2014 Japanese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton was classified as the winner of a rain-affected Japanese Grand Prix, ahead of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. The sporting result, however, was overshadowed by Jules Bianchi‘s serious accident, which brought the race to an early end.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Pole time	1:32.506
Fastest lap	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Fastest-lap time	1:51.600 on lap 39
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Third	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
3 October 2014	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
3 October 2014	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
4 October 2014	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
4 October 2014	Qualifying	14:00
5 October 2014	Race	15:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Lewis Hamilton arrived at round 15 leading the 2014 F1 World Championship on 241 points, with Nico Rosberg on 238. Mercedes headed the constructors’ standings with 479 points.

Race entries

Max Verstappen made his first Formula 1 weekend appearance in Friday practice for Toro Rosso. Roberto Merhi also took part in practice for Caterham; the race line-up remained unchanged from Singapore.

Free Practice

Nico Rosberg led FP1 as Mercedes combined pace with heavier-fuel race simulations. Max Verstappen’s first official practice outing ended with smoke from a failed exhaust valve, while Roberto Merhi spun in the Caterham. Valtteri Bottas avoided the spinning car, and the field continued learning how the new-generation cars behaved through Suzuka’s demanding corners.

Lewis Hamilton led a heavily disrupted FP2. Daniel Ricciardo crashed at the final corner, Kamui Kobayashi damaged his Caterham, and Esteban Gutiérrez hit the barrier at Spoon. Jean-Eric Vergne stopped twice with separate technical problems, the second bringing an early end to the session and further reducing useful race-preparation mileage.

Nico Rosberg led FP3, but Lewis Hamilton crashed at Turn 1 with less than ten minutes remaining, damaging the front-left corner of his Mercedes. That left the team with urgent repairs before qualifying. Lewis Hamilton’s earlier hard-tyre lap still kept him near the front, underlining the car’s pace despite the setback.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2014 Japanese Grand Prix FP1, 3 October 2014

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:35.461	27
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.151s	26
3	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.576s	19
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.115s	25
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.726s	19
6	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	+1.866s	24
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+2.005s	27
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.188s	24
9	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+2.225s	26
10	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+2.253s	26
11	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+2.551s	22
12	38	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+2.696s	22
13	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.863s	10
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+3.121s	9
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+3.390s	21
16	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	+3.585s	19
17	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+3.636s	26
18	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+3.857s	18
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	+4.570s	18
20	45	Roberto Merhi	Caterham	+6.011s	24
21	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+6.119s	10
22	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	+6.296s	15

Free Practice 2 Classification

2014 Japanese Grand Prix FP2, 3 October 2014

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:35.078	28
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.240s	27
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.201s	24
4	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.331s	28
5	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+1.358s	24
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.451s	19
7	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.559s	26
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	+1.636s	31
9	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+1.865s	27
10	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+2.108s	3
11	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+2.141s	19
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.426s	16
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+2.485s	31
14	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+2.622s	18
15	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.708s	8
16	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+2.720s	27
17	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	+2.932s	25
18	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+3.287s	9
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	+3.991s	22
20	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+4.228s	20
21	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	+4.255s	24
22	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham	+7.682s	3

Free Practice 3 Classification

2014 Japanese Grand Prix FP3, 4 October 2014

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:33.228	14
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.982s	10
3	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.211s	12
4	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.336s	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.833s	16
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.858s	13
7	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	+2.023s	16
8	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+2.266s	8
9	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+2.310s	17
10	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.321s	16
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.504s	15
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+2.767s	5
13	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+3.137s	8
14	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+3.179s	22
15	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+3.232s	6
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+3.330s	19
17	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+3.389s	12
18	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	+3.398s	20
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	+4.139s	12
20	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	+4.655s	17
21	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+4.874s	15
22	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham	+5.556s	12

Qualifying

Nico Rosberg headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton second and Valtteri Bottas third.

Nico Rosberg took pole ahead of Lewis Hamilton in dry conditions. Pastor Maldonado and Jean-Éric Vergne received engine-related grid penalties, while heavy rain was expected for Sunday’s race.

Qualifying Classification

2014 Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying, 4 October 2014

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:33.671	1:32.950	1:32.506	13
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:33.611	1:32.982	1:32.703	13
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:34.301	1:33.443	1:33.128	16
4	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:34.483	1:33.551	1:33.527	16
5	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:34.497	1:33.675	1:33.740	16
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:35.593	1:34.466	1:34.075	17
7	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	1:34.930	1:34.229	1:34.242	16
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:35.150	1:34.648	1:34.317	17
9	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:35.517	1:34.784	1:34.432	17
10	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:34.984	1:34.771	1:34.548	16
11	25	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:35.155	1:34.984	—	14
12	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:35.439	1:35.089	—	13
13	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:35.210	1:35.092	—	13
14	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:35.000	1:35.099	—	13
15	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	1:35.736	1:35.364	—	14
16	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	1:35.308	1:35.681	—	14
17	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	1:35.917	—	—	9
18	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:35.984	—	—	10
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	1:36.813	—	—	6
20	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	1:36.943	—	—	8
21	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham	1:37.015	—	—	9
22	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	1:37.481	—	—	8

Pastor Maldonado and Jean-Éric Vergne both received a ten-place grid penalty for exceeding their quota of five engine components for the season.

What happened in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix?

Heavy rain forced a safety-car start and an early red flag. The race resumed after a pause, but Fernando Alonso retired with an electrical problem before the field was released into competitive running.

Jenson Button gained ground by switching early to intermediates. Hamilton pursued Rosberg and passed his team-mate around the outside at the first corner, taking control as the Mercedes pair led the wet-weather contest.

Adrian Sutil later went off at Dunlop Curve. During recovery of his car, Bianchi left the track at the same corner and struck the recovery vehicle, sustaining severe head injuries. The race was stopped and did not restart.

The result was taken after 44 laps, with Hamilton ahead of Rosberg, Vettel, Ricciardo and Button. Bianchi was taken to hospital and remained in a coma; he died from his injuries on 17 July 2015. The accident’s consequences far outweighed the championship result.

• 

  List of Fatal Accidents in F1

• 

  List of Red-flagged Formula One Races: When F1 Comes to a Stop

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  Why is the Number 17 Retired in Formula 1?

• 

  F1 Driver Numbers: Banned, retired and current

Further down the points places, Felipe Massa, Nico Hülkenberg, Jean-Éric Vergne and Sergio Pérez completed the scoring positions. Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2014 rules.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton headed the drivers’ standings with 266 points, followed by Nico Rosberg on 256. Mercedes led the constructors’ table on 522, with Red Bull Racing on 332.

2014 Japanese Grand Prix race results

The 2014 Japanese Grand Prix was held on 5 October 2014, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	44	1:51:43.021	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	44	+ 9.180	18
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	44	+ 29.122	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	44	+ 38.818	12
5	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	44	+ 1:07.550	10
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	44	+ 1:53.773	8
7	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	44	+ 1:55.126	6
8	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	44	+ 1:55.948	4
9	25	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	44	+ 2:07.638	2
10	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	43	+ 1 Lap	1
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	43	+ 1 Lap	0
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	43	+ 1 Lap	0
13	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	43	+ 1 Lap	0
14	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	43	+ 1 Lap	0
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	43	+ 1 Lap	0
16	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	43	+ 1 Lap	0
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	43	+ 1 Lap	0
18	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	43	+ 1 Lap	0
19	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham	43	+ 1 Lap	0
20	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	41	Fatal collision	0
21	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	40	Accident	0
Ret	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	2	Electrical	0

Pastor Maldonado received a 20-second post-race time penalty for speeding in the pit-lane.

Jules Bianchi and Adrian Sutil were classified as they had completed 90% of the 44 laps used to determine the race result.

Jules Bianchi died on 17 July 2015 from injuries sustained during the accident.

2014 Japanese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	39	16:41:50	1:51.600	187.322
2	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	33	16:30:51	1:51.721	187.119
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	32	16:28:56	1:51.915	186.795
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	38	16:40:23	1:52.231	186.269
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	36	16:38:01	1:52.426	185.946
6	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	15	15:55:57	1:52.551	185.739
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	28	16:21:57	1:52.814	185.306
8	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	39	16:43:13	1:53.450	184.267
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	38	16:41:54	1:53.510	184.170
10	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	27	16:20:13	1:53.556	184.095
11	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	35	16:35:51	1:53.562	184.086
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	25	16:16:18	1:54.021	183.345
13	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	41	16:47:00	1:54.103	183.213
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	27	16:20:47	1:54.669	182.309
15	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	26	16:18:34	1:54.702	182.256
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	28	16:22:18	1:55.302	181.308
17	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	40	16:45:54	1:55.372	181.198
18	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham	29	16:24:59	1:55.641	180.776
19	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	25	16:16:32	1:55.753	180.601
20	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	27	16:20:44	1:55.985	180.240
21	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	25	16:17:15	1:56.472	179.486

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded. Time of Day is local.

2014 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

2014 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	266
2	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	256
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing	193
4	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	139
5	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	133
6	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	130
7	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	82
8	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	76
9	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams	71
10	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Force India	46
11	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	45
12	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	McLaren	39
13	Jean-Éric Vergne	French	Toro Rosso	21
14	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	8
15	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	Toro Rosso	8
16	Jules Bianchi	French	Marussia	2
17	Adrian Sutil	German	Sauber	0
18	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Caterham	0
19	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Lotus F1	0
20	Esteban Gutiérrez	Mexican	Sauber	0
21	Max Chilton	British	Marussia	0
22	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Caterham	0
–	André Lotterer	German	Caterham	0

2014 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	522
2	Red Bull Racing	332
3	Williams	201
4	Ferrari	178
5	Force India	122
6	McLaren	121
7	Toro Rosso	29
8	Lotus F1	8
9	Marussia	2
10	Sauber	0
11	Caterham	0

2014 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2014 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	16 March
2	2014 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	30 March
3	2014 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	6 April
4	2014 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	20 April
5	2014 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	11 May
6	2014 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	25 May
7	2014 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	8 June
8	2014 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	22 June
9	2014 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	6 July
10	2014 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	20 July
11	2014 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	27 July
12	2014 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	24 August
13	2014 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	7 September
14	2014 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	21 September
15	2014 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	5 October
16	2014 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	12 October
17	2014 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	2 November
18	2014 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	9 November
19	2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	23 November