2017 Japanese Grand Prix

The 2017 Japanese Grand Prix (formally known as the 2017 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix)^[1] was a Formula One motor race held on 8 October 2017 at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka in the Mie Prefecture, Japan. The race was the sixteenth round of the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship and marked the forty-third running of the Japanese Grand Prix.^[5] The 2017 event was the thirty-third time that the race has been run as a World Championship event since the inaugural season in 1950, and the twenty-ninth time that a World Championship round had been held at Suzuka. This would also prove to be the last Grand Prix for Jolyon Palmer, as he was replaced by Carlos Sainz Jr. for the rest of the 2017 season. Sainz contested his last race for Toro Rosso before replacing Palmer at Renault.

2017 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 16 of 20 in the 2017 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Layout of the Suzuka International Racing Course
Race details[1]
Date	8 October 2017 (2017-10-08)
Official name	2017 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix[2][3]
Location	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.807 km (3.608 miles)
Distance	53 laps, 307.471 km (191.054 miles)
Weather	Sunny
Attendance	137,000[4]
Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:27.319
Fastest lap
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	1:33.144 on lap 50
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
Third	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
Lap leaders

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton entered the round with a thirty-four-point lead over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the World Drivers' Championship. Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas sat third, a further twenty-five points behind. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes held a lead of one hundred and eighteen points over Ferrari, with Red Bull Racing a further one hundred and fifteen points behind in third place.

Qualifying

Pos.	Car no.	Driver	Constructor	Qualifying times			Final grid
				Q1	Q2	Q3
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:29.047	1:27.819	1:27.319	1
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:29.332	1:28.543	1:27.651	61
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:29.352	1:28.225	1:27.791	2
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	1:29.475	1:28.935	1:28.306	3
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	1:29.181	1:28.747	1:28.332	4
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:29.163	1:29.079	1:28.498	101
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India-Mercedes	1:30.115	1:29.199	1:29.111	5
8	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India-Mercedes	1:29.696	1:29.343	1:29.260	7
9	19	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	1:30.352	1:29.687	1:29.480	8
10	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Honda	1:30.525	1:29.749	1:30.687	202
11	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren-Honda	1:30.654	1:29.778		9
12	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:30.252	1:29.879		11
13	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	1:30.774	1:29.972		12
14	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:30.516	1:30.022		182
15	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Toro Rosso	1:30.565	1:30.413		192
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari	1:30.849			13
17	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:31.317			14
18	18	Lance Stroll	Williams-Mercedes	1:31.409			15
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber-Ferrari	1:31.597			16
20	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber-Ferrari	1:31.885			17
107% time: 1:35.280
Source:[6]

Notes

• ^1  – Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen received a 5-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
• ^2  – Fernando Alonso received a 35-place grid penalty and both Jolyon Palmer and Carlos Sainz Jr. received a 20-place grid penalty, all for exceeding their respective quota of power unit components.

Race

Sebastian Vettel suffered technical problems a few minutes before the race start and retired on the fourth lap.

Before the race started Sebastian Vettel's mechanics were working on his car. When the race started it was clear he had some serious issues with the car losing positions immediately as Lewis Hamilton led away. Carlos Sainz had an accident on the opening lap, with the safety car being deployed. Soon after the race restarted Vettel retired with engine problems. Hamilton took the victory, followed home closely by Max Verstappen with his teammate Daniel Ricciardo finishing 3rd, Valtteri Bottas was fourth and Kimi Räikkönen fifth.^[7]

Race classification

Lewis Hamilton (pictured during practice) won the race.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	53	1:27:31.194	1	25
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	53	+1.211	4	18
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	53	+9.679	3	15
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	53	+10.580	6	12
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	53	+32.622	10	10
6	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India-Mercedes	53	+1:07.788	5	8
7	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India-Mercedes	53	+1:11.424	7	6
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	53	+1:28.953	12	4
9	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari	53	+1:29.883	13	2
10	19	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	52	+1 Lap	8	1
11	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Honda	52	+1 Lap	20
12	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	52	+1 Lap	18
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	52	+1 Lap	14
14	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren-Honda	52	+1 Lap	9
15	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber-Ferrari	51	+2 Laps	17
Ret	18	Lance Stroll	Williams-Mercedes	45	Suspension	15
Ret	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	40	Rear wing	11
Ret	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber-Ferrari	7	Accident	16
Ret	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	4	Spark plug	2
Ret	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Toro Rosso	0	Accident	19
Source:[8]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Driver Points 1 Lewis Hamilton* 306 2 Sebastian Vettel* 247 3 Valtteri Bottas* 234 4 Daniel Ricciardo 192 5 Kimi Räikkönen 148 Source: [9]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos. Constructor Points 1 Mercedes* 540 2 Ferrari* 395 3 Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 303 4 Force India-Mercedes 147 5 Williams-Mercedes 66 Source: [9]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for the sets of standings.
• Bold text and an asterisk indicates competitors who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.