2014 Formula 1 : Hamilton wins Japanese Grand Prix

2014 F1 Japanese GP Winner - Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W05

• Race called after 44 laps
• Bianchi hits rescue vehicle after Sutil crash
• Hamilton declared winner ahead of Rosberg and Vettel

October 5, 2014 - Lewis Hamilton won the Japanese Grand Prix after a serious incident for Jules Bianchi caused the race to be red flagged.

Nico Rosberg (GER) Mercedes AMG F1 W05

Adrian Sutil had crashed at Turn 7 as rain intensified at Suzuka, and as a large movable crane recovered the Sauber, Bianchi went off at the same corner, hitting the rescue vehicle. With light fading, the race was red flagged and a result declared, with the ambulance and medical car on the scene. The FIA confirmed that Bianchi was unconscious when he was taken to hospital.

With the race not resuming and the result being taken after 44 laps, Hamilton took his third consecutive victory having passed team-mate Nico Rosberg brilliantly around the outside of Turn 1 on lap 29.

Sebastian Vettel was declared third ahead of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and Jenson Button.

Heavy rain saw the race start behind the safety car before it was red flagged after two laps. With all the cars in the pit lane, the rain eased sufficiently to allow the race to restart behind the safety car, which eventually pulled in on lap nine.

Button immediately pit for intermediate tyres and running in clear air - away from any spray - saw him posting quick times. That led to a number of stops for intermediates, with Button moving up to third place behind Rosberg and Hamilton after all the pit stops.

Valtteri Bottas was running fourth ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa but the two Red Bulls behind were much quicker and Vettel passed Massa on the inside of the hairpin before going around the outside of Bottas at the same corner.

Ricciardo was quick to follow his team-mate through on both occasions, passing the two Williams cars around the outside of the Esses.

By now, Button was well clear in third place and running at a pace comparable to the two Mercedes, with Rosberg clearly holding Hamilton up. However, at the second round of pit stops Button had a slow stop and dropped behind Vettel.

Hamilton managed to get close out of the final corner and used DRS to pull alongside as Rosberg defended the inside line, but Hamilton held on around the outside to take a lead he never looked likely to relinquish.

Heavier rain then started to fall, and Kevin Magnussen - who had spun at Turn 2 during a tough afternoon - pit for full wets again and was immediately quicker than Button and the two Red Bulls. Ricciardo was able to pass Button at the hairpin for fourth place and Button then reacted to take on full wets, but the safety car was then deployed as a result of Bianchi's incident.

With a number of drivers opting to pit, the race was then red flagged having already passed the 40 lap mark which allows full points to be awarded. With Button in fifth, Bottas finished sixth ahead of Massa, Nico Hulkenberg - who stopped under the safety car but was eighth on lap 44 - Jean-Eric Vergne and Sergio Perez.

As a result, Hamilton extends his championship lead over Rosberg to 10 points ahead of next weekend's Russian Grand Prix.

2014 Formula 1 : Japanese Grand Prix - Race result

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	44	1:51:43.021	2	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	44	+9.1 secs	1	18
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	44	+29.1 secs	9	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-Renault	44	+38.8 secs	6	12
5	22	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	44	+67.5 secs	8	10
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	44	+113.7 secs	3	8
7	19	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	44	+115.1 secs	4	6
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	44	+115.9 secs	13	4
9	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Renault	44	+127.6 secs	20	2
10	11	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes	43	+1 Lap	11	1
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	STR-Renault	43	+1 Lap	12
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	43	+1 Lap	10
13	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari	43	+1 Lap	15
14	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren-Mercedes	43	+1 Lap	7
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	43	+1 Lap	16
16	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus-Renault	43	+1 Lap	22
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham-Renault	43	+1 Lap	17
18	4	Max Chilton	Marussia-Ferrari	43	+1 Lap	21
19	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham-Renault	43	+1 Lap	19
20	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia-Ferrari	41	Accident	18
21	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber-Ferrari	40	Accident	14
Ret	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	2	Electronics	5

2014 Formula 1 : Drivers' Championship Standing

Pos	Driver	Nationality	Team	Points
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	266
2	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	256
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing-Renault	193
4	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing-Renault	139
5	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	133
6	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams-Mercedes	130
7	Jenson Button	British	McLaren-Mercedes	82
8	Nico Hulkenberg	German	Force India-Mercedes	76
9	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams-Mercedes	71
10	Sergio Perez	Mexican	Force India-Mercedes	46
11	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	45
12	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	McLaren-Mercedes	39
13	Jean-Eric Vergne	French	STR-Renault	21
14	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus-Renault	8
15	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	STR-Renault	8
16	Jules Bianchi	French	Marussia-Ferrari	2
17	Adrian Sutil	German	Sauber-Ferrari	0
18	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Caterham-Renault	0
19	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Lotus-Renault	0
20	Esteban Gutierrez	Mexican	Sauber-Ferrari	0
21	Max Chilton	British	Marussia-Ferrari	0
22	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Caterham-Renault	0
23	Andre Lotterer	German	Caterham-Renault	0

2014 Formula 1 : Teams' Championship Standing

Pos	Team	Points
1	Mercedes	522
2	Red Bull Racing-Renault	332
3	Williams-Mercedes	201
4	Ferrari	178
5	Force India-Mercedes	122
6	McLaren-Mercedes	121
7	STR-Renault	29
8	Lotus-Renault	8
9	Marussia-Ferrari	2
10	Sauber-Ferrari	0
11	Caterham-Renault	0

[Source : F1, DAIMLER, CRASH.NET]