Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton all but wrapped up the 2017 Formula One drivers’ championship after he held off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to win the 2017 Japanese Grand Prix. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, finished third to claim the final podium position.
Hamilton was the pole-sitter and started alongside his main rival – Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel – on the front row, but Vettel immediately encountered an issue and lost power on the first lap due to a faulty spark plug which eventually resulted in his retirement from the race by the fourth lap. That left the door wide open for Hamilton to essentially win the 2017 world title as he cruised around Suzuka while keeping Verstappen at bay – though there was some minor drama on the last two laps as Hamilton encountered some tire issues that allowed Verstappen to close the gap and have a closer finishing margin.
With the victory, Hamilton now maintains a whopping 59-point lead – 306-247 – over Vettel with only four races remaining in the season. Hamilton’s Mercedes’ teammate, Valtteri Bottas is in third with 234 points.
2017 Japanese Grand Prix Top 10
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull
3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull
4 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
5 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
6 Esteban Ocon Force India
7 Sergio Pérez Force India
8 Kevin Magnussen Haas
9 Romain Grosjean Haas
10 Felipe Massa Williams