Hamilton's fifth victory in Japan on a way to the fifth F1 Championship title

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) dominantly wins the Japanese Grand Prix, the 17th round of the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship, converting his 80th pole position into the 71st F1 victory in a career. It’s the fifth win for Hamilton in Japan and his fourth at Suzuka Circuit.

With nine wins in 17 races in 2018, Hamilton is now very close to his fifth championship title because his closest rival Sebastian Vettel finished only sixth at Suzuka. Vettel dropped to the back of the field after a controversial collision with Max Verstappen early in the race but later recovered to take at least eight championship points. With four more races on a calendar, Hamilton has 67-point advantage over Vettel.

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Hamilton shared Suzuka podium with teammate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) and Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) rounded the top 5.

The other point-scorers are Sergio Perez (Racing Point Force India), Romain Grosjean (Haas), Esteban Ocon (Racing Point Force India) and Carlos Sainz (Renault).

Thenext race on a calendar is the US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, scheduled for October 21.

Check the full results of the Japanese Grand Prix

Photos: Mercedes,