F1 Japanese GP live commentary and updates: Race day

 GOOD MORNING

Welcome to race day at Suzuka, live from our operations centre in the Lord Heseltine Theatre.

Need a qualifying recap? We've got you...

HATS ENTERTAINMENT

As usual, the home of the Japanese GP is a festival of craft and amateur millinery...

An Oracle Red Bull Racing fan.

Photo by: Lars Baron / LAT Images via Getty Images

That'll give you plenty of time to read up on how Kimi Antonelli found those extra tenths over Mercedes teammate George Russell.

JOULES IN THE CROWN

One of the major topics of conversation this weekend continues to be the balance of electrical versus internal combustion engine power and its unfortunate effects on some areas of the racing. Many of the drivers were complaining in Suzuka that the formula was actively penalising them for pushing through corners.

The cast of the new Super Mario movie are combining promo duties with ligging this weekend. Hopefully the film won't be as ghastly as the 1990s misfire with Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper slumming it in service of tax bills/alimony...

Anya Taylor-Joy looks on.

Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images

Oh look, Arnold Schwartzenegger's son-in-law is here.

Chris Pratt looks on.

Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images

The celebs are grooving ostentatiously next to the grid 'DJ'. I dare them to pull his USB stick out...

We always have a giggle about the grid 'DJ' as they cavort and jiggle and theatrically twiddle knobs as they pretend to be performing some live magic on a set they've obviously prepared in advance. 

Timo Glock doing the grid interviews for Sky Germany. He's looking a little grey these days so tricky to recognise at first – until that voice in your head shrieks IS THAT GLOCK????

[A little gag for British TV viewers there]

Obviously you can also have fun in the deli aisle of your local supermarket as you try to locate the avocado-based dip... IS THAT GUAC?

In other news, Pirelli's tyre strategy prognostications are for various flavours of one-stop. Starting on soft tyres? Window for swapping to hards is laps 13 to 19, for mediums 18 to 24. Starting on mediums? Hards from laps 15 to 21.

Now settle back and watch as the circumstances of the race renders this arrant nonsense.

Well as the data screen does its ta-da and reveals who is on what, the first of those circumstantial rug-pulls is delivered – everyone is starting on medium Pirellis apart from Valtteri Bottas in P20, who is on the hards.

Given the increased chances of safety cars being required this season, to cover cars conking out in awkward places, starting on hards is less nailed on as an alternative strategy for the tail-enders as it used to be.

Antonelli bags P5 from Hamilton on the main straight as lap two begins.

Poor start for the Audis of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg – they're P13 and P19.

Max Verstappen, meanwhile, has made it to P9 and overtaken teammate Isack Hadjar. As the Red Bulls duel into the chicane, Hadjar gets a sub-optimal exit and loses out to Esteban Ocon.

Russell is making progress, past Norris at the start of lap three and then passing Leclerc for P2 on the main straight as lap four begins.

Lap five and the top six are starting to break away a little bit from Gasly in P7, the gap now 2.1s.

Verstappen now passes Lindblad for P8 – it's a bad lap for Arvid as he drops behind Ocon.

Starting replays show Piastri seizing the moment from P3 to swoop around Antonelli and chop across in front of Leclerc.

It remains tricky to overtake at Suzuka – we're not seeing much of the yo-yo racing which was evident in the opening two races. That's also a factor of the drivers getting used to the energy management, of course.

As we begin lap seven, Antonelli remains behind Norris in P5. Gasly now having a little race of his own in P7, 3.7s behind P6 and 4.6s ahead of Verstappen. Max dropping off by a tenth or so a lap.

Hadjar shaping up to add to Lindblad's misery – now half a second behind the Racing Bulls in P10.

What was that we were saying about yo-yo racing? Russell slingshots out of 130R faster than Piastri at the end of lap eight and goes by into the chicane, but the McLaren blasts back past on the main straight.

Behind, Norris tried to do the same to Leclerc but couldn't quite pull it off.

Norris has another go at Leclerc at the chicane at the end of lap nine, but once again he can't get a foothold and that brings Antonelli back into play. The Mercedes has a look on the main straight but tucks back in.

Behind that battle for the final top 10 spot between Lindblad and Hadjar, Lawson is 2.2s further back in P12. He's at the head of a train that stretches back to Bearman in P15, then there's another gap (3s) to Sainz in P16.

Antonelli 'does a Russell' on Norris into the chicane at the end of lap 11 to snatch P4.

Hadjar properly harrying Lindblad. This is the main battle happening on track as the frontrunners slip into tyre management mode – Russell and Piastri are a second apart and Piastri is already managing graining on his front-left tyre.

There's now a 2.5s gap between Russell and Leclerc.

The exception to the tyre management rule is Antonelli, who is half a second off Leclerc and now putting him under pressure.

Lindblad actually took half a second out of Ocon on lap 13, then the best part of a couple of tenths on lap 14, but he's been given a black-and-white flag for moving under braking at the chicane while defending against Hadjar.

Antonelli goes for a gap at the chicane at the end of lap 15, passes Leclerc, but the Ferrari ripostes on the main straight and reclaims P3. Hamilton takes advantage to close to within a second of the Mercedes.

McLaren discussing pit options with Piastri. But it's Lando Norris who breaks for the pitlane at the end of lap 16!

Stop time of 2.5s for the McLaren – not too bad but it puts him back on track P9 behind Esteban Ocon.

Bearman also pits out of that P12-P16 train. That will probably trigger the rest to guard against the undercut.

Leclerc pits at the end of lap 17 as Norris makes his way past Ocon for P8.

Smart thinking by Ferrari there to seize the moment – Leclerc emerges ahead of Norris to the tune of 1.5s.

Piastri now in at the end of lap 18. He emerges P6, 4.7s ahead of Leclerc and 1.9s behind Verstappen.

Antonelli does the fastest lap of the race, 1m34.095s, nearly seven tenths faster than Russell. The gap between the Mercs at the head of the field now 2.4s.

"I think I'm going to lose a lot of time extending," says Russell.

On lap 19 Antonelli took another six tenths out of Russell.