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Formula 1
Japanese GP
F1 Japanese GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race day
Minute-by-minute updates for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka
A week after Singapore, Suzuka also returns to the calendar following a three-year absence, where Max Verstappen can claim a second F1 world title if he is 112 points clear of second place in the standings at the chequered flag.
The Red Bull driver starts on pole for Sunday's race, having escaped a penalty after a near-miss with Norris at 130R as both drivers came to prepare for their opening laps in the final stage of qualifying.
He will line up ahead of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, with Red Bull's Sergio Perez joining the latter on the second row.
Live Standings
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Summary
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- Max Verstappen wins dramatic F1 Japanese GP and becomes world champion
- Leclerc and Perez finish 2nd and 3rd on the track, but the Ferrari driver hit with a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, to promote Perez to second to decide the title
- Sainz crashed out in initial start, Gasly under investigation for speeding under red flag in controversial recovery vehicle on track incident
- Albon also out after mechanical failure
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Leaderboard
- Verstappen, Red Bull
- Leclerc, Ferrari
- Perez, Red Bull
- Ocon, Alpine
- Hamilton, Mercedes
- Vettel, Aston Martin
- Alonso, Alpine
- Russell, Mercedes
- Latifi, Williams
- Norris, McLaren
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Good morning everyone! It's early, it's still dark, and the Japanese Grand Prix is only an hour away. Grab yourself a coffee, as we prepare for the Suzuka fun.
There's reports of rain at Suzuka to add to the mix, which could spice things up. We say could, in reality it's more likely to be an inconvenience given the way things have gone this year...
Breaking news
Gasly's got a pitlane start for this race, having changed rear wing spec and suspension setup after qualifying. He was dumped out in Q1, so doesn't have too much to lose.
Twitter
Rain
Reconnaissance laps to the grid are on inters and wets, just to give you a picture of the weather. And it looks like the rain will continue to fall.
Lots of F1 twitter accounts asking where people are watching from - I'm more interested, at this time in the morning, where people AREN'T watching from.
20 minutes to go - no delays like last week, thankfully. The 4am start wasn't in vain...
Twitter
Lots of waterproof ponchos out there in the crowd - the home fans are very prepared for this weather. Are you?
Rain
"Risk of rain for the race is 100%." That's a level of certainty and assuredness that I can only dream of...
Tyre news: intermediates for all? The Alpines have a blank disc on the timing screen, which isn't massively helpful, but we'll assume inters...
The formation lap begins - and the cars squirm off the line. Lots of spray, like a teenager with a Lynx Africa gift set.
The cars line up, for what will be a tricky start...
Lights out
Verstappen doesn't quite get the initial getaway of Leclerc, but somehow holds onto the lead! There's a yellow in the background...
Yellow flag
A disaster start for Vettel who has spun at the first corner! Was there contact? He's got going again but dropped to the back of the pack.
Safety car
It's Sainz in the wall! Sainz has spun on the exit of the hairpin and hit the wall! Safety car already.
Crash
Gasly's got an advertising board lodged on the front of his car, while Albon has also crashed out of the race. What's gone on there?
The TV replays of the messy start reveal what happened to Vettel, he clashed with Alonso into the first corner but also appeared to aquaplane off.
Red flag
The race has been red flagged!
So here's a replay of the start, and Leclerc's initial launch was much better - but Verstappen got the wide line into Turn 1 and held the lead.
Mechanical problem
Albon's retirement was mechanical rather than accident triggered. He got stuck in second gear halfway around the opening lap and pulled off and stopped to end his day early.
The rain's getting quite a lot worse out there now, with very visible rainfall on puddles around the circuit. Hopefully it'll ease off shortly.
In the opening lap mayhem, Zhou also spun in the wet but managed to get going again and is down in 17th place. Gasly, now not carrying a big advertising board on his front wing, is in 18th place and last under this red flag.
As an addendum, just to try and nip any wet tyre lamentations in the bud - the visibility's the key issue here. With the wet tyre, there's even more spray...
"What the hell is that?" Gasly says over team radio. We concur that thought, as a replay of his onboard shows it was impossible for him to see in the spray and then the advertising board, which came on to the track in Sainz's crash, bounces on to his car.
Replays show a pretty handy start for Stroll, who rocketed up to 11th after sticking to the inside line for Turn 1.
Here's the latest from the FIA: "Red flag due to worsening weather conditions and recovery operations required on track. Restart time will be confirmed by race control."
Breaking news
Here's the latest on the red-flagged start to the Japanese GP:
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/japanese-gp-red-flagged-after-two-laps-due-to-heavy-rain/10381901/
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Breaking news
It appears that, of all things, a tractor was trying to perform clean-up operations when the cars were still on track. Probably the worst place to do that, all told.
Here's the current order under the red flag: 1. Verstappen, 2. Leclerc, 3. Perez, 4. Ocon, 5. Hamilton, 6. Alonso, 7. Russell, 8. Ricciardo, 9. Tsunoda, 10. Schumacher, 11. Stroll, 12. Magnussen, 13. Norris, 14. Bottas, 15. Latifi, 16. Vettel, 17. Zhou, 18. Gasly. Out: Sainz, Albon.
"It's unacceptable," Gasly says of the tractor - and let's be honest, it is.
The race will resume at 2.50pm local time - so in 15 minutes - with a rolling start.
Race control also states "there will be more than one lap behind the safety car". How many is anyone's guess.
All drivers will be on wet tyres for the restart. Nice to know, even if largely assumed given the conditions.
We'll likely have 'a few' laps to clear up some of the standing water, and then hopefully we'll get back to it. It's still Sedgemoor Splash out there.
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Ah, the restart has been suspended. We won't be getting going again just yet.
Quote
According to the FIA: "In relation to the recovery of the incident on Lap 3, the Safety Car had been deployed and the race neutralised. Car 10, which had collected damage and pitted behind the Safety Car, was then driving at high speed to catch up to the field. As conditions were deteriorating, the Red Flag was shown before Car 10 passed the location of the incident where it had been damaged the previous lap."
A minimum of 10 minutes notice will be given for a restart, so as soon as we know more we'll pass it on so you'll have enough time to grab a cuppa. Or perhaps something stronger.
By: autosport.com
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