Rosberg tightens title grip with dominant win

German extends lead over teammate Hamilton to 33 points following his ninth win of the season and with four rounds remaining, the 31-year-old can claim a maiden title without needing to win another raceNico Rosberg tightened his grip on the Formula One title race with a dominant victory at the Japanese Grand Prix yesterday, the German’s first win at Suzuka also helping Mercedes claim a third consecutive constructors’ crown. Rosberg, who started on pole, was never seriously threatened and crossed the line 4.9 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who fended off a late-charging Lewis Hamilton after the Briton recovered from a woeful start to finish third. Rosberg extended his lead over Hamilton to 33 points in the overall standings following his ninth win of the season and with four rounds remaining, the 31-year-old can claim a maiden title without needing to win another race. The win was also the 15th of 17 races for Mercedes this season and confirmed three years of dominance, during which time the German outfit has won 47 of 55 races. “It’s been an awesome weekend for sure, the whole weekend had gone great from the word go,” Rosberg, who led every session at Suzuka, said. “Congrats to all my colleagues in the team, for clinching a third constructors’ world title. Definitely, it’s been an unbelievable effort all these years, so let’s celebrate hard,” added Rosberg, who becomes only the fifth driver in Formula One history to win nine races in a season. Hamilton went into the race searching for a Suzuka hat-trick to revive his flagging championship prospects after being forced to retire from the lead at the last race in Malaysia but his chances of victory were dashed within a matter of seconds. The Briton was unable to capitalise on his front-row start as he crawled off the line and found himself languishing down in eighth place by the time he reached turn one as his Mercedes teammate disappeared over the horizon. “I made a mistake,” said Hamilton, who last won at the German Grand Prix in July prior to the series’ annual summer break. “And then just working my way up from there was tricky but I did the best I could.” Once he had recovered from the disappointment of the tardy start, a mix of his trademark spectacular overtaking and clever strategy by Mercedes saw him scythe through the field and very nearly snatch second from Verstappen. However, the Dutchman held on after rebuffing the Briton’s final attempt to pass with a robust move at the chicane on the penultimate lap that sent the Mercedes wide into a run-off area and prompted the German team to lodge an official protest. That protest, however was later withdrawn, seemingly at Hamilton’s request. “There is no protest from myself. Just heard the team had but I told them it is not what we do. We are champions, we move on. End of!,” he said on Twitter. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who started sixth due to a three-place grid penalty for shunting Rosberg at the start in Malaysia, did well to finish fourth but his hopes of a podium spot were compromised late on by slow moving back markers. The German got off to a fantastic start and looked competitive in third but after losing touch with Verstappen and getting passed by Hamilton on his second pit stop, a bold tyre strategy failed to pay off for Ferrari. His Finnish teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who started eighth after collecting a five-place penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change, also complained of track-hogging back markers on his way to a fifth-place finish. Daniel Ricciardo, winner in Malaysia a week ago, was sixth in his Red Bull as Force India pulled further ahead of Williams in their private battle for fourth overall. Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg finished seventh and eighth ahead of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, who struggled for pace all weekend but made the most of a one-stop strategy to salvage some points. Third constructors’ title on the trot for MercedesMercedes were finally able to break out the champagne after clinching their third straight Formula One constructors’ crown at yesterday’s Japanese Grand Prix. Nico Rosberg eased to a comfortable win at the Suzuka circuit which, combined with a third-place finish for teammate Lewis Hamilton, lifted the German team 208 points clear of closest rivals Red Bull.With just four races remaining and a maximum 172 points up for grabs, the result guaranteed Mercedes the title and had champagne corks popping after an engine blowout for Hamilton last week in Malaysia obliged them to put the bubbly back on ice.“Congrats... to all my colleagues in the team, for clinching a third constructors’ world title,” said Rosberg on the podium after the race.“So absolutely deserved, definitely it’s been an unbelievable effort all these years, so let’s celebrate hard.”The team seemed to be doing just that, spraying champagne in the pitlane and posing for celebratory photographs in front of their garage wearing specially-printed t-shirts emblazoned with ‘The Triple’.Even employees at the team’s headquarters in Brackley, England, got in on the act, also wearing the celebratory t-shirts and spraying champagne.“Big congratulations to the team,” said Hamilton, despite a personally disappointing race that pushed a fourth drivers’ title further out of his reach. “Very proud to be a part of it and to help contribute to it,” added the Briton, who has claimed the drivers’ championship for the last two years.Mercedes have been the dominant force in Formula One since the introduction of the 1.6-litre turbo hybrid engines in 2014. The team have won 47 of the 55 races held since and yesterday’s win in Japan was their 15th from 17 races this year. Only Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Red Bull have won three or more titles in a row, with the Italian outfit the only ones to achieve the feat twice.Whether Mercedes can carry on their winning run into next year will depend on how they adapt to sweeping rule changes being introduced next season. Cars will feature wider tyres and bodywork, in changes aimed at making them faster and more exciting to drive which could shake up the current order.Mercedes have been against this, arguing that allowing the current rules to mature would result in a convergence between teams and lead to closer racing. “It’s what we always said,” team boss Toto Wolff told reporters. “But then somebody else decided to invent something new for next year then it’s back to square one, I guess.”Result1. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1:26:43.3332. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull +00:04.9783. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes +00:05.7764. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari +00:20.269 5. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari +00:28.370 6. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull +00:33.941 7. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India +00:57.495 8. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India +00:59.177 9. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams +01:37.763 10. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams +01:38.323 11. Romain Grosjean (France) Haas +01:39.254 12. Jolyon Palmer (Britain) Renault 1 lap 13. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso 1 lap 14. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) Renault 1 lap 15. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Sauber 1 lap 16. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 1 lap 17. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) Toro Rosso 1 lap 18. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1 lap 19. Felipe Nasr (Brazil) Sauber 1 lap 20. Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Haas 1 lap 21. Esteban Ocon (France) Manor 1 lap 22. Pascal Wehrlein (Germany) Manor 1 lapFastest Lap: Sebastian Vettel, 1:35.118, lap 36StandingsDrivers: 1. Nico Rosberg 313 points; 2. Lewis Hamilton 280; 3. Daniel Ricciardo 212; 4. Kimi Raikkonen 170; 5. Max Verstappen 165; 6. Sebastian Vettel 165; 7. Valtteri Bottas 81; 8. Sergio Perez 80; 9. Nico Huelkenberg 54; 10. Felipe Massa 43; 11. Fernando Alonso 42; 12. Carlos Sainz Jr 30; 13. Romain Grosjean 28; 14. Daniil Kvyat 25; 15. Jenson Button 19Constructors: 1. Mercedes 593 points; 2. Red Bull 385; 3. Ferrari 335; 4. Force India 134; 5. Williams 124; 6. McLaren 62; 7. Toro Rosso 47; 8. Haas 28; 9. Renault 8; 10. Manor 1