With the hurricane postponing qualifying until race day, the pressure was on the drivers. It seemed like it would be shoo in for the more experienced drivers like Vettel and Hamilton. Indeed Vettel scooped pole position. Inexperience showed up when LeClerc hit Verstappen on the opening lap, with the debris hitting Hamilton. He refused to come back to the pits to be fixed which ultimately cost him points and Max a race finish at all.
Old dog Bottas made a fantastic start off the grid: "all his Christmases at once", as Webber said. This move gave him the win.
Rookies Albon and Norris had a come together on Lap 4. Old school team orders came into play on Lap 45 when Renault gave Ricciardo the chance to overtake his team mate Hulkenberg and get on with the race. The closing laps showed us some getting closer and closer battles, with LeClerc taking fresh tyres to try for fastest lap (and failed) and Hamilton catching Vettel.
We didn't see much of the winner Bottas at all. This was a race I watched the highlights of and I could really see that editorial decisions had been made about the stories shown in the race. I was surprised more wasn't shown of Bottas or LeClerc or more made of Mercedes securing their sixth consecutive constructors championship. The hurricane hit both broadcasters hard with most of the star pundits not making it to Japan. Wasn't Lee McKenzie good though?
After the race LeClerc was given a couple of penalties and the race was classified at Lap 23 due to problems with the chequered flag.
There are plenty of drivers who could win the final races this season and plenty who could win the championship next year. Bodes well.
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