Valtteri Bottas capitalised on a poor start by the two Ferraris to claim his third victory of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Starting third, the Finn swept into the lead before Turn 1 and would have the pace to keep his rivals at bay in a strategic duel at Suzuka.
Story of the race
A dreadful start from both Ferrari’s allows Bottas into the lead at Turn 1 with Max Verstappen looking to pounce around the outside.
His bold move wouldn’t pay off though as Charles Leclerc understeered into the Red Bull dropping him down the field and damaging the Monegasque’s front wing.
After staying out for two laps, which saw the endplate disintegrate on the run to 130R, Leclerc would finally pit for repairs but falling out of contention.
The stewards initially ruled no further action but will review the incident again after the race.
With a damaged car though, the Dutchman would soon retire while Leclerc started to make his way back through the field, including a pass on Max.
At the front, Bottas pulls out a healthy lead over Vettel, who survives an investigation for a jump start.
Alex Albon aggressively passes Lando Norris into the chicane, forcing the McLaren to pit, before undercutting Carlos Sainz for fourth.
Vettel triggers the first round of pit-stops at the front with Ferrari opting for a two-stop strategy. Mercedes cover the four-time world champion by putting Bottas on the same albeit using the mediums for the second stint.
Hamilton stays out hoping to remain on a one-stop but was furious with his team for falling so far behind his teammate.
High tyre degradation sees plenty of action in the midfield as Sainz leads from Gasly, while Renault and Sergio Perez benefit from strong starts to run inside the points despite starting well down the order.
Vettel pits for his second stop switching to the medium tyre, with Bottas following a few laps later for the soft rubber.
And though the gap to Hamilton, now in the lead, stayed quite steady, Mercedes decided to pit the Briton for a second time, cueing another big charge in the final 11 laps.
Leclerc would also pit for a third time to try for fastest lap and also to fend off Daniel Ricciardo, who was flying up the order on soft tyres in the closing laps.
All eyes though were on Vettel and Hamilton in the fight for second, but the straight-line speed of the Ferrari again proved decisive as the German held on to second.
Albon clinched fourth for Red Bull with Sainz less than 10 seconds behind the Red Bull in fifth in an impressive drive.
Leclerc came home sixth having failed to claim the fastest lap, that belonged to Hamilton.
Ricciardo’s push earned him seventh ahead of Gasly in eighth.
The Frenchman though would be involved in a late clash with Sergio Perez on the final lap, as the Mexican was punted into the barrier after sweeping around the outside at Turns 1 and 2.
Current results still show the Racing Point in ninth, however, with Nico Hulkenberg completing the top 10 in the second Renault.
Back at the front, Mercedes continue their 100% record at Suzuka in the hybrid era and the result was enough to secure the German manufacturer their sixth straight Constructors’ title, surpassing the record set by Ferrari between 1999-2004.
Full results from Sunday’s race will be available soon.