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

All images courtesy of Formula1.com