It’s been three years since the Japanese Grand Prix took place and back in 2019, Ferrari secured a front-row lockout at Suzuka…

Sebastian Vettel took his final pole position for Ferrari at the track, but the four-time champion was jumped by Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas at the start.

While Bottas controlled the race up front, Vettel still had a mighty task in retaining P2 over Lewis Hamilton, who jostled for position with the four-time champion in the closing laps of the Japanese Grand Prix – in a battle that saw the Ferrari finish just 0.4s ahead of the Mercedes.

POWER RANKINGS: Hamilton and Verstappen miss out on the top 10 as the scores come in from Singapore

As for the other Scuderia driver, Charles Leclerc collided with Max Verstappen on the first lap, ending the Red Bull driver’s race and seeing Leclerc recover to sixth before a post-race penalty dropped him a place.

Bottas’ win that day was enough to ensure that Mercedes matched Ferrari and secured their sixth-straight constructors’ title, with the Finn and team mate Hamilton leaving Suzuka as the only two drivers’ championship contenders.

Get yourself in the mood for this weekend’s return to Suzuka by checking out the highlights from that day in the video player above…