2017 Japanese Grand Prix interactive lap times and fastest laps

2017 Japanese Grand Prix

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Valtteri Bottas set the fastest lap of the Japanese Grand Prix but was well short of beating the race lap record for Suzuka.

2017 Japanese GP in pictures
The 1’33.144 Bottas set on the race’s 50th lap was 1.6 seconds shy of the record set by Kimi Raikkonen in 2005.

In considerably hotter conditions the race lap times were well off what had been seen in qualifying. In Malaysia the fastest lap of the race was four seconds slower than the pole position time. In Japan pole was 5.8 seconds faster.

Although Honda were unable to score any points in their last race with McLaren, Stoffel Vandoorne’s best lap time gave them some cause for optimism, as he was just half a second slower than Bottas on the same tyre compound.

2017 Japanese Grand Prix lap times

All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded). Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and toggle drivers using the control below:

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2017 Japanese Grand Prix fastest laps

Each driver’s fastest lap:

RankDriverCarFastest lapGapOn lap
1Valtteri BottasMercedes1’33.14450
2Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1’33.1750.03150
3Daniel RicciardoRed Bull-TAG Heuer1’33.6940.55052
4Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren-Honda1’33.7240.58049
5Max VerstappenRed Bull-TAG Heuer1’33.7300.58651
6Lewis HamiltonMercedes1’33.7800.63643
7Jolyon PalmerRenault1’34.0950.95150
8Pierre GaslyToro Rosso-Renault1’34.5331.38945
9Lance StrollWilliams-Mercedes1’34.5481.40437
10Sergio PerezForce India-Mercedes1’34.7441.60023
11Esteban OconForce India-Mercedes1’34.8431.69950
12Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Honda1’35.1111.96745
13Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari1’35.3382.19450
14Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari1’35.3472.20350
15Nico HulkenbergRenault1’35.8832.73928
16Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes1’35.9432.79950
17Pascal WehrleinSauber-Ferrari1’36.4303.28627
18Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari1’38.5965.4527
19Sebastian VettelFerrari1’43.90310.7594
20Carlos Sainz JnrToro Rosso-Renault

2017 Japanese Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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14 comments on “2017 Japanese Grand Prix interactive lap times and fastest laps”

  1. Although Honda were unable to score any points in their last race with McLaren,

    Not really, there are still some races to follow. But probably you mean at their home race.

  2. Great to see these stats always! I do wish tyre compound was mentioned, since it logical most will set their fastest lap in the last 5-10 laps, but it hugely matters to know which drivers were on the softer compound.

    I know this was the case for Bottas, Raikkonen and Vandoorne in the top 6, but without this information the stats cannot be compared.

    Also telling for the close race is the fastest lap time of Hamilton, which is slightly slower than both Red Bulls. It just goes to show they do have lost some pace or Red Bull has really caught up.

    1. All on softs except bottas

      1. @addvariety, I’d say this mostly shows how limiting the tyres are for the overall race pace.

        I’ve been saying this all along. The quali advantage for Mercedes doesn’t come from a magical boost button, it’s mostly that during the race they are severely limited in how fast they can actually go without destroying/overheating the tyres. Over one lap they can go closer to flat out and show their true speed.

        Even then they have to hold back a bit to make sure the tyres aren’t overheating near the end of the lap.

        1. @patrickl Well, let’s separate this into two different things since they are. First of all, Mercedes does have a qualifying engine mode. It’s not magical of course, but it has been confirmed by Hamilton and Toto Wolff themselves, while insiders from all over the paddock have confirmed this as well, among them are people from Renault, Honda, Ferrari and a couple of teams. I don’t know what more confirmation you want?

          Regarding the race: I agree the Mercedes is indeed more of a handful when it comes to keeping the tyres in the correct window, Mercedes calls it a diva car for a reason. However, that’s not worth a second a lap. Malaysia is a prime example. Mercedes had the upper hand in qualifying, over half a second, while in the race they were at least half a second a lap slower than Red Bull (Verstappen to be precise). Wolff also admitted he was surprised by the raw race pace of the Red Bull and said Verstappen could’ve easily ended up 30 seconds ahead of Hamilton had he not been so conservative in his second stint.

          To come back on that ‘magical’ part. It’s nothing magical and actually very easy to explain: all engines are made to last 5 races (and each component that’s part of the whole engine unit as well, MGU-H, MGU-K, etc.). Mercedes have such a good engine both in terms of performance and reliability, that they can use 2 or 3 laps in which they ask more of the engine than normally. That setting wouldn’t last a race distance, but using only 4 engines a year means they only do 10-15 laps in this engine mode per engine. It’s only used in Q3 by the way. Race engine modes are also something the teams use, these make the engine slightly less agressive overall and even though is just 1-2% difference maybe, running the engine at 98-99% capabilities instead of the 100% prolongs reliability. These engine modes are especially used when in a safe position and not needing to attack someone in front.

          Here’s a good read to start with:
          http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/december-2016/26/f1-frontline-mark-hughes

          1. @addvariety, You wasted your time on that post since I said nothing like what you responded too.

            Of course the teams will all go for maximum engine mappings in Q3. The point is that there is no magical button which the Mercedes drivers (or just Hamilton as it happens) can press.

          2. @patrickl You take your own words (and mine for that matter) too literal. Of course it’s not a “magical button” and since I know you’re not talking about some Harry Potter like F1 magic sport, we all know we’re talking about the Mercedes qualifying engine mode. I was just referring to how you called it. Outcome is the same, Fact is Mercedes has ‘something’ to enhance their qualifying pace over their regular FP and race pace, regardless of tyres.

            For the rest my previous comment still explains it all.

          3. @addvariety, No I’m not. It’s what Horner is saying and Vettel and Verstappen keep saying it too. “They press their magic button in Q3 and presto they gain half a second”. Or whatever the estimate of the day is.

            I maintain that Mercedes could show that same pace in the race. The main reason why they do not (can not) is because they are limited to what the tyres can handle.

            So it’s not a “magical button in Q3” that boosts Mercedes to infinity and beyond, but it’s the tyres that hold them back during the race.

            That’s why Red Bull can stay on their tail because they are limited on the same tyres. In fact their car is lightly better on the tyres so they can do the race slightly faster even though their car is slower (or at least their maximum speed is slower).

            Do you understand now?

          4. @patrickl I understood you from the very first post. I just think you’re on your own in this, since I believe it’s true what not only Mercedes themselves have said, but also almost every insider such as Peter Windsor, Craig Scarborough and others. I’m not throwing away your tyre argument in the race, because it’s a fact, but the quali has different reasons.

          5. @addvariety Verstappen said pretty much the same thing.

    2. I don’t agree on the comment that Merc have lost pace to RBR. This race was one where achieving a one-stopper outweighed running a faster two-stopper given the risk of it being a track where overtaking is difficult in equal cars. One can see that Lewis was just managing his pace, just staying ahead of Max in the second stint so that he can extend his tire life. It was not a race where performance can be accurately seen or measured.

  3. I think is Botta’s first fastest lap with mercedes after 16 races! Even Fernando Alonso have one.

  4. Interesting to see just how close Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari all are in a race where they were all flat out.

    1. @philipgb They weren’t flat out though. They were nursing their tyres to be able to do only one stop.

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