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Race Report – Convincing fashion
- Updated: October 9, 2016
F12016 Japanese GP Thursday Press Conference Friday Practice 1 Results Practice 1 Report Practice 2 Results Practice 2 Report Quotes Press Conference Photos Saturday Practice 3 Results Practice 3 Report Qualifying Results Qualifying Report Quotes Press Conference Photos Sunday Race Notes Race Results Race Incidents Race Report Quotes Press Conference Photos Convincing fashion
Nico Rosberg, Japanese GP 2016
© Active Pictures
By Dan Knutson in Suzuka
Nico Rosberg was fast from the moment he first steered his Mercedes out onto the Suzuka track for the opening practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix. He earned the pole and he was still ahead at the end of the race which he won in convincing fashion from pole position.
“The whole weekend went really well from the word go,” Rosberg said after his ninth win of the season and his fourth in the past five races. “Just felt good in the car, found the right balance and all the way through to qualifying. Got that lap done and then the start went well…just everything went well. Just controlling the pace and the gap to Max (Verstappen) in the race. Perfect weekend really. Really happy with that. To win on this legendary track as well.”
Max Verstappen earned his sixth podium of his career by finishing second in his Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton qualified second, dropped to eighth and finished third in his Mercedes.
Several hours after the race, however, Mercedes filed a protest against Verstappen, saying he had driven in an erratic and dangerous manner and had forced Hamilton to take evasive action at Turn 16. However, as both drivers had left the track, the matter was deferred to the next race, the United States Grand Prix. Mercedes then withdrew its protest in the interest of the sport so that the results of the race would not be in limbo the next ten days.
Rosberg had qualified on pole with a time just 0.013 of a second quicker than Hamilton. Red Bull’s Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo occupied the second row of the grid after penalties for the Ferrari drivers dropped Sebastian Vettel to sixth and Kimi Raikkonen to eighth in the lineup.
Sergio Perez (Force India) and Romain Grosjean (Haas) filled the fifth and seventh slots on the grid, while Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) and Esteban Gutierrez (Haas) rounded out the top 10.
When the red lights went out to start the 53 lap race, Hamilton had a slow getaway and dropped to eighth.
“I made a mistake,” Hamilton said. “I got too much wheel spin.”
Rosberg got out in front and led lap 1 ahead of Verstappen, Perez, Vettel, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen and Hamilton.
Vettel was on the move, passing Ricciardo on the opening lap, and taking third from Perez on the start of lap 3.
“We had a very good start and made good progress in the first two laps, passing Ricciardo and Perez,” Vettel said, “and then we were faster than Verstappen. I think today we had the second fastest car.”
By lap 5 Rosberg had a 3.5 second lead over Verstappen.
It took Hamilton seven laps to move into seventh. He then started to close in on Raikkonen who was chasing after Ricciardo.
As the tenth lap was completed, Verstappen, Ricciardo and Grosjean all pitted, and switched their medium compound Pirellis for the hard compound slicks. Hulkenberg and Gutierrez stopped a …
