F1: Vatteri Bottas wins in Japan, Mercedes clinch constructors' crown

Suzuka Valtteri Bottas roared to victory in yesterdays Japanese Grand Prix to clinch the Formula One constructors crown for Mercedes with the German marque now also guaranteed an unprecedented sixth title doubleThe Finn crossed the line 113 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel whose polesitting Ferrari proved no match for Mercedes in race trim leaving the German to fend off a charging Lewis Hamilton in thirdThe result moved Mercedes 179 points clear of Ferrari With 176 points still up for grabs from the four races left after thriller in Suzuka the result allowed them to clinch the constructors title for a recordequalling sixth year in a rowIt also assures Mercedes of the drivers title with only Bottas capable of challenging Hamilton who saw his lead narrow to 64 points in the overall standingsThe Briton does not need to win another race this season to win the title and could even wrap up his sixth title with three races to spare at the next round in MexicoMercedes have now equalled Ferrari who won six constructors titles between 19992004But they will become the first team to clinch both the drivers and constructors titles six years in a rowStarting third is never easy here but theres no point giving up said Bottas after scoring his third win of the season and first since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in AprilI had a nice car and Sebastian had an issue so it was good to get the lead Really proud of the team sixth title in a row is so impressiveFerrari looked like they might delay Mercedesrsquo title celebrations after locking out the front row in a qualifying session held on Sunday morning after being postponed from its traditional Saturday slot due to Typhoon HagibisBut both polesitter Vettel and team mate Charles Leclerc ran into trouble at the start Vettel made a hesitant start moving before the lights went out before stopping and getting going again He was investigated for a false start but let off without sanctionHis stopstart getaway though was enough to allow Bottas to sweep around the outside and vault into the lead ldquoThe lights were on but it was my mistake at the startrdquo said Vettel a fourtime winner at SuzukaldquoThe Mercedes were difficult they had more pace than us and Valtteri was flying Irsquom not happy with the start of the race but everything else was fine just lacked a bit of pacerdquo he addedLeclerc collided with Max Verstappen at the first corner as the Dutchman tried to pass around the outside pushing the Red Bull into a spin and damaging his FerrariHe nevertheless carried on crucially holding up Hamilton as his car shed bodywork in shower of debris that also took off the pursuing Hamiltons wing mirror before eventually pitting for repairs at the end of the third lap Verstappen retired from the raceLeclerc finished sixth but he dropped to seventh after being handed two separate time penalties totalling 15 seconds for the Verstappen incident and for carrying on with a damaged and therefore unsafe carFerrari were also fined 25000 euros for the latter offence That elevated Daniel Ricciardo to sixth for Renault but the French manufacturer are under investigation for an alleged brakebias related offence after being protested to the stewards by the rival Racing Point teamHamilton took the fastest lap but his joy at Mercedesrsquo success was muted The Brackleybased squad gambled on a onestop strategy for the Briton even as Bottas and Vettel opted for two stops But with degradation higher than expected the 34yearold was forced to pit a second time and lost track position to VettelldquoFirstly congratulations to the teamrdquo said Hamilton who can still clinch the driversrsquo title at the next race in Mexico ldquoThatrsquos the main point I just wanted to bring home good points for the teamrdquo he addedThe race also officially only ran for 52 of the scheduled 53 laps after the chequered flag was shown a lap early on the digital displays around the track Drivers who didnrsquot see the chequered flag display on their steering wheel dashboards continued to race around for the extra lap but the order at the end of the 52nd lap was declared as the result As a result Sergio Perez retained his ninth place finish despite crashing out after being tapped by Pierre Gasly at the start of the final lapCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereAlso download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates