Suzuka, Japan – Britain’s Lewis Hamilton won a wet Japanese Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday to complete a hat-trick of victories and extend his championship lead over Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg to 10 points with four races remaining.
Rosberg finished second in a race that needed two starts behind the safety car and ended before the full distance due to a crash that saw Marussia’s French driver Jules Bianchi rushed to hospital.
“The driver is not conscious and has been sent to the hospital by the ambulance because the helicopter cannot fly in these conditions. Further updates will follow but for the moment we cannot say anything. I will keep you updated as fast as I can,” FIA head of communications Matteo Bonciani told reporters.
No champagne was sprayed on the podium and there were no celebrations.
Germany’s quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel, who announced on Saturday he was leaving Red Bull at the end of the season, finished third.
The win was Hamilton’s eighth of the season and first at Suzuka, with his only other win in Japan coming at the Fuji circuit with McLaren in 2007.
The race was red-flagged with 46 of the scheduled 53 laps completed after an accident involving Sauber’s Adrian Sutil and Bianchi brought the safety car out for the third time.
There was immediate concern in the aftermath of the accident over Bianchi’s well-being with the medical car and an ambulance being dispatched to the scene of the crash. – Reuters
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX RESULTS
1 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes – 1hr51m43.021
2 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes +9.180sec
3 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull +29.122
4 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull +38.818
5 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren +1m07.550
6 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams +1:53.773
7 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams +1:55.126
8 Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India +1:55.948
9 Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso +2:07.638
10 Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India +1 lap
11 Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso +1 lap
12 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari +1 lap
13 Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber +1 lap
14 Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) McLaren +1 lap
15 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus +1 lap
16 Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus +1 lap
17 Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Caterham +1 lap
18 Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia +1 lap
19 Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Caterham +1 lap
Retirements
Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia - 3 laps
Adrian Sutil (Germany) Sauber - 4 laps
Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari - 42 laps
Fastest Lap: Lewis Hamilton - 1m51.600s, lap 39.
DRIVER STANDINGS
1 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes - 266
2 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes - 256
3 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull - 193
4 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull - 139
5 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari - 133
6 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams - 130
7 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren - 82
8 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Force India - 76
9 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams - 71
10 Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - 46
11 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari - 45
12 Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) McLaren - 39
13 Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso - 21
14 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus - 8
15 Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso - 8
16 Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia - 2
CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS
1 Mercedes - 522
2 Red Bull - 332
3 Williams - 201
4 Ferrari - 178
5 Force India - 122
6 McLaren - 121
7 Toro Rosso - 29
8 Lotus – 8
9 Marussia - 2
10 Sauber - 0
11 Caterham - 0