2018 Japanese Grand Prix

The 2018 Japanese Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 2018 Honda Japanese Grand Prix) was the seventeenth race of the 2018 Formula One season, the thirty-fourth time the Japanese Grand Prix was held on the Formula One calendar, and the thirtieth time it was held at the Suzuka Circuit. It was held between 5 October and 7 October 2018.
In qualifying, Lewis Hamilton took his eightieth overall pole position, his second at the Suzuka Circuit, after Sebastian Vettel was unable to qualify higher than ninth due to going wide on his first flying lap in Q3 while a rainfall hit the final minutes of qualifying, though he was later promoted to eighth following a three-place grid penalty for Esteban Ocon. Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen qualified second and third, respectively.
In the race, Hamilton kept the lead while Bottas held off Verstappen at the first corner. Verstappen went wide at Turn 15, but squeezed Kimi Räikkönen off the track after rejoining at Turn 16, thus allowing Vettel to pass Räikkönen. Charles Leclerc then went into the back of Kevin Magnussen on the start/finish straight on lap 2, giving Magnussen a puncture. The debris from Magnussen's tyre later resulted in the safety car being deployed on lap 4, and it stayed out until the end of lap 7. On lap 8, Vettel made a move on Verstappen at Spoon, but the two made contact, dropping Vettel to the back of the field while Verstappen remained in third place. Vettel made his way up to sixth, as Hamilton took his seventy-first overall victory, putting him sixty-three points ahead of Vettel in the championship, while Bottas held off Verstappen to take second, and Verstappen had to settle for third.
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==Background==
==Entry list==
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport	 	W09 EQ Power+ 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport	 	W09 EQ Power+ 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF71H 	 	062 EVO 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF71H 	 	062 EVO 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 	 	RB14 	 	TAG Heuer 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 	 	RB14 	 	TAG Heuer 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Racing Point Force India F1 Team	 	VJM11 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	Racing Point Force India F1 Team	 	VJM11 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW41 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW41 	 	M09 EQ Power+ 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Renault Sport Formula One Team 	 	R.S.18 	 	R.E.18 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	Renault Sport Formula One Team 	 	R.S.18 	 	R.E.18 	
28 	Brendon Hartley 	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 	 	STR13 	 	RA618H 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 	 	STR13 	 	RA618H 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-18 	 	062 EVO 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-18 	 	062 EVO 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
2 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	C37 	 	062 EVO 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 	 	C37 	 	062 EVO 	
Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only 	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only
47 	Lando Norris 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL33 	 	R.E.18 	
source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source 	source
==Practice Overview==
===FP1===
===FP2===
===FP3===
===Practice Results===
No 	Driver 	Team 	FP1 	 	FP2 	 	FP3 	 	 	 	 	 	
No 	Driver 	Team 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	 	 	 	 	
2 	Stoffel Vandoorne	 	 	1:31.981	20 	1:33.034	19 	 	 	 	 	 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1:29.373	3 	1:29.513	6 	1:30.474	6 	 	 	 	 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:29.685	5 	1:29.050	3 	1:29.715	2 	 	 	 	 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:29.627	4 	1:29.498	5 	1:30.054	3 	 	 	 	 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	1:30.814	8 	1:30.440	8 	1:31.636	11 	 	 	 	 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	1:31.073	10 	1:30.478	9 	1:32.442	16 	 	 	 	 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	1:31.073	11 	1:30.795	13 	1:33.105	20 	 	 	 	 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	1:31.272	13 	1:30.510	11 	1:31.483	8 	 	 	 	 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	1:32.034	18 	1:30.988	17 	1:32.608	17 	 	 	 	 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	1:30.929	9 	1:30.906	15 	1:31.760	12 	 	 	 	 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	 	1:31.508	16 	1:31.215	19 	1:32.201	14 	 	 	 	 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	1:31.274	14 	1:30.956	16 	1:31.521	10 	 	 	 	 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	1:31.418	15 	1:30.644	12 	1:32.224	15 	 	 	 	 	
28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	1:31.908	17 	1:30.502	10 	1:32.030	13 	 	 	 	 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	1:30.591	7 	1:30.035	7 	1:31.088	7 	 	 	 	 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	 	1:29.841	6 	1:29.257	4 	1:30.304	4 	 	 	 	 	
35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	1:32.513	19 	1:31.087	18 	1:32.631	18 	 	 	 	 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	1:28.691	1 	1:28.217	1 	1:29.599	1 	 	 	 	 	
47 	Lando Norris 	 	1:32.683	20 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	1:31.100	12 	1:30.904	14 	1:31.513	9 	 	 	 	 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	1:29.137	2 	1:28.678	2 	1:30.422	5 	 	 	 	 	
Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:	Source:
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
===Q2===
===Q3===
===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 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	1 	1:28.702 	 	2 	1:28.017 	 	1 	1:27.760 	1
2 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	 	3 	1:29.297 	 	1 	1:27.987 	 	2 	1:28.059 	2
3 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	 	4 	1:29.480 	 	5 	1:28.849 	 	3 	1:29.057 	3
4 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	5 	1:29.631 	 	4 	1:28.595 	 	4 	1:29.521 	4
5 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	 	7 	1:29.724 	 	8 	1:29.678 	 	5 	1:29.761 	5
6 	28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	 	14 	1:30.248 	 	10 	1:29.848 	 	6 	1:30.023 	6
7 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	 	10 	1:30.137 	 	9 	1:29.810 	 	7 	1:30.093 	7
8 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	 	9 	1:29.899 	 	6 	1:29.538 	 	8 	1:30.126 	11*
9 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	2 	1:29.049 	 	3 	1:28.279 	 	9 	1:32.192 	8
10 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	 	13 	1:30.247 	 	7 	1:29.567 	 	10 	1:37.229 	9
11 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	 	6 	1:29.706 	 	11 	1:29.864 	 	 	 	10
12 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	 	11 	1:39.219 	 	12 	1:30.226 	 	 	 	12
13 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	 	12 	1:30.236 	 	13 	1:30.490 	 	 	 	13
14 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	 	15 	1:30.317 	 	14 	1:30.714 	 	 	 	14
15 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	 	8 	1:29.806 	 	15 	no time 	 	 	 	15
16 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	 	16 	1:30.361 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16
17 	35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	 	17 	1:30.372 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	18 	1:30.579 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
19 	2 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	 	 	19 	1:31.041 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
20 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	 	20 	1:31.213 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20†
107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911	107% time: 1:34.911
Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
** Ocon received a three-place grid penalty for speeding under red flags in FP3.
*† Ericsson was given a fifteen-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change and the use of his third ES.
===Grid===
Source
** Ocon received a three-place grid penalty for speeding under red flags in FP3.
*† Ericsson was given a fifteen-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change and the use of his third ES.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	53 	1h 27m 17.062s 	1 	25
2 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	53 	+12.919s 	2 	18
3 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	53 	+14.295s 	3 	15
4 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	53 	+19.495s 	15 	12
5 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	53 	+50.998s 	4 	10
6 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	53 	+69.873s 	8 	8
7 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	53 	+79.379s 	9 	6
8 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	53 	+87.198s 	5 	4
9 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	53 	+88.055s 	11 	2
10 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	52 	+1 Lap 	13 	1
11 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	7 	
12 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	20 	
13 	28 	Brendon Hartley 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	6 	
14 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	18 	
15 	2 	Stoffel Vandoorne	 	52 	+1 Lap 	19 	
16 	35 	Sergey Sirotkin 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	17 	
17 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	14 	
Ret 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	38 	Mechanical 	10 	
Ret 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	37 	Engine 	16 	
Ret 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	8 	Collision damage	12 	
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
==Milestones==
*Lewis Hamilton's 225th entry and start.
*Sebastian Vettel's 215th start (216th entry).
*Lewis Hamilton matches his nine wins from .
*Valtteri Bottas' 30th podium.
*Fernando Alonso beats Rubens Barrichello for the second-highest number of laps raced.
==Standings==
 
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Lewis Hamilton 	331 	
2 	Sebastian Vettel 	264 	
3 	Valtteri Bottas 	207 	
4 	Kimi Räikkönen 	196 	
5 	Max Verstappen 	173 	
6 	Daniel Ricciardo 	146 	
7 	Sergio Pérez 	53 	4
8 	Kevin Magnussen 	53 	1
9 	Nico Hülkenberg 	53 	1
10 	Fernando Alonso 	50 	1
11 	Esteban Ocon 	49 	1
12 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	39 	
13 	Romain Grosjean 	31 	1
14 	Pierre Gasly 	28 	1
15 	Charles Leclerc 	21 	
16 	Stoffel Vandoorne 	8 	
17 	Lance Stroll 	6 	
18 	Marcus Ericsson 	6 	
19 	Brendon Hartley 	2 	
20 	Sergey Sirotkin 	1 	
Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship	Constructors World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	538 	
2 	 	460 	
3 	 	319 	
4 	 	92 	
5 	 	84 	
6 	 	58 	
7 	 	43 	
8 	 	30 	
9 	 	27 	
10 	 	7 	
Only point scoring drivers are shown.
==Notes==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2018 Grands Prix
Category:Japanese Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in Japan