Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix with a mighty run that left his competitors in his wake. His Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was second, but three-tenths down on Hamilton and will take a five-place grid penalty after taking a replacement gearbox. The British driver’s rival for the world championship, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, could manage only third, four tenths down on Hamilton but will start on the front row after Bottas’s penalty. The two Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were in fourth and fifth.
Hamilton’s 10th pole of the season takes him to a career total of 71 but is really significant in that it is the first time he has taken the top spot at Suzuka, acknowledged as one of the absolute classic circuits. He has been on pole at the Japanese GP twice before but on both occasions when the race was held at Fuji Speedway in 2007 and 2008. He converted it to a win in 2007 and has previously won twice here for Mercedes in 2014 and 2015, both years he went on to win the world championship.
F1 fight for safety continues on third anniversary of Jules Bianchi crash Read more
After struggling in Malaysia, Mercedes had expected to show improvement on the tricky challenge presented by the 3.6-mile circuit that was designed by Honda as a test track and Hamilton proved to be very strong. He had been second to Bottas in the final practice session on Saturday morning and the team had been using the new aero upgrades that were problematic at Sepang but looked to have come into their own on the mix of slow, medium and fast corners of Suzuka. His time of 1m27.319s smashed the lap record of 1.28.954 set by Michael Schumacher in 2006 by a full 1.7-seconds.
After his second place in Malaysia, where Vettel could only manage fourth, Hamilton leads the German by 34 points in the world championship, extending it further on Sunday with only four races remaining would leave Vettel with a mountain to climb in the title fight.
“It feels incredible,” said Hamilton. “It’s been a really good day. It’s my first time and I was running out of opportunities, so I thought I had to make it stick today.”
Quickest across all three sessions Hamilton was untouchable on his final hot runs. His first quick time in Q3 was a 1.27.345 and Vettel was four-tenths back in second. The second was even quicker as he proved utterly dominant on a circuit where he has never been on pole. His first sector – the most demanding and rewarding of the lap – especially through the esses, was absolutely mighty and he used every inch of the track and the enhanced engine mode Mercedes is able to employ over a single lap.
When Hamilton had bolted on supersoft tyres for the second session he promptly broke the lap record with a 1.27.819 on his first run and was clearly in a class of his own. Vettel, also now on the quicker rubber, could not come close. He was ultimately a full four-tenths back. The British driver had also been quickest in the first session, a tenth of a second up on Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari but significantly on the slower soft rubber. Vettel, also on the soft tyres, was in fifth, three-tenths back.
The session was brought to an early close after Romain Grosjean crashed his Haas on the exit of the S-curves going into Dunlop and he went out in 16th place.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Romain Grosjean gets out of his car after going off. Photograph: Eugene Hoshiko/AP
Raikkonen finished in sixth but has a five-pace grid penalty for replacing his gearbox after the damage he sustained going off at the second Degner during final practice on Saturday morning. The Force Indias of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez were in seventh and eighth, although the Mexican is under investigation for blocking Lance Stroll. Felipe Massa’s Williams was in ninth.
McLaren’s Fernando Alonso did well to put his car into 10th place but Honda had no good news for their fans at their home race. He will take a 35-place grid penalty for optioning a range of new powerunit components.
Alonso’s team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne was 11th, with Renault’s Nico Hülkenberg in 12th and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen in 13th. Renault’s Jolyon Palmer finished in 14th, but has a 20-place grid penalty for new powerunit components and the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz Jr was in 15th, but also takes a 20-place grid penalty for the same reason. Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly was 17th and the Williams of Stroll in 18th, but the young Canadian appeared to have been blocked exiting the chicane by the Force India of Pérez, who may face a sanction. The two Saubers of Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein were in 19th and 20th.