Sebastian Vettel's hopes of winning the 2017 world championship suffered another significant setback after an engine issue forced an early retirement at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Suzuka looked set to be a fascinating duel between the two championship rivals, with Vettel starting second behind Lewis Hamilton. But it was apparent there were problems ahead of the race, with Vettel's car being frantically worked on before the start as Ferrari detected a spark plug issue.
The Ferrari driver started the race but it was immediately clear there was something still wrong with his car as he slipped back on the opening laps, losing places to Max Verstappen, Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas.