boxes 5 laps later on lap 31. The traffic proved to difficult for Bottas and Ferrari's excellent pit stops saw Vettel get out ahead with Ricciardo in between the two drivers. Raikkonen also had a chance of jumping Bottas after some fast laps but he only managed to come out just behind his fellow country man.

Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.

As we got up to round about lap 35 everyone had made there one stop and one thing was becoming very clear, Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo's gamble to pit under the safety car was paying off big time as they found themselves in effective 3rd and 4th respectively. Sergio Perez was in the better position though as Daniel Ricciardo backed Bottas and Raikkonen behind, creating a gap to Perez ahead. Bottas couldn't find a way past Ricciardo and it stayed like that till lap 45 when Bottas slip-streamed past down the start/finish straight.

It then briefly looked like another safety car was going to spoil the fight between Bottas and Perez as Carlos Sainz spun with a brake failure and lightly hit the wall, dropping debris on the track as he tried to recover. Sector 3 yellows were out, but no safety car. At this stage Lewis Hamilton was a comfortable win, Vettel 2nd with the biggest battle being Bottas catching Perez for third and Raikkonen and Ricciardo just seconds behind them.

1 lap later Raikkonen then got past Ricciardo through Turn 2 and looked like joining the Bottas/Perez fight up ahead. Just after this overtake was made, another yellow was out for Daniel Ricciardo who was forced into retirement for a presumed suspension issue. After the yellow was lifted 4 laps were left. Valtteri Bottas in 4th was much faster than Sergio Perez in 3rd, with Raikkonen 2 seconds back in 5th. On the penultimate lap at Turn 13 Bottas made the move down the inside and got by Perez for third and this also allowed Raikkonen to sneak through. In the space of one corner Sergio Perez dropped from 3rd to 5th. As the trio came onto the last lap Raikkonen was now attacking Bottas for 3rd place. Both Bottas and Raikkonen came into the Turn 4 right hander and Raikkonen decided to make a risky divebomb move which backfired when he made contact at the apex, damaging his car and taking Bottas out of the race. After fighting for nearly 15 laps holding Bottas off, Perez had lost his podium and now he had got it back. He sped past the limping Raikkonen who would eventually finish 5th and drop to 8th after receiving a 10 second time penalty for his role in the incident. Bottas did not finish and was classified 12th. He commented on the team radio: "What the f*ck did he (Raikkonen) do?".

The Raikkonen/Bottas incident.

Eventually after the spectacle of the last lap ended, the race order looked like this:

1) Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
2) Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari
3) Sergio Perez - Force India-Mercedes
4) Felipe Massa - Williams-Mercedes
5) Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing-Renault
6) Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari
7) Pastor Maldonado - Lotus-Mercedes
8) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari (10 SECOND TIME PENALTY)
9) Jenson Button - McLaren-Honda
10) Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso-Renault
11) Fernando Alonso - McLaren-Honda
12) Valtteri Bottas - Williams-Mercedes
13) Roberto Merhi - Manor-Ferrari
14) Will Stevens - Manor-Ferrari
15) Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing-Renault (DNF)
16) Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso-Renault (DNF)
17) Romain Grosjean - Lotus-Mercedes (DNF)
18) Nico Rosberg - Mercedes (DNF)
19) Nico Hulkenberg - Force India-Mercedes (DNF)
20) Marcus Ericsson - Sauber-Ferrari (DNF)

Overall this has been focused very much on the most exciting battle between Perez, Bottas and Raikkonen and many people have been forgotten. Felipe Nasr deserves a mention for a brilliant maintained 6th place finish as well as Jenson Button who finished 9th for McLaren.

Sergio Perez got his first podium since the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix.

A team by team analysis will follow in the next few days.

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2015 Russian Grand Prix - Qualifying Analysis: Hamilton's Turn 13 mistake costs him 2nd consecutive Sochi pole.

Nico Rosberg has taken pole position for the 2015 Russian Grand Prix after a brilliant lap saw him take the pole by 3 tenths from team mate Lewis Hamilton. After the initial laps were set Nico was on top, but when Lewis went out on his second run he ran wide at turn 13 and conceded the pole. The session was held in the dry throughout and it saw many teams scrambling for the most track time possible after the oil leak in Practice 1, rain in Practice 2 and Carlos Sainz's severe accident in Practice 3.

Pole sitter: Nico Rosberg of Mercedes.

The first session saw Mercedes in 1st and 2nd and the only team not to equip the super soft rubber. Carlos Sainz did not take part in the session as he was still recovering in hospital from his crash in FP3. Yellow flags were out early in the session as Pastor Maldonado lazily spun his Lotus on the out lap. Early pace was being set by Nico Rosberg as he matched the 2014 pole time with a 1:38.556. The only vibe to take away from Q1 is that the Mercedes looked strong. The car looked planted in the corners and fast down the straights as they kept a comfortable gap to Ferrari in 3rd and 4th. With Q1 ending it saw Fernando Alonso, Marcus Ericsson, Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi all knocked out (Carlos Sainz was the 5th person not to make Q2 as he did not participate). McLaren looked much stronger than Sauber throughout, but Felipe Nasr drove exceptionally to push McLaren's Fernando Alonso into the drop zone. Every team but Manor-Marussia had 1 car into Q2.

Force India had a very comfortbale qualifying to take 6th and 7th on the grid.

Q2 was a quiet session with no yellow or red flags throughout. It started with Lewis Hamilton on top with a time 6 tenths faster than Nico Rosberg. But Rosberg responded almost immediately to go 1 tenth faster than Hamilton, meaning Nico Rosberg was the favorite for pole heading into Q3. Further down the field Felipe Massa made mistakes on his critical lap which saw him manage a very disappointing 15th place. Daniil Kvyat, Felipe Nasr, Jenson Button, Pastor Maldonado and Felipe Massa were all knocked out and will start from 11th to 15th respectively. As mentioned earlier Massa was the big disappointment of the lot, but Daniil Kvyat would have been feeling just as bad as he narrowly missed out on a Q3 slot in front of his home crowd. Meanwhile Jenson Button was extremely happy with his unexpected 13th place for McLaren. Mercedes, Ferrari and Force India were the only teams to have both cars into Q3.

Felipe Massa, who was knocked out in Q2.

Into the top 10 shootout, and most people were out straight away as the tires were proving hard to get up to temperature. So hard that all drivers took an out lap, warm up lap and then hot lap. When the first hot laps were set, Nico Rosberg led the field from Lewis Hamilton on genuine pace. Sebastian Vettel was faster than team mate Raikkonen but only found himself in 4th as Valtteri Bottas stormed to a provisional 3rd place grid slot. As the final runs began, Nico Rosberg didn't improve on his time, leaving the door wide open for Lewis Hamilton to take pole. But for the first time this season Lewis Hamilton choked on a Saturday as he ran wide through Turn 13 effectively ending his lap. He pulled into the pits and conceded to give Nico the pole. Next to cross the line was the Bottas, Vettel and Raikkonen, the two Ferrari drivers were really threatning Bottas to improve his current 3rd place time or risk dropping behind them. Bottas responded calmly and beautifully to improve enough to get ahead of Ferrari and start from 3rd. Meanwhile Vettel led Raikkonen in the team mate battle between Ferrari in 4th and 5th. Next on the grid were the very quiet achievements of Force India, who managed both drivers into Q3 and really proved to be the best of the rest behind the top 3 of Mercedes, Ferrari and Williams. Nico Hulkenberg led Sergio Perez and they will be hoping for a strong race to close the gap to Red Bull in the constructors. Grosjean followed in his Lotus with the lone Toro Rosso of Max Verstappen in 9th. The Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top 10 as the Renault engine continues to struggle on Russia's demanding long straights.

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas who managed an exceptional 3rd place grid slot.

Tomorrows Grid will look like this after penalties have been applied:

1) Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
2) Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
3) Valtteri Bottas - Williams-Mercedes
4) Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari
5) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari
6) Nico Hulkenberg - Force India-Mercedes
7) Sergio Perez - Force India-Mercedes
8) Romain Grosjean - Lotus-Mercedes
9) Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso-Renault
10) Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing-Renault
11) Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing-Renault
12) Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari
13) Jenson Button - McLaren-Honda
14) Pastor Maldonado - Lotus-Mercedes
15) Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari
16) Marcus Ericsson - Sauber-Ferrari
17) Will Stevens - Manor-Ferrari
18) Roberto Merhi - Manor-Ferrari
19) Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso-Renault
20) Fernando Alonso - McLaren-Honda (35 Place Grid Penalty)

Overall the main notes to take out of qualifying looking toward the race. 1) Mercedes look very strong, there car looks like it was built for this circuit, but can they convert the strong 1 lap pace into long run pace as its believed Russia will be an "easy" one stop. 2) Ferrari are not second. Valtteri Bottas is 2nd, apart from Massa's troubles, Bottas looked faster than Ferrari throughout. Either Raikkonen or Vettel will have to work hard to get ahead of him for a podium. 3) Don't forget about Force India. They look very strong and most people are forgetting about the fact they breezed into Q3 without any worries. Out of all Q3 sessions that they have had both cars in this certainly looked the strongest and the most comfortable for them.

All will be revealed at lights out in just under 3 hours with Nico Rosberg leading from the pole.

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2015 Russian Grand Prix - Practice 1 Analysis: Ferrari WILL NOT supply Red Bull engines in 2016.

The first practice session for the 2015 Russian Grand Prix was cut short today by a diesel spill and bad weather. The times eventually set weren't very representative but give a rough outline of what we could see later in the weekend.

The intermediate tires had to be used as rain interrupted dry running.

Firstly the session was delayed by half an hour as a diesel spill on the track was deemed to be dangerous for the cars. When they did eventually get out on track it was relatively wet and teams such as Lotus and Mercedes choose not to run. As the track dried we got a limited amount of dry running but the more we got the more a rough outline of performance at the track was given to us. Sahara Force India appear to be strong here at Sochi as they topped the session with Nico Hulkenberg. Sergio Perez backed this effort up with a 4th place finish. Ferrari appear to be strong as Vettel finished in 3nd, 7 tenths adrift of Hulkenberg. Mercedes looked both strong and weak and Nico Rosberg finished in 2nd, just 0.052 seconds behind Hulkenberg and Hamilton could only manage 7th place as a late spin in the damp track saw him through a good lap time away.

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo.

However the off track action made up for the lack of on track as Ferrari announce that they will not supply Red Bull or Toro Rosso a 2016 spec power unit next season. However Ferrari have said they will supply a 2015 spec engine to 1 team, hinted at being Toro Rosso over Red Bull. This means Mercedes have said no, Ferrari have said no, they've divorced Renault and another 2 teams is the last thing that Honda need. It is imminent that the Red Bull brand will most likely leave Formula 1.

Bernie Eccelstone (left) and Maurizio Arrivabene (right)

Personally Red Bull have pushed the scales to hard, and now they've tipped to a point where leaving F1 is there only option. Could we potentially a Ross Brawn like effort from Christian Horner perhaps?

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Russian Grand Prix 2015 – Preview: Pirelli tyre choices could benefit Ferrari in Sochi.

Round 14 of the 2015 Formula One season takes us to Sochi Autodrom, Russia for only the second Russian Grand Prix after the inaugural race was run in 2014. It saw Lewis Hamilton take the win and Mercedes wrap up the constructors championship after a year of dominance.

2014 Race winner, Lewis Hamilton.

However, this year’s race might not be as easy for the defending champions as Pirelli have opted to bring the super-soft and soft tires this year, over 2014s soft and medium combination. This was changed after Nico Rosberg did 52 of the 53 laps in 2014 on one set of Medium tires. One thing to remember this weekend is that the last time the 2015 season saw the super-soft and soft combination was in Singapore and it definitely suited Ferrari better as they managed to have there tires working in the optimum temperature range, However in Singapore the overall track and air temperatures are generally higher and that definitely played a big part in the pace difference, something Sochi cannot offer. So don’t expect Ferrari on top, but the Scuderia could be a whole lot closer to the Silver Arrows than previous rounds.

Pirelli Motosport director, Paul Hembery

The track suited Williams last year as Bottas finished on the podium and set the fastest lap which is the track record. The Fin will need a special performance this time if he is too defend it. The track on paper suits Williams as they will be strong through sector 1 and 2 with the massive straights and high to medium speed corners. Sector 3 is where they'll take the hit though, as it is low speed corners which demand good traction, something the Williams struggles with.

This will be an interesting weekend as it is very hard to predict the race result due to the race only being in its second year and the teams will all be using different tire compounds over last year. The track appears to suit a strong power unit as both Red Bull and Toro Rosso struggled for pace last year. 

An important battle to play out in Sochi will be Lotus vs Force India as they fight for 5th in the constructors championship. Lotus got closer to the 5th place spot currently occupied by Force India in Japan as they recorded there first double points finish of the season. The gap remains at 17 points and the teams will be going extra hard as Lotus desperately need the extra prize money that 5th place pays out at the end of the season (If Renault don't take over which is highly unlikely). Red Bull could also join this fight as they have the disadvanatge of the Renault power unit, which will see them become mostly uncompetitive for podiums. They will have the better chassis against Lotus and Force India and will excel in the tight and twisty 3rd sector, whereas Force India and Lotus will have it over Red Bull in the long straights through sectors 1 and 2.

Force India will be a strong fight with Red Bull and Lotus.

Overall it proved to be a relatively easy and boring race last season with Lewis Hamilton winning comfortably after Nico Rosberg threw away the victory with a massive lock up at Turn 2. The new tire compound choices should throw a spanner in the works and prevent someone from going from lap 2 to the end on 1 set of tires (as Rosberg did in 2014). I fully expect Mercedes to be dominant and Ferrari to be just behind them. Williams should find themselves alone in 3rd with Red Bull, Lotus and Force India fighting for the 4th row of the grid in Qualifying. Action gets underway with Practice 1 getting underway at 10:00am local time.

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2015 Japanese Grand Prix - Race Analysis: Team by Team - Mercedes back to normal as Red Bull come out losers in Suzuka.

The 2015 Japanese Grand Prix was a good race for some, and one to forget for others. Lets go team by team with analysis and see who came out winners.

Race winner: Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton, 1st and Nico Rosberg, 2nd

It was back to usual running for the Silver Arrows at Suzuka as they picked up there 8th 1, 2 finish this season. The circuit which demands power as well as downforce was a much better suit than Singapore to Mercedes package. Nico Rosberg took the pole from Lewis Hamilton but lost the advantage right from the start. Lewis pushed Nico wide on the exit on Turn 2 and he dropped 4th behind Vettel and Bottas. Rosberg jumped Bottas and Vettel in his first and second pit stops to finish 2nd, whilst Hamilton led comfortably throughout to take 1st.

Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton (left) and Nico Rosberg (right)

Ferrari - Sebastian Vettel, 3rd and Kimi Raikkonen, 4th

Ferrari had to play second fiddle to Mercedes in Suzuka. After a dominant race in Singapore many people were interested to see if the Scuderia's pace was permanent. It turned out to be a fairytale and Ferrari never looked threatening all weekend. Both Vettel and Raikkonen proved that there long run pace is much better than 1 lap pace after qualifying saw them only manage 4th and 6th respectively. Vettel jumped Bottas on the start and found himself 2nd behind Hamilton. He stayed there most of the race and got caught napping in the second pit window as Ferrari were too slow to protect from Mercedes undercut and he eventually finished 3rd. Kimi however only went forward, he managed to go from 6th to 5th off the start, and then play the undercut perfectly to jump Bottas in the second stops and finish 4th. Since Ferrari choose to undercut Bottas with Raikkonen, they had to wait an extra lap to box Vettel which cost him 2nd.

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel locks up.

Williams - Felipe Massa, 17th and Valtteri Bottas, 5th

Williams definitely did not have a good day after qualifying promised a lot. The team looked to be on par with Ferrari in qualifying as Bottas and Massa took 3rd and 5th respectively. Massa's day got off badly as he touched tires with Ricciardo off the start, puncturing his front right and dropping him to last. He never recovered and only overtook both Manors to finish 17th. Valtteri Bottas pitted early on lap 12 from 3rd to protect himself from an undercut from Nico Rosberg in 4th. 4 laps later Rosberg behind pit and it proved to early for Williams as Rosberg caught and overtook Bottas on lap 17 down the inside of the final chicane. Bottas would then be jumped by Raikkonen in the second stops and only managed to finish 5th.

Williams Driver Felipe Massa and his first lap puncture.

Red Bull - Daniel Ricciardo, 15th and Daniil Kvyat, 13th

Red Bull's promising FP3 pace was prevented from being turned into strong race results by a heavy crash for Kvyat in qualifying which saw him start from the pitlane and Ricciardo receiving a puncture off the start from Felipe Massa. Daniel Kvyat's race didn't get better after his big qualifying crash as he had brake problems throughout the race which saw him locking up and subsequently struggling on tires. However Kvyat kept fighting and managed a sneaky move on Marcus Ericsson late in the race when the Sauber driver slowed down to let Kimi Raikkonen through, Kvyat managed to also sneak through securing himself 13th place. Daniel Ricciardo didn't have an exciting race until the last lap where he made a dive from miles back on the brakes on Marcus Ericsson. The Sauber engineers thought Ricciardo was attempting to take there driver out. The move didn't stick and he settled for 15th. These results saw the team drop further behind Williams in the constructors and put Force India in a position to attack for the 4th place spot.

Daniil Kvyat's car is recovered after his heavy crash in qualifying.

Force India - Nico Hulkenberg, 6th and Sergio Perez, 12th

Force India knew they would be a strong prospect at Suzuka as they had a strong engine and aero package. It didn't go 100% to plan though as Sergio Perez became the 3rd victim of punctures off the start and consequently he found himself in the gravel of Turn 1 and in last place. It was the opposite for Nico Hulkenberg as he managed to go from 13th on the grid to 6th place in the opening laps. Hulkenberg then knuckled down and had a relatively quiet race all the while holding onto 6th place proving to be the best of the rest behind Mercedes, Ferrari and the Williams of Bottas. Sergio Perez however had an action packed race as he fought his way through the field to eventually a strong 12th place. Perez indefinitely provided the best battle of the race as he attempted to get by Marcus Ericsson with Daniil Kvyat behind him. Perez caught Ericsson at the end of lap 42 and began to pressure him. Lap 44 Perez attempted a move round the outside of Turn 1 and 2 but brilliantly driving from Ericsson saw him hold position. Perez tucked in behind the Sauber driver up to lap 50 when he finally made a move stick as Ericsson ran just inches wide at Spoon, a small mistake that saw Perez get by. Perez ran out of laps to challenge the much slower Alonso for 11th and even Sainz for 1 championship point.

Force India's Sergio Perez

Lotus - Romain Grosjean, 7th and Pastor Maldonado, 8th

The last few weeks had been stressful ones for the Lotus team as they continued to have money debacles. After being locked out of there hospitality centers at the track the last thing the team needed was a bad result. However both Grosjean and Maldonado pulled together to find Lotus's first double points finish of the season, giving the team something to smile about. Like Hulkenberg both Lotus drivers drove quiet races and didn't have much action. Romain Grosjean finished 7th and recorded his 7th points finish of the season whilst Maldonado finished behind his team mate in 8th and recorded only his 3rd points finish of 2015.

Romain Grosjean of Lotus.

Toro Rosso - Max Verstappen, 9th and Carlos Sainz, 10th

The young guns of Formula 1 gave us a great show again in Suzuka as Verstappen went from 17th on the grid after a grid penalty and problems in qualifying to a 9th place finish. Sainz backed Verstappen up by finishing just behind him 10th. Carlos Sainz had some real pace during the race as he briefly held the fastest lap after his first stop. He also pulled off the first overtake off the race on Alonso round the outside of Turn 1. Verstappen showed some good racing intellect by pulling off a text book undercut on Felipe Nasr in the first stops. Overall not the most exciting day for the young guns, but a double points finish cannot be argued with.

Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz.

Sauber - Marcus Ericsson, 14th and Felipe Nasr, 20th (retired but was classified)

Sauber didn't score any points in Suzuka after a disappointing qualifying which saw both cars out in Q1. The team showed fight during the race with Marcus Ericsson managing to hold Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat up from lap 42 all the way through to lap 50 which effectively ended any chances for Perez to score points purely from brilliant defending. Felipe Nasr's day didn't get to much better from being jumped by Verstappen and Button in the pits after overtaking both of them round the outside of Turn 1. His race came to an end just laps from the finish with car trouble. He was classified as he did cover 90% of the race distance.

Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson.

McLaren - Fernando Alonso, 11th and Jenson Button, 16th

Not even a home race for Honda could see them pull something special out of the bag as the McLaren team continued to struggle at Suzuka. Alonso did well to gain 3 positions from his starting place of 14th and finish just outside points in 11th whilst Jenson Button could only manage a 16th place finish. The team were embarrassed by Fernando Alonso commenting that "They pass me on the straights like GP2, very embarrassing". The team was relatively quiet all weekend apart from Alonso's comments.

McLaren driver Jenson Button.

Manor - Will Stevens, 19th and Alexander Rossi, 18th

Last but not least was Manor-Marussia who again finished last 18th and 19th will Alexander Rossi beating his team mate Will Stevens after the brit was handed a penalty. Stevens did lead his team mate most of the race until a high speed spin at 130R which he managed to keep on the race track and stop facing the right way. It was a real bullet dodge as he only lost between 5 and 10 seconds from what could have been a heavy crash. The Manor's were quiet all race and we didn't see much action from them.

Manor driver, Alexander Rossi on the grid.

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2015 Japanese Grand Prix - Race Analysis: Hamilton wins comfortably in Suzuka as Ferrari don't challenge.

The 2015 Japanese Grand Prix has finished and it saw Lewis Hamilton finish 1st for the 41st time, equaling the great Ayrton Senna's record. It was the 8th 1, 2 for Mercedes this season with Nico Rosberg finishing 2nd. Sebastian Vettel picked up another podium for the Scuderia.

Race winner Lewis Hamilton.

The race was held over 53 laps and Lewis Hamilton led every lap. Lewis got the edge on pole sitter Nico Rosberg from the start when they went side by side into Turns 1 and 2. Lewis went up the inside and he squeezed Nico right out onto the curb, dropping him to 4th by the time they reached the esses. Vettel got the jump from 4th on Valtteri Bottas and he was ahead of the fin by Turn 1.

The first lap saw 3 punctures for Daniel Ricciardo, Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez. They all pitted on lap 1. This saw the likes of Maldonado, Hulkenberg and Alonso the big gainers off the line, all going into the points by the end of lap 1.

The race start.

Hamilton set the pace early with the fastest lap and he pulled away from Vettel straight away. The first overtake we saw was from Marcus Ericsson as he passed Fernando Alonso round the outside at Turn 1. As we neared the 10 lap mark many people were pitting, including Valterri Bottas who undercut from 3rd trying to get in front of Vettel in 2nd. This also protected him from Rosberg in 4th. Bottas didn't get Vettel but he definitely closed up through the pit stop phase. Some people opted for the hards in the 2nd stint (Raikkonen, Rosberg, Vettel) and some opted for the mediums (Hamilton, Bottas)

In the 2nd stint Rosberg really closed up on Bottas for 3rd place and on lap 17 made an overtake through the last chicane. Rosberg then undercut his 2nd stop and Ferrari were caught napping as Sebastian Vettel was jumped by the now flying Rosberg. However it was't all bad for the Italian tram as they managed to get Raikkonen ahead of Bottas for 4th.

However Rosberg's pace wasn't enough and he finished a mere 16 seconds off Hamilton. Vettel did close the gap considerably to his compatriate for 2nd place, but didn't make a move.

Sebastian Vettel

Meanwhile there was no crashes or retirements in the race anywhere with the biggest moment being Will Stevens having a big spin at 130R. He had no damage and he ended up facing the right way and only lost a little bit of time. Daniil Kvyat struggled throughout the race with bad brakes and he was really struggling. Felipe Nasr didn't finished but was classified as he completed 90% race distance. This means it is only the 5th time in Formula 1 that there hasn't been a retirement from a race.

Overall the order finished:

1) Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
2) Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
3) Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari
4) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari
5) Valtteri Bottas - Williams-Mercedes
6) Nico Hulkenberg - Force India-Mercedes
7) Romain Grosjean - Lotus-Mercedes
8) Pastor Maldonado - Lotus-Mercedes
9) Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso-Renault
10) Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso-Renault
11) Fernando Alonso - McLaren-Honda
12) Sergio Perez - Force India-Mercedes
13) Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing-Renault
14) Marcus Ericsson - Sauber-Ferrari
15) Daniel Riccardo - Red Bull Racing-Renault
16) Jenson Button - McLaren-Honda
17) Felipe Massa - Williams-Mercedes
18) Alexander Rossi - Manor-Ferrari
19) Will Stevens - Manor-Ferrari
20) Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari

The best race for me went to Nico Hulkenberg who finished in 6th place after starting from 13th on the grid. He was one driver who really stayed out of trouble and ran his own race which saw him pick up some points which Force India desperately needed since Lotus have just had a double points finish. Sergio Perez couldn't back Hulkenberg up after a lap 1 puncture ruined his race.

As I just said, Lotus also drove a great race after having problems all weekend with money. It will be a big confidence boost for the team to see they are still capable of scoring points, and to have both drivers doing it will put a smile on everyones face.

Toro Rosso also managed to have a double points finish in 9th and 10th with Max Verstappen getting the better of Carlos Sainz. They drove well and Sainz did very well after needing a wing change on his 2nd stop.

Williams really lost out at the top with Massa's race being ruined 10 seconds into the race and Bottas losing 3rd, then losing 4th and eventually only managing 5th. Ferrari definitely showed Williams that they have the better long run pace.

Felipe Massa received a puncture on lap 1.

The best battle of the race was for 12th position between Ericsson, Perez and Kvyat. Ericsson on older tires managed to hold off the very quick Perez and Kvyat for many laps until he ran a little wide at spoon, and Perez needed no other invitation, getting ahead before 130R. It was the first of many moves that stuck for Perez. Kvyat followed laps later through the chicane as Ericsson let through Raikkonen.

More to follow on the Japanese Grand Prix

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