MOTORSPORT: Ricciardo right back in business

While Lewis Hamilton is perhaps just one race away from his fifth Formula 1 world title, Daniel Ricciardo was the driver of the day in yesterday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

And the World Rally Championship is poised for an epic finish at next month’s Rally Australia after the weekend’s round in Wales hurt two top contenders but helped Sebastien Ogier’s hopes of a sixth straight crown.

Toyota is 20 points clear in the WRC manufacturers’ championship but its main driver, Ott Tanak, almost needs a miracle now to win the drivers’ title, while Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville is only seven points ahead of Ogier, who is driving a Ford but returning to Citroen next year.

Red Bull Racing’s motorsport chief Helmut Marko told Daniel Ricciardo on the Suzuka grid he thought the carsales.com.au global ambassador’s target of fourth place after his frustrations with his Renault power unit that left him 15th in qualifying was overly optimistic.

So charging to fifth place in just 14 laps with some of his classic overtaking moves and then jumping Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen on a pit stop to take and hold fourth at the chequered flag felt “like a little victory” for Ricciardo.

“It was good to see our strong pace against Ferrari,” he said.

Mercedes notched its 44th one-two finish in F1 as Lewis Hamilton scored his fourth straight victory in five weeks, his sixth win in the past seven GPs, ninth this season and 71st of his career, while Valtteri Bottas’ second place was his eighth podium this year without a win.

Hamilton became only the second driver to win 50 GPs for one team, behind the 72 with Ferrari of Michael Schumacher, who had a career total 91 wins.

Hamilton is now 67 points clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel (331-264) in this year’s drivers’ championship and could clinch it at the US GP in Texas on October 21 if he goes 75 points clear there.

Mercedes is 78 points in front of Ferrari (538-460) in the constructors’ standings after its fifth consecutive win in Japan, while the Italian stable’s campaign has spiralled downwards in the second half of the season.

Ferrari bungled its tyre strategy in qualifying, leaving Vettel eighth on the grid, and in the race he was down in 19th after contact with Max Verstappen but climbed back to sixth – and too far back for teammate Raikkonen to cede him a place to aid his title fight.

“I know the situation looks impossible but our job is to challenge the impossible … this is what we are going to do in the next four races,” said Ferrari team principal Mauricio Arrivabene, who is likely departing the Prancing Horse at the end of the season to become chairman of Juventus soccer club.

Verstappen was third for Red Bull at Suzuka despite his early contact with both Ferraris and a five-second penalty. He was less than 1.5 seconds behind Bottas at the finish and 5.2 seconds ahead of Ricciardo, who now has 146 points to be sixth, with Bottas on 207, Raikkonen 196 and Verstappen 173.

Yesterday was the first time since the French GP in June that Red Bull has had both cars finish in the top four.

It was Ricciardo’s best result in five races and his fourth fourth place since his early-season wins in China and Monaco.

“I was able to come through the field and overtake quite easily,” Ricciardo said.

“It’s not that easy on this track, but I was able to make good use of the downforce we had on the soft tyre.

“I knew we would be quite vulnerable on the straights as we ran very high downforce this weekend, but I could stay close enough in the corners that I could latch on to the tow of the cars ahead on the straights.

“It was a good set-up and the first part of the race was a lot of fun.

“We went on to the mediums to try and cover Kimi and fourth place was kind of written after that.

“I would have loved a podium and I was kinda hoping for something to happen up front, but I feel I earned at least a fourth today.

“It was good to come through the field. A podium would have been even sweeter, but I can’t complain with the result and I’m pleased for the team.”

It was a disappointing day for Honda on its home ground. New Zealander Brendon Hartley and French youngster Pierre Gasly had qualified the cars of Red Bull’s secondary team Toro Rosso sixth and seventh with the Japanese manufacturer’s latest-specification power unit but they finished out of the points and a lap down – Gasly 11th and Hartley 13th.

Ott Tanak was 41 seconds clear of Sebastien Ogier and headed for his fourth straight WRC victory and the championship lead when he stopped 3.7km into a 19.95km stage of Rally Great Britain on Saturday with a broken radiator in his Toyota Yaris.

Series leader Thierry Neuville slid his Hyundai i20 into a ditch that day, ruling him out of a podium finish, while Ogier’s Ford Fiesta had gearbox trouble on Friday that dropped him to eighth.

Yet by the start of the final day Ogier was ahead, only to lose the lead to Toyota’s Jari-Matti Latvala, then reclaim it – and victory – with three perfect stages at the end.

“We had a very difficult start and thought the rally was almost over, but then we fought back with everything we had,” Ogier said.

“We knew that the podium was still within our reach and when Ott had his problems it became a big fight for the win.

“Jari-Matti was determined to win himself and was very quick, which forced us to react.

“Special Stage 22 was as close to perfection as I can get and I’m glad I could make the difference there.

“It’s a great step in the right direction for the championship and puts us right back in the fight. The last two rallies will be exciting and the intensity is going to be higher than ever.

"I’m looking forward to Spain now (at the end of this month), followed by Australia (at Coffs Harbour on November 15-18) where it will probably all be decided.

“I’m sure the fans will love a close fight and I’m excited for the end of the season.”

Toyota strengthened its grip on the manufacturers’ title with young Finn Esapekka Lappi finishing third behind teammate and countryman Latvala, while Belgian Neuville climbed three places in the final three stages to be fifth behind Irishman Craig Breen’s Citroen C3.

There was only 12 seconds between Breen and New Zealander Hayden Paddon’s Hyundai in seventh, with Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen in another i20 sandwiched between his teammates Neuville and the Kiwi.

Neuville has 189 points, Frenchman Ogier 182 and Estonian Tanak 168, with Lappi on 104, Latvala 98 and Mikkelsen 83.

In the manufacturer standings, Toyota has 317 points, Hyundai 297, M-Sport Ford 273 and Citroen 187.