Sebastian Vettel Dominates Wet First Japanese Grand Prix

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time
1	34	Valtteri Bottas		1:05.541
2	2	Lewis Hamilton		1:05.878
3	29	Pastor Maldonado		1:05.886
4	30	Dean Stoneman		1:06.104
5	63	Diego Álvarez Torrente		1:06.188
6	21	Stoffel Vandoorne		1:06.381
7	24	Kevin Magnussen		1:06.481
8	62	Jules Bianchi		1:06.615
9	33	Einar Ármannsson		1:06.689
10	28	Daniel Melrose		1:06.803
11	27	Dave Cassidy		1:07.035
12	22	Jordan Davies		1:07.039
13	31	Romain Grosjean		1:07.077
14	1	Sebastian Vettel		1:07.078
15	23	Pierre Gasly		1:07.178
16	32	Alexander Albon		1:07.244
17	6	Santiago Urrutia		1:07.249
18	5	Marvin Kirchhöfer		1:07.444
19	66	Pascal Wehrlein		1:07.939
20	55	Artem Markelov		1:08.040
21	90	Daniel Ricciardo		1:08.248
22	91	Max Verstappen		1:08.249
23	118	Carlos Sainz Jr		1:08.395
24	56	Sergey Sirotkin		1:08.437
25	67	Mike Rockenfeller		1:08.621
26	119	Felix Rosenqvist		1:08.685

* demoted five places for changing engine/gearbox

Report:

Many people were expecting great things from Germany’s Sebastian Vettel. The last time Formula One was at the Okayama Circuit, he controlled the entire weekend, ending up with two poles, two fastest laps of the race and two race victories.

Unfortunately, it seemed like fame was out of reach for him: he failed to advance to Q2. However, the weather arrived just in time to aid him. Massive rainstorms flushed him up the order, as a superior wet weather drive allowed him to take his first victory of 2019 and, if he has anything to say about it, it will not be his last.

His victory pushes him ahead of the Saubers in the championship, as both of them made race-damaging errors, causing Sauber to lose out on a massive haul of points. They will have to wonder whether this could hurt them when the big two bring out upgrades.

The wet conditions enabled other heroes to shine. Santiago Urrutia made a name for himself, hauling a pathetic Williams-Mercedes to a points finish. The two FAST cars also scored a lot of points. Both BR Mansells could have scored as well, had Sirotkin not suffered a tragic race-ending engine failure shortly before the last lap.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	1	Sebastian Vettel		56:02.489	15
2	34	Valtteri Bottas		+24.877	12
3	63	Diego Álvarez Torrente		+30.855	10
4	23	Pierre Gasly		+42.502	8
5	24	Kevin Magnussen		+44.529	6
6	21	Stoffel Vandoorne		+46.675	5
7	6	Santiago Urrutia		+50.449	4
8	55	Artem Markelov		+51.286	3
9	32	Alexander Albon		+54.258	2
10	90	Daniel Ricciardo		+56.726	1
11	31	Romain Grosjean		+58.393	0
12	67	Mike Rockenfeller		+67.261	0
13	66	Pascal Wehrlein		+67.706	0
14	119	Felix Rosenqvist		+72.626	0
15	33	Einar Ármannsson		+76.122	0
16	2	Lewis Hamilton		+20.039*	0
17	118	Carlos Sainz Jr		1 Lap	0
18	5	Marvin Kirchhöfer		1 Lap	0
19	29	Pastor Maldonado		1 Lap	0
20	30	Dean Stoneman		1 Lap	0
21	91	Max Verstappen		1 Lap	0
22	22	Jordan Davies		2 Laps	0
DNF	56	Sergey Sirotkin		Engine	0
DNF	28	Daniel Melrose		Transmission	0
DNF	27	Dave Cassidy		Accident	0
DNF	62	Jules Bianchi		Accident	0

* given 60-second penalty for failing to undertake one of the required pitstops

Fastest Lap:

Pascal Wehrlein – 1:13.954

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Santiago Urrutia – a drive all of Uruguay can be very proud of.

Reject Of The Race:

Jordan Davies – did not look like he belongs in F1 when rain drops.