Lewis Hamilton has laid the blame for his poor start in Suzuka firmly on himself as his world championship defence slips from his grasp.
Starting from second on the grid, the reigning world champion limped off the line and found himself mid-pack by the end of the first lap of the Japanese Grand Prix.
"I made a mistake," said Hamilton.
"I just got some wheel-spin, I need to see what the engineers say."
Hamilton was able to fight back and ultimately finished in third place behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen and teammate Nico Rosberg.
"I fought hard at the end but just didn't make it."
"It doesn't matter now, it's done."
The result leaves Rosberg with a 33-point lead atop the world championship standings, and the German only requires four podium finishes in the last four races to all-but wrap up his first world title.
"That's a healthy margin," said Rosberg.
"I'm looking forward to getting home and on to the next race. I felt good in the car, the start went well, everything went well."
"But there are still many races to go so I’m just keeping my head down. I'm taking it race-by-race and there's not any point changing my approach."
The result in Japan wrapped up a third successive constructers title for Mercedes.
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