Valtteri Bottas ended a 12-race win-less streak as he controlled proceedings at a strategic Japanese Grand Prix, with Mercedes sealing a sixth straight Constructors’ title.
Bottas grabbed the initiative at the start and undertook a two-stop strategy to clinch his first victory since April’s fourth round of 2019 in Azerbaijan.
Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton switched from a planned sole stop to a two-stopper but recovered from a subdued first lap to finish third, after a late dice with Sebastian Vettel .
Mercedes’ result ensured it mathematically wrapped up the Constructors’ title for a sixth consecutive year, equalling Ferrari’s record.
The outcome of the grand prix means now either Hamilton or Bottas will be the Drivers’ World Champion in 2019.
Ferrari began the day by locking out the front row of the grid but mustered only second and sixth, with Vettel on the podium and Charles Leclerc hindered by a first-lap clash.
On a frantic opening lap Bottas made an ideal getaway and launched from third to first, breezing around both Ferrari drivers long before the field made it Turn 1.
Vettel slotted into second while Leclerc and Max Verstappen contested third through Turn 1, with the pair making contact, resulting in Verstappen spinning.
Leclerc continued in third for a couple of laps with a damaged front wing endplate before pitting, releasing Hamilton – who had briefly dropped to fifth – into third spot.
Verstappen re-joined the action towards the rear of the pack but was retired after 14 laps, his second failure to finish in five grands prix.
Stewards, having decided initially that no action was necessary, reversed the call and will instead investigate the incident post-race.
Bottas extended his advantage through the first stint and Vettel was the first of the front-runners to come in on lap 16, bolting on Softs, therefore committing to a two-stop approach.
By that stage Vettel had already survived a potential penalty when he was cleared by stewards over an alleged false start.
TV replays showed he had crept forward prior to the lights going out, before halting and moving again, but no further action was taken.
Bottas came in one lap later, for Mediums, and was informed that he was two-stopping, with his engineer revealing that Hamilton – now in the lead – was planning to stop just once.
Bottas carved into Hamilton’s 11-second advantage and was within three seconds by the time the Briton came in on lap 21, exchanging Softs for Mediums.
But after just a few laps Hamilton was told a one-stop would be “a struggle” and his aim was to chase down Vettel.
Hamilton enquired as to why he was not equipped with the Hards and was informed that a relative lack of data played a factor.
“That’s just a f*** up man” came Hamilton’s reply a few laps later, before adding “so now I’ve got to close the gap?” – which at that stage he was already doing.
Hamilton had reduced the gap from 10 to three seconds by the time the Ferrari driver pitted for a second time on lap 31, emerging on a set of Mediums.
Bottas came in five laps later – his gap over Hamilton 13 seconds – and emerged in second spot, comfortably in front of Vettel, his Mercedes fitted with a set of Soft tyres.
“Tell me what I need to do to win this race,” came Hamilton’s cry as he inherited a nine-second lead, while Bottas was told “you have Lewis down the road. He still has to stop.”
Hamilton came in at the end of lap 42, dropping from first to third, with a five-second gap to Vettel, but quickly reeled in the Ferrari driver.
Vettel was forced into the defensive with three laps remaining as both drivers requested more power from their respective teams in their dispute of second.
Vettel ultimately stayed ahead by just four-tenths of a second to ensure he split the Mercedes drivers.
Alexander Albon endured a tardy getaway but eventually overhauled Carlos Sainz Jr. to take his best F1 result in fourth, with the McLaren driver an equally impressive fifth.
Leclerc, out of sequence, stopped three times and finished sixth.
Renault endured a scrappy qualifying session but both drivers made gains early on and surged through the midfield pack.
Daniel Ricciardo rose to seventh position while Nico Hulkenberg classified ninth, the duo split by Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly.
Lance Stroll provisionally inherited the final point after team-mate Sergio Perez crashed out through Turn 1 on the final lap while battling with Gasly.
However, thanks to a timing error the chequered flag panel was shown a lap early, meaning the results were backdated to lap 52.
Therefore Perez was reinstated into ninth, with Hulkenberg demoted to 10th, and Stroll losing his point.
The next round of the season, the Mexican Grand Prix, will take place from October 25 to 27
