Hamilton on verge of fourth Formula One title

• Hamilton 59 points clear with four races remaining
• Briton wins Japanese Grand Prix from pole position for Mercedes

Vettel retires with engine problem

Red Bulls second and third

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates winning the race next to Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Max Verstappen of the Netherlands - Reuters

Suzuka (Reuters): Lewis Hamilton was within reach of his fourth Formula One title on Sunday after winning the Japanese Grand Prix for Mercedes while Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel suffered engine problems and failed to finish.

The Briton, who started from pole position, crossed the line 1.2 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo to move 59 points clear at the top of the overall standings.

Vettel made it no further than the fourth lap before retiring in the pits.

Already 34 points behind Hamilton before the start, the setback was the third in as many races for the German, whose hopes now rest on Hamilton suffering similar misfortune in the last four grands prix.

“I could only have dreamed of having this kind of gap,” said Hamilton, interviewed on the podium by Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato.

“I wouldn’t say that I have one hand on it (the title),” he added later. “There’s still 100 points available so I’m still going to keep the pedal to the metal.”

Sunday’s win was the 61st of Hamilton’s career and third at the Suzuka circuit. It came a day after the 32-year-old smashed the track record to seize pole at the 5.8-km track in dominant style.

With the gap he now holds over Vettel, the 32-year-old could clinch the title as soon as the next race in Austin, Texas, on 22 October.

Vettel had lined up alongside the Briton, raising the prospect of the two title rivals racing side by side to the first corner, but the Ferrari had already run into trouble before the start.

Vettel’s mechanics changed his car’s spark plug on the grid and seemed to have resolved the problem. But while he made a clean start, Hamilton chopped across to keep the lead at the first corner.

Clearly lacking power, Vettel fell back through the field before getting the call from his race engineer to retire the car.

Valtteri Bottas, who had started sixth due to a grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change, fought through to finish fourth for Mercedes. Fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen, also struck by a gearbox-related grid penalty, was the sole-surviving Ferrari in fifth.