Räikkönen didn't have room to avoid Alonso + Video Interview after Race

Räikkönen's Lotus and Alonso's Ferrari clashed when they were braking into the first corner. Lotus-car's front wing touched Ferrari's rear tyre and hence Alonso's race stopped shortly when he spun off the track.

– After the start I was all the time on the left side when we started to brake. Fernando came all the time more and more to the left. I tried to go more to the left but there was no room where to go. What happened happened because I couldn't go anywhere, Räikkönen cleared up.

Räikkönen's front wing suffered a mild damage and the car's speed wasn't enough to fight for a better position than 5th. The chance went when Lewis Hamilton succeeded to return just beside Räikkönen after a very fast pitstop. Since Lotus was on the left side, McLaren got a cleaner driving line and passed.

Source Turun Sanomat 

Alonso frustrated with Räikkönen

Fernando Alonso has questioned Kimi Raikkonen's approach during the first corner of the Japanese GP after the title winner's race-ending clash with the Lotus at Suzuka



Alonso's retirement, coupled with a dominant victory for Sebastian Vettel, has cut the Spaniard's lead to just four points with five races remaining.

The Ferrari was sent spinning into the gravel as the two former World Champions battled into the sweeping first turn.

"Well I had no space on the right, I had Button there I think, on the left I had Kimi and I don't understand why Kimi didn't lift off as there was no room out there and it was only the first corner," he told Sky Sports F1. "But that is the way it and this time it was us."

Trying to stay optimistic, Alonso added that whilst he suffered bad luck in Japan, it could easily happen to his rivals in any of the forthcoming races.

"Not really," he replied when asked if his title hopes had suffered a serious setback. "This time I retire, next time maybe it will be Vettel who will retire.

"You never know, this is motorsport. With five races to go it will be like a mini Championship. We will start with the same points and we need to score one more point in the five races than the others so we will try to do that."

Source: SkySports

Vettel Wins As Alonso Retires

Sebastian Vettel took a massive step towards a third World title as he clinched a dominant victory in Japan while Fernando Alonso retired

Arriving in Japan, Alonso held a 29-point advantage over the Red Bull racer, however, by the end of lap one it was down to just four points.

The Ferrari driver failed to make it around the first corner as his rear tyre was clipped by Kimi Raikkonen, causing a puncture and an off that left Alonso beached in the gravel.

Vettel came home in front of Felipe Massa and Kamui Kobayashi who held off a late race charge from Jenson Button to get his first podium at his home grand prix - and send the crowd wild.

Race Report
The sun was shining down on Suzuka with an ambient temperature of 23C and the track at 32C.

Seven rows of grid<1 .vettel=".vettel" 10.massa="10.massa" 11.diresta="11.diresta" 12.maldonado="12.maldonado" 13.rosberg="13.rosberg" 14.ricciardo="14.ricciardo" 2.webber="2.webber" 3.kobayashi="3.kobayashi" 4.grosjean="4.grosjean" 5.perez="5.perez" 6.alonso="6.alonso" 7.raikkonen="7.raikkonen" 8.button="8.button" 9.hamilton="9.hamilton" span="span">

Start:As the lights went out it was a chaotic start at an old-fashioned track that is narrower than most. Vettel got a clean getaway, but behind him Romain Grosjean made contact with Webber, puncturing the Red Bull's rear tyre and sending him on a slow first lap back to the pits. Grosjean damaged his front wing and had to come in for a new one.

Further back down the grid the hapless Bruno Senna made another first lap contact, this time with Nico Rosberg sending the Mercedes driver out of the race and damaging Senna's front wing and obliging him to go back to the pits for a new one.

However the major loss on the first lap was championship leader Fernando Alonso who was tapped from behind by Kimi Raikkonen, the Lotus losing a chunk of its front wing, but enough to deflate Alonso's rear tyre and spin him into retirement, beached in the gravel.

The Safety Car was dispatched so that Alonso's car could be recovered and as they lined up behind the order was: 1.Vettel, 2.Kobayashi, 3.Button, 4.Massa, 5.Raikkonen, 6.Perez, 7.Hamilton, 8.Hulkenberg, 9.Maldonado, 10.Ricciardo, 11.Glock, 12.Kovalainen, 13.Verne, 14.DiResta, 15.Schumacher

The stewards immediately put the Webber/Grosjean incident under investigation while Grosjean, Senna and Webber tried to race round to make the most of the temporary delay. On Lap 12 the stewards would get round to investigating the Senna/Rosberg incident. Both Grosjean and Senna took penalties as a result.

Button (P9) and Massa (P11) had profited enormously from having P2, P4, P6 and P7 get embroiled in first corner accidents and were up to third and fourth. We were racing again from Lap 3 and Sergio Perez was keen to get past Kimi Raikkonen - trying to overtake the Lotus in a wheel-to-wheel move around the outside of Turn 1. It didn't work, forced Perez out wide and he lost a place to Hamilton as a result.

Perez was then all over the back of Lewis Hamilton who looked to be struggling in the early phase of the race. On Lap 6 the Sauber driver was able to take advantage of Hamilton's lack of attention, running up the inside into the hairpin in a move reminiscent of Kamui Kobayashi's debut Japanese GP.

At the front, Sebastian Vettel was pulling away and by Lap 10 had opened up a 6.2 second gap to Kobayashi in second place. Button was two seconds down on the Japanese driver with Massa right behind him. Perez was able to close up the gap to Raikkonen who looked to be losing the rear tyres of the Lotus.

Although Button's times didn't appear to be dropping off, he was in for tyres at the end of Lap 13, along with Hulkenberg and Raikkonen. The Finn exited behind a battle between Jean-Eric Vergne and Heikki Kovalainen and spent a lap behind that battle. With Perez still on track and putting the hammer down, it looked like a formality that Perez would pick up Raikkonen's place.

Kimi battled his way past Vergne, using the DRS zone to pass the Toro Rosso on Lap 15 and a lap later he was past Kovalainen, just as Perez was pitting. The Sauber must have lost time somewhere on track or in the pits because Perez emerged from the pits not only behind Raikkonen, but when Hamilton stopped on Lap 17, the Mexican found himself back behind the McLaren again.

Perez was not the only one delayed; with Kobayashi able to keep his place in front of Button through the first pit-stops, they both found themselves behind the sluggish Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo. This was a gift to Felipe Massa who came in with Vettel at the end of Lap 18 and exited firmly in second place, leapfrogging the pair of them and having fresher tyres to boot.

Positions on Lap 18:1.Vettel, 2.Massa, 3.Kobayashi, 4.Button, 5.Ricciardo(not stopped), 6.Raikkonen, 7.Hamilton, 8.Perez, 9.Hulkenberg, 10.Kovalainen (not stopped), 11.Vergne (not stopped)

Jenson Button was reporting problems with his gearbox which was dropping into neutral and the team were trying to find solutions for him on the fly. Future team-mate Perez was stuck behind Hamilton again, but Lewis wasn't going to be overtaken up the inside into the hairpin again and when Perez made a move there on Lap 20 he put a wheel on the grass and the Sauber went spinning off into the gravel and out.

Soon after his pit-stop Felipe Massa put in successive fastest laps of the race and on Lap 21 Vettel's lead dipped under ten seconds. To show he was in absolute command Vettel responded on Lap 22 with his own fastest lap which included two purple sectors.

Team-mate Mark Webber had made it up to ninth place by Lap 21 but he was out of sequence with the other cars having pitted so early, and on Lap 26 he was back into the pits again, all set for a late race charge.

Around Laps 29 and 30 both Mclarens started to make progress on the cars in front, Button began to catch Kobayashi - who he'd dropped back from - and Hamilton closed the gap on Raikkonen from 2.7 to 2.4 to 1.9 - then on lap 30 Lewis was 0.7 quicker than Raikkonen in Sector 1 alone and Raikkonen had to make a dash for the pits.

Hamilton pitted just a lap later and exited the pitlane alongside Raikkonen. The pair toughed it out through Turn 1 but Hamilton got the position and it was a credit to their car control skills that both could get through without touching. Kobayashi had pitted at the same time and such was his haste to get out of the pitlane that he almost took a jack with him.

Kobayashi had to put in a fast outlap and get up to speed quickly to stay ahead of Button who waited four laps before pitting. When he did, he had a problem with his right rear tyre, but such was Kobayashi's pace in the intervening four laps that it made no difference and Button resumed over four seconds in arrears.

Positions on Lap 36:1.Vettel, (one stop) 2.Massa (one stop), 3.Kobayashi, 4.Button, 5.Hamilton, 6.Raikkonen, 7.Hulkenberg, 8.Maldonado, 9.Schumacher (one stop), 10.Webber, 11.Ricciardo, 12.Vergne.

Michael stopped for the final time on Lap 37, along with Felipe Massa, while Vettel pitted on lap 38. By now he had an 18 second lead over Massa and could play around scaring his race engineer by going for an occasional fastest lap - which he did on lap 39.

Raikkonen faded away from Hamilton and Hulkenberg couldn't close the gap to the Finn. The only big question now was could Kamui Kobayashi hold off a determined charge from Jenson Button in the remaining laps to the flag? Kamui's advantage fell from 3.9 to 3.5 to 3.0 to 2.7 to 2.2 to just 1.8 on Lap 44 (of 53). Progress beyond that was slow for Button as he encountered the turbulent air off the Sauber's rear wing. Kobayshi put in personal best after personal best in his fight to stay ahead.

Most important of all Button couldn't get into the DRS zone and he wasn't helped when Kovalainen's Caterham delayed him on a lap where he looked to move into it. So the gap then levelled out: 1.7 to 1.5 to 1.8 to 1.8 to 1.6 to 1.2 to 1.1 to 1.0. On the last lap Button made significant gains and was right behind Kamui coming into the hairpin for the final time, but the Japanese driver hung on to finish just 0.5 ahead - sending the crowd wild.

Vettel, in his usual style, had done some more fast-lap-scaring with an almighty 1:35.775 on the penultimate tour (the previous Vettel fastest lap on Lap 46 had been a 1:36.466!) but cruised to the flag ahead of Massa, Kobayashi, Button, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg and Pastor Maldonado scoring his first points since Barcelona in P8. Mark Webber had hauled himself up into P9 and had both the Williams and the Force India in his sights when he ran out of laps.

It was an emphatic win for Vettel on a day when nobody was going to catch the Red Bull. Now just four points behind Alonso, Vettel knows that all he has to do to make it World Championship No.3 is stay in front of his main rival on track. With the Red Bull looking significantly faster than the Ferrari the betting is only going to go in one direction.

However it was just as significant a drive for Massa, his first podium since Korea in 2010, and a seat-for-2013-saving drive. Kobayashi's third place equalled the best result for a Japanese driver in Japan and will have gone a long way in convincing the Sauber team to keep him on for 2013.

Results

01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h28:56.242
02. Massa Ferrari + 20.639
03. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 24.538
04. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 25.098
05. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 46.490
06. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 50.424
07. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 51.159
08. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 52.364
09. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 54.675
10. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:06.919
11. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:07.769
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:23.400
13. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:28.600
14. Senna Williams-Renault + 1:28.700
15. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
16. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
17. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
18. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
19. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap

Did Not Finish
Pic Marussia-Cosworth 39
Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 34
Perez Sauber-Ferrari 19
Alonso Ferrari 1
Rosberg Mercedes 1

Source: Planet-F1

Qualifying: Fourth Suzuka pole for Seb

Sebastian Vettel claimed his fourth successive pole position at the Suzuka circuit, beating Mark Webber to the coveted grid slot
 

Vettel has a history of success at the Japanese track, winning the grand prix in 2009 and 2010 and wrapping up his second Drivers' title last season.

That history continued on Saturday afternoon as Vettel posted a 1:30.839 early in Q3 to secure his fourth Japanese GP pole position in a row.

His team-mate Webber ensured a Red Bull lock-out of the front row as he brought his car home 0.251s adrift.

Jenson Button was third ahead of Japan's own Kamui Kobayashi.

Qualifying Report
The weather had clouded over since FP3 in the morning when the Red Bulls had proved to be the class of the field. The ambient temperature was still high at 26C with the track at 36C.

For the Force India team it was a race to get Nico Hulkenberg's car together after he went off at the Degna turns and crashed heavily in morning practice. However it was team-mate Paul DiResta who was out first setting the initial P1 time at 1:33.661, followed by Kimi Raikkonen 1:33.507 and Romain Grosjean with a 1:33.328.

Felipe Massa looked on fine resurgent form and ducked into the 1:32s with a 1:32.946 - significantly he was faster than team-mate Alonso. Despite drivers setting a time on the harder tyre and then bettering it on subsequent laps - such as Webber, Grosjean, Alonso, Hamilton and Button - none could beat Massa's time.

Soon-to-be-McLaren driver Sergio Perez was up against a highly motivated Sauber team-mate in Kamui Kobayashi and had an off-track moment where his car scooped up a lot of gravel and bounced the floor heavily.

Then it was time for Sebastian Vettel to deliver a Suzuka masterclass and take over P1 with a 1:32.608 (the fastest lap on the harder tyre).

With six minutes of the session left to run Nico Hulkenberg's car was finally assembled and he went straight for the soft tyre, as did all the mid-grid teams in a bid for safety. These included Pastor Maldonado who put his Williams into P2.

With four minutes left of the session the drop zone was: 15.Vergne, 16.Ricciardo, 17.Kovalainen, 18.Petrov, 19.de la Rosa, 20.Glock, 21.Pic, 22.Karthikeyan 23.Schumacher (no time), 24.Hulkenberg (no time).

Late out of the pits (and facing a 10-place grid penalty for his Singapore misdemeanour, and hence reluctant to use a lot of tyres) was Michael Schumacher who was not taking the easy option by going onto softs, he had the harder tyre on.

Kimi Raikkonen proved how much quicker the softer tyre was by taking over P1 with a 1:32.221. He was soon displaced by Sergio Perez - who was still living dangerously at the Degna turns. Even Fernando Alonso (still behind Massa's time) was forced to use a set of softs to make himself safe. Then it was Kamui Kobayashi's time to send the crowd wild with a P1 time of 1:32.042.

All the drama was now at the back of the field with Schumacher's laps not being quick enough. He crossed the line to start his final flying lap with just seconds to spare and set off on a face-saving exercise.

While he was doing that Romain Grosjean leapfrogged to the top of the timesheets with a 1:31.029.

With Bruno Sennas team-mate easily getting into Q2 he was now under pressure to do likewise, lingering close to the dropzone with Jean-Eric Vergne. On his final lap he was clearly blocked by the Toro Rosso, something his engineer described as "unbelievable" and he couldn't improve. This left Schumi free at the very last second to climb forward to P16, allowing Vergne to go through in P17 and eliminate Senna in P18.

So out went: 18.Senna, 19.Kovalainen, 20.Glock, 21.de la Rosa, 22.Pic, 23.Petrov, 24.Karthikeyan

De la Rosa did particularly well to get ahead of a Marussia and a Caterham, but it was a poor result for Senna who needed to show now, more than ever, that he was capable fo retaining his seat for 2013.

Qualifying 2
It was straight onto soft tyres for everyone in Q2 with Kobayashi setting P1 at 1:32.368 before Sebastian Vettel set himself up to sit out the rest of the session with a 1:31.501

Massa went P2, Hamilton went P2, Button went P3 and then Mark Webber could only go P3.

Michael Schumacher chose to sit out much of the session but came out for the last dash to the flag. Running into the final four minutes of the session, the drop zone looked like: 7.Grosjean, 8.Alonso, 9.Kimi Raikkonen, 10.Perez, 11.Hulkenberg, 12.Maldonado, 13.Rosberg, 14.DiResta, 15.Ricciardo, 16.Vergne, 17.Schumacher.

Alonso finally got his lap together to take P3, Kimi Raikkonen could only manage P10, Paul diResta took P7, team-mate Nico Hulkenberg went one better with P6, Kamui Kobayashi grabbed P4 before Raikkonen made himself safe with P3.

Raikkonen's time had pushed Grosjean out of the top ten, but he was still on a quick one. Perez took P8 demoting Massa to P10 and DiResta to P11. Then, when Romain crossed the line in P7, it was Massa out too.

Felipe's final lap had been slower than his earlier time and the man who had looked like the fastest Ferrari fell behind Alonso yet again. So out went: 11.Massa, 12.DiResta, 13.Schumacher, 14.Maldonado, 15.Rosberg, 16.Ricciardo, 17.Vergne.

Michael Schumacher got the Mercedes bragging rights over Nico Rosberg and Paul DiResta lost out in the Force India team battle.

Qualifying 3Raikkonen was out early to set provisional pole at 1:32.208, but it was a big surprise that Lewis Hamilton couldn't beat that time on his first run coming immediately after the Finn on track.

Sebastian Vettel proved why he has been on pole at Suzuka at the three previous visits by putting in a provisional pole time of 1:30.839. Even at this stage it looked less 'provisional' and more like the 'actual' pole.

Jenson Button (facing a five-place gearbox penalty) stuck his McLaren into P2 before he was displaced by Mark Webber in P2. Webber's lap included a lock-up into the hairpin suggesting he could have gone quicker.

Alonso, Hulkenberg, Kobayashi and Perez stayed in the garage, suffering from a lack of soft tyres having used too many of them earlier.

Into the last two minutes and all ten cars were out on track (even though Hulkenberg failed to set a time). Perez grabbed P5 and then attention swung to Kimi Raikkonen who had gone off track at the Spoon corner bringing out the yellow flags. Despite the double waved yellows, Kamui Kobayashi was able to put his Sauber into P4 and Alonso ended up with P7.

Nobody else improved and the session ended with Vettel, now a four-times pole sitter at Suzuka, alongside team-mate Mark Webber on the front row. With serial claims of blocking by many drivers, existing penalties for Button, Schumacher and Hulkenberg, plus the Q3 yellow flags incident, the rest of the grid might take a lot of sorting out for tomorrow.

Times

01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m30.839
02. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m31.090
03. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.294
04. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m31.700
05. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m31.989
06. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.022
07. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m32.114
08. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m32.208
09. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.327
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes no time
11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m32.293
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m32.327
13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m32.469
14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m32.512
15. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m32.625
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m32.954
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.368
18. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m33.405
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m34.657
20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m35.213
21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m35.385
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m35.429
23. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m35.432
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m36.734

Source: Planet-F1

Lewis: I had a bit of a shocker

Lewis Hamilton feels he needs to "keep working hard" after a "shocking" performance saw him finish fifth at the Japanese GP

The 26-year-old started behind Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button on the grid, but found himself P2 after getting ahead of team-mate Button at the first corner. While Button went on to win the race, Hamilton had to settle for P5.

His race strategy was compromised early on as he was forced to make a pit stop for a puncture while yet another coming together with Felipe Massa also didn't help.

Hamilton admits there's not much wrong with the car and concedes he needs to "find pace from somewhere".

"I had a bit of a shocking race to be honest - but Jenson [Button] did a fantastic job which is great for the team," he told BBC Sport after the race.

"Congratulations to Sebastian [Vettel] too - we knew it was coming but he's had a perfect season.

"Personally, I just need to keep my head up and keep working hard. I think we have a better car now - Jenson has just shown that with a remarkable race - but I just didn't have any grip, I need to find some pace from somewhere."

Source: Planet-F1

Button Wins Japanese GP, Seb The Title

Jenson Button may have clinched Japanese GP victory, however, he could do nothing to stop Sebastian Vettel from claiming the World title

Starting first and second on the grid with Vettel ahead of the McLaren driver, the German did all he could to stop Button from taking the lead - even pushing him onto the grass. But with the Red Bull running out of tyres faster than the rest of the field Button found his way past in the pit-stops.

It was another thrilling race with a resurgent Fernando Alonso taking second place, Michael Schumacher surviving a hefty impact from Mark Webber's front wing and going on to become the oldest driver to lead an F1 GP. Plus there was the inevitable coming together of Massa and Hamilton.

Race Report
It was a bright sunny autumnal day at Suzuka with an ambient tempretaure of 24C and the trac at 35C.

Six Rows of Grid : 1.Vettel, 2.Button, 3.Hamilton, 4.Massa, 5.Alonso, 6.Webber, 7.Kobayashi, 8.Schumacher, 9.Petrov, 10.Senna, 11.Sutil, 12.DiResta

Start: It was a clean get-away for the grid (unlike 2010) with Jenson Button getting a great start from P2. Vettel thought he had a good start too but still veered across to the right and pushed Jenson Button to the inside.

Button had his front tyre tucked inside Vettel's rear and the Red Bull kept on coming, pushing the McLaren onto the grass. Button slowed and dropped in behind Vettel but this allowed Lewis Hamilton to move up to P2. Behind, the Ferraris slotted in in grid order.

Big loser from the start was Kamui Kobayashi who was starting from his best ever gridslot, P7. The anti-stall kicked in for the Japanese Sauber driver and he bogged down, losing many places.

Positions after Lap 1 1.Vettel, 2.Hamilton, 3.Button, 4.Massa 5.Alonso, 6.Webber, 7.Schumacher, 8.DiResta, 9.Sutil, 10.Petrov, 11.Buemi, 12.Kobayashi

With the DRS enabled after Lap 2 it didn't look to be giving the drivers a huge advantage down the straight into Turn 1, but on Lap 6 Alonso made it past Massa in a choreographed move that switched the Ferrari order. Despite being evenly matched in qualifying Vettel started to open up a gap to Hamilton. On Lap 5 it was 2.3 seconds, by Lap 7 it was 3.9 seconds and team-mate Button was catching him rapidly.

Lewis slowed and pitted at the end of Lap 8, when it was revealed that he was suffering from a slow puncture. Vettel radioed in that he was losing the rear tyres during Lap 9 and came in for his first pitstop at the end of the lap. This triggered a whole round of pit-stops with Button, Alonso, Webber and DiResta in the lap after that. Massa was temporarily in the lead until he pitted at the end of Lap 11.

Positions after Lap 12 1.Vettel, 2.Button, 3.Alonso, 4.Hamilton, 5.Massa, 6.Webber, 7.Petrov (not stopped), 8.Schumacher

In the second stint Jenson Button began to close on Vettel and Felipe Massa got into the DRS zone of Lewis Hamilton who was falling away from third place Fernando Alonso. Button closed the gap down from 2.8 seconds on Lap 15 to 1.6 seconds on Lap 18 with a couple of fastest laps thrown in.

Vettel then dived into the pits for more soft tyres at the end of Lap 19 and Red Bull executed a fantastic double pit-stop with Sebastian leaving the pitbox just as Mark Webber arrived. Button came in a lap later and exited in front.

Just as Lewis Hamilton was due to stop for his second pit-stop Felipe Massa tried a highly optimistic pass on the outside going into the final chicane. It was never going to come off, but as Hamilton moved out right the pair made contact yet again. The incident was investigated - just as the Button/Vettel one was - but no action was taken. Hamilton had a slightly longer pit-stop as the team checked out the car for damage.

Positions after Lap 23 1.Button, 2.Vettel, 3.Alonso, 4.Webber, 5.Massa, 6.Schumacher (stopped once) 7.Hamilton, 8.Sutil, 9.DiResta, 10.Kobayashi, 11.Barrichello

The incident between Massa and Hamilton looked to have taken off some Ferrari bodywork which was in the middle of the track approaching the chicane, and on Lap 24 the Safety Car was dispatched to pick it up. There was also some at Turn 7 and the cars circulated for three tours while it was picked up by the marshals.

At the restart, leader Jenson Button backed the pack right up before setting off at pace. His next lap (28) was the fastest lap of the race as he set about establishing a race-winning gap. By Lap 30 he had opened it up to 2.2 seconds, by Lap 32 it was 2.8 seconds.

At the end of Lap 32 Vettel's tyres were gone again and now teams were switching from the soft Option to the medium Prime tyres. Vettel pitted on Lap 33, Webber on 34, Hamilton on 35, Button on 36 and Alonso on 37.

Because of the safety car backing up the pack, when Vettel emerged after his pit-stop he was back down in P11. Delayed by the Saubers and Force Indias, he found Perez in between himself and Button when Jenson rejoined the track. In fact the gap had become so big that Fernando Alonso slotted into it (for nte P2) after his pit-stop. All the while Michael Schumacher hadn't pitted and so he was able to establish the record of the oldest man ever to lead an F1 race.

On Lap 38 there was action up and down the length of the field with Hamilton cruising past Massa on the straight, Vettel keen to get back on terms with Alonso and Mark Webber passing a Force India on the inside at 130R.

Positions after Lap 38 1.Schumacher (stopped twice), 2.Button, 3.Alonso, 4.Vettel, 5. Webber, 6.Rosberg (stopped twice) 7.Hamilton, 8.Massa, 9.Petrov, 10.Kobayashi

Vettel using his DRS down the straight could get close to Alonso, but was never in a position to pass. On Lap 41 Michael Schumacher pitted for the last time and rejoined in P6, behind Hamilton and in front of Massa. Though he was on fresher tyres he couldn't put pressure on the McLaren and never got to within a second of Lewis Hamilton. Massa followed his gearbox all the way to the line just 0.9 back.

On Lap 44 Button had a 4.3 second lead over Alonso but this soon began to drop. By Lap 48 the lead was down to 2.1 seconds, by Lap 50 it was only 1.0 seconds and the Ferrari driver sensed a chance. At which point Button put his foot down and started to set personal best sector times, and then purple fastest sector times and then on Lap 52 the fastest lap of the race a 1:36.568.

The Briton took the race victory but the margin was a slim one. He parked his car at the end of the pitlane, worried about running out of fuel on the slowing down lap. Alonso claimed a P2 that was aided by the Safety Car and Vettel had to settle for P3 (his worst ever Japanese GP result). Webber came home in P4, Hamilton a glum P5 and Michael Schumacher an eventful P6. Midway through the race he had been given a hefty nerf from Mark Webber's front wing, which broke bits off the Red Bull but he had survived a puncture - unlike Felipe Massa in Singapore.

The performance of the Ferraris and McLarens at a circuit where Red Bull were thought to reign supreme had been remarkable, but the day was all about Sebastian Vettel claiming his second World Championship. It was as inevitable as Massa and Hamilton making contact.

Results
01. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h30:53.427
02. Alonso Ferrari + 1.160
03. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 2.006
04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 8.071
05. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 24.268
06. Schumacher Mercedes + 27.120
07. Massa Ferrari + 28.240
08. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 39.377
09. 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

Did Not Finish
Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 35

Source: Planet-F1

Formula 1 2010 Japanese Grand Prix Highlights Race Edit [HD]

Source: formula1hd

Hamilton admits title 'doesn't look good' after 'weekend to forget'

Whilst he just about avoided another costly retirement in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka last weekend, McLaren-Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton has acknowledged that his F1 2010 title chances are currently receding by the race...

In the wake of what he described as 'one of the worst weekends [he] can remember', Lewis Hamilton has conceded that his chances of clinching his second drivers' crown in F1 2010 have sunk to a new low, as he ruefully reflected that his title shot 'doesn't look good'.

It was, indeed, something of a nightmare weekend for Hamilton at Suzuka, with a heavy 'off' during practice on Friday morning leading to an almost complete lack of set-up time given the FP3 wash-out the following day, and a five-place penalty for a gearbox change leaving the McLaren-Mercedes star just eighth on the grid, behind all four of his world championship rivals.

A bright start, however, hinted at a change in fortunes – an overdue one, it has to be said, off the back of three failures to finish and therefore to score from the four previous grands prix – only for his replacement gearbox to similarly malfunction and restrict Hamilton to a distant fifth place at the chequered flag, needing to drive the latter stages with no third gear and able to use only fourth to seventh.

The 25-year-old confessed that having initially feared the worst – a fourth DNF from five races – he was grateful merely to make it to the finish line and pick up ten points for his troubles, but with Sebastian Vettel tallying 25 for victory, world championship leader Mark Webber 18 for second place, Fernando Alonso 15 for third and his own team-mate Jenson Button twelve for fourth, he is all-too-aware that the crown is slipping increasingly from his grasp.

“I'd definitely say it's been a weekend to forget” the erstwhile title favourite is quoted as having said by Reuters, revealing that to add insult to injury over his Japanese Grand Prix weekend, he was suffering from an ear infection and had to endure the ignominy of being driven around the circuit in a 'ridiculous', 1950s open-topped three-wheeled Messerschmitt 'Bubble Car' during the pre-race drivers' parade. “It's probably been one of the worst weekends that I can remember.

“Not finishing the race in the previous ones was perhaps a little bit worse, but in terms of bad luck overall – the collective amount of bad luck – it's a bit unfortunate, this one. I can't imagine a weekend with more problems, to be honest.”

“I have no idea,” he continued, when asked about the championship now, sitting as he is some 28 points adrift of Webber. “[It] doesn't look good. I'm just thankful and so happy that I at least saw the end of the race – it's the first finish for a long time. You have to try and remain optimistic, but I didn't think it was going to make it, to be honest. The car was making a lot of noise, so I just kept my fingers crossed and tried not to make too many shifts and look after it.

“There are still three races to go and still 75 points available, but you know these guys (Webber, Vettel and Alonso) just continue to pick up points consistently, non stop. It will be very difficult, but we will keep pushing.”

The one tiny glimmer of light at the end of a miserable few days for Hamilton, was the confirmation from McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh that the successive gearbox issues would not lead to a further grid penalty in Korea next weekend, with the Englishman explaining: “It's not a problem for the next race. We've taken the penalty for this weekend, so we have a free gearbox change for the next race.”

Source: Crash.net

Alonso's Blog: Still five fighting for the title

I’m in Tokyo for a few days of relaxation in the middle of this long trip to the Far East. It’s a city I really like – always new and interesting – and it’s a pleasure to be able to spend a bit of time here. The outcome of the Japanese Grand Prix remains positive, even now in the cold light of day. We are in a phase of the season where one negative weekend can cost us dear and to come away with a good third place from a race that we expected to be difficult was important. We were certainly hoping that perhaps the situation would have been different in Suzuka but we must not forget that it’s a track that seems to have been designed to show off the qualities of the Red Bull. As early as Friday we understood that it would be difficult and, even if we knew what was coming, there remains a bit of regret that we couldn’t fight for the win. But now we must put the weekend behind us and concentrate on the next race, where we know that we must try to raise our level of performance: another 5th place in qualifying would certainly not help us.

In Korea we will have to attack because now we must close the gap to Webber. To lose any more ground would make the situation more complicated. We’ve been working on the new track for a few days on the simulator: the first two sectors are very quick with long straights while the last sector reminds me of the last part of the circuit at Abu Dhabi. The tarmac is wide, which should make it possible to try overtaking moves. I’m always curious to discover a new circuit, both from a personal and professional point of view. From next Wednesday onwards I will try to discover if the simulations have been accurate enough. Then we will have a few more kilometres of running available on Friday compared to usual so we can find the right feeling on the track.

I still think that the fight for the title is open for five drivers. Too many times this year we’ve seen someone come back into the game after they’d seemed out of it – and that could easily happen again. Having said that, perhaps the only one who can afford a bad weekend is Webber: for all the others it would perhaps mean giving up any chance, especially the ones who are a bit behind today. The Korean Grand Prix could therefore start to be decisive for some – and for me it will be important also to be able to count on my team-mate Felipe. I know that he will be really hoping to make up for two negative results and he has all the capacities required to return to the podium. What’s more, it will be very useful to work together to discover all the secrets of the new track so we can prepare our cars in the best way. In a moment like this every detail matters to achieve our goals.

Source: Alonso's Blog - Ferrari.com

Why Robert Kubica is arguably the best driver in F1

Although Robert Kubica's Japanese Grand Prix lasted only a couple of laps behind the safety car, his qualifying performance emphasised again the Renault driver's claim to being a future world champion

By Mark Hughes
BBC F1 commentary box producer in Suzuka

On the Formula 1 calendar there are only three outstanding driver's tracks - where there is scope for a great driver to transcend the level of his car. They are Monaco, Spa and Suzuka.

The remainder are 'technical tracks', where the lap-time potential is defined almost totally by the car, the difference between a great and a good driver on the stopwatch relatively small.

At each of those three special tracks this year, Kubica has qualified what is otherwise a lower-top-10-level car on the front or second row.

It is confirmation of a very special talent but one that is still under-appreciated by the wider world.

It is the sort of anomaly that occurs only with very special prospects, such as: Michael Schumacher qualifying the Jordan seventh at Spa on his F1 debut in 1991; Mika Hakkinen out-qualifying Ayrton Senna the first time they were paired together at McLaren in Portugal in 1993; Senna terrorising the field at Monaco in 1984 with a car from the unfancied Toleman team; in 2001 Fernando Alonso qualifying the outclassed Minardi in places it had no right being in.

When taking into consideration the machinery at their disposal, how much they have squeezed from what they have, how few errors have been made, there is a very real case to be made for putting Kubica ahead of all the other drivers this year.

But for such status to be taken seriously, the 25-year-old Pole desperately needs a front-running car from Renault next year, something the team have not delivered since the Alonso glory days of 2005-06.

That is a long time ago now and technical director James Allison is acutely aware of the responsibility that Kubica's presence brings with it.

"If we can give him a car that's even half capable of getting a championship he'll get one," Allison said. "Not everyone in the pit lane can say that about their drivers.

"He's properly committed to being a world champion, no doubt about that. He is one of those very, very top guys where you know that if the car is not running at the front it's because of the car, not him.

"He's not only incredibly fast but you just know you can rely on him to do a fast lap when that's what's needed.

"You know he will not make mistakes when the pressure is on him and he'll plough out lap after lap after lap at a really good pace.

"He expects a lot from everyone all the time; he's positive, demanding and pushing but puts the work in himself too.

"Having a really top-flight driver like that gives you a fantastic baseline to work from.

"In that regard he's similar to Fernando [Kubica's predecessor at Renault] but the area where he's different is he is more intense about it, seems more fully immersed in racing and wanting to be a champion.

"I guess Fernando had already done that but Robert is just brilliantly committed to making this team and relationship a success and helping us to drag ourselves back to where we need to be."

The Renault guys love Kubica and not only because he is fast and almost error-free but also because there is nothing he would rather be doing than sitting in the garage talking about how to make the car faster.

And if it is not that it will be regaling the mechanics with stories from his karting days or talking about the rally car he competes in as a hobby between races.

When Kubica was a BMW driver he was asked what he would like as a company car and they did not know quite how to react when he replied: "A Mitsubishi Evo 7."

Allison is quietly confident that the team can give Kubica something more worthy of the driver's ability for next year. He puts the shortfall of this year's R30 down to key personnel losses in the aerodynamics department that have now been fully recovered.

"We also have much better tools in conceiving next year's car," he stated. "Our CFD department is now a very powerful tool and we now have a tunnel that gives us a much better and more realistic simulation to what happens on the track.

"There's a bunch of other things very helpful, such as how much quicker it speeds up and slows down than the old road.

"Although it's only two or three minutes per run, when you do as many runs as we do that stacks up to an awful lot of time and throughput is a very important thing in a tunnel.

"Our old road used to take about 30 seconds from one yaw angle to our other yaw angle, whereas this one does it in a couple of seconds and that productivity improvement is actually quite substantial.

"I see no reason why we can't be competing at the front in 2011."

That's the technical man talking. So long as the commercial side is resolved to allow that potential to be accessed, there is reason for optimism about Kubica's prospects.

The team's new ownership regime - it is effectively leased from Renault by investment group Genii Capital - has had its rocky moments this year as it adapts to life in the F1 paddock at a time of global economic restraint.

The bald fact is that Renault need a car somewhere close to as good as the Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari have been this year if Kubica is to excel at anywhere other than Monaco, Spa, and Suzuka next year.

If they fail to provide that, Kubica may reluctantly be forced to seek confirmation of his stature elsewhere.

Source: BBC Sport

Petrov penalised after taking out Hulkenberg

Vitaly Petrov will lose five-places on the grid at the next event in Korea.

Renault's Vitaly Petrov has been punished by the stewards following the F1 2010 Japanese Grand Prix today.

The stewards ruled post-race that he had breach the regulations by causing a collision with the Williams of Nico Hulkenberg at the start of the race. As a result he picks up a five-place grid penalty for the next event in Korea.

Speaking after the race, Petrov maintained that he had to move over because of Nick Heidfeld.

“I made a good start and managed to overtake [Felipe] Massa,” Petrov explained. “I was then going passed Hulkenberg with [Nick] Heidfeld on my right when he started to move left and so I also had to move left to avoid him. Unfortunately I hit the side of Hulkenberg's car and this is why I crashed.”

Hulkenberg, who was the innocent victim, added: “I had a bad start and I didn't get off the line at all. I then saw Petrov coming up behind me. He touched my front right wheel and that was it.

"You never want to finish a race that early, but today it happened and it was unfortunate for us both. The team are doing a really good job developing the car and that showed in our qualifying performance so it was a shame to finish that early.”

Source: Crash

'Super' Kobayashi thrilled TV-watching Kubica

Kamui Kobayashi was the hero of Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix, enhancing his growing reputation as the launcher of kamikaze overtaking moves.

To the delight of his Japanese fans, the Sauber rookie scythed through the field from fourteenth on the grid to seventh at the finish.

"The way he overtook several competitors was absolutely spectacular," said team CEO Monisha Kaltenborn, standing in as team boss in Japan for the absent Peter Sauber.

The 24-year-old launched audacious moves on Adrian Sutil, Rubens Barrichello and Jaime Alguersuari, but teammate Nick Heidfeld was dispensed rather more easily.

"The team asked me not to make any problems for him," the German is quoted by Swiss newspaper Blick.

The paper's veteran correspondent Roger Benoit asked Kobayashi precisely how many overtaking moves he attempted at Suzuka on Sunday.

"I can't remember," he answered. "I only know that there were crashes all around me at the start, and later I made some contacts with my opponents.

"My car is rather damaged!" he revealed.

Team manager Beat Zehnder explained: "Some deflectors are missing from the car, and the sidepod has a big hole in it. Also a part of the front wing isn't there any more."

Renault's Robert Kubica retired from the race after five minutes with a missing wheel.

Said the Pole: "What Kamui did with his car was super. Because I had to watch on television, he saved my day."

Source: Motorsport

Button was a 'sacrificial lamb' - Horner

Red Bull suspects McLaren was trying to use Jenson Button as a "sacrificial lamb" at the Japanese Grand Prix to boost Lewis Hamilton's chances, until a gearbox problem put a halt to the strategy.

Button started the race on hard tyres, allowing him to run longer than his rivals and take the lead of the race, ahead of the Red Bulls, midway through the race. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes Button's alternative strategy was a deliberate attempt by McLaren to back the faster Red Bulls into Fernando Alonso and Hamilton behind, to give the second McLaren driver a chance to catch up.

"We were a bit concerned by Jenson's race strategy, as we knew we would come out behind him and then he started to back everybody up towards Hamilton," Horner told the Daily Telegraph. "It was sort of like being in a McLaren sandwich. But then it looked like Hamilton developed a problem and they aborted that strategy for Jenson. It looked a little bit like he was a sacrificial lamb. I don't know. It just seemed strange."

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh admitted that it was possible to use Button as a blocker, but insisted the strategy was optimised to give Button the best possible opportunity to make up time when he changed to the softer tyre.

"Yes there was [the possibility to do that]," Whitmarsh said. "But at that point we also had to consider Jenson. We wanted to give him enough time on the option tyre, to have a go. If we had left him out there longer... it is not how we play our game. Maybe others would but that is not how we go motor racing."

He added: "Ultimately, that strategy didn't come off as best we'd have liked because the others' option tyres didn't fall away as quickly as we'd anticipated. Still, we feel it was a strategic choice worth taking. After switching to options, Jenson showed excellent pace, and I think we had the second fastest car today."

Source: ESPNF1

[Photos] Japanese GP, Sunday: Qualifying and Race

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[Photos] Saturday at Suzuka

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