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A €59 FAULTY spark plug thwarted Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel early in last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, resulting in a loss of power and ultimately retire to the pits handing Lewis Hamilton an almost undefeatable 59-point lead going into the final four races of the 2017 season.

Vettel led the championship race early in the year and looked to have the advantage over Hamilton as he chased down his fifth career title, but with recent poor results has seen him almost completely drop out of contention.

Vettel’s Sunday could not get much worse after engine problems all but killed off his title hopes but F1 stewards reprimanded him for missing the national anthem before the race.

Vettel failed to turn up on time for the Japanese anthem, an understandable absence given the commotion around his car as mechanics hurried to try fix the sparkplug problem before the race.

Sebastian Vettel's title hopes have been all but dashed after a crash in Singapore and engine woes in Malaysia and Japan.
That has helped rival Lewis Hamilton open up a 59-point advantage in the standings with four races remaining.