Nico Rosberg wins Japanese Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton pays for poor start to finish third at Suzuka

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Lewis Hamilton's woeful start allowed Nico Rosberg to coast to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix and edge closer to a maiden world title.

The German was left with the simplest of tasks to claim his first win at Suzuka, his ninth this season and his fourth in the last five races.

Hamilton was down in eighth place at the end of lap one as his troubles off the line this term continued. He recovered to finish third but now trails Mercedes team-mate Rosberg by 33 points with just four races remaining and a maximum 100 points up for grabs.

Nico Rosberg stands on top of his Mercedes after cruising to win the Japanese Grand Prix and extend his championship lead

Rosberg is mobbed by his mechanics following victory which takes him one step closer to a maiden world championship

Rosberg on the podium points to fans having taken victory at the Japanese Grand Prix for the first time in his career

Rosberg sprays champagne into the face of a Mercedes colleague as he celebrates Suzuka victory on the podium

Rosberg triumphed in front of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Mercedes team-mate and championship rival Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen kept Hamilton at bay in the closing stages to finish second for Red Bull but that was not enough to prevent Mercedes from claiming their third straight constructors' championship title.

The poor start capped a miserable week for Hamilton. It began when an engine failure forced him to retire from the lead at last Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix, after which he questioned his team.

He then courted criticism when he arrived in Japan after playing on his phone during a press conference on Thursday.

Rosberg dominated the practice running and snatched top spot on the grid from Hamilton with his final effort in qualifying on Saturday.

Hamilton reacts on the podium as he slips to 33 points behind Rosberg in the championship with just four races to go

The Brit sportingly sprays champagne at his Mercedes team-mate, who can now secure the title without winning another race

Holding his race-winning trophy, Rosberg celebrates with his Mercedes colleagues following their constructors' title victory

Mercedes staff thank Rosberg and Hamilton as they celebrate winning the constructors' title for the third year running

That was followed on Saturday night by Hamilton's refusal to answer questions and walking out of a press conference, labelling the gathered media 'disrespectful' for the reaction to his antics earlier in the week.

One thing's for sure, it's never dull when Hamilton's around and there was drama from the outset here.

Starting second would not have fazed Hamilton given that he has won this race from that position for the last two years.

What did concern him was the overnight rain which had left a wet patch on his grid slot.

But even that could not explain a start as poor as the one Hamilton made.

Rosberg (right) and Hamilton started on the front row of the grid but the Brit (left) suffered a terrible start to the race

As Rosberg took defensive action to block the fast-starting Verstappen, cars flew past Hamilton's slow-starting Mercedes

Rosberg leads from Verstappen into the first corner as Hamilton filters into eighth and Romain Grosjean locks his wheels

Rosberg then built a comfortable gap over Verstappen as Hamilton was left stuck behind the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen

Rosberg would then lead an untroubled race to victory at Suzuka as he tackles the final chicane during the Grand Prix

For the fifth time this season – Australia, Bahrain, Canada and Italy the others – Hamilton gifted those behind him places with a terrible getaway.

So slow was his start that those streaming past actually had to take evasive action such was their pace advantage.

Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez made the biggest gains, with the former passing the Mexican for third place on lap three. Six of them in total gobbled Hamilton up off the line and he completed lap one down in eighth place.

Driver error? Hamilton seemed to admit as much, telling his team 'sorry guys' over the radio. 'No stress, Lewis,' came the reply from his race engineer, Pete Bonnington.

Team-mate Rosberg certainly wasn't stressing. The German cruised away from pole position and was 16 seconds up the road by the time Hamilton had finally overtaken Nico Hulkenberg's Force India for seventh at the start of lap six.

But then some good news for Hamilton. He was told to 'keep the tyres alive for as long as possible', with Mercedes sensing they could make up places in the first round of pit-stops.

Hamilton made an impressive amount of overtakes during the race - his first over Force India's Nico Hulkenberg for seventh

Hamilton then made four passes in one lap, the first over the squabbling pair of Kimi Raikkonen (top left) and Sergio Perez

Having then passed Daniel Ricciardo, Hamilton also breezed past Williams' Felipe Massa for fifth place after the pit stops

That kicked off on lap 10 when the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo came in simultaneously, with leader Rosberg and the chasing pack of Vettel, Perez and Kimi Raikkonen following suit three laps later.

Hamilton was finally in clear air and made it count. He was the last of the leading group to stop, coming in on lap 14 and emerging ahead of Raikkonen and Perez.

He didn't realise it, but Hamilton owes compatriot Jolyon Palmer a huge debt of gratitude for his part. The Renault man kept that pair at bay long enough for Hamilton to come out in front of them and effectively claim fifth position.

He was fourth just a few corners later, when he breezed past Ricciardo.

Hamilton was now in clear air again, though that won't have cheered him as much as before.

When the race reached half-time on lap 26, Hamilton trailed Vettel by 10 seconds, with the German closing on Verstappen who was five seconds adrift of Rosberg in the lead.

Hamilton then passed Sebastian Vettel in the final round of pit-stops to move up into third place before pulling away

But despite closing the gap to Verstappen, Hamilton was unable to pass the Red Bull star and grab an additional three points

Hamilton attempted to pass Verstappen heading into the final chicane on the penultimate lap of the Grand Prix

But Verstappen controversially chopped across the world champion in the braking zone to block the inside line

Verstappen radioed in to complain about the state of his tyres and getting stuck behind Manor's Pascal Wehrlein and so Red Bull brought him in on lap 28.

Rosberg followed a lap later to cover him off and retained his five-second buffer. That left Vettel in the lead and he too ranted about traffic on the radio, labelling it 'ridiculous'. But the four-time world champion might have been better off looking in his mirrors where Hamilton was looming larger.

Hamilton was just four seconds behind the Ferrari when he pitted on lap 33. But a stunning out-lap saw Vettel come out behind Hamilton after his stop a lap later.

With the best part of 20 laps still to go, Mercedes gave Hamilton the more-durable hard compound tyres for his final stint, with Ferrari gambling on the faster soft tyres for their man.

Malaysian Grand Prix winner Ricciardo struggled for pace before finishing in sixth place for Red Bull at Suzuka

The McLarens of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso also toiled at Honda's home race, finishing 18th and 16th respectively

Wearing McLaren Honda rear wings, supporters at Suzuka cheer for the team prior to the Japanese Grand Prix

Ferrari also had a passionate section of supporters backing them, as one young fan poses in a Vettel race suit

It meant Vettel swarmed all over the back of Hamilton for a few corners, but bemoaned his lack of power down the straights and could not find a way past.

For his part, Hamilton's pace was impressive and he began to hunt down Verstappen for second place.

He moved to within a second of the teenager with seven laps remaining and spent the remaining time trying to find a way past.

The scrap came to a head at the end of the penultimate lap when Hamilton was forced to take to the escape road at the final corner after some typically staunch Verstappen defence. 

'Max moved under braking,' said Hamilton over the radio, but with that his chance was gone.

Mercedes though elected post-race to complain over Verstappen's driving style, claiming the Dutchman drove 'erratically and in a dangerous manner in contravention of rules in the move on the penultimate lap.

However after Hamilton admitted in a tweet he was unhappy with the appeal, the team later rejected their complaint.

Ferrari duo Vettel and Raikkonen were next home in fourth and fifth respectively, as Ricciardo, Perez, Hulkenberg and the Williams' of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas rounded off the top 10.

British pair Jolyon Palmer and Jenson Button came home 12th and 18th, the latter having started at the rear of the field for McLaren after taking an engine penalty.

Supporters were also out in force to support Hamilton as the Brit had hoped for a third consecutive win at the circuit

Mercedes chief Paddy Lowe takes a photo of the 1989 McLaren Honda which won Alain Prost the world championship

Ricciardo signs the classic car he rode in during the drivers' parade held before the start of the Japanese Grand Prix