Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 as chaotic Japanese Grand Prix cut short

(Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team's Lewis Hamilton took victory ahead of team mate Nico Rosberg as the race was red flagged as a result of a crash involving the Marussia F1 Team's Jules Bianchi who hit a JCB which had been sent in to recover Adrian Sutil's Sauber F1 car. Speaking following the race, Lewis Hamilton commented saying:

'Our first thoughts go to Jules – it overshadows everything else when one of our colleagues is injured and we are praying for him. Next to this, the race result doesn’t seem significant at all. Nico and I had a tough battle‎, we were pushing really hard. I had a big moment at Turn One when I was too late getting off the DRS as I was just pushing so hard but fortunately I was able to get back on track. The conditions were difficult throughout but I had more pace than Nico today and could follow him quite comfortably in the early stages. 

This is not an easy circuit for following another car or for overtaking, but he made a mistake out of the last corner and I was able to pass. The whole approach then needed to change to look after the tyres and make sure I stayed in the lead until the end of the race. But like I said, that’s not what matters today; our thoughts are with Jules.'

Nico Rosberg commented on the race saying:

'My thoughts are with our colleague Jules and his family and team-mates, and we are hoping for some positive news. Today was a really tough race with the wet conditions. I struggled a lot with the balance of my car on the intermediate tyres, so I had to push hard to keep Lewis behind me. 

I had a lot of oversteering which is why the rear end of my car was very nervous. That was really strange and I didn’t have the necessary confidence in the corners; we need to look into that in the next few days. It meant that Lewis was quicker today and deserved the win. It was damage limitation with losing only seven points to him. For the team it was a good result with another 1-2.'

The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team have now scored eight 1-2 finishes so far this season. Speaking about today's race saying:

'At this stage, the only important thing is that Jules Bianchi is okay and recovers; the sport is not as important as that now.'

Mercedes Executive Technical Director Paddy Lowe stated:

'Our thoughts are now with Jules Bianchi as we wait for more news of his condition. We had predicted a difficult race from the moment we saw the forecast for this weekend but the weather didn’t prove as bad as we had perhaps expected. It was a tricky start behind the Safety Car but then much of the race unfolded in intermediate tyre conditions. We pulled out a lead at the beginning which meant we were able to shadow our competitors with the pit stops and let the drivers battle it out on track. 

They had a hard dice and Lewis managed an impressive overtake at Turn One. In conditions like we saw today, a one-two finish is a good achievement for the team. I would also like to thank the fans, who were fantastic in their support this weekend – as always in Japan - and who make it such a pleasure to race here. But most importantly of all, we are all hoping to hear some positive news about Jules soon.'

Due to the race been stopped on lap 45 the race on counted back one lap which meant that reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel took third place on the podium instead of team mate Daniel Ricciardo who finished the race in fourth place. Speaking following the race, Sebastian Vettel stated:

'Everything that happened with the racing on track is secondary today, one of us is in a bad shape and we don’t yet know how he is. Jules had a bad accident and we hope to have some very good news, very soon. Not knowing what’s going on feels terrible, I think all the drivers really feel with him, as we know how difficult and slippery it was today; we hope for the very best.'

Daniel Ricciardo stated:

'Right now we’re all thinking about Bianchi and that’s the biggest concern for us. We heard he had a pretty big crash and it’s not nice when we don’t know if the driver is okay. The race was tricky, it wasn’t going too badly and the set-up we had for yesterday paid off. We tried a few different things with the strategy, but Bianchi is my main concern at the moment.'

Infiniti Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner stated:

'First of all, irrelevant of anything else, our thoughts are with Jules Bianchi and that he’s okay; that is the absolute first priority.

“For the race, it was a strong race performance by the team with both drivers making great progress and some fantastic overtaking moves. Third and fourth are competitive results. We looked a lot more competitive in the wet conditions, which tend to be a great equaliser.'

McLaren's Jenson Button drove a fantastic race for the Woking outfit who are now just one point behind the Sahara Force India Formula One Team into five place in the Constructors championship. The 2009 world champion did a fantastic job particularly as he finished the race ahead of both Williams Martini Racing driver's Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa. Speaking following the race, Valtteri Bottas commented:

'It was not an easy race for us today, however we still got some points which is good. The car wasn’t great in the wet but we made the most of the strategy and extracted what we could. We are missing pace in the corners and so conceded a lot of time. It was a surprise to see the Red Bull so quick, in the dry we would have fared better. I really hope Jules is ok after the incident and that it is nothing serious.'

Felipe Massa commented saying:

'The race was very difficult today, I suffered at the start with aquaplaning and towards the end it started to get dark as the rain fell again. The Red Bulls were too fast for us today, especially on the intermediate tyre, so there was no chance we could defend. My main focus at the moment is that Jules is ok though.'

Williams Martini Racing Team's Head of Performance Engineering Rob Smedley commented:

'Our first concern is for the wellbeing of Jules, we hope that everything is ok. In the race we made some good strategy calls and as a result we extracted what we could and finished in a decent position. The conditions were difficult at the start and equally at the end as it got dark. However, our thoughts and hopes are with Jules, his family and friends, and the Marussia team.'

As a result of their double points finish the Grove based outfit have now increased their gap over Ferrari in the Constructors championship to 23 points in third in the championship with just four race's remaining. 

Sahara Force India F1 Team's Nico Hulkenberg finished the race in 8th place just ahead of the Toro Rosso of Jean Eric Vergne, while Sahara Force India's Sergio Perez rounded out the top ten. Speaking following the race, Nico Hulkenberg commented:

'Up until the final laps my race was going pretty well: I had good pace and a good feeling with the car. We made some progress early on, pitted late and we were able to jump a few cars in the first stop. I can't say it was a very eventful afternoon for me; 

I was on my own for most of the time. The conditions were pretty difficult right from the start: visibility was pretty poor, even if you were in the first half of the pack. It was probably the same for everyone because it's always a challenge in the wet. When the final safety car came out we decided to pit again as I had already been out on those tyres for a long time and I needed new rubber to finish the race. I am happy to get points after a difficult Saturday; we made up for it today. 

Suzuka is a difficult track to race on in the wet because there are lots of places where you can aquaplane and have a moment. I didn't see what happened in the accident that ended the race, but I hope Jules is OK.'

Hulkenberg's team mate Sergio Perez commented by saying:

'The conditions were very difficult today. When we started the race I could not even see the car ahead of me. To begin with, it was just a race to avoid aquaplaning and trying to keep the car on the track because the visibility was very poor. 

Our strategy was working quite well, but I think we were unlucky to make our final stop, which dropped me down a couple of positions. Like everybody my thoughts are with Jules and I hope we hear some good news soon.'

Sahara Force India Formula deputy team principal Robert Fernley commented saying:

'Our thoughts at the moment are with Jules Bianchi and we hope to hear positive news regarding his condition. It was a very dramatic race with action going on throughout the pack as the track dried initially before the rain returned. We took a risk at the end to pit both cars as the safety car came out, which would have protected us in the event of a restart. 

Both drivers drove very maturely and scored points, but everything has been overshadowed by the incident that brought the race to a premature end. Jules and everybody at Marussia are firmly in our thoughts at the moment.'

New 2015 Infiniti Red Bull Racing driver Daniil Kvyat finished the race just outside the points for Toro Rosso in eleventh place while Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen endured another difficult race for the Italian team and finished the race in 12th place. 

The Sauber F1 Team's Esteban Gutierrez finished was unlucky to miss out on scoring the outfit's first points of the season and ended the race in 13th place while Kevin Magnussen finished the race in 14th place in the second McLaren. It was another tough race for the Lotus F1 Team as Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado finished the race in 15th and 16th place respectively. Speaking following the race, Esteban Gutierrez stated:

'I think it was the right decision to stop the race. I really hope that Jules (Bianchi) will be ok. Regarding my race, I fought all the way from the beginning to the end. The conditions were very challenging and it was difficult to get into the rhythm straight away.'

Sauber F1 Team's Adrian Sutil who was classified in 21st place despite ending his race following an accident on lap 41 stated:

'My thoughts are with Jules who went off in the same place as I did. Everything else is irrevelevant at this point in time. Everybody in the paddock should think of him, and I hope that he is in good hands. It was a difficult race in difficult conditions.'

Sauber team principal Monisha Keltenborn commented:

'All the members of the Sauber F1 Team are deeply concerned about the big accident involving Jules Bianchi. Our thoughts are with him, his family and his friends. Everybody in the team wishes him a speedy recovery. In light of this accident, the sporting aspects of the Japanese Grand Prix are in the least of our concerns.'

The Caterham F1 Team's Marcus Ericsson finished the race in 17th place while the Marussia F1 Team's Max Chilton finished the race in 18th place. All the thoughts of the the entire F1 Paddock are with the Marussia F1 Team after Jules Bianchi. The Frenchman has been taken  to hospital following the incident. The FIA's press officer Matteo Bonciani commented:

'The driver is not conscious, he has been sent to the hospital by ambulance because the helicopter cannot go in these conditions, Further updates will follow - for the moment we cannot say anything. We will keep you updated as fast as we can.'

The Caterham F1 Team's Kamui Kobayashi finished the race in 19th place while Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was the only driver not to be classified in the race as the Spaniard suffered a suspected electrical failure which resulted in his F14-T shutting down. It was the double world champion's second retirement in three race's.

Lewis Hamilton heads to the next race in Sochi, Russia next weekend with a ten point advantage over Nico Rosberg.

Drivers championship standings

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team 266 points

2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team 256

3 Daniel Ricciardo Infiniti Red Bull Racing 193

4 Sebastian Vettel Infiniti Red Bull Racing 139

5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 133

6 Valtteri Bottas Williams Martini Racing Team 130

7 Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes 82

8 Nico Hulkenberg Sahara Force India Formula One Team 76

9 Felipe Massa Williams Martini Racing Team 71

10 Sergio Perez Sahara Force India Formula One Team 46

11 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 45

12 Kevin Magnussen McLaren Mercedes 39

13 Jean Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 21

14 Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 Team 8

15 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 8

16 Jules Bianchi Marussia F1 Team 2

Constructors championship standings

1 Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team 522 Points
2 Infiniti Red Bull Racing 332
3 Williams Martini Racing Team 201
4 Ferrari 178
5 Sahara Force India Formula One Team 122
6 McLaren Mercedes 121
7 Scuderia Toro Rosso 29
8 Lotus F1 Team 8
9 Marussia F1 Team 2

© Ben Johnston 2014