Lewis Hamilton moved to the brink of a fourth world championship by winning the Japanese Grand Prix as title rival Sebastian Vettel retired with an early engine issue.
Hopes of a classic duel between the title contenders, who were starting together on the front row, evaporated in the early laps at Suzuka. Vettel had made the start despite Ferrari detecting a spark plug issue on the grid but it soon became clear he was not driving a healthy car, quickly dropping back while Hamilton eased away in front.
On the fourth lap, having slipped to sixth, Vettel was called in to retire the car.