Mercedes clinch record sixth successive constructors' title as Valtteri Bottas wins Japanese Grand Prix

Mercedes have won the Formula One constructors championship for a record sixth straight year after Valtteri Bottas won the Japanese Grand Prix.

The German giants wrapped up the constructors title not with a trademark one-two, as team principal Toto Wolff may have wanted.

But they showed why they are F1's dominant force as Bottas finished top of the podium for the first time since Baku in April, with Lewis Hamilton in third.

The pre-race build-up had been dominated by Typhoon Hagibis but it was just as dramatic on the track as the drivers put on a show for the travelling fans, who packed out the stands in Suzuka.

Bottas started third on the grid but got off the line quickly to leapfrog the two Ferraris, who had locked out the front row in qualifying.

The result left the Finn as the only driver who can deny team mate Lewis Hamilton a sixth drivers' title, meaning Mercedes are sure of an unprecedented sixth successive championship double.

Hamilton, who took an extra point for fastest lap, finished third with an overall lead of 64 points and four races remaining.

The closest Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, is now 115 points behind Hamilton, with Vettel a further 11 points adrift.