How does the Japanese Grand Prix affect the bottom of the championship?

At the top of the championship, Hamilton really does have one hand on the title after moving 67-points clear of rival Sebastian Vettel. But what about the rest of the field? We take a quick look at what happened. 

Renault

Renault picked up just the one point through Spaniard Carlos Sainz. Another disappointing weekend for them leaves them eight points above Haas in fourth. Nico Hulkenberg's troubles from yesterday continued. Right from the off his Renault was smoking, and then towards the end, he became the second driver to retire from the race. The French team have some work to do ahead of Daniel Ricciardo's arrival in the winter.

Haas

It could have been better for Haas, but they'll take the four points they picked up today. They apply pressure to Renault who have been sitting pretty in fourth for the majority of the season. With Magnussen forced to retire they do have cause for concern, but if they keep chipping away at Renault by the time Abu Dhabi comes around things will be interesting. They could also pick up some 'free' points at this disqualification appeal.

McLaren

Every weekend is now the same for McLaren. Whether they have actually got worse, or if they've just not developed we'll never really know. A mid-field team actually looks realistic for them now, but today's 14th and 15th shows they can't do it on these sorts of tracks. Whatever next...

Force India

What a Force to be reckoned with. They're coming up the rails faster than HS2! They've now picked up 43 points since their tally got wiped prior to the Belgium Grand Prix. That's an average of just under 9 points a race. Almost half of what Renault have picked up during the whole of the season. Can they get close to 4th? Meanwhile, for Sergio Perez, he claims the best of the rest spot this weekend after a great drive.

Toro Rosso

We all really expected Toro Rosso to do a little bit better this weekend. Yes the Red Bull is stronger, and they still have the winter, but really, are Honda and Red Bull going to get along? Anyway, that's an argument for the winter. Pierre Gasly demonstrated his talents well and would have picked up a point had it not been for the Sainz surge. Hartley's qualifying went much better, and that can only be a good thing in his slim chances for a Toro Rosso drive next season.

Sauber

Not the weekend they were dreaming off. In his own words, something broke on Leclerc's car and Ericsson just didn't have the pace to be successful. They do still have the opportunity to finish ahead of Toro Rosso. With just three points between them, they could have some good battles.

Williams

The British team do seem to be developing, slowly but surely. Reliability is much better, but they won't be giving much of a care about 2018 now. For them, it's all about creating the 2019 version. The recovery.