2019 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 17 of 21 in the 2019 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Layout of the Suzuka International Racing Course
Race details
Date	13 October 2019
Official name	Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix 2019
Location	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.807 km (3.608 miles)
Distance	52 laps, 301.664 km (187.445 miles)
Scheduled distance	53 laps, 307.471 km (191.054 miles)
Weather	Sunny
Attendance	122,000[1]
Pole position
Driver	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Time	1:27.064
Fastest lap
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:30.983 on lap 45
Podium
First	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Second	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Third	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Lap leaders

The 2019 Japanese Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix 2019) was a Formula One racing event held on 13 October 2019 at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka in the Mie Prefecture, Japan. The race was the 17th round of the 2019 Formula One World Championship and marked the 45th running of the Japanese Grand Prix. The 2019 event was the 35th time that the race had been run as a World Championship event since the inaugural season in 1950, and the 31st time that it had been held at Suzuka.

This was the last time that both cars from a team were disqualified from a race until Scuderia Ferrari at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix.

Formally called the "Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix 2019", this Formula One Grand Prix event took place on 13 October 2019 at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Japan.^[2] The circuit, which held its first Grand Prix in 1987, has a lap length of 5.807 km (3.608 miles) and the 53-lap race distance is 307.471 km (191.054 miles).^[3] Going into the race, the lap record, of 1 minute 31.540 seconds, was held by Kimi Räikkönen who took it at the 2005 Grand Prix.

Qualifying began on Sunday morning at 10:00am JST (UTC+9:00), just over 4 hours before the race was due to start. The skies were clear after Typhoon Hagibis had passed the previous day, however, there were still heavy winds affecting the circuit.

Q1

Two minutes into the session Robert Kubica hit the outside wall at the exit of turn 18 after running wide onto the grass destroying the car's front wing and left-hand wheels and causing significant damage to the survival cell. Kubica was uninjured and the session was red-flagged whilst his car was recovered and debris was cleared from the track. Four minutes after the session restarted Kevin Magnussen spun at the same corner causing him to reverse into the outside wall, damaging his gearbox, front and rear wings. The red flags came out again, however, Magnussen was able to continue driving completing a lap and entering the pits. Neither Kubica nor Magnussen were able to set a qualifying time, however, Williams and Haas were able to repair their respective cars before the beginning of the race with Kubica starting from the pit lane after his survival cell was replaced. Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of Q1 whilst Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Pérez and George Russell were eliminated alongside Kubica and Magnussen.

Q2

After setting the 15th fastest time, Nico Hülkenberg's car suffered a loss of hydraulic pressure causing him to be stuck in gear. Hülkenberg slowly returned to the pits and his car was retired from the session. Valtteri Bottas set the fastest time of Q2 with Antonio Giovinazzi, Lance Stroll, Kimi Räikkönen and Daniil Kvyat being eliminated alongside Hülkenberg.

Q3

Sebastian Vettel took pole position ahead of Leclerc and Bottas. This was Vettel's first pole position since the Canadian Grand Prix and the fifth consecutive pole position for Ferrari. The team took their 64th front-row lockout, equalling Mercedes's record. The pole position time of 1:27.064, which was set by the German driver, meaning the fastest ever lap made in Suzuka, beating the previous best ever lap of 1:27.319, which was set by Lewis Hamilton during the qualifying of the 2017 edition. Vettel's pole would eventually turn out to be his final in Formula One. Vettel’s lap time would stand until 2025, when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set a record lap time of 1:26:983 around Suzuka.

Qualifying classification

[edit]

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Qualifying times			Final grid
				Q1	Q2	Q3
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:28.988	1:28.174	1:27.064	1
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:28.405	1:28.179	1:27.253	2
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:28.896	1:27.688	1:27.293	3
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:28.735	1:27.826	1:27.302	4
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Honda	1:28.754	1:28.499	1:27.8511	5
6	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing-Honda	1:29.351	1:28.156	1:27.8511	6
7	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	McLaren-Renault	1:29.018	1:28.577	1:28.304	7
8	4	Lando Norris	McLaren-Renault	1:28.873	1:28.571	1:28.464	8
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda	1:29.411	1:28.779	1:28.836	9
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari	1:29.572	1:29.144	1:29.341	10
11	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari	1:29.604	1:29.254	N/A	11
12	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point-BWT Mercedes	1:29.594	1:29.345	N/A	12
13	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari	1:29.636	1:29.358	N/A	13
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda	1:29.723	1:29.563	N/A	14
15	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:29.619	1:30.112	N/A	15
16	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:29.822	N/A	N/A	16
17	11	Sergio Pérez	Racing Point-BWT Mercedes	1:30.344	N/A	N/A	17
18	63	George Russell	Williams-Mercedes	1:30.364	N/A	N/A	18
107% time: 1:34.593
—	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas-Ferrari	No time	N/A	N/A	192
—	88	Robert Kubica	Williams-Mercedes	No time	N/A	N/A	PL2
Source:[9][10]

Notes

• ^1 – Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon set identical times in Q3; Verstappen was classified ahead as he set his lap time earlier.^[10][11]
• ^2 – Kevin Magnussen and Robert Kubica both failed to set a Q1 time. They were allowed to race at the stewards discretion. Kubica was also required to start the race from the pit lane for changing his survival cell.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Driver Points 1 Lewis Hamilton* 338 2 Valtteri Bottas* 274 3 Charles Leclerc 223 4 Max Verstappen 212 5 Sebastian Vettel 212 Source:[20]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos. Constructor Points 1 Mercedes 612 2 Ferrari 435 3 Red Bull Racing-Honda 323 4 McLaren-Renault 111 5 Renault 68 Source:[20]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
• Bold text indicates the 2019 World Constructors' Champions.
• Bold text and an asterisk indicates competitors who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.