The Japanese Grand Prix returns to Suzuka, with Sebastian Vettel just 1 point away from being crowned World Champion for the 2nd year in a row. Jenson Button is the only one in mathematical contention, but it is more or less sealed already as Button would have to win all 5 of the remaining races, with young German Vettel scoring nothing.
Suzuka has seen some amazing Grand Prix's over the years, from last lap overtakes for the lead in 2005, to the numerous championship deciders. It is a track loved by all, Mclaren's Lewis Hamilton saying he loves the "aggressive" nature and team mate Button classing it as a "2nd home Grand Prix" with girlfriend Jessica Michibata being Japanese. Felipe Massa "really likes" the track and states his favourite section being "The Esses" with its sweeping bends.
Japan has seen a boost in ticket sales for the Grand Prix weekend with Kamui Kobayashi coming back for his 2nd home race, after last year pulling off amazing overtakes in his naturally aggressive way.
News has been pouring in to the F1 world over the last week, and click here for all the full stories.
Click 'read more' to read the full, action packed review.
The weather all weekend in Japan reminisced a European summer, with bright blue sky's bathing the loved track in warm sunlight. The drivers were all anticipating an action packed weekend, but were happy to be back in Japan, popular with the majority of the drivers; but not for their health. Saubers Sergio Perez and Paul Di Resta of Force India notably feeling the effect of Japan as well as Heikki Kovalainen, who added to the list of ill drivers.
FP1
The first free practice session in Japan saw drivers getting the maximum out of the time limit, learning and getting to grips with the technical track. The result at the end of the 1 hour 30 minute session saw Mclaren's Jenson Button take to the top of the timings, with a 1m.33.634. He was just 1 tenth ahead of Mclaren team mate Lewis Hamilton.
Sebastian Vettel ended the session in 3rd, behind Hamilton by 3 tenths. But it was on his last run that he could of capitalised. Unfortunately going into the first degner he ran wide, and hit the barrier ending his session. Alonso and Webber ended the session rounding out the top 5, 7 and 8 tenths off the top time respectively. Best of the rest saw Torro Rosso shine, with Aguesuari and Buemi in 6th and 8th. Home favourite Kamui Kobayashi was 13th with Pastor Maldonado 18th after a trip across the grass ended his session.
FP2
Free practice 2 saw Jenson Button, yet again, top the times with a 1m.31.901 with a 2 tenth cushion over Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. However it was Red Bulls race pace which really looked strong in the afternoon session, with both drivers lapping adleast a second quicker per lap.
Vettel and Webber finished the session 3rd and 4th, with Lewis Hamilton down in 8th after a difficult session. The Mercedes due of Schumacher and Rosberg finished best of the rest in 6th and 7th behind Massa. Kobayashi finished the last Friday session in 16th after a huge spin through 130R, a flat out kink.
Other Incidents throughout the session came from the run off at the Spoon curve, with numerous drivers including Kobayashi and Hamilton drawn to the tarmac. Another casualty of the degner corner came from veteran Rubens Barrichello, after he clipped the grass going into the first part. He ended his session bouncing into the barrier.
FP3
Free practice free finished, and look who tops it again. Jenson Button sealed the top spot in all 3 practice sessions of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend with a mammoth half a second lead over team mate Lewis Hamilton, making it the second Mclaren 1-2 in a free practice session, and cementing the fact that the team mean business.
Vettel was 0.8seconds off the pace in the last practice session, despite Button completing his time 5 minutes before, when the track would of been significantly greener. Alonso pipped Webber eventually for 4th after trailing him, but consistently improving throughout the session.
Strangely Button spent quite abit of time in the garage, getting out of the car after his fastest lap, as the mechanics made changes to his car for Qualifying.
Bruno Senna finished off his session with a smash, after sliding into the wall at the exit of the Spoon curve. This caused an 8 minute stoppage of the session, and after that Tonio Liuzzi stopped on track.
Qualifying
Q1
The first Qualifying session in Japan saw the usual drivers getting knocked out, but with 1 exception. Nico Rosberg will start the race in 23rd place after a hydraulics problem, ending his 100% Q3 record. Liuzzi also had problems too, with a misfiring engine, leading to no time being set. Heikki Kovalainen qualified 18th ahead of team mate Trulli, with the Virgins of D'Ambrosio and Glock ahead of Ricciardo.
Bruno Senna had his team to thank after his FP3 incident, getting him out in time for a lap which kept him safe. In the last few minutes, drivers on track aborted their lap times after discovering all about 17th were safe.
Q2
Q2 saw it really heat up in the midfield. First out were the Force India pairing of Sutil and Di Resta, who had both made it into Q3 on their final runs, only to be demoted. They remain confident however as they saved a few sets of tyres, and have the choice of what compound to start on for tomorrows race. Behind them finished Barrichello and Maldonado in the Williams, having improved throughout the difficult weekend. Buemi and Alguesuari followed after being in Q3 after the first runs, in 9th and 10th but failed to emerge for the last dash to the line, falling to the 8th row.
Sergio Perez did not even set a time, with hydraulics problems on the out lap causing him to retire to the pit lane, after an already difficult weekend with flu.
Q3
Qualifying 3 saw Sebastian Vettel take pole position after it looked like his pole run would be over. He pipped Jenson Button by just 0.009seconds in the end, with Lewis Hamilton 3rd. The later was involved in a bizarre incident as they went onto their final runs. The run to the line was always going to be tight, and Webber and Schumacher's desperation showed as they swamped the backing off Hamilton into the chicane. This caused Lewis to back out and cost him a final run as he went across the line after the flag had been waved. His 1st lap however showed speed as he remained 3rd. Massa took 4th ahead of his team mate Alonso and Red Bull's Webber. Kobayashi will start 7th after not completing a full lap, ahead of Schumacher and the people who did not run, Petrov and Senna.
The race was a jewel, with battles throughout the field, lap after lap. The start saw Button get alongside Vettel, who pushed him onto the grass. This left Button having to lift, letting by his team mate. The incident was investigated by the stewards but no action was taken. The top 6 stayed close together throughout the first half of the race. Behind them, Di Resta moved up 4 places off the grid after home favourite Kobayashi went into anti-stall.
Hamilton was called in at the end of lap 7, after his team mate had just got by. This was later discovered as a puncture which the teams picked up on due to lowering tyre pressure. This cost him dearly as by the end of the 1st pit stops he had dropped to 4th. This left Massa trying to pass Hamilton, after losing a place to his team mate Alonso earlier on. The two touched on the run to the chicane, leaving a rather dangerous looking piece of debris near the racing line.
After the first stops Button began closing on Vettel, with his Pirelli's in much better shape. Vettel stopped on lap 19 where the gap was just half a second. A stunning in lap from the Brit led to him emerging in the lead. He soon built a gap up to the Red Bull driver.
The Safety Car emerged on lap 25, with debris on the track following the Hamilton and Massa clash. This bunched up the pack, letting Hamilton catch up to the leaders after falling back to 6th. It came in after just 3 laps, with Button bunching up the pack. He crossed the line and began increasing his lead on Vettel.
The 3rd stops began on lap 34, with Vettel pitting first and emerging in traffic. Button followed suit 3 laps later, after Webber and Hamilton had both pitted. He came out in clean air and re-took the lead from Alonso and Schumacher after their pit stops. The 7 time world champion briefly led but the order was completely out of sync.
Alonso crossed the line 2nd, just 1.1 seconds back. After the race he said "its a huge boost for me, and the team" while also adding "being the 3rd quickest team, its encouraging we can take the fight to Mclaren and Red Bull".
Webber finished 4th after saying it was the "maximum i could of achieved" after saying "the lack of overtaking here meant i could not progress". He finished 6 seconds behind team mate Vettel and 16 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton was shocked by the pace of his Mclaren, saying that it was a "shocking" race while also praising Jenson and Sebastian. He also revealed with the vibrations and limit view on the mirrors, he was unable to see him. He also said the car's pace is good, but only Jenson showed the full potential today.
Schumacher finished well in 6th place, after contact with Webber and briefly leading. He was just ahead of Massa, after a strong start he fell back in the closing stages. After the race, reacting to the comments Hamilton made about visibility Massa fumed "I don't care,I was much quicker, so I went to the left-hand side and I braked there. I stayed on my line; he moved his car and touched my car. There's nothing more to say."
Sergio Perez finished an inspired 8th after stopping just twice, while also suffering from a flu. Petrov finished 9th after close battles throughout the race with the likes of Rosberg, Kobayashi and Sutil.
Nico Rosberg drove a perfect race, finishing in the last points position. He took the last point from Sutil in the closing stages, after starting 23rd on the grid.
Just outside the points came Sutil and Di Resta for Force India. The later said "my voice has gotten worse, but the safety car spoiled it for us". He had a good start but the strategy meant he finished the race on the primes, while others who pipped him to the post were on options. Home favourite Kobayashi finished a lowly 13th place, after some brief flashes of speed; but what a contrast it was to last years race.
Alguesuari finished in 14th, as the sole Torro Rosso. Buemi was the only retirement after a wheel was not put on properly at his first stop. The team were fined for an unsafe release after the race. Alguesuari spent the first part of the race down the field, behind the two Team Lotus drivers. He soon got past and picked up the pace, finishing ahead of Maldonado, Senna and Barrichello.
Senna had a quiet race again, after shining in qualifying. He had a bad start, lost out and then had a problem in his pit stop, losing him time and positions.
Kovalainen and Trulli finished 18th and 19th, but after an impressive race finished on the lead lap. No doubt they were helped by the Safety Car, but it was an impressive show from the Norfolk based squad.
Glock, D'Ambrosio, Ricciardo and Liuzzi rounded out the finishers after the 53 lap race. It finished under a setting sun, with the majority of the crowd staying till the darkness fell, to celebrate with the new champion and the race winner.
After such a breathtaking race in Japan, the Formula One paddock never stops with the Korean Grand Prix just a week after. That leaves no time to celebrate for both Sebastian Vettel, or Jenson Button as they go head to head again in Korea.
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h30:53.427
2. Alonso Ferrari + 1.160
3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 2.006
4. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 8.071
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 24.268
6. Schumacher Mercedes + 27.120
7. Massa Ferrari + 28.240
8. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 39.377
9. Petrov Renault + 42.607
10. Rosberg Mercedes + 44.322
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 54.447
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:02.326
13. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:03.705
14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:04.194
15. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1:06.623
16. Senna Renault + 1:12.628
17. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:14.191
18. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1:27.824
19. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1:36.140
20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
21. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
22. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
23. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
Fastest lap: Button, 1:36.568 Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 35
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Japan has seen a boost in ticket sales for the Grand Prix weekend with Kamui Kobayashi coming back for his 2nd home race, after last year pulling off amazing overtakes in his naturally aggressive way.
News has been pouring in to the F1 world over the last week, and click here for all the full stories.
Click 'read more' to read the full, action packed review.
The weather all weekend in Japan reminisced a European summer, with bright blue sky's bathing the loved track in warm sunlight. The drivers were all anticipating an action packed weekend, but were happy to be back in Japan, popular with the majority of the drivers; but not for their health. Saubers Sergio Perez and Paul Di Resta of Force India notably feeling the effect of Japan as well as Heikki Kovalainen, who added to the list of ill drivers.
FP1
The first free practice session in Japan saw drivers getting the maximum out of the time limit, learning and getting to grips with the technical track. The result at the end of the 1 hour 30 minute session saw Mclaren's Jenson Button take to the top of the timings, with a 1m.33.634. He was just 1 tenth ahead of Mclaren team mate Lewis Hamilton.
Sebastian Vettel ended the session in 3rd, behind Hamilton by 3 tenths. But it was on his last run that he could of capitalised. Unfortunately going into the first degner he ran wide, and hit the barrier ending his session. Alonso and Webber ended the session rounding out the top 5, 7 and 8 tenths off the top time respectively. Best of the rest saw Torro Rosso shine, with Aguesuari and Buemi in 6th and 8th. Home favourite Kamui Kobayashi was 13th with Pastor Maldonado 18th after a trip across the grass ended his session.
FP2
Free practice 2 saw Jenson Button, yet again, top the times with a 1m.31.901 with a 2 tenth cushion over Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. However it was Red Bulls race pace which really looked strong in the afternoon session, with both drivers lapping adleast a second quicker per lap.
Vettel and Webber finished the session 3rd and 4th, with Lewis Hamilton down in 8th after a difficult session. The Mercedes due of Schumacher and Rosberg finished best of the rest in 6th and 7th behind Massa. Kobayashi finished the last Friday session in 16th after a huge spin through 130R, a flat out kink.
Other Incidents throughout the session came from the run off at the Spoon curve, with numerous drivers including Kobayashi and Hamilton drawn to the tarmac. Another casualty of the degner corner came from veteran Rubens Barrichello, after he clipped the grass going into the first part. He ended his session bouncing into the barrier.
FP3
Free practice free finished, and look who tops it again. Jenson Button sealed the top spot in all 3 practice sessions of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend with a mammoth half a second lead over team mate Lewis Hamilton, making it the second Mclaren 1-2 in a free practice session, and cementing the fact that the team mean business.
Vettel was 0.8seconds off the pace in the last practice session, despite Button completing his time 5 minutes before, when the track would of been significantly greener. Alonso pipped Webber eventually for 4th after trailing him, but consistently improving throughout the session.
Strangely Button spent quite abit of time in the garage, getting out of the car after his fastest lap, as the mechanics made changes to his car for Qualifying.
Bruno Senna finished off his session with a smash, after sliding into the wall at the exit of the Spoon curve. This caused an 8 minute stoppage of the session, and after that Tonio Liuzzi stopped on track.
Qualifying
Q1
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Bruno Senna had his team to thank after his FP3 incident, getting him out in time for a lap which kept him safe. In the last few minutes, drivers on track aborted their lap times after discovering all about 17th were safe.
Q2
Q2 saw it really heat up in the midfield. First out were the Force India pairing of Sutil and Di Resta, who had both made it into Q3 on their final runs, only to be demoted. They remain confident however as they saved a few sets of tyres, and have the choice of what compound to start on for tomorrows race. Behind them finished Barrichello and Maldonado in the Williams, having improved throughout the difficult weekend. Buemi and Alguesuari followed after being in Q3 after the first runs, in 9th and 10th but failed to emerge for the last dash to the line, falling to the 8th row.
Sergio Perez did not even set a time, with hydraulics problems on the out lap causing him to retire to the pit lane, after an already difficult weekend with flu.
Q3
Qualifying 3 saw Sebastian Vettel take pole position after it looked like his pole run would be over. He pipped Jenson Button by just 0.009seconds in the end, with Lewis Hamilton 3rd. The later was involved in a bizarre incident as they went onto their final runs. The run to the line was always going to be tight, and Webber and Schumacher's desperation showed as they swamped the backing off Hamilton into the chicane. This caused Lewis to back out and cost him a final run as he went across the line after the flag had been waved. His 1st lap however showed speed as he remained 3rd. Massa took 4th ahead of his team mate Alonso and Red Bull's Webber. Kobayashi will start 7th after not completing a full lap, ahead of Schumacher and the people who did not run, Petrov and Senna.
The Race
The Japanese Grand Prix in 2011 will go down in history, as one to remember. It saw Mclaren's Jenson Button take a stunning win at Suzuka, just 1.1 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, after the later hunted him down to the finish.
3rd place finished Sebastian Vettel, and he took the drivers title. An emotional Vettel said after the race " To win the championship here is fantastic. There are so many things you want to say but it's hard to remember all of them. I'm so thankful to everyone in the team, pushing hard to build those two cars. It's great to achieve the goal we set ourselves this year already now." Vettel's lead after his 3rd place stretched his championship advantage to 114 points over Button, who needed to win without Vettel finishing in the points to take the fight to Korea.
Webber was up to 4th after he leap frogged Massa and Hamilton with an early 2nd stop, however he was now nursing a broken front wing after contact with Schumacher after his second stop.
With Hamilton getting past Massa using the DRS into turn 1, he soon pulled away. This led to Schumacher pitting and coming out behind Hamilton, but ahead of Massa. After the 3rd stops Button led by about 4 seconds over Alonso who got ahead of Vettel at the stops. Behind Vettel came Webber, Hamilton, Schumacher and a frustrated Massa.
With just 4 laps left Alonso began catching Button, but with the popular Englishman responding the Spaniards fight was over.
So Jenson Button took his 3rd win for Mclaren this season, and his first ever Mclaren win in the dry, to a symphony of cheers from the public. With such a history with Japan, racing for Honda and a Japanese girl friend, he is loved dearly in this part of the world. He said after the race "This circuit is very special to all of us so to get a victory here in front of this Japanese crowd means a lot. This gives us a lot of motivation. To see three cars in a few seconds shows how competitive F1 is right now." He also added he is the "happiest he has ever been" while also admitting he was emotional on the F1 forum with the BBC team, after his other half cried.
Vettel finished 3rd, and becomes the 2011 Formula One World Champion, and becomes the youngest double world champion, joining the multiple world title club which contains the likes of Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Juan Manuel Fangio. Vettel so far this season has taken 9 wins, 15 poles and currently has 324 points. An emotional Vettel spoke to the BBC's Lee Mckenzie after the race, thanking "the whole team" and that "it will take a little bit of time" to take it all in. He also seemed in light spirits, joking with the journalists and commenting on the BBC F1 team at a karaoke bar the previous night. He was also over joyed by the full grandstands, and supportive fans saying they gave them a "good show".
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Senna had a quiet race again, after shining in qualifying. He had a bad start, lost out and then had a problem in his pit stop, losing him time and positions.
Jenson Button ended up taking fastest lap, his second in a row and only his 6th fastest lap in his career. He beat Sergio Perez by just 0.001 seconds.
1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h30:53.427
2. Alonso Ferrari + 1.160
3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 2.006
4. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 8.071
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 24.268
6. Schumacher Mercedes + 27.120
7. Massa Ferrari + 28.240
8. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 39.377
9. Petrov Renault + 42.607
10. Rosberg Mercedes + 44.322
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 54.447
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:02.326
13. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:03.705
14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:04.194
15. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1:06.623
16. Senna Renault + 1:12.628
17. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:14.191
18. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1:27.824
19. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1:36.140
20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
21. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
22. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
23. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
Fastest lap: Button, 1:36.568 Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 35
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