Lewis Hamilton has moved 59 points ahead in the drivers’ championship after winning the Japanese Grand Prix but his nearest rival, Sebastian Vettel, has not given up. ‘We still have a chance this year, he said
Lewis Hamilton has put himself within touching distance of a fourth Formula One world championship after his victory at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. His fifth win in the past seven races plus a spark plug failure that forced his rival, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, to retire after only four laps means the Mercedes driver now holds an almost insurmountable points lead going into the final four races of the season.
Hamilton had entered the race with a 34-point advantage over Vettel and leaves 59 ahead with 100 available. If the 32-year-old wins at the next round in the US and Vettel finishes below fifth, the title will be his and he will become Britain’s most successful racing driver, with one more F1 championship than Sir Jackie Stewart.
“I could only have dreamed of having this kind of gap,” Hamilton said. “Ferrari have put on such a great challenge all year long. All I can really say is that I have to put it down to my team. They’ve done a phenomenal job.”
Vettel suffered a spark plug problem that proved terminal and it followed a sequence of races that has seen the championship swing firmly in Hamilton’s favour. The German crashed out on the first lap in Singapore and could manage only fourth at the next round in Malaysia when he started from the back of the grid after an engine change.
