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Formula 1
Japanese GP
F1 Japanese GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix
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Max Verstappen will start from pole position as Red Bull stand on the brink of a sixth constructors' championship. Should the Dutchman and team-mate Sergio Perez combine to outscore Mercedes, the title will be secured at Suzuka.
Oscar Piastri became the first rookie to qualify on the front row since Nico Hulkenberg in 2010, and he is followed by his McLaren counterpart Lando Norris in third.
The Ferrari paring of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz sandwich Segio Perez to round out the top six, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton just behind.
The Japanese Grand Prix will get under way at 6am BST.
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Hamilton is on a charge, demoting Ocon for P7 into Turn 1. Incredibly, his Mercedes team-mate Russell has yet to pit and sits second currently.
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Alonso comes over the radio to tell his team they have "thrown him to the lions" by pitting him early. He's just lost another place to Hamilton through 130R.
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"Consider Plan B," says Russell. If this means a two-stop plan instead of three, he could be properly in contention for the podium.
Sainz has the superior grip and moves past Ocon down the start/finish straight. Ferrari team-mate Leclerc is next up, three seconds ahead.
Alonso doesn't stay P7 for long. Fellow Spaniard Sainz gets a better drive out of Turn 11 and moves ahead. Next up, Ocon.
In the shakeout of the pitstops, Piastri was indeed able to jump Norris. He holds a 4.5s margin over his McLaren team-mate and is P3, soon to be P2 when Russell pits.
Alonso sits P7 and is all over the back of his old team-mate Ocon ahead. The Alpine driver is on the hard tyre having pitted at the end of lap one.
Russell assumes the lead of the Japanese GP as Sainz pits. Despite having stopped, Verstappen is able to lunge at the hairpin and retake the lead.
It's getting spicy in the middle of the pack as the leading runners have come out of the pits into the midfield runners who have yet to stop.
Norris puts on a set of hard tyres and comes out of the pits in P7, losing on-track position to team-mate Piastri.
Hamilton also pits and rejoins in P10, just ahead of the AlphaTauri pairing of Tsunoda and Lawson.
Verstappen pits. It's a slow one. Mediums off and hards on with the timing showing 3.3s.
Hamilton has run wide off the track at Degner 2 and Russell is now right on his tail. Hamilton runs wide again at Spoon and forces his team-mate off the track. There is a real chance the stewards will take a dim view on that one.
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"Box, opposite McLaren," comes the instruction to Leclerc. Ferrari could be about to try the undercut on Norris.
Perez has been told to retire the car, somewhat ironically as he is handed another penalty for his collision with Magnussen. A nightmare race for the Red Bull driver which is in stark comparison to his team-mate.
The new order is Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Sainz and Hamilton. Verstappen's lead is 9.1s.
Green flag
The VSC has ended before the leaders have managed to get back around to the pits. The full benefit of this will become clear in time.
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"The car doesn't feel right" reports Perez. He's currently down in P19 and last of the runners, but you get the feeling his race might soon be over.
Safety car
As Piastri stops, the VSC comes out to allow for debris from the Perez-Magnussen incident to be cleared. This could be perfect timing for the Australian if this lasts for less than a lap.
Piastri pits from P3. Mediums off and hards on.
You can't help but get the feeling another penalty might be heading Perez's way after that collision. Both drivers have headed to the pits.
Oh dear. Perez looks to the inside of Magnussen into Turn 11 and the pair make contact. The Haas driver is sent spinning and Perez has damaged his front wing.
The undercut is expected to be extremely powerful today, so Alonso's stop covers the threat from Hamilton behind.
Alonso is another to come in from P6, and the Spaniard has the hard tyre fitted to his Aston Martin.
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Sainz is informed that "deg is as expected" and "we are between plan A and B". Nice and decisive from Ferrari there.
Lawson, who had been running ninth on softs, has pitted. The first signs that we're in for at least a two-stop race, if not three, with only 10 laps completed.
Onto lap 10 and the gaps continue to grow at the front. Verstappen leads by 3.7s from Norris and, as things stand, Red Bull will be confirmed as the constructors' champions.
The Red Bull driver did drop back, but obviously the stewards deemed his actions worthy of a 5s penalty.
The penalties are coming thick and fast. This time for Perez for a safety car infringement when the Mexican overtook several cars on the exit of the pitlane.
Our first penalty of the race and it's a five-second one for Sargeant for causing that collision with Bottas. And speaking of the Alfa driver, he's parked it in the garage and his grim day is over already.
Home hero Tsunoda is currently running in 10th, but has Stroll keeping him honest behind - both of them currently on the soft tyre.
No further investigation on all the lap one carnage.
Expectations in the lead-up to the race were that there would be little to separate the soft and medium tyres in terms of life. The top five are on mediums with Alonso, P6, on softs. We'll now see how accurate these forecasts were.
The incident between Bottas and Sargeant is unsurprisingly under investigation. Both have made a second stop and we're only on lap 7!
At the front and with DRS now enabled, Verstappen is now two-seconds clear of Norris. Piastri has also dropped back on his team-mate by a similar margin.
Replays show Bottas tried to go around the outside of Sargeant and the pair make heavy contact. Their days are just going from bad to worse.
More drama for Bottas as he goes off at Turn 11. The Finn comes over the radio and is not happy, so possibly he was helped off.
A considerably calmer restart than the original getaway. The early interruption will certainly have caused chaos with some pit strategies.
Green flag
Verstappen holds the pack back as he creeps around 130R. Into the final chicane, he pins the throttle and we are racing once more!
The safety car will return to the pits at the end of this lap - lap 4.
By: Autosport Staff
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