2016 Japanese Grand Prix

2016 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 17 of 21 in the 2016 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Race details[1]
Date	9 October 2016 (2016-10-09)
Official name	2016 Formula 1 Emirates Japanese Grand Prix
Location	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.807 km (3.608 miles)
Distance	53 laps, 307.471 km (191.054 miles)
Weather	Cloudy
Attendance	145,000[2]
Pole position
Driver	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Time	1:30.647
Fastest lap
Driver	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Time	1:35.118 on lap 36
Podium
First	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Second	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
Third	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Lap leaders

The 2016 Japanese Grand Prix (formally known as the 2016 Formula 1 Emirates Japanese Grand Prix)^[1] was a Formula One motor race that was held on 9 October 2016 at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Mie, Japan. The race marked the 42nd running of the Japanese Grand Prix, the 30th time it has been held at Suzuka (28th time as a World Championship round), and the 32nd time that the race has been run as a World Championship event since the inaugural Formula One season in 1950.

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg entered the round with a twenty-three-point lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton in the World Drivers' Championship. Rosberg started the race from pole position and won the race, extending his championship lead to thirty-three points as Hamilton finished third behind Max Verstappen. Before the race, Mercedes held a 194-point lead over Red Bull Racing in the World Constructors' Championship, and with forty points for first and third places, secured their third consecutive title. In the Drivers' Championship, the field of title contenders narrowed to just two (Rosberg and Hamilton) after the race. This was Rosberg's 30th and final pole in Formula One as well as his 23rd and final Formula One victory.