The 2018 Japanese Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 2018 Honda Japanese Grand Prix) was a

Formula One racing A Formula One Grand Prix is a sporting event which takes place over three days (usually Friday to Sunday), with a series of practice and qualifying sessions prior to the race on Sunday. Current regulations provide for two free practice sessions ...

event held on 7 October 2018 at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka in the Mie Prefecture, Japan. The race was the seventeenth round of the

2018 Formula One World Championship The 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars and the 69th running of the Formula One World Championship. Formula One is recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the F ...

and marked the 44th running of the

Japanese Grand Prix The Japanese Grand Prix ( ja, 日本グランプリ, Nihon-guranpuri) is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Gran ...

. The 2018 event was the 34th time that the race had been run as a World Championship event since the inaugural season in , and the 30th time that it had been held at Suzuka. Mercedes driver

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...

entered the round with a fifty-point lead over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the World Drivers' Championship. Hamilton's team-mate

Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Viktor Bottas (; born 28 August 1989) is a Finnish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Alfa Romeo, having previously driven for Mercedes from to and Williams from to . Bottas has scored race wins and podiums. H ...

sat third, a further 67 points behind. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes held a lead of fifty-three points over Ferrari, with

Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...

a further one hundred and fifty points behind in third place.

Report

Background

Ferrari introduced a new livery, carrying the logo of Mission Winnow, a joint promotion with major sponsor Philip Morris International.

Qualifying

;Notes * – Esteban Ocon received a three-place grid penalty for failing to slow sufficiently during a red flag period in FP3. * –

Marcus Ericsson Marcus Thorbjörn Ericsson (; born 2 September 1990) is a Swedish professional racing driver. He competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 8 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing and is the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner. Ericsson previously ...

received a 15-place grid penalty: 10 places for change his power unit and 5 places for an unscheduled gearbox change.

Race

Lewis Hamilton won whilst leading every lap. Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton's championship rival, clashed with Max Verstappen, Vettel would recover to finish 6th after spinning to the back of the field. Valtteri Bottas finished second behind Lewis Hamilton, with Verstappen finishing third.

Race classification

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings * Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. * Bold text and an asterisk indicates competitors who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

References

2018 Formula One races 2018 in Japanese motorsport

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

October 2018 sports events in Japan {{Formula One-stub