The 2017 Japanese Grand Prix (formally known as the 2017 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 8 October 2017 at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka in the Mie Prefecture, Japan. The race was the sixteenth round of the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship and marked the forty-third running of the Japanese Grand Prix. The 2017 event was the thirty-third time that the race has been run as a World Championship event since the inaugural season in , and the twenty-ninth time that a World Championship round had been held at Suzuka. This would also prove to be the last Grand Prix for Jolyon Palmer, as he was replaced by Carlos Sainz Jr. for the rest of the 2017 season. Sainz contested his last race for Toro Rosso before replacing Palmer at Renault.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton entered the round with a thirty-four-point lead over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the World Drivers' Championship. Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas sat third, a further twenty-five points behind. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes held a lead of one hundred and eighteen points over Ferrari, with Red Bull Racing a further one hundred and fifteen points behind in third place.
Qualifying DriverConstructorQ1Q2Q3144 Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:29.0471:27.8191:27.3191277 Valtteri BottasMercedes1:29.3321:28.5431:27.651635 Sebastian VettelFerrari1:29.3521:28.2251:27.791243 Daniel Ricciardo1:29.4751:28.9351:28.3063533 Max Verstappen1:29.1811:28.7471:28.332467 Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:29.1631:29.0791:28.49810731 Esteban OconForce India-Mercedes1:30.1151:29.1991:29.1115811 Sergio PérezForce India-Mercedes1:29.6961:29.3431:29.2607919 Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes1:30.3521:29.6871:29.48081014 Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Honda1:30.5251:29.7491:30.68720112McLaren-Honda1:30.6541:29.77891227 Nico HülkenbergRenault1:30.2521:29.879111320 Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari1:30.7741:29.972121430 Jolyon PalmerRenault1:30.5161:30.022181555 Carlos Sainz Jr.Toro Rosso1:30.5651:30.41319168 Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari1:30.849131710 Pierre GaslyToro Rosso1:31.317141818 Lance StrollWilliams-Mercedes1:31.40915199 Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari1:31.597162094 Pascal WehrleinSauber-Ferrari1:31.88517107% time: 1:35.280Source: Notes – Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen received a 5-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change. – Fernando Alonso received a 35-place grid penalty and both Jolyon Palmer and Carlos Sainz Jr. received a 20-place grid penalty, all for exceeding their respective quota of power unit components.
Race
Before the race started Sebastian Vettel's mechanics were working on his car. When the race started it was clear he had some serious issues with the car losing positions immediately as Lewis Hamilton led away. Carlos Sainz had an accident on the opening lap, with the safety car being deployed. Soon after the race restarted Vettel retired with engine problems. Hamilton took the victory, followed home closely by Max Verstappen with his teammate Daniel Ricciardo finishing 3rd, Valtteri Bottas was fourth and Kimi Räikkönen fifth.
Race classification
DriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints144 Lewis HamiltonMercedes531:27:31.194125233 Max Verstappen53 +1.21141833 Daniel Ricciardo53 +9.679315477 Valtteri BottasMercedes53 +10.58061257 Kimi RäikkönenFerrari53 +32.6221010631 Esteban OconForce India-Mercedes53 +1:07.78858711 Sergio PérezForce India-Mercedes53 +1:11.42476820Haas-Ferrari53 +1:28.95312498 Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari53 +1:29.8831321019 Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes52 +1 Lap811114 Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Honda52 +1 Lap201230 Jolyon PalmerRenault52 +1 Lap181310 Pierre GaslyToro Rosso52 +1 Lap14142 Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren-Honda52 +1 Lap91594 Pascal WehrleinSauber-Ferrari51 +2 Laps17 18 Lance StrollWilliams-Mercedes45 Suspension15 27 Nico HülkenbergRenault40 Rear wing11 9 Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari7 Accident16 5 Sebastian VettelFerrari4 Spark plug2 55 Carlos Sainz Jr.Toro Rosso0 Accident19Source:
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings DriverPoints1 Lewis Hamilton*3062 Sebastian Vettel*2473 Valtteri Bottas*2344 Daniel Ricciardo1925 Kimi Räikkönen148Source:
Constructors' Championship standings ConstructorPoints1 Mercedes*5402 Ferrari*3953 3034 Force India-Mercedes1475 Williams-Mercedes66Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for the sets of standings. Bold text and an asterisk indicates competitors who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.
References