Lewis Hamilton held off a late surge from Max Verstappen to win in Suzuka yesterday, opening up a 59-point gap on his main championship rival Sebastian Vettel — who retired with a spark plug failure.

Verstappen finished a close second with Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo completing the podium in Japan.

Hamilton can claim his fourth title in a fortnight at the US Grand Prix if he wins and Vettel finishes sixth or lower. Even second place would be enough if the German finishes ninth.