2017 Japanese Grand Prix

Championship standings

Hamilton leads Vettel by thirty-four points. Mercedes leads Ferrari by one hundred and eighteen points in the Constructors’ Championship, with Red Bull Racing a further one hundred and fifteen points behind in third.

Previous race

At Sepang, Verstappen won — leading from lap 4 after overtaking Hamilton, and defending to the flag. Hamilton finished third, Ricciardo second. Vettel started last after an engine failure in FP3 required replacement and fought back to fourth. The race was the final Malaysian Grand Prix; the circuit is not contracted beyond 2017.

Between-race developments

Jolyon Palmer has been dropped by Renault. Carlos Sainz Jr. — originally contracted to join Renault from 2018 — will leave Toro Rosso early to replace him. Sainz drives his final race for Toro Rosso this weekend before moving to Renault.

Penalties

Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen each carry a five-place penalty for unscheduled gearbox changes. Fernando Alonso has a thirty-five-place penalty for exceeding his power unit component quota; Jolyon Palmer and Carlos Sainz Jr. each have twenty-place penalties for the same reason.