Lewis Hamilton wins Japanese Grand Prix

Japanese Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton takes victory, equals Ayrton Senna's record

1 HAM 2 ROS 3 VET 4 RAI 5 BOT 6 HUL 7 GRO 8 MAL 9 VES 10 SAI 11 ALO 12 PER 13 KVY 14 ERI 15 RIC 16 BUT 17 MAS 18 RSI 19 STE #JapaneseGP
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 27, 2015

It's all over! Lewis Hamilton takes a comfortable win at the Japanese Grand Prix with Rosberg in P2 and Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari in P3.

LAP 51/53: MOST PLACES GAINED VES: P17 to P9 (8) HUL: P13 to P6 (7) KVY: Pit lane to P14 (6) #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/Vrl5rpY3VB
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 27, 2015

Problems continue for Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat who says on the radio that he's having brake issues.

9 laps to go at the Japanese Grand Prix and Hamilton holds on firmly to his lead; fight on between the Toro Rossos, with Max Verstappen now in P9.

#LH44 extending the gap with some supreme driving; 13 laps remaining. Gap to @nico_rosberg 10 seconds #JapaneseGP... http://t.co/EwJhKdPWkK
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) September 27, 2015

Manor-Marussia's Will Stevens has been handed a 3 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, and now drops to the absolute back of the grid.

Race leader Hamilton has the fastest lap and an over 10 second lead over teammate Nico Rosberg.

Will Stevens of Manor-Marussia is being investigated for speeding in the pit lane. Meanwhile, Massa pits. It's a 3-stop race for him.

Sergio Perez of Force India complains on team radio that there is a "lot of debris on the track." He locks up briefly, but keeps P9 behind teammate Nico Hulkenberg in P8.

Both Mercedes, Ferraris and Force India cars are currently in the points at the Japanese Grand Prix.

It's currently a Mercedes 1-2 with 20 laps to go.

The undercut has worked beautifully for Ferrari, and Raikkonen is now in 6th ahead of fellow Finn Valtteri Bottas. Sebastian Vettel pits and exits, but P2 is grabbed by Nico Rosberg.

L27: BOT still keeping RAI at bay & running P4. Still with the prime tyre to run #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/1J6e1BA5Yb
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) September 27, 2015

Max Verstappen at 17 is half the age of 34 year old Fernando Alonso, and the Dutch youngster is shortening the gap to Alonso quickly.

Max Verstappen of Tooro Rosso gaining quickly on two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, who has expressed his "embarrassment."

Rosberg has P3 after overtaking a dozy Valtteri Bottas. Daniil Kvyat and Max Verstappen are duking it out but Red Bull tell Kvyat not to use the overtake button for "reliability issues."

Race leader Lewis Hamilton pits and comes out with mediums. Teammate Nico Rosberg is on the hard compound.

Daniil Kvyat may have triggered everyone to pit early, but tyre changes need to be quick here; have a look at Sainz's tyres.

Appears as though Nico Rosberg is aiming for a two-stop strategy. Vettel is comfortable on the hard tyres, setting a personal best first sector time.

LAP 14/53: Ferrari blink before Mercedes, as Vettel enters the pits and emerges back out in P5 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/6ayHSCCn7c
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 27, 2015

"Box, Sebastian, box" and the Ferrari now has a new set of hard tyres after a pit stop.

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg also pits for hards - and Williams have used strategy to pit first! Bottas is now on medium compound and a staggering 33.04s behind Hamilton.

Sebastian Vettel in P2 is 4.2sec behind race leader Hamilton, and McLaren's Fernando Alonso has now pitted for fresh Options.

Daniil Kvyat pits for a tyre change and he's now on hard compound. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen is in P5 and chasing Nico Rosberg, but nearly 14 seconds behind race leader Lewis Hamilton.

Another fun fact: This is 17-year-old Max Verstappen's last race as a 17-year-old - he'll be an adult in a few days!

Ron Dennis is in the house. #DontMessWithRon pic.twitter.com/leYsBjFXyI
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) September 27, 2015

First 5 laps and it's already eventful. Box for Perez, Massa and Ricciardo all have tyre damage. Nico Rosberg has dropped to P4 and chasing Valtteri Bottas.

LAP 2/53: Ricciardo, Massa and Perez all box after tyre damage #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/RHjTkdumyC
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 27, 2015

Both Daniel Ricciardo and Massa are in the pits; Massa also needs a new nose.

As it's lights out, Hamilton takes the lead over Scuderia Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in P3. Hamilton has a 2.449 second lead over the German.

Seven minutes to go! Garage status: prepped. #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/DfFyj4diao
— Lotus F1 Team (@Lotus_F1Team) September 27, 2015

Track temp 42, a slight wind that may be picking up. Headwind through the 'S' Curves #JapaneseGP... http://t.co/EwJhKdPWkK
— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) September 27, 2015

Starting grid: #Seb5 #JapaneseGP #redseason pic.twitter.com/tyQZOY2txX
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) September 27, 2015

Sky is clear at the Suzuka Circuit! Track temperatures are at a comfortable 27C, and Mercedes have said they are confident ahead of today's Grand Prix.