This year’s Japanese Grand Prix was one of only three in the last 25 years where all cars finished, making it a tough race in which to make progress, especially if you weren’t running towards the front. It was also unusual for a Suzuka event in not featuring either a Safety Car or a Virtual Safety car, to mix up the race and offer some strategic dice rolling opportunities. But there were some major talking points about the decisions that were taken with Ferrari again […]

Sebastian Vettel admits he was surprised by the pace Mercedes rival Nico Rosberg was able to display following his second stop at the Japanese Grand Prix. Vettel had occupied second position at Suzuka but Mercedes opted to stop Rosberg for his final pit stop earlier than Vettel and the Mercedes driver posted a rapid out lap to ensure he jumped ahead of his rival when the Ferrari driver pitted a lap later. Vettel went on to finish third and maintain his record of finishing on […]

Force India driver Sergio Perez says he expected to be fighting with Lotus during the Japanese Grand Prix and reckons he should have qualified ahead of Romain Grosjean. Perez will start from ninth position after he opted to run only during the closing stages of the session, which were abandoned when Daniil Kvyat suffered a frightening accident. Perez was consequently unable to register a time in Q3 and will line-up behind Grosjean, as the two teams continue their battle for fifth in the Constructors' championship. […]

Nico Rosberg claimed pole position for the second time in 2015 following a truncated qualifying session for the Japanese Grand Prix. Rosberg set a time of 1:32.584 to finish 0.076s clear of Lewis Hamilton, who made a mistake at the hairpin, and the drivers were denied a final flying lap following a huge crash for Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat. Kvyat lost control of his Red Bull RB11 after dipping a wheel onto the grass on the approach to the hairpin and slammed into the barriers, […]

Jules Bianchi has been taken to hospital unconscious following an accident at the Japanese Grand Prix. Bianchi went off at Dunlop Curve, where Adrian Sutil had crashed a couple of minutes previously. Sutil said that Bianchi hit the recovery vehicle which was tending to the Sauber. The driver is not conscious, he has been sent to the hospital by ambulance because the helicopter cannot go in these conditions," said FIA press officer Matteo Bonciani. "Further updates will follow - for the moment we cannot say […]

Lewis Hamilton won a truncated Japanese Grand Prix, ahead of Nico Rosberg, with the race stopped after lap 46 following a crash for Jules Bianchi. Medics attended the scene and Bianchi has been taken to hospital by ambulance, with the FIA confirming he was unconscious. It is understood that Bianchi hit a recovery vehicle, which was being used to clear Adrian Sutil's crashed Sauber. The race started behind the Safety Car, with conditions deemed too wet. After two laps the race was red flagged and […]

Jean-Eric Vergne will drop 10 places on the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix after Toro Rosso elected to change the internal combustion engine in his STR9 for a sixth time. Vergne had qualified in 11th place but as a result of his sanction he will now line-up on the back row of the grid for Sunday's race at Suzuka. "Unfortunately, Jean-Eric will have a slightly more difficult afternoon, as he takes a ten place grid penalty because today's engine change meant fitting his sixth […]

Nico Rosberg expressed his elation after securing his eighth pole position of 2014 at the Japanese Grand Prix. Rosberg topped the times in Q3 to set a time of 1:32.506, almost two-tenths of a second faster than Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton. "That was one of the best qualifying sessions we did this year," he said. "The team did an incredible job to give me a brilliant car. "The balance was perfect, so I was able to push a lot and go to the limits in […]

Daniel Ricciardo says he was surprised by Sebastian Vettel's decision to leave Red Bull at the end of the season. Vettel is expected to replace McLaren-bound Fernando Alonso at Ferrari and Ricciardo, who will line-up alongside Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull in 2015, says he was surprised by the decision of his current team-mate. "I was quite surprised by Sebastian’s news, I didn’t know before this morning; it’s two pretty big changes for the team, Sebastian leaving and Daniil coming in, but Seb’s done his […]

Valtteri Bottas says anticipated wet conditions will not aid Williams's cause at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix. Bottas qualified in third position at Suzuka but the region is expected to be battered by the approaching Super Typhoon Phanfone. While the worst of the weather is expected on Monday, heavy rain is anticipated on Sunday afternoon, when the race is scheduled to take place. "Mercedes looked really quick yesterday and this morning so it was nice to get a bit closer," Bottas said. "They will be […]

Nico Rosberg beat Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix. Rosberg was quicker in both runs in Q3, his final time of 1:32.506 almost two-tenths of a second faster than title rival Hamilton. Williams secured the second row of the grid, with Valtteri Bottas in third and Felipe Massa in fourth. Fernando Alonso ended in fifth for Ferrari, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and the McLaren pairing of Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button. Sebastian Vettel, who earlier confirmed he is leaving […]

Adrian Sutil reckons Sauber is set for another difficult weekend in Japan after Friday's practice sessions at Suzuka. Sutil, who has not yet scored a point this season, was 17th fastest in the second session and had his run disrupted by a Power Unit problem. "In first practice we had problems finding a good balance for the car," he said. "The hard tyres didn’t work as we had hoped. There was very little grip, which makes it difficult to set a decent lap time. For […]