Sebastian Vettel - 4th place, 12 points - 8/10
Starting from sixth place after his grid penalty for hitting Rosberg in Malaysia, Vettel was in positive mood at Suzuka. His recent performances and future had been called into question by the Italian media but he was excellent in the opening laps, passing Ricciardo around the outside approaching 130R and then getting the better of Perez at Turn 1 before DRS had been activated. Then seemed to have the pace to attack Verstappen but Red Bull’s strategy kept Vettel at arm’s length before Hamilton jumped him at his final stop. An aggressive start to the final stint on soft tyres was soon curtailed by traffic, which Vettel was gracious to admit didn’t cost him a podium place as his tyres went off too quickly.
