2014 Japanese Grand Prix

2014 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 15 of 19 in the 2014 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Suzuka Circuit
Race details[1][2]
Date	5 October 2014
Official name	2014 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix[3]
Location	Suzuka Circuit Suzuka, Mie, Japan
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.807 km (3.608 miles)
Distance	44 laps, 255.208[n 1] km (158.579 miles)
Scheduled distance	53 laps, 307.471 km (191.054 miles)
Weather	Rain. Air: 20 °C (68 °F) Track: 24 °C (75 °F)
Attendance	150,000[5]
Pole position
Driver	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Time	1:32.506
Fastest lap
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:51.600 on lap 39
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Third	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault
Lap leaders [6]

The 2014 Japanese Grand Prix (formally the 2014 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 5 October 2014 at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Mie. It was the 15th race of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship, and the 30th Formula One Japanese Grand Prix. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the 44-lap race starting from second position. His teammate, Nico Rosberg, finished second and Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel was third. It was Hamilton's eighth victory of the season and the 30th of his Formula One career.

Going into the race, Hamilton led Rosberg by three points in the World Drivers' Championship and their team led the World Constructors' Championship by 174 points over Red Bull. Heavy rain from Typhoon Phanfone made the track surface wet and reduced visibility. Starting from behind the safety car, the race was stopped after two laps and resumed 20 minutes later. Rosberg immediately blocked a pass by Hamilton heading into the first corner. His car then experienced oversteer, and Hamilton reduced the time deficit between them. Hamilton challenged Rosberg for the lead over the next four laps, before overtaking him on the 29th lap and pulling away.

The race was scheduled to run for 53 laps, but was brought to an end on the 46th lap (with the result taken at the end of lap 44) after an accident involving Jules Bianchi. Bianchi lost control of his Marussia at the Dunlop Curve on the 43rd lap and collided with a tractor crane that was tending to Adrian Sutil's Sauber, which had spun off on the previous lap. Bianchi sustained severe head injuries in the accident, from which he died in France on 17 July 2015, thus becoming the first driver to die as a result of injuries sustained in a Formula One race since Ayrton Senna in 1994. The accident prompted Formula One's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), to investigate the incident with a ten-person panel in which it was determined there was no single cause that prompted the crash. The investigation led to the virtual safety car (VSC) being introduced from the 2015 season onwards.

The victory allowed Hamilton to increase his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to ten points over Rosberg, with Daniel Ricciardo a distant third. Mercedes extended their advantage over Red Bull in the World Constructors' Championship, and Williams remained ahead of Ferrari in the battle for third place with four races left in the season.

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