2019 Japanese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Valtteri Bottas seized the lead at the start and converted it into victory at the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, as Mercedes secured a sixth consecutive constructors’ championship. The Suzuka International Racing Course hosted qualifying and the race on the same day after Typhoon Hagibis forced the cancellation of Saturday’s track action.

Pole position
Driver	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Time	1:27.064
Fastest lap
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:30.983 on lap 45
Podium
First	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Second	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Third	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
11 October 2019	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
11 October 2019	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
12 October 2019	Practice 3	12:00 – 13:00 (cancelled)
13 October 2019	Qualifying	10:00 – 11:00
13 October 2019	Race	14:10

All times are local (UTC+09:00). The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

Lewis Hamilton arrived with a 73-point advantage over Valtteri Bottas in the 2019 F1 World Championship. Mercedes also had the opportunity to settle the constructors’ title, while the approaching typhoon required a substantial change to the weekend programme.

Race entries

The usual 20 drivers contested the race. Naoki Yamamoto made his Formula One practice debut for Toro Rosso in FP1, taking Pierre Gasly‘s place before Gasly returned for the remaining sessions.

Free Practice

Valtteri Bottas led FP1 in 1:28.731, just 0.076 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel finished third as Mercedes established a strong early position at Suzuka.

Valtteri Bottas also headed FP2, recording 1:27.785 ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. With Saturday’s running cancelled, the session became the teams’ final opportunity to prepare their cars before Sunday qualifying.

FP3 was cancelled because of Typhoon Hagibis. There was no Saturday practice classification, and qualifying moved to 10:00 local time on 13 October 2019, ahead of the Grand Prix that afternoon.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2019 Japanese Grand Prix FP1, 11 October 2019

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:28.731	26
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.076s	25
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.989s	26
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+1.181s	20
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.315s	22
6	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+1.644s	24
7	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.971s	21
8	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+2.079s	21
9	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+2.228s	27
10	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+2.270s	24
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.552s	25
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+2.576s	27
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.695s	29
14	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+2.832s	25
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+3.054s	22
16	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+3.189s	23
17	38	Naoki Yamamoto	Toro Rosso	+3.287s	30
18	63	George Russell	Williams	+4.069s	23
19	88	Robert Kubica	Williams	+4.753s	27
20	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+8.156s	4

Free Practice 2 Classification

2019 Japanese Grand Prix FP2, 11 October 2019

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:27.785	33
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.100s	34
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.281s	24
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.356s	28
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.591s	37
6	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+0.617s	34
7	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.266s	29
8	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	+1.514s	28
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.569s	34
10	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.573s	35
11	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.692s	29
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	+1.727s	35
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.768s	28
14	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+1.812s	27
15	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.866s	33
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.964s	31
17	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+2.074s	30
18	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.549s	29
19	88	Robert Kubica	Williams	+3.131s	35
20	63	George Russell	Williams	+3.286s	36

Free Practice 3 Classification

2019 Japanese Grand Prix FP3, 12 October 2019

This session was cancelled because weather conditions prevented safe running. No classification was issued.

Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel produced a 1:27.064 to secure pole on Sunday morning, with Charles Leclerc completing a Ferrari front-row lockout. Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton occupied the second row. Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon set identical Q3 times, with Verstappen ranked ahead because he recorded his first.

Q1 was interrupted by separate accidents for Robert Kubica and Kevin Magnussen at the final corner. Neither driver set a time, and Kubica subsequently started from the pit lane after Williams replaced his survival cell. Ferrari had overturned Mercedes‘ practice advantage, but the quick turnaround left little time to enjoy it.

Qualifying Classification

2019 Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying, 13 October 2019

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:28.988	1:28.174	1:27.064	16
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:28.405	1:28.179	1:27.253	16
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:28.896	1:27.688	1:27.293	21
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:28.735	1:27.826	1:27.302	20
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:28.754	1:28.499	1:27.851	16
6	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	1:29.351	1:28.156	1:27.851	19
7	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	1:29.018	1:28.577	1:28.304	21
8	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:28.873	1:28.571	1:28.464	21
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:29.411	1:28.779	1:28.836	21
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:29.572	1:29.144	1:29.341	15
11	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:29.604	1:29.254	—	15
12	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	1:29.594	1:29.345	—	12
13	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:29.636	1:29.358	—	15
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:29.723	1:29.563	—	16
15	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:29.619	1:30.112	—	13
16	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:29.822	—	—	8
17	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	1:30.344	—	—	9
18	63	George Russell	Williams	1:30.364	—	—	10
—	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	No time	—	—	2
—	88	Robert Kubica	Williams	No time	—	—	1

Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon set identical times in Q3; Verstappen was classified ahead as he set his lap time earlier.

Kevin Magnussen and Robert Kubica both failed to set a Q1 time. They were allowed to race at the stewards discretion. Kubica was also required to start the race from the pit lane for changing his survival cell.

What happened in the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix?

Sebastian Vettel hesitated after a small movement before the lights went out, allowing Valtteri Bottas to sweep into the lead. The stewards did not penalise Vettel for a false start. At Turn 2, Charles Leclerc made contact with Max Verstappen, damaging both cars and sending Verstappen spinning.

Charles Leclerc continued with a damaged front wing before eventually pitting for repairs. Debris struck Lewis Hamilton‘s car and also disrupted Lando Norris‘s race. Max Verstappen tried to continue, but the damage proved too significant and Red Bull Racing retired his car.

Valtteri Bottas controlled the lead as the front-runners worked through their pit stops. Lewis Hamilton extended his first stint and briefly led, but Mercedes eventually committed him to a second stop. That left Hamilton behind Sebastian Vettel, with fresher tyres for the closing laps.

Lewis Hamilton attacked Sebastian Vettel but could not find a way past the Ferrari. Valtteri Bottas won, Vettel held second and Hamilton finished third with the fastest-lap point. Alexander Albon took fourth ahead of Carlos Sainz, who delivered another strong result for McLaren.

An incorrectly displayed chequered-light signal meant the official result was taken after 52 laps rather than the scheduled 53. Sergio Perez therefore retained a classified finish despite crashing after contact with Pierre Gasly on the final scheduled lap. The unusual ending made the official classification especially important.

Charles Leclerc received a combined 15 seconds of penalties for the opening-lap collision and continuing in an unsafe condition. Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg were later disqualified over Renault‘s driver-aid system following a Racing Point protest. In the final result, Leclerc was sixth, followed by Gasly, Perez, Lance Stroll and Daniil Kvyat.

Mercedes clinched the constructors’ championship and ensured that only Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas could win the drivers’ title. Hamilton’s advantage was now 64 points. Bottas had taken the individual honours at Suzuka, while the team’s sixth consecutive championship double was assured.

2019 Japanese Grand Prix race results

The 2019 Japanese Grand Prix was held on 13 October 2019, with a scheduled start of 14:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	52	1:21:46.755	25
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	52	+13.343s	18
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	52	+13.858s	16
4	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	52	+59.537s	12
5	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	52	+69.101s	10
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	51	+1 lap	8
7	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	51	+1 lap	6
8	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	51	+1 lap	4
9	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	51	+1 lap	2
10	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	51	+1 lap	1
11	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	51	+1 lap	0
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	51	+1 lap	0
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	51	+1 lap	0
14	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	51	+1 lap	0
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	51	+1 lap	0
16	63	George Russell	Williams	50	+2 laps	0
17	88	Robert Kubica	Williams	50	+2 laps	0
Ret	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	14	Collision damage	0
DSQ	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	51	Brake bias	0
DSQ	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	51	Brake bias	0

The race was scheduled to run 53 laps, but the results were taken at the end of lap 52 due to the chequered flag signal being mistakenly shown to drivers one lap too early. As a result, Sergio Perez retained his ninth place, despite retiring from the race during the final scheduled lap. This later became eighth place after the disqualification of both Renault drivers.

Lewis Hamilton earned the additional point for fastest lap.

Charles Leclerc received two time penalties: five seconds for causing a collision with Max Verstappen, and ten seconds for driving in an unsafe condition after the collision. After the disqualification of both Renault drivers, this did not affect his sixth-place finish.

Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg were originally classified seventh and tenth, but were disqualified ten days after the race for using illegal driver aids after a protest brought forward by Racing Point.

2019 Japanese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	45	15:24:43	1:30.983	229.770
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	48	15:30:42	1:31.611	228.195
3	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	49	15:33:31	1:31.732	227.894
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	49	15:30:41	1:31.862	227.571
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	38	15:13:51	1:32.122	226.929
6	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	51	15:36:36	1:32.369	226.322
7	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	46	15:27:51	1:32.621	225.706
8	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	36	15:11:23	1:32.775	225.332
9	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	50	15:34:37	1:33.190	224.328
10	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	47	15:29:35	1:33.239	224.210
11	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	48	15:30:48	1:33.481	223.630
12	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	46	15:27:05	1:33.563	223.434
13	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	31	15:04:11	1:34.116	222.121
14	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	26	14:55:47	1:34.713	220.721
15	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	47	15:29:16	1:34.921	220.237
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	18	14:43:14	1:34.988	220.082
17	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	43	15:22:50	1:35.321	219.313
18	63	George Russell	Williams	27	14:58:13	1:35.458	218.998
19	88	Robert Kubica	Williams	44	15:26:58	1:36.332	217.012
20	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	10	14:29:59	1:37.249	214.965

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h.

2019 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix.

2019 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	338
2	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	274
3	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	223
4	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	212
5	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	212
6	Carlos Sainz	ESP	McLaren	76
7	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Red Bull Racing / Toro Rosso	75
8	Alexander Albon	THA	Red Bull Racing / Toro Rosso	64
9	Sergio Perez	MEX	Racing Point	37
10	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	35
11	Daniil Kvyat	RUS	Toro Rosso	34
12	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Renault	34
13	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Renault	34
14	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing	31
15	Lance Stroll	CAN	Racing Point	21
16	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	20
17	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	8
18	Antonio Giovinazzi	ITA	Alfa Romeo Racing	4
19	Robert Kubica	POL	Williams	1
20	George Russell	GBR	Williams	0

2019 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	612
2	Ferrari	435
3	Red Bull Racing	323
4	McLaren	111
5	Renault	68
6	Toro Rosso	62
7	Racing Point	58
8	Alfa Romeo Racing	35
9	Haas	28
10	Williams	1

2019 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2019 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit , Melbourne	17 March
2	2019 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	31 March
3	2019 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	14 April
4	2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	28 April
5	2019 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	12 May
6	2019 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco , Monte Carlo	26 May
7	2019 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve , Montréal	9 June
8	2019 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	23 June
9	2019 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	30 June
10	2019 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit , Silverstone	14 July
11	2019 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	28 July
12	2019 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring , Mogyoród	4 August
13	2019 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	1 September
14	2019 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza , Monza	8 September
15	2019 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	22 September
16	2019 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	29 September
17	2019 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	13 October
18	2019 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	27 October
19	2019 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	3 November
20	2019 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace , São Paulo	17 November
21	2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	1 December