2016 Japanese Grand Prix Results: Rosberg Nabs First Japan Win

It was a dominant day for Nico Rosberg at the Japanese Grand Prix, but Lewis Hamilton struggled off the start, spreading out the hunt for the Formula One title.

The Japanese Grand Prix was the first of five races remaining in the 2016 Formula One season. And as the championship battle continued between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, the reigning world champion struggled off the line while Rosberg padded his points lead with a dominant day at Suzuka.

Winning the pole by a narrow margin on Saturday, Rosberg was largely unchallenged on Sunday. He would cross the line after 53 laps with a near five-second lead over second place Max Verstappen. It was Rosberg’s first ever Japanese Grand Prix victory.

Hamilton would come home in third, recovering somewhat from a devastating beginning to his day.

On the standing start, Hamilton did not get up to speed as quickly as his competitors and lost six spots on the opening lap, falling to eighth. Having to battle traffic and tire wear throughout the race, he would never contend for the race win, easily allowing Rosberg to expand his points lead to 33 heading into the United States Grand Prix.

The finish for Mercedes AMG Petronas at Japan locked up their third consecutive constructors championship. The team has an insurmountable lead over Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari, who are still deadlocked in their battle for second. Despite being out-qualified by both Red Bulls at Suzuka, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen came home fourth and fifth.

Here are the full results from the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix:

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The next race for the Formula One world championship comes in two weeks from Austin’s Circuit of the Americas. The United States Grand Prix takes place on Oct. 23 and can be seen on your local NBC station, with practices and qualifying live on NBCSN.