2014 Japanese Grand Prix

The 2014 Japanese Grand Prix (formally the 2014 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix) was the fifteenth round of the 2014 Formula One season. It was the 30th running of the Japanese Grand Prix as a round in the championship. It was held between 3 October and 5 October 2014.
Nico Rosberg took pole position, but in a race affected by the rain of Typhoon Phanfone, Lewis Hamilton won. The race experienced two red flags, initially for the extreme wet conditions, but later a race-ending red flag after Jules Bianchi was seriously injured in a crash. Nine months later, on 17 July 2015, Bianchi died of his injuries at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) in Nice. He was the first driver to be killed as a result of a race accident since Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
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==Background==
In the days leading up to the first practice session, a volcano on Mount Ontake erupted, killing 47 people. Despite this disaster, it was concluded that the race would go on as scheduled.
Max Verstappen was given his Free Practice début for , replacing Jean-Éric Vergne, becoming the youngest driver to take part in a Grand Prix event, only celebrating his 17th birthday on the previous weekend. Roberto Merhi took over Kamui Kobayashi's for FP1. Will Stevens was to drive in FP1 for , replacing Max Chilton, but the paperwork did not go through, so he was unable to take part.
On the championship fronts, Lewis Hamilton's victory at the previous race gave the Brit a three-point lead over Nico Rosberg, for whom fresh electrical parts would be required after his wiring loom failure. lead the championship by a large margin that would take until the final race to recover. If Mercedes score a one-two with Red Bull failing to score any points, Mercedes would win the Constructors' title.
Typhoon Phanphone was predicted to hit Japan on Sunday, meaning the race was expected to be wet, but all the sessions were to be unaffected by the typhoon. While a lot of rain was expected for the race, the worst of the storm was to arrive on Monday, meaning teams were likely to have issues travelling to the .
==Entry list==
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Sebastian Vettel 	Infiniti Red Bull Racing 	 	RB10 	 	Energy F1-2014 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Infiniti Red Bull Racing 	 	RB10 	 	Energy F1-2014 	
6 	Nico Rosberg 	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	W05 Hybrid 	 	PU106A Hybrid 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	W05 Hybrid 	 	PU106A Hybrid 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	F14 T 	 	059/3 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	F14 T 	 	059/3 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	Lotus F1 Team 	 	E22 	 	Energy F1-2014 	
13 	Pastor Maldonado 	Lotus F1 Team 	 	E22 	 	Energy F1-2014 	
20 	Kevin Magnussen 	McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-29 	 	PU106A Hybrid 	
22 	Jenson Button 	McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-29 	 	PU106A Hybrid 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM07 	 	PU106A Hybrid 	
27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM07 	 	PU106A Hybrid 	
21 	Esteban Gutiérrez 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	C33 	 	059/3 	
99 	Adrian Sutil 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	C33 	 	059/3 	
25 	Jean-Éric Vergne 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR9 	 	Energy F1-2014 	
26 	Daniil Kvyat 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR9 	 	Energy F1-2014 	
19 	Felipe Massa 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW37 	 	PU106A Hybrid 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Williams Martini Racing 	 	FW37 	 	PU106A Hybrid 	
4 	Max Chilton 	Marussia F1 Team 	 	MR03 	 	059/3 	
17 	Jules Bianchi 	Marussia F1 Team 	 	MR03 	 	059/3 	
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	Caterham F1 Team 	 	CT05 	 	Energy F1-2014 	
10 	Kamui Kobayashi 	Caterham F1 Team 	 	CT05 	 	Energy F1-2014 	
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
38 	Max Verstappen 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR9 	 	Energy F1-2014 	
45 	Roberto Merhi 	Caterham F1 Team 	 	CT05 	 	Energy F1-2014 	
==Practice Overview==
===FP1===
===FP2===
===FP3===
===Practice Results===
No	Driver 	Team	FP1 	 	FP2 	 	FP3 	
No	Driver 	Team	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos
1 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:37.686	9 	1:36.436	5 	1:36.460	15
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1:37.466	7 	1:37.186	10 	1:35.086	6
4 	Max Chilton 	 	1:41.757	22 	1:39.333	21 	1:37.883	20
6 	Nico Rosberg 	 	1:35.461	1 	1:35.318	2 	1:33.228	1
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:37.187	5 	1:36.529	6 	1:35.995	12
8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	1:38.851	15 	1:37.563	13 	1:36.558	16
9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	1:40.031	19 	1:39.069	19 	1:37.367	19
10	Kamui Kobayashi 	 	 	1:42.760	22 	1:38.784	22 	
11	Sergio Pérez 	 	1:38.324	13 	1:37.786	15 	1:36.365	13
13	Pastor Maldonado 	 	1:39.097	17 	1:37.798	16 	1:36.617	17
14	Fernando Alonso 	 	1:36.037	3 	1:36.637	7 	1:34.439	3
17	Jules Bianchi 	 	1:41.580	21 	1:39.306	20 	1:38.102	21
19	Felipe Massa 	 	1:38.012	11 	1:37.700	14 	1:34.564	4
20	Kevin Magnussen 	 	1:37.327	6 	1:36.714	8 	1:35.251	7
21	Esteban Gutiérrez	 	1:39.318	18 	1:38.365	18 	1:36.407	14
22	Jenson Button 	 	1:37.649	8 	1:36.409	4 	1:35.549	10
25	Jean-Éric Vergne 	 	 	1:37.219	11 	1:35.494	8 	
26	Daniil Kvyat 	 	1:37.714	10 	1:36.943	9 	1:35.538	9
27	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	1:38.582	14 	1:37.504	12 	1:35.732	11
38	Max Verstappen 	 	1:38.157	12 	 	 	 	
44	Lewis Hamilton 	 	1:35.612	2 	1:35.078	1 	1:34.210	2
45	Roberto Merhi 	 	1:41.472	20 	 	 	 	
77	Valtteri Bottas 	 	1:36.576	4 	1:36.279	3 	1:35.061	5
99	Adrian Sutil 	 	1:39.046	16 	1:38.010	17 	1:36.626	18
==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 	6 	Nico Rosberg 	 		2 	1:33.671		1 	1:32.950		1 	1:32.506	1
2 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 		1 	1:33.611		2 	1:32.982		2 	1:32.703	2
3 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 		3 	1:34.301		3 	1:33.443		3 	1:33.128	3
4 	19 	Felipe Massa 	 		4 	1:34.483		4 	1:33.551		4 	1:33.527	4
5 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 		5 	1:34.497		5 	1:33.675		5 	1:33.740	5
6 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 		15 	1:35.593		7 	1:34.466		6 	1:34.075	6
7 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 		6 	1:34.930		6 	1:34.229		7 	1:34.242	7
8 	22 	Jenson Button 	 		9 	1:35.150		8 	1:34.648		8 	1:34.317	8
9 	1 	Sebastian Vettel 	 		14 	1:35.517		10 	1:34.784		9 	1:34.432	9
10 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 		7 	1:34.984		9 	1:34.771		10 	1:34.548	10
11 	25 	Jean-Éric Vergne 	 		10 	1:35.155		11 	1:34.984		 	 	20*
12 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 		13 	1:35.439		12 	1:35.089		 	 	11
13 	26 	Daniil Kvyat 	 		11 	1:35.210		13 	1:35.092		 	 	12
14 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 		8 	1:35.000		14 	1:35.099		 	 	13
15 	99 	Adrian Sutil 	 		16 	1:35.736		15 	1:35.364		 	 	14
16 	21 	Esteban Gutiérrez	 		12 	1:35.308		16 	1:35.681		 	 	15
17 	13 	Pastor Maldonado 	 		17 	1:35.917		 	 		 	 	22^
18 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 		18 	1:35.984		 	 		 	 	16
19 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 		19 	1:36.813		 	 		 	 	17
20 	17 	Jules Bianchi 	 		20 	1:36.943		 	 		 	 	18
21 	10 	Kamui Kobayashi 	 		21 	1:37.015		 	 		 	 	19
22 	4 	Max Chilton 	 		22 	1:37.481		 	 		 	 	21
Notes:
* * Jean-Éric Vergne dropped 10 grid places for engine change
* ^ Pastor Maldonado dropped 10 grid places for engine change
===Grid===
Notes:
* * Jean-Éric Vergne dropped 10 grid places for engine change
* ^ Pastor Maldonado dropped 10 grid places for engine change
==Race==
===Report===
===Post-race===
Jules Bianchi, still unconscious, was driven to Mie General Hospital, as the weather conditions meant using the medical helicopter was not possible. Bianchi underwent a CT scan, which showed a severe head injury, and was immediately operated on. Later that night, he was moved to intensive care and was reported as breathing unaided, though the latter report was soon reported as false.
Unsurprisingly, celebrations were muted and every driver and team personnel paid their respects to Bianchi and all hoped that his condition would improve as fast as possible.
Lewis Hamilton stated after the race that Adrian Sutil's accident did not require the safety car; and also stated that the conditions, while bad, were not the worst he had driven. Felipe Massa claimed that he had been "screaming" about the severity of the weather for five laps before the race was stopped.
The red flag on lap 46 mean that results were counted back to lap 44, and full points would be awarded. This moved Sebastian Vettel up to third, saw Nico Hülkenberg be classified eighth and meant that both Bianchi and Sutil were credited with classified finishes.
In terms of the Championship standings, Hamilton extended his lead over teammate Nico Rosberg to ten points, while further down Fernando Alonso's retirement combined with Vettel's podium meant that German moved up to fourth in the championship. extended their lead over to 190 points.
====Death of Jules Bianchi====
Sadly, nine months after the race, on 17 July 2015, Jules Bianchi died of head injuries as a result of his accident at the age of 25 in Centre Hospitalier Universitaire in his hometown in Nice, France. He had been in an induced coma since the accident, in which he suffered a diffuse axonal injury. He became the first Formula One driver in 21 years to die as a result of injuries sustained during a Grand Prix session. The last was that of three-times World Champion Ayrton Senna on 1 May 1994, during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Bianchi's grand-uncle Lucien Bianchi had also died in an accident 46 years prior, during Le Mans testing.
The Formula One fraternity, mostly friends and team-mates of Bianchi, sent their tributes and condolences, including world champion Jenson Button and his wife Jessica Michibata, Bianchi's Marussia teammate Max Chilton, test driver Alexander Rossi, 2015 Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen, former Caterham drivers Giedo van der Garde and Kamui Kobayashi, pit lane reporter Natalie Pinkham, 2015 Marussia drivers Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi, Williams test driver Susie Wolff, stand-in presenter Jennie Gow, and most of those racing at Suzuka including Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo, Felipe Massa, Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Marcus Ericsson, Felipe Nasr, Fernando Alonso, Romain Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado, Daniil Kvyat, Sergio Pérez and Esteban Gutiérrez.
===Results===
 	 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	44 	1:51:43.021 	2 	25
2 	6 	Nico Rosberg 	 	44 	+ 9.180 	1 	18
3 	1 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	44 	+ 29.122 	9 	15
4 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	44 	+ 38.818 	6 	12
5 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	44 	+ 1:07.550 	8 	10
6 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	44 	+ 1:53.773 	3 	8
7 	19 	Felipe Massa 	 	44 	+ 1:55.126 	4 	6
8 	27 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	44 	+ 1:55.948 	13 	4
9 	25 	Jean-Éric Vergne 	 	44 	+ 2:07.638 	20 	2
10 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	43 	+ 1 Lap 	11 	1
11 	26 	Daniil Kvyat 	 	43 	+ 1 Lap 	12 	
12 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	43 	+ 1 Lap 	10 	
13 	21 	Esteban Gutiérrez	 	43 	+ 1 Lap 	15 	
14 	20 	Kevin Magnussen 	 	43 	+ 1 Lap 	7 	
15 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	43 	+ 1 Lap 	16 	
16* 	13 	Pastor Maldonado 	 	43 	+ 1 Lap 	22 	
17 	9 	Marcus Ericsson 	 	43 	+ 1 Lap 	17 	
18 	4 	Max Chilton 	 	43 	+ 1 Lap 	21 	
19 	10 	Kamui Kobayashi 	 	43 	+ 1 Lap 	19 	
20 	17 	Jules Bianchi 	 	41 	Fatal accident†	18 	
21 	99 	Adrian Sutil 	 	40 	Accident 	14 	
Ret 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	2 	Electronics 	5 	
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
Note:
*Pastor Maldonado was given a 20-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
*† Jules Bianchi died on 17 July 2015 after receiving head injuries from hitting a recovery vehicle that clearing Sutil's car away.
===Fastest laps===
===Laps in the lead===
====By lap====
====Totals====
==Milestones==
*Lewis Hamilton's 30th victory.
*'s failure to score a point was the first race in which they failed to do so since the 2010 British Grand Prix, setting the record for consecutive points finishes at 81 races.
*Held on Kevin Magnussen's 22nd birthday.
*Jules Bianchi's final F1 race, due to his fatal accident. 
*Jules Bianchi's death on 18 July 2015 made him the first F1 driver to die as a result of a race accident since Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
==Standings after race==
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/-
1 	Lewis Hamilton 	266 	
2 	Nico Rosberg 	256 	
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	193 	
4 	Sebastian Vettel 	139 	1
5 	Fernando Alonso 	133 	1
6 	Valtteri Bottas 	130 	
7 	Jenson Button 	82 	
8 	Nico Hülkenberg 	76 	
9 	Felipe Massa 	71 	
10 	Sergio Pérez 	46 	
11 	Kimi Räikkönen 	45 	
12 	Kevin Magnussen 	39 	
13 	Jean-Éric Vergne 	21 	
14 	Romain Grosjean 	8 	
15 	Daniil Kvyat 	8 	
16 	Jules Bianchi 	2 	
17 	Adrian Sutil 	0 	
18 	Marcus Ericsson 	0 	
19 	Pastor Maldonado 	0 	
20 	Esteban Gutiérrez 	0 	
21 	Max Chilton 	0 	
22 	Kamui Kobayashi 	0 	
23 	André Lotterer 	0 	
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/-
1 	 	522 	
2 	 	332 	
3 	 	201 	
4 	 	178 	
5 	 	122 	
6 	 	121 	
7 	 	29 	
8 	 	8 	
9 	 	2 	
10 	 	0 	
11 	 	0 	
==Notes==
Category:2014 Grands Prix
Category:Japanese Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in Japan