Lewis Hamilton wins Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka

Lewis Hamilton was virtually handed his fourth world championship as Ferrari went down the drain like overcooked spaghetti.

The Japanese Grand Prix was only four laps old and Sebastian Vettel, having fallen from second on the grid to eighth place, was called in. ‘Box, Sebastian, box. We’re going to retire the car.’

With those simple words, it seemed, Vettel’s dream of matching Juan Manuel Fangio as a five time-time world champion faded into the warm air at Suzuka. A black pall fell over Ferrari. Now Hamilton needs to score 16 points more than Vettel in Austin, Texas, a fortnight hence and the title will be his.

Over on the pit wall Maurizio Arrivebene, the Ferrari team principal, swivelled on his stool with the expression of a man thinking about reaching for a whisky and a revolver.

No saddle in world motor racing is so precarious as the one sat on by the man holding the reins of the Prancing Horse. And after this embarrassment, another technical problem after the glitches at Malaysia a week ago, it may well be that Arrivebene’s future employment prospects are as propitious as a suicide bomber’s.

He may well survive until the end of the season. He may even last into next season. But it would no surprise if he went, either. Since Jean Todt left at the close of the Schumacher era, Arrivebene is the third man to have the job. Stefano Domenicali tried and got close. Marco Mattiaci only lasted eight months after being parachuted in from Ferrari’s road division and falling out with Fernando Alonso.

And then they turned to silver-haired Arrivebene, a Marlboro executive of long-standing. He came in as part of the supposed rejuvenation of the Scuderia as Sergio Marchionne unseated the most revered figure in Ferrari history with the exception of Enzo himself, Luca di Montezemolo.

The greatest source of frustration within Ferrari is that they got so close. Their car has been wonderfully quick, but then they imploded. I tend to agree with Niki Lauda, whose views are worth hearing because he won and nearly died in the red car, when he said that Italians are all about spaghetti and romance, and they need to be leavened by the rooted, practical sense of the English or Teutonic.

That is what we have seen this year in the cauldron of a late-season battle for the sport’s greatest prize.

For some time Vettel refused to concede his dream was dying, sitting resolutely in the cockpit of the car that had just been pushed backwards into the garage. He told his men to do whatever they could to get him back out there.

But there was nothing they could accomplish with all the spanners under the sun. His spark plugs had lost their sparkle. And. That. Was. That.

And a few minutes later Vettel was changed into his mufti clobber of jeans and red top to shake hands with the crestfallen pit wall. He smiled but it was the smile of a brave mourner at the funeral of a family member, a mask that hid his face from the world.

‘It’s normal to be critical, especially if things go wrong because it’s part of our job,’ said Vettel. ‘But I need to protect them – they’ve done an incredible job so far.

‘It’s just a pity in the two races with the reliability issues. But it’s like that sometimes. And, of course, I’m disappointed, but now it’s important to get some rest and give my all for the last four races and see what happens.

‘We still have a chance this year. Obviously it’s not as much in our control as we like but overall I think the team is in a good way.

‘We are improving race by race and we got a lot further than people thought so for sure there are some positives, but today is not the day for that.

All the while Hamilton drove further and further into the pages of record-making with his win. Now, undoubtedly, he will surpass Sir Jackie Stewart as the most garlanded driver the British Isles have ever produced. The only question is: when?

He could mathematically wrap it up at the next round in Austin. If he wins and Vettel is sixth or lower, it is all over. And, if his Mercedes is as sure-footed there as it was here and if Vettel’s Ferrari is as unreliable, he will do it then.

But, more likely, the coup de grace will be delivered in Mexico or, perhaps, Brazil. The chances of the title being alive at the final race in Abu Dhabi on November 26 are slim indeed.

Hamilton’s win at Suzuka – his third on this great track and fourth in Japan after his early majesty in the wet at Fuji – was a fairly straightforward affair. He started on pole after another sensational lap on Saturday and led, albeit not unchallenged, virtually throughout.

There was one specific moment that needed Mercedes’ attention when he found himself returning from the pits behind his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who had not pitted, and with Max Verstappen breathing down his neck.

Bottas made way. Still Verstappen was persistently fast, but he finished second, ahead of the other Red Bull, of Daniel Ricciardo. Hamilton took the victory, his eight of the season. History’s embrace awaits

Hamilton bowed before his car and patted it. This one of the biggest moments of his life, a snapshot of when, one suspects, he knew that a fourth title was his.