Force India's Esteban Ocon scored his tenth consecutive points finish of the season in Suzuka, keeping up his outstanding and consistent track record.
The Frenchman driver enjoyed a blistering start when the lights went off on Sunday, immediately overtaking Daniel Ricciardo before moving up to third as Sebastian Vettel slowed.
Ocon was hard pressed however to preserve his position, falling back a bit and into the clutches of team mate Sergio Perez. The pair raced together for the better part of the afternoon with the 21-year-old keeping the upper hand over the Mexican.
"It was a great race, especially the start and the opening laps, and I was running third for a long time," said Ocon.
"We are still missing a little bit of pace to keep the big guys behind, but it was great fun fighting at the front.
"I tried my best to keep Ricciardo and Bottas behind, but they were just too quick and I had to let them go and focus on my race."
Keeping his head down, Force India's pink panther moved up from seventh to six, his team mate in tow, after the retirement of Renault's Nico Hulkenberg.
"The main challenge today was managing my pace because it was a one-stop race and it was important to look after the tyres so they would be strong at the end.
"I was running ahead of Checo, we had nothing to gain from the cars ahead and a comfortable margin to the cars behind.
"So the priority was to bring the car home and score the big points. It’s been an awesome weekend and it feels as though we achieved the maximum, which is why this result is so enjoyable.
"We also learned a lot about the car, which will make us stronger in Austin, so that we can hopefully close the gap on the teams ahead of us."
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