A round-up of all of ESPN's coverage of the Japanese Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton looks to win his ninth race of the season and looks to move one step closer to a fifth title. 2018 Japanese Grand Prix Schedule on ESPN Networks (all times Eastern) Thursday, October 4 Practice 1 - Thursday, Oct. 4, 8:55 PM - ESPN2 Friday, October 5 Practice 2 - Friday, Oct. 5, 12:55 AM - ESPN2 Practice 3 - Friday, Oct. 5 ,10:55 PM - ESPNEWS Saturday, October 6 Qualifying - Saturday, Oct. 6, 1:55 AM - ESPN2 Sunday, October 78 On The Grid - Sunday, Oct. 7, 12:30 AM - ESPN2 Race - Sunday, Oct. 7, 1:05 AM - ESPN2 Encore - Sunday, Oct. 7, 1:00 PM - ESPNEWS Encore - Sunday, Oct. 7, 3:30 PM - ESPN Race day Vettel and Verstappen collided while battling for third at Suzuka. Clive Rose/Getty Images) Hamilton on verge of title after Japan win, Vettel sixth Lewis Hamilton has inched ever closer to a fifth world championship after dominating an incident-filled Japanese Grand Prix as title rival Sebastian Vettel once again hit trouble. Ferrari's 2018 decline summed up by shocking weekend in Suzuka A round-up of the main talking points from the Japanese Grand Prix, where another disastrous weekend for Ferrari all but handed Lewis Hamilton the 2018 championship. Alonso says penalty shows 'how bad Formula One is' Fernando Alonso does not sound like a man who will miss Formula One when he leaves at the end of the season. Vettel should have been more careful, says Verstappen Max Verstappen says Sebastian Vettel ought to be "more careful" after the Ferrari driver botched an attempted overtake and the pair collided early on in the Japanese Grand Prix. Raikkonen admits he could have given Verstappen more space to avoid Suzuka clash Kimi Raikkonen admits he probably could have avoided contact with Max Verstappen on the opening lap of the Japanese Grand Prix if he had have left the Dutchman a little more room. Vettel blames Max Verstappen for Japan collision Sebastian Vettel refused to accept responsibility for his incident with Max Verstappen at the Japanese Grand Prix, one that has seen his title challenge fall in a heap. Leclerc: Kevin Magnussen is and will always be stupid Charles Leclerc has labelled Kevin Magnussen as "stupid'' after the pair collided during the Japanese Grand Prix. Japanese Grand Prix strategy guide ESPN outlines the key strategy options to the teams ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying day Charles Coates/Getty Images Hamilton on pole in Japan, Vettel ninth after Ferrari blunder Lewis Hamilton pipped Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to pole position in Japan as Ferrari misjudged the weather conditions and left Sebastian Vettel on the wrong tyres in Q3. Hamilton fastest in final practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, Vettel closes the gap Sebastian Vettel closed the gap to Lewis Hamilton in the final practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix, finishing the session 0.116s off his title rival. Story of qualifying: Desperate Ferrari fails again It seems like Ferrari just can't get anything right at the moment. Here are the main talking points from qualifying at Suzuka, which seemed like another decisive moment in the 2018 championship fight. Ricciardo furious over yet another Renault engine issue Daniel Ricciardo was left fuming after suffering yet another engine failure which cut short his qualifying session at the Japanese Grand Prix. Toro Rosso pokes fun at Fernando Alonso, McLaren in qualifying Toro Rosso enjoyed its best qualifying of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix, the home race of engine supplier Honda, and the irony of McLaren's struggles in the same session did not seem to be lost on the Italian team. Vettel defends Ferrari's qualifying tyre gamble Sebastian Vettel has refused to criticise Ferrari for its tyre gamble in qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix, saying it had the potential to create a "miracle" result for the team. Ocon gets grid penalty for red-flag infringement in FP3 Force India's Esteban Ocon has been given a three-place grid penalty for the Japanese Grand Prix after failing to slow sufficiently for red flags in final practice. Hamilton says Mercedes is better under pressure than Ferrari Lewis Hamilton labelled Mercedes "the best team in the world" and one that thrives under pressure after outfoxing Ferrari in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix. Mercedes keeping team orders options open in Japan Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says he will keep his options open over the use of team orders at the Japanese Grand Prix, but plans to avoid the misunderstandings that occurred at the last race in Russia. Hamilton v Sebastian Vettel isn't a battle any more, says Verstappen Max Verstappen has declared the once-enthralling world championship battle is well and truly over after Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix and Sebastian Vettel was left ruing another costly error. Alonso, 18th, makes another 'best lap ever' claim Fernando Alonso has added another lap to the list he is compiling of his greatest performances -- the one which earned him the 18th spot on the grid for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. Friday practice Clive Rose/Getty Images Hamilton leads comfortable Mercedes one-two in second practice Lewis Hamilton has capped off a dominant day for Mercedes at Suzuka by topping the timesheets in second practice for the Japanese Grand Prix. Hamilton tops opening practice in Japan, Sebastian Vettel struggles It looks as though Lewis Hamilton will once again be the man to beat after comfortably topping the opening practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix as title-rival Sebastian Vettel struggled for pace. Verstappen: Japan one of my worst Fridays of the season A furious Max Verstappen has labelled his Friday in Japan as "one of the worst this season" after struggling during practice all day in his Red Bull for confidence and grip. Vettel: Ferrari will go aggressive but won't 'commit suicide'<doc-sep>First Name Last Name We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy. Would you like to receive The WeekDay email newsletter? We will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy. We will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our privacy policy. If you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here. ‘We’ includes The Week and other Dennis Group brands as detailed here<doc-sep>Lewis Hamilton fired an ominous warning to Sebastian Vettel after he delivered a practice double for the Japanese Grand Prix. The British driver, who holds a dominant 50-point championship lead over Vettel with just five rounds of the season remaining, was fastest in the opening run before returning to the Suzuka circuit to top the time sheets in the afternoon session. Hamilton was the best part of half-a-second clear of any other driver with Valtteri Bottas completing a Mercedes one-two, while Vettel was a distant third. The Ferrari driver finished 0.833 seconds slower than his rival to suggest he will have his work cut out to prevent Hamilton from galloping to the chequered flag this weekend. Hamilton has won five of the last six grands prix this season, and three of the last four to be staged in Japan, and the world champion was again in impressive form on Friday.<doc-sep>F1 heads to Russia for another weekend of explosive action with Lewis Hamilton already having one hand on the world championship. The Brit held off Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen in Singapore to open a 40-point lead in the standings. 1 Lewis Hamilton is edging ever closer to the world championship Credit: EPA When is the Russian Grand Prix? The Russian Grand Prix will take place on Sunday, September 30. It will commence at 12.10pm. Before that, practice one and two will be held on Friday, September 28 at 9am and 1pm respectively. Qualifying will then follow on Saturday, September 29 at 1pm. MOST READ IN SPORT CRYING BRU Fernandes breaks down in tears as Scholes slams Utd stars who 'accept losing' Revealed FLOP GEA De Gea let in 38th CONSECUTIVE penalty before missing own spot-kick in shootout Live Blog MAN UTD 1 (10) VILLARREAL 1 (11) Penalties heartbreak for United as De Gea misses in epic MAN UTD VERDICT Solskjaer blew chance to end trophy drought & it won't get easier than this Live Blog FOOTBALL NEWS LIVE Zidane QUITS Real Madrid, Antonio Conte leaves Inter Milan JEEPERS KEEPERS Agony for Man Utd as De Gea misses after epic shootout goes down to GOALIES What TV channel is the Russian Grand Prix on and can I live stream it? The Russian Grand Prix will be live on Sky Sports F1. Race day coverage will begin at 10.30am on Sunday, September 30. On Friday, the broadcast of the practices will commence at 8.45am and 12.45pm, while qualifying coverage on Saturday starts at 12pm. Ten F1 races will be live on Channel 4 this year, click here to find out if the Russian Grand Prix is among them. Where is the Russian Grand Prix held? The Russian Grand Prix is held at the Sochi Autodrom. Drivers will race 53 laps. The race is guaranteed to be part of the calendar until 2021, with a seven-year deal having been signed in 2014. Lewis Hamilton has won twice in Sochi, with Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas the other victors having won there once.<doc-sep>
Will Taylor-Medhurst/Getty Images Lewis Hamilton holds a significant lead over Sebastian Vettel in the drivers' world championship, as the pair battle for supremacy at the 2018 Formula One Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. The reigning champion produced a composed performance to win the previous race in Russia, with Vettel only able to secure third. The Brit leads the German by 50 points with five races of the season remaining, and Ferrari must find a way to curtail Mercedes' immediate dominance. Date: Sunday, Oct. 7 Start Time: 6:10 a.m. BST/1:10 a.m. ET TV Info: Sky Sports F1, Channel 4 (UK); ESPN2 (U.S.) Live Stream: Sky Go, All 4, WatchESPN For a full drivers list, visit the Formula 1 website. Video Play Button Videos you might like Preview Charles Coates/Getty Images It appeared Vettel had Hamilton's number early in the campaign, but the 33-year-old British superstar has once again proved his consistency and dominance. Ferrari's straight-line speed remains undoubted, but the Silver Arrows have consolidated any weaknesses their vehicle might have in comparison to their main competitor for the constructors' title. When Vettel is in the zone, he is almost impossible to stop, but errors have crept into his game over the past 12 months. This cannot be said about Hamilton, with the champion only missing out on a podium-finish three times across 16 races this season. ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/Getty Images However, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has urged caution, reminding Hamilton he lost a 45-point lead in the title race in 2007, per Mikael McKenzie of the Daily Express. "We are far from having it in the bag," Wolff said. Charles Coates/Getty Images Hamilton has said he is surprised with how the season has unfolded in recent months, per Philip Duncan of the Mirror: "When I look back at those recent races, I couldn't have hoped for better performances. There have been some dream experiences for me, performing at that level. It is what I live for. "As the season progresses you hope that you can improve, and usually you do get better, but I didn't know I was going to improve in the way that I have." There is no room for error from Vettel at this point, and he must win if he still harbours world title ambitions. Sergei Grits/Associated Press There's only a maximum of 125 points to win at the top of the drivers' championship, and with the improvements from Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes could cruise past the winning post if their two drivers work in tandem. Team orders saw Hamilton take the win ahead of Bottas in Russia, and the pair could replay their double act in Japan.