Japanese GP 2014: Hamilton wins in the rain, Bianchi seriously injured in crash

Lewis Hamilton won a rain-soaked Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit on 5 October 2014. His Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg finished second, with Sebastian Vettel third for Red Bull. Hamilton settled the intra-team battle on lap 29 with a move around the outside into the first corner. In the end, though, the sport faded into the background: shortly before the finish, Jules Bianchi crashed heavily in his Marussia. The race was stopped and never resumed. You can find all the times, laps and positions on our 2014 Japanese GP race page.

Typhoon Phanfone had brought heavy rain and standing water to Suzuka. Race Control nevertheless stuck to the scheduled start time. The field began the race behind the Safety Car without a formation lap, with every car on wet tyres. After just two laps, Race Control showed the red flag, partly because Hamilton had complained about poor visibility. After a stoppage of around 20 minutes, the race resumed behind the Safety Car.

Shortly after the restart, the race was over for Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard had been due to start fifth in his Ferrari. After completing two laps, his car stopped in the Esses on the third lap with an electronics failure. It turned into a bitter day for Ferrari: according to formula1.com, the Scuderia went without a point for the first time in 82 Grands Prix. The Safety Car pitted at the end of the ninth lap, and only then was overtaking allowed.

The track was slowly drying, and Jenson Button was the first to gamble on intermediates. According to our data, McLaren brought him in as early as lap 9. By the time his rivals followed suit over the next few laps, Button had climbed to third. According to formula1.com, the gamble paid off handsomely. Rosberg switched tyres on lap 13, Hamilton a lap later. As a result, Hamilton briefly led laps 13 and 14.

Then the Red Bulls began their charge. The team had tailored its set-up for the expected rain at the expense of qualifying pace. According to formula1.com, that gave Red Bull the fastest car in the middle of the race. The Williams pair, third and fourth on the grid after qualifying, found no grip in the wet. According to the FIA race report, Vettel passed Felipe Massa on lap 16 and Valtteri Bottas two laps later. Daniel Ricciardo got past both Williams on laps 17 and 19, taking Bottas around the outside in the Esses.

Button lost his podium place at his second stop, where McLaren had to change his steering wheel. According to our data, his trip through the pit lane took 28.5 seconds instead of the usual 24 or so. Both Red Bulls went past in that time. Button then fought Ricciardo for fourth, but the Australian made it stick after several attempts in the closing stages. Shortly before the race was stopped, Button pitted once more and switched back to wet tyres because heavier rain was expected.

Rosberg had started from pole position and led the race for a long time. On intermediates, however, he could no longer find a balance and complained of oversteer. Hamilton, by contrast, coped well with that handling trait of his Mercedes, as formula1.com observed. According to the FIA race report, Hamilton was allowed to use DRS from lap 25. On lap 27, however, he forgot to close the flap before the first corner. He lost rear grip as a result and slid into the run-off at Turn 1.

Two laps later he made it work: Hamilton carried more speed down the start/finish straight, pulled out of Rosberg's slipstream and passed him around the outside at Turn 1. From lap 29 he led all the way to the finish and pulled away from his teammate. He also set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:51.600 on lap 39. After the final scheduled stops (Rosberg on lap 33, Hamilton on lap 35), nothing changed at the front. According to Wikipedia, Hamilton won by 9.1 seconds. Rosberg accepted defeat: according to formula1.com, he said the better man had won on the day.

For Hamilton it was his eighth win of the season, the 30th Grand Prix win of his career and his first at Suzuka. He had won the Japanese GP once before, in 2007, when it was held at Fuji.

In the closing stages the rain intensified again. Adrian Sutil aquaplaned off in his Sauber at the Dunlop Curve (Turn 7) and hit the tyre barrier. Sutil was unhurt. Double yellow flags were waved at the scene, but Race Control did not deploy the Safety Car. A recovery crane drove out to remove the Sauber.

A lap later, Bianchi lost control of his Marussia at the same spot and struck the recovery vehicle. He suffered severe head injuries and was taken to hospital. The Safety Car and Medical Car were sent out, and shortly afterwards the race was red-flagged and not restarted. The result was taken at the end of lap 44. Sutil (40 laps) and Bianchi (41 laps) were classified 21st and 20th. Out of respect for Bianchi, the three podium finishers did without the champagne celebrations.

Looking back today: In December 2014, an FIA accident panel presented its report. It concluded that several factors led to the crash: the track conditions at Turn 7, the recovery vehicle in the danger zone and the finding that Bianchi had not slowed sufficiently under double yellows. Bianchi's family later rejected the blame placed on Jules. As a consequence, the Virtual Safety Car was introduced in 2015. Jules Bianchi died of his injuries on 17 July 2015. He was the first driver since Ayrton Senna in 1994 to die after a crash in a Formula 1 race.

Winners:

• Jean-Éric Vergne made up the most places in his Toro Rosso: he started 20th and finished ninth, 11 positions further up.
• Sebastian Vettel went from ninth on the grid to the podium, gaining six places. Teammate Ricciardo improved from sixth to fourth.
• Nico Hülkenberg climbed from 13th on the grid to eighth in his Force India. Sergio Pérez added another point in tenth.
• Pastor Maldonado also gained six places in his Lotus F1, but finished 16th without points. According to formula1.com, the Lotus cars struggled with heavy tyre wear and therefore had to pit often.

Losers:

• Fernando Alonso retired after two laps with an electronics failure. Kimi Räikkönen finished twelfth, a lap down, so Ferrari scored no points.
• Kevin Magnussen started seventh in his McLaren and finished only 14th. According to our data, a long stop on lap 15 dropped him as far back as 20th.
• Williams lost a lot of ground in the rain: Bottas and Massa fell from third and fourth on the grid to sixth and seventh.

With his win, Hamilton extended his championship lead to ten points: he now had 266 points to Rosberg's 256. Ricciardo was third on 193 points. Vettel moved past Alonso (133) into fourth with 139 points, with Bottas next on 130. In the constructors' standings, Mercedes led comfortably with 522 points from Red Bull (332). Williams (201) stayed third ahead of Ferrari (178). You can find the full 2014 standings on our site.

There had already been surprising news on Saturday: before qualifying, Red Bull announced that Vettel would leave the team at the end of the season. Team principal Christian Horner named Ferrari as his new destination, though the Italian team did not initially confirm it. Red Bull promoted Daniil Kvyat from Toro Rosso as his replacement. Vettel had qualified only ninth, but still made a statement in the race with his podium finish. The season continued with the Russian GP.