With his eighth win of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton takes another step towards the 2015 championship title. Although the Brit couldn't outpace team-mate Nico Rosberg in qualifying, a quick get off from the start line saw him take the lead in c2 of the very first lap of the race. From then it was smooth flowing for the reigning champion as he maintained good pace and wasn't at any point in the race threatened for the lead. Rosberg on the other hand, didn't have the perfect start off the line and dropped down to fourth in the opening lap itself. But the German driver managed to claw his way up to second at the end of the race.
Ferrari misses out
Sebastian Vettel had the right pace to challenge Rosberg for second place but a wrongly planned strategy forced him to settle for the last spot on the podium. Rosberg's bad start was just enough for Vettel to surge ahead and take second place on the opening lap. The four-time champion managed to retain the position till the second round of pit-stops. But the Scarlet team decided to call him a lap after Rosberg, dropping Vettel behind his compatriot. Kimi Raikkonen had a relatively easy race in fourth. The Finn was involved in a short battle with Valtteri Bottas but managed to outpace him and hold on to fourth.
Nico nails it
It was another good race for Force India as Nico Hulkenberg's sixth place finish brought them eight more points on the championship board. The German driver started his race from 13th and despite come chaos on the opening, to which he was a fair contributor, he held his own and jumped up to eighth. He then passed both the Lotus' during the first round of pit stops to take sixth place in the race. Sergio Perez couldn't escape the opening lap melee and had to head into the pits. He was then involved in an epic battle with Daniil Kvyat and Marcus Ericsson, finally finishing ahead of them both in 12th.
Lotus Scores
Follwing two difficult weekends in Monza and Singapore, it was a good day in office for the Lotus F1 Team. Both the drivers managed to escape damage in the opening lap disorder. The duo maintained good pace throughout the race to bring home their second double points finish for the team in seventh and eighth. Despite both drivers finishing in points, the Lotus F1 Team stays behind Force India thanks to some impressive performance from the tri-colour team in the past few races.
Climax coming
With just 5 races left in the seaseon, Mercedes comfortably leads the constructors' championship table. In fact, if they continue to bring similar results, the Silver Arrows team might just seal the title soon enough. Hamilton on the other hand will breathe a sigh of relief after this win as he further extends his lead. Rosberg has Vettel to worry about mainly considering his form in the past few races. With five races to go it will be interesting to see how these two battle it out for second place with Raikkonen and Bottas adding to the entertainment from their end as well.
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