7 Memorable Moments From The Japanese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton claimed victory at the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix, claiming his second consecutive Suzuka win. The British driver started second but had a better start, battling team-mate Nico Rosberg through the opening few corners before driving off into the distance.

Rosberg fell to fourth but recovered well to finish as runner-up, ahead of Sebastian Vettel. Here are the best moments:

1. Mental start

As Hamilton took the lead, behind it all got a bit chaotic. Daniel Ricciardo and Felipe Massa collided, giving both drivers punctures, and as the latter dropped back, Sergio Perez was collected by Carlos Sainz Jr and went off.

Rosberg was pushed wide at Turn 2 by Hamilton and he fell behind Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas. It took him until lap 18 to pass the Williams and he did so in style at the final chicane.

3. Around the outside

Max Verstappen continues to prove why he is a star of the future. He was quick throughout the weekend (despite a few off-track excursions in Friday’s wet practice) and his overtake on Fernando Alonso around the outside of Turn 1 (admittedly with help from DRS) was one of several great moves during the Japanese Grand Prix.

4. Alonso angry

The pass prompted a rare angry reaction from Alonso, who called the Honda power unit a “GP2 engine” (you can see how GP2 compares to F1 here) and followed it up with “aaaggghhh” to further vent his frustration.

Sainz Jr was given a very late call to pit. It caught the Spaniard out, he got a slide and hit the pit lane entry bollard, damaging his front wing and scattering debris onto the track. Oops!

6. Spectacular spin

The super-fast 130R is a pretty scary corner in general, so it must be even more terrifying when you exit it facing the wrong way. Fortunately for Manor’s Will Stevens, he managed to keep his car away from the barriers and narrowly avoided collecting his team-mate Alexander Rossi. Both probably need new race suits now though…

7. Back to Mercedes domination

Hamilton eased to victory, equalling Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 F1 race wins and finishing just under 19 seconds ahead of Rosberg. Vettel was third for Ferrari, with Kimi Raikkonen and Bottas completing the top five.