2016 Japanese Grand Prix

The 2016 Japanese Grand Prix (officially the 2016 Formula 1 Emirates Japanese Grand Prix) was the seventeenth race of the 2016 Formula One season, the 32nd time the Japanese Grand Prix was held on the Formula One calendar, and the 28th time it was held at the Suzuka Circuit. It was held between 7 October and 9 October 2016.
Nico Rosberg took his third consecutive pole at the Suzuka Circuit, while Lewis Hamilton joined him on the front row. Rosberg led the race from the start, while Hamilton had another bad getaway that put him into eighth place between the first and second corners. Fighting through the field, Hamilton tried to close on Max Verstappen, but Verstappen's change of direction in the braking zone at the Casio Triangle chicane on their penultimate lap caused Hamilton to take the escape road and remain behind Verstappen. Rosberg took his only win at the Suzuka Circuit, and the final win of his F1 career, extending the gap to Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship to thirty-three points. Verstappen finished in second place while Hamilton finished third, securing their third constructors' title.
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==Background==
Going into the Japanese Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg still led the Drivers' Championship, this time twenty-three points ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, after an engine failure forced the latter to drop out of the previous race in Malaysia. Rosberg's third-place finish added fifteen points to his total points of the season, making it 288 points, while Hamilton stayed on 265. In the same race, Daniel Ricciardo's win put him onto 204 points. Sebastian Vettel's retirement from the Malaysian Grand Prix enabled Kimi Räikkönen to move up to fourth with 160 points, forty-four points behind Ricciardo. Without a 1-2 finish in Malaysia, had not yet won the Constructors' Championship, but still led with 553 points. However, 's 1-2 finish scored at the same Grand Prix put them 294 points behind Mercedes, and 46 points ahead of . Although Valtteri Bottas' fifth-place finish added another ten points to ' season, they did not move ahead of due to the latter team's drivers both finishing in the top ten and getting twelve points altogether. Ultimately, Force India opened the gap slightly to just three points.
Vettel was given a three-place grid penalty to serve at Suzuka, after hitting Rosberg at the start of the race in Malaysia.
Shortly after the Malaysian Grand Prix, Sergio Pérez confirmed that he would staying at for the 2017 season.
Driver tyre choices
Team		Driver 	 	 	 		Driver 	 	 	
 		Hamilton 	8	2	3		Rosberg 	8	3	2
 		Vettel 	9	1	3		Räikkönen 	9	2	2
 		Bottas 	7	3	3		Massa 	7	4	2
 		Ricciardo 	6	3	4		Verstappen	6	3	4
 		Magnussen 	7	2	4		Palmer 	7	3	3
 		Hülkenberg	7	2	4		Pérez 	7	2	4
 		Kvyat 	7	2	4		Sainz 	7	3	3
 		Alonso 	7	3	3		Button 	7	3	3
 		Ericsson 	8	3	2		Nasr 	8	3	2
 		Wehrlein 	6	4	3		Ocon 	6	4	3
 		Grosjean 	7	3	3		Gutiérrez 	7	4	2
Soft tyres were selected alongside medium and hard tyres to be used for the Grand Prix. Mercedes and both chose eight sets of soft tyres for each of their drivers, Ferrari chose nine, Red Bull and chose six, and the rest of the teams chose seven. Vettel was the only one to choose one medium set, also choosing three sets of hard tyres. Hamilton decided to use two medium sets and three medium sets, while Rosberg chose the opposite like in Malaysia. Many of the drivers chose three sets of mediums each; the Force India team, Räikkönen and Kevin Magnussen chose two sets of mediums each, while Felipe Massa, Manor and Esteban Gutiérrez chose four sets each. For the rest of the selected hard sets, Räikkönen, Massa, the Sauber team and Gutiérrez chose two sets each; Bottas, Jolyon Palmer, Carlos Sainz, Jr., , Manor and Romain Grosjean all chose three sets each; and the Red Bulls, Force Indias, Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat.
One day before Friday practice, Michael Schumacher's family revealed that his collection of karts, sports cars, trophies and F1 cars were to become available to the public at the Motorworld Koln-Rheinland classic car centre near Schumacher's hometown, Kerpen, at the end of 2017.
Hamilton used the engine he had used in Singapore, after Mercedes found out the reason for his engine failure in Malaysia, though Rosberg and the other drivers with Mercedes-powered cars would keep the engines they last used in Malaysia, but were given a precaution to keep an eye on their engine settings in future races. Rosberg was convinced that this would make engine failures less likely, and still keep the fight for the championship alive.
==Entry list==
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis 	Engine	Model 	Tyre
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	W07 Hybrid	 	PU106C Hybrid	
6 	Nico Rosberg 	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	W07 Hybrid	 	PU106C Hybrid	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF16-H 	 	059/5 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF16-H 	 	059/5 	
19 	Felipe Massa 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW38 	 	PU106C Hybrid	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW38 	 	PU106C Hybrid	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB12 	 	TAG Heuer 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB12 	 	TAG Heuer 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM09 	 	PU106C Hybrid	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM09 	 	PU106C Hybrid	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	Renault Sport F1 Team 	 	RS16 	 	RE16 	
30 	Jolyon Palmer 	Renault Sport F1 Team 	 	RS16 	 	RE16 	
26 	Daniil Kvyat 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR11 	 	059/4 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR11 	 	059/4 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	C35 	 	059/5 	
12 	Felipe Nasr 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	C35 	 	059/5 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	McLaren Honda 	 	MP4-31 	 	RA616H 	
22 	Jenson Button 	McLaren Honda 	 	MP4-31 	 	RA616H 	
94 	Pascal Wehrlein 	Manor Racing MRT 	 	MRT05 	 	PU106C Hybrid	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	Manor Racing MRT 	 	MRT05 	 	PU106C Hybrid	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-16 	 	059/5 	
21 	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-16 	 	059/5 	
source	source 	source 	source 	source 	source	source 	source
==Practice Overview==
===Practice Results===
No 	Driver 	Team 	FP1 	 	FP2 	 	FP3 	 	 	 	 	 	
No 	Driver 	Team 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	 	 	 	 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1:34.112	5 	1:34.150	12 	1:32.394	2 	 	 	 	 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:33.525	3 	1:33.103	5 	1:32.731	3 	 	 	 	 	
6 	Nico Rosberg 	 	1:32.431	1 	1:32.250	1 	1:32.092	1 	 	 	 	 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:33.817	4 	1:32.573	3 	1:33.011	5 	 	 	 	 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	1:35.688	14 	1:34.241	13 	1:34.272	16 	 	 	 	 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	1:36.294	18 	1:36.318	22 	1:34.544	18 	 	 	 	 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	1:34.767	8 	1:33.570	6 	1:33.921	14 	 	 	 	 	
12 	Felipe Nasr 	 	1:35.967	15 	1:34.824	19 	1:34.388	17 	 	 	 	 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	1:35.003	9 	1:33.985	8 	1:33.714	11 	 	 	 	 	
19 	Felipe Massa 	 	1:36.169	16 	1:34.127	11 	1:33.271	6 	 	 	 	 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	1:36.822	19 	1:34.339	15 	1:33.639	9 	 	 	 	 	
21 	Esteban Gutiérrez	 	1:36.219	17 	1:34.643	17 	1:33.787	12 	 	 	 	 	
22 	Jenson Button 	 	1:35.677	13 	1:34.398	16 	1:34.548	19 	 	 	 	 	
26 	Daniil Kvyat 	 	1:35.446	11 	1:34.305	14 	1:34.037	15 	 	 	 	 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	1:34.530	7 	1:33.873	7 	1:33.646	10 	 	 	 	 	
30 	Jolyon Palmer 	 	1:37.992	22 	1:34.760	18 	1:33.639	8 	 	 	 	 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	1:37.797	20 	1:35.400	21 	1:35.230	20 	 	 	 	 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	 	1:34.379	6 	1:33.061	4 	1:32.784	4 	 	 	 	 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	1:32.646	2 	1:32.322	2 	1:33.284	7 	 	 	 	 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	1:35.672	12 	1:34.086	10 	1:56.323	22 	 	 	 	 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	1:35.381	10 	1:34.028	9 	1:33.865	13 	 	 	 	 	
94 	Pascal Wehrlein 	 	1:37.966	21 	1:35.292	20 	1:37.256	21 	 	 	 	 	
Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:
==Qualifying==
===Qualifying Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	 	Pos 	Time 	Grid
1 	6 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	3 	1:31.858 	 	1 	1:30.714 	 	1 	1:30.647 	1
2 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	4 	1:32.218 	 	2 	1:31.129 	 	2 	1:30.660 	2
3 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	2 	1:31.674 	 	4 	1:31.406 	 	3 	1:30.949 	8*
4 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	1 	1:31.659 	 	3 	1:31.227 	 	4 	1:31.227 	6†
5 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	 	8 	1:32.487 	 	5 	1:31.489 	 	5 	1:31.178 	3
6 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	 	9 	1:32.538 	 	6 	1:31.719 	 	6 	1:31.240 	4
7 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	 	13 	1:32.682 	 	10 	1:32.237 	 	7 	1:31.961 	5
8 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	 	7 	1:32.458 	 	8 	1:32.176 	 	8 	1:31.961 	7
9 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	 	6 	1:32.448 	 	9 	1:32.200 	 	9 	1:32.142 	9
10 	21 	Esteban Gutiérrez 	 	 	11 	1:32.620 	 	7 	1:32.155 	 	10 	1:32.547 	10
11 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	 	5 	1:32.383 	 	11 	1:32.315 	 	 	 	11
12 	19 	Felipe Massa 	 	 	10 	1:32.562 	 	12 	1:32.380 	 	 	 	12
13 	26 	Daniil Kvyat 	 	 	12 	1:32.645 	 	13 	1:32.623 	 	 	 	13
14 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	 	14 	1:32.789 	 	14 	1:32.685 	 	 	 	14
15 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	16 	1:32.819 	 	15 	1:32.689 	 	 	 	15
16 	30 	Jolyon Palmer 	 	 	15 	1:32.796 	 	16 	1:32.807 	 	 	 	16
17 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	 	17 	1:32.851 	 	 	 	 	 	 	22‡
18 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	 	18 	1:33.023 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
19 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	 	19 	1:33.222 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
20 	12 	Felipe Nasr 	 	 	20 	1:33.332 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
21 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	 	21 	1:33.353 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
22 	94 	Pascal Wehrlein 	 	 	22 	1:33.561 	 	 	 	 	 	 	21§
107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075	107% time: 1:38.075
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
** Räikkönen was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
*† Vettel was given a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Rosberg in Malaysia.
*‡ Button was given a 35-place grid penalty for using his sixth engine, turbocharger, MGU-H, MGU-K, Energy Store and Control Electronics of the season.
*§ Wehrlein was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
===Grid===
The starting grid of the is as below:
Show Grid
Source
** Vettel was given a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Rosberg in Malaysia.
*† Räikkönen was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
*‡ Wehrlein was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
*§ Button was given a 35-place grid penalty for using his sixth engine, turbocharger, MGU-H, MGU-K, Energy Store and Control Electronics of the season.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	6 	Nico Rosberg 	 	53 	1h 26m 43.333s	1 	25
2 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	53 	+4.978 	3 	18
3 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	53 	+5.776 	2 	15
4 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	53 	+20.269 	6 	12
5 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	53 	+28.370 	8 	10
6 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	53 	+33.941 	4 	8
7 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	53 	+57.495 	5 	6
8 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	53 	+59.177 	9 	4
9 	19 	Felipe Massa 	 	53 	+97.763 	12 	2
10 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	53 	+98.323 	11 	1
11 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	53 	+99.254 	7 	
12 	30 	Jolyon Palmer 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	16 	
13 	26 	Daniil Kvyat 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	13 	
14 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	17 	
15 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	18 	
16 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	15 	
17 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	52 	+1 Lap 	14 	
18 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	22 	
19 	12 	Felipe Nasr 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	19 	
20 	21 	Esteban Gutiérrez	 	50 	Power loss 	10 	
Ret 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	46 	Exhaust 	20 	
Ret 	94 	Pascal Wehrlein 	 	41 	Accident 	21 	
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
==Milestones==
*Romain Grosjean's 100th entry (99th start).
*Nico Rosberg's 30th pole position.
*First time both cars qualify in the top ten.
*Lewis Hamilton's 100th podium.
* secure their third consecutive Constructors' Championship at Japan.
*Nico Rosberg's final F1 win.
==Standings after race==
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/- 	
1 	Nico Rosberg 	313 	 	
2 	Lewis Hamilton 	280 	 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	212 	 	
4 	Kimi Räikkönen 	170 	 	
5 	Max Verstappen 	165 	1 	
6 	Sebastian Vettel 	165 	1 	
7 	Valtteri Bottas 	81 	 	
8 	Sergio Pérez 	80 	 	
9 	Nico Hülkenberg 	54 	 	
10 	Felipe Massa 	43 	1 	
11 	Fernando Alonso 	42 	1 	
12 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	30 	 	
13 	Romain Grosjean 	28 	 	
14 	Daniil Kvyat 	25 	 	
15 	Jenson Button 	19 	 	
16 	Kevin Magnussen 	7 	 	
17 	Jolyon Palmer 	1 	 	
18 	Pascal Wehrlein 	1 	 	
19 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	1 	 	
20 	Esteban Gutiérrez 	0 	 	
21 	Marcus Ericsson 	0 	 	
22 	Felipe Nasr 	0 	 	
23 	Rio Haryanto 	0 	 	
24 	Esteban Ocon 	0 	 	
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/- 	
1 	 	593 	 	
2 	 	385 	 	
3 	 	335 	 	
4 	 	134 	 	
5 	 	124 	 	
6 	 	62 	 	
7 	 	47 	 	
8 	 	28 	 	
9 	 	8 	 	
10 	 	1 	 	
11 	 	0 	 	
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
==Notes==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2016 Grands Prix
Category:Japanese Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in Japan