Lewis Hamilton entered the Japanese Grand Prix expecting a thrilling live betting matchup against title rival and Ferrari ace Sebastian Vettel. Unfortunately, that fight never happened as the Brit star instead cruised to another victory to extend his championship lead.
Starting at second behind Hamilton, Vettel had the chance to turn the betting odds around and keep his title hopes alive. However, another mechanical problem forced him to an early retirement, much to the disappointment of online gambling fans.
Vettel’s car already had spark plug issues before the race started, and although Ferrari mechanics worked on it, it quickly became clear his car isn’t fixed yet when he began to lose power by Lap 4.
That fiasco paved the way for Hamilton to drive with no worries, as anywhere in the top three would still see him move further ahead of his closest challenger.
Despite Ferrari’s problems ending the battle prematurely, however, fans at Suzuka were still treated to some drama with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen giving Hamilton a good run for his money.
Verstappen – fresh and motivated from his exploits in Malaysia – threatened to overtake the 32-year-old Mercedes driver midway through the race, after they both came off the pit.
It also didn’t help Hamilton that he experienced some issues on his rear tyres on Lap 33, giving the Belgian some hope to cut his advantage.
Hamilton managed to hold on to his lead and even extended it by 2.7 seconds ahead in the closing stages. And despite experiencing tyre problems again on the final two laps, the Mercedes ace still got the job done and finished ahead Verstappen by 1.2 seconds.
On the battle for the last podium spot, Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas staged a late fightback, but it wasn’t enough to topple Daniel Ricciardo out of third place.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen reached the chequered flag 32 seconds behind the leader as he rounded off the Top 5 drivers of the race.
Meanwhile, Renault’s Jolyon Palmer—who announced he’s leaving the team after the Suzuka race—failed to have a resounding farewell as he ended up at 12th.
Hamilton now has 306 points, 59 clear of Vettel who remains at second. The three-time World Champion also has a chance to clinch the championship if he wins at the US Grand Prix in two weeks and Vettel finishes outside the top five.
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