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2014 Japanese F1 GP: Hamilton Victorious, Bianchi Critically Injured

First published Sunday October 5, 10:30pm AEDT Update: Monday, 8:30am AEDT Jules Bianchi underwent emergency surgery overnight after a disastrous crash toward the end of the incident-filled Japan race. The 25 year-old French driver is n


First published Sunday October 5, 10:30pm AEDT

Update: Monday, 8:30am AEDT

Jules Bianchi underwent emergency surgery overnight after a disastrous crash toward the end of the incident-filled Japan race.

The 25 year-old French driver is now in intensive care. His condition remains serious.

Update: Tuesday, 10:30am AEDT

Fan footage has emerged of Jules Bianchi's horror crash on lap 44 of the rain-soaked Japanese Grand Prix. Questions must be asked of the FIA's decision to stage the race. Details here.


Lewis Hamilton took victory ahead of Nico Rosberg after a shortened race finished in pitlane after a bad accident brought the dreaded sight of an ambulance to the sodden Suzuka track.

Under darkening skies, the race red-flagged after Jules Bianchi hit a recovery tractor in his Marussia.

Daniel Ricciardo took fourth on a day when results meant nothing to worried drivers.

PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING

Suzuka served up the usual dose of drama, both on and off the track.

Sebastian Vettel announced he was pulling the trigger on a performance clause allowing him to leave Red Bull - without an official destination. Which is most likely Fernando Alonso's seat at Ferrari.

Hamilton and Ricciardo both crashed in the practice sessions while high-schooler Max Verstappen continued the 2014 tradition of debuting in FP1 and having car trouble. Nevertheless, he managed P12 in Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso.

Qualifying saw a battle for the front row between the Mercedes pair, with Rosberg prevailing.

The second row was locked up by a confident Williams team with Bottas going faster than Massa, and Alonso and Ricciardo shared the third row. Vettel managed P7.

Pastor Maldonado and Jean-Eric Vergne both copped ten place penalties for using their sixth engine for the year, putting them on the last row.

RACE

The race started under safety car conditions because even the extremely well-maintained track couldn't cope with the lashing rain from Typhoon Phanfone.

Even behind the Safety Car, Caterham's Marcus Ericsson fell off the track and into the gravel, pushed out by some obliging marshals.

At the end of the third lap, the field was brought into the pit lane and parked for about twenty minutes. The race was rescheduled to resume at 3:25pm local time.

On the restart, the field rumbled out of the pits behind the SLS AMG driven by Bernd Maylander.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso only made it half a lap, his car juddering to a halt and gifting Ricciardo a place. They droned around for yet more laps with everyone staying out of trouble.

All drivers were on full wets but were talking about moving to intermediates by lap seven, Lewis Hamilton pleading with race director Charlie Whiting to get things moving.

Button agreed with his compatriot but Vettel was more circumspect.

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