Japanese Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton wins as Sebastian Vettel retires

Lewis Hamilton has secured a dream victory in the Japanese GP against title rival Sebastian Vettel and has moved within one race of winning the F1 World Drivers' Championship.

Hamilton was victorious ahead of Red Bull pair Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo despite a late scare, while Vettel was forced to retire from the race he had barely started. He was forced to park up his broken Ferrari car on the opening laps after it lost power.

Hamilton had never taken pole at the Japanese Grand Prix until this weekend. He was, however, exemplary in Saturday's qualifying session.

Verstappen registered his second win in a week to extend his title lead to a near-impregnable 59 points.

Hamilton is now set to secure the world championship as early as the United States GP, later this month, if he extends his advantage over Vettel by another 16 points.