Hamilton defends overtaking Rosberg in Japanese GP

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton defended his move to overtook Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg at the start of the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

Hamilton's aggressive move on the first lap forced Rosberg wide off the track, dropping him from the pole position to the fourth spot.

Hamilton overtook Rosberg and never looked back as he opened up a sizeable advantage that he maintained to the end to claim the victory.

Rosberg fought back from his slip to the second spot but it wasn't enough to stop Hamilton.

"I didn't want to run wide and run him off and I tried to give him space initially," Hamilton was quoted as saying by Sky Sports after the race.

"The outside line into turn one is best and Nico had that but fortunately I was on the inside and I had to give it some power and make it stick. When I got ahead I started running out of road and he had to back off."

With the win, Hamilton (277) extended his his championship lead over Rosberg to 48 points. Team Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was third in the race.

"I was super-super proud of myself because l had to make it stick and if I didn't I would have been kicking myself," the British driver added.