Hamilton’s troubles continue as Rosberg wins Japanese F1 Grand Prix

Even if Hamilton wins the last four Grands Prix of the year, he needs just three second places and a third to secure the crown.

A time penalty for Verstappen could see Hamilton lower the gap to Nico Rosberg in the title race, which now stands at 33 points with four races remaining after the German’s victory.

Wolff said: “Lewis functions best when he is under pressure and he has a target”.

The team had initially protested against an aggressive move that prevented Lewis Hamilton from snatching second place in a thrilling tussle at Suzuka.

Nico Rosberg has won the Japanese Grand Prix to increase his Formula One championship lead to 33 points over Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg had led every session of the race weekend and confirmed his superiority around the Suzuka Circuit.

‘Especially after a setback like Malaysia [where Hamilton retired with an engine failure] he was working the longest hours I have seen him work in many, many months trying to find those little bits of extra lap time.

“I have no doubt this will be an intense fight”.

Later, Mercedes lodged a protest against Verstappen after the Dutch driver blocked a move by Hamilton on the penultimate lap.

“The way Nico tackles the championship, looking at each weekend as a singular event, has proved to be the right strategy for him”. The team gave me a really strong strategy, along with a auto that felt very balanced so I was able to enjoy a successful race.

Rosberg, who started from pole position, controlled the race throughout and finished 4.9 seconds ahead of Verstappen, who held off Hamilton in close racing over the final few laps.

Max Verstappen’s defensive measures against Lewis Hamilton were the subject of a protest from Mercedes.

But his team boss Toto Wolff had no doubt that the Briton would regroup before the next race in Austin, Texas, where he sealed the title previous year with three rounds to spare.

“I just got some wheel-spin, I need to see what the engineers say”.

Rosberg once again stressed he is not looking too much into the numbers and that he would go about doing his best in the upcoming races.

Both Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel had to weave around Hamilton at the start as the Mercedes driver struggled to get going. Seventh and eighth place went to the two Force Indias of Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, while Williams drivers – Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas – claimed the last two points-scoring positions.