Britain’s Lewis Hamilton has won the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who had set the fastest time ever recorded at the Suzuka Circuit on Saturday, drove from pole to flag in 53 laps on Sunday in a time of 1 hour 27 minutes and 31 seconds to record his career’s 61st victory.

The winner of the previous round in Malaysia Max Verstappen finished a close second behind the Britain as another Red Bull man Daniel Ricciardo finished third more than eight seconds behind his Dutch teammate.

Meanwhile, Hamilton’s closest contender in the championship Sebastian Vettel had to retire in lap four due to his Ferrari’s engine failure.