Qualifying: Webber pips Vettel to pole

Mark Webber claimed his second pole position of the season as he edged team-mate Sebastian Vettel in Korea on Saturday

Although Vettel was the favourite to take pole position at the Yeongam circuit, it was his Aussie team-mate who stole the show with a 1:37.242. That put Webber 0.074s up on Vettel and secured the 36-year-old's second pole of the season.

The second row has Lewis Hamilton alongside Fernando Alonso. Kimi Raikkonen qualified fifth ahead of Felipe Massa and Romain Grosjean.

Qualifying Report
It was overcast at the sparsely spectatored Yeongam circuit with an ambient temperature of 22C and the track at 28C.

Pastor Maldonado set the first sub-1:40 lap at 1:39.716 which was ramped up by Fernando Alonso with a 1:39.543 and then Felipe Massa did considerably better with a 1:39.074. Kimi Raikkonen moved it down to 1:38.887.

Drivers were running multiple laps on the harder of the two tyres (the Soft) and so Alonso edged his time down even though he didn't improve his place. Sebastian Vettel needed just three laps to set the definitive time of 1:38.208. Mark Webber slotted into P2 and then Jenson Button took P2 off him. Lewis Hamilton was faster than Alonso but not by much and was having issues getting his car stopped into Turn 1.

Narain Karthikyean had already ended his qualifying after a front brake disc failure pitched him into a spin in the braking zone for Turn 3, the HRT car out on the spot.

With four minutes left to run the danger positions were: 14.Hulkenberg, 15.Perez, 16.Vergne. 17.Kobayashi, 18.Kovalainen, 19.Petrov, 20.Senna.

The switch to the red-walled supersoft tyre was taken by all the mid-grid teams with Bruno Senna most vulnerable, already down amongst the new teams. However a set of supersofts immediately produced results as Maldonado jumped to P10, Senna to P13 and Kobayashi to P4.

With other cars improving the timesheet was rapidly turning over and seconds later the positions were: 14.Hamilton, 15.Alonso, 16.Senna, 17.Schumacher, 18.Vergne.

Ferrari were alive to the possibilities of Alonso going out and sent him back on track with a set of supersoft tyres. Hamilton stayed in the garage.

When Vergne put his Toro Rosso into P6 that pushed Michael Schumacher into P18, and when he grabbed P8 it made the positions: 16.Hamilton, 17.Alonso, 18.Senna. What's more Senna and Alonso were on laps that looked like improving their position yet Hamilton was sat looking at the timing screens.

Alonso took a scruffy P16 pushing Lewis to P17, but then after a good opening sector Bruno Senna had a 44.1 second middle sector (his best had been 43.6) and that was his Q1 over. The Williams team called him back into the pits, much to the relief of McLaren.

Out went: 18.Senna, 19.Petrov, 20.Kovalainen, 21.Pic, 22.Glock, 23.de la Rosa, 24.Karthikeyan (no time)

It was another poor result for Bruno Senna, although ultimately Pastor Maldonado would not finish that much further in front of him. Great outcomes for Petrov and Pic outqualifying their team-mates against the run of form this season. Overall the difference between P1 (Vettel) 1:38.2 and P17 (Hamilton) 1:39.1 was just 0.9 of a second.

Qualifying 2
There was no-one anxious to get clear track space at the beginning of Q2 and it took almost a minute before Sergio Perez came out to set the benchmark time of 1:38.981. Sauber team-mate Kamui Kobayashi reduced it to 1 1:38.504 before Fernando Alonso became the first man to break the 1:38 barrier with a 1:37.987.

Ferrari will have been encouraged to see that Sebastian Vettel couldn't beat that by very much - a 1:37.767 for Vettel put him top with Mark Webber slotting into P3 and then Lewis Hamilton displacing him in P3.

The McLarens had more brake locking issues than most and Jenson Button should have put in a faster first lap than he did on his opening tour but locked up. With four minutes of the session left to run the danger positions were: 6.Grosjean, 7.Schumacher, 8.Button, 9.Raikkonen, 10.Kobayashi, 11.DiResta, 12.Rosberg, 13.Perez, 14.Ricciardo, 15.Hulkenberg,16.Vergne, 17.Maldonado.

Everyone but Vettel went for another run on track, though not necessarily using a new set of tyres. With low wear on the smooth (underused) Yeongam circuit the supersofts could be used for more than one fast lap.

Nico Hulkenberg jumped up to P7, Maldonado could only improve to P13 and then the yellow flags came out for Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso which he parked at the side of the track in the final sector (gearbox). Despite the yellow flags Perez improved to P10, Rosberg moved to P7, then Raikkonen to P5, pushing Button into P11 where he stayed.

As the session closed, out went: 11.Button, 12.Perez, 13.Kobayashi, 14.DiResta, 15.Maldonado, 16.Ricciardo, 17.Vergne.

Button was the big casualty, losing out by 0.005 to Michael Schumacher, unable to put in a fast final sector, while Paul diResta hit a lot of traffic and was slower on a new set of softs than he was on a scrubbed set.

Qualifying 3
Mercedes produced an almost pantomime start to the final qualifying session by going to the end of the pitlane (with the green light on) and just sitting there, letting their tyres go cold. First Rosberg, and then Schumacher parked their cars. In fact Michael was sat there for an age while all the other cars went round him.

Hamilton was keen to get on with his outlap and passed both a Red Bull and a Lotus in his anxiety to get the track position he wanted.

Across the line they came on their opening laps, Massa set the benchmark with a 1:38.010, followed by Alonso 1:37.667. Grosjean slotted into P3 and then Lewis Hamilton displaced him in P3.

Sebastian Vettel then produced the much-expected provisional pole lap of 1:37.316, while team-mate Mark Webber could only manage P3 behind Alonso.

The keen-to-park-up Mercedes cars had come into the pits without setting a lap time, but in the second round decided to go for it. In fact Michael Schumacher was launched into the pitlane right in front of Lewis Hamilton who adeptly swerved round him.

The Force India of Nico Hulkenberg wasn't saving tyres either and claimed P7. Next round was a blistering lap from Mark Webber who put his Red Bull on provisional pole. Lewis Hamilton did a lot better to cross the line in P3, Alonso stayed P4, Nico Rosberg outqualified team-mate Michael Schumacher by taking P8, but lost a place when Romain Grosjean came past him to grab P7.

All eyes turned expectantly to Sebastian Vettel who would no doubt reclaim P1 but a poor first sector ruined his chances and he came up short of his team-mate.

So it was a Red Bull front row but with some interesting neighbours on the grid - Alonso just in front of Raikkonen who punctured Alonso's rear tyre at the last start in Suzuka. Grosjean next to his team-mate and not far away from Rosberg (who got shunted out of the last race) and Schumacher who he's had the pleasure of colliding with in the past.

Given that the low-tyre wear surface could produce a grinder of a one-stop race for some teams, then track position on the opening lap will be key. And with a lot of dust on the used-once-a-year-track that might generate some mistakes on Lap 1 tomorrow. Vettel and Webber should be clear of it, but further back there could be a lot of 'fun'.

Times

01. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m37.242
02. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m37.316 + 0.074
03. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.469 + 0.227
04. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.534 + 0.292
05. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m37.625 + 0.383
06. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m37.884 + 0.642
07. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m37.934 + 0.692
08. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m38.266 + 1.024
09. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.361 + 1.119
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.513 + 1.271
11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.441 + 0.674
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.460 + 0.693
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.594 + 0.827
14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m38.643 + 0.876
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m38.725 + 0.958
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.084 + 1.317
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.340 + 1.573
18. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m39.443 + 1.235
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m40.207 + 1.999
20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m40.333 + 2.125
21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.317 + 3.109
22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.371 + 3.163
23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m42.881 + 4.673
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth no time

Source: Planet-F1

Räikkönen hoped for a little more from Lotus-team's update

Kimi Räikkönen tested the new exhaust system based upon the Coanda-effect for the first time on Friday in Korean Grand Prix -practice. Kimi wasn't completely assured about it's benefits at once.

In theory it should give half a second to the laptimes.

- It was quite a difficult day. It's not easy to get the car to fall in place. Hopefully it goes better on Saturday, Räikkönen said.

Then what about the update-side?

- We will now look at the data we collected and decide if we will continue with it or not. Maybe we expected a bit more from it than it looked like, Kimi estimated.

James Allison let understand that the update-part will be kept in the car this weekend.

- It's still far from the optimum, but we are relatively satisfied with how it worked during practice, Allison assured.

It's difficult to compare, because the feeling in the car on Yeongam track is different when compared for example tohttp://www.ts.fi/moottoriurheilu/f1/400 ... eltaSuzuka with the same machinery.

- This is a completely different track and since I haven't drove with this new system anywhere else, it's completely impossible to evaluate my feelings, Kimi emphasized.

Yeongam is the season's first completely new track for Kimi.

- It's an ok track, although it was surprisingly bumpy on some parts when thinking that it's a new track. We are pretty much the same we always are on Fridays. Hopefully we get the car better for Saturday, because now it looked like we need to get one second more. Then again others surely also improve.

– Laptimes don't matter, what matters is that we get the right impression from these practices for Saturday, Räikkönen reminded.

Turun Sanomat

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: Nicole

Practice Two: Vettel leads Bull 1-2

Sebastian Vettel proved to be the driver to beat in Korea on Friday as he edged team-mate Mark Webber by 0.032s in Practice Two.

Vettel, who moved to within four points of the Championship lead when he claimed his third win of the season last time out in Japan, posted a 1:38.832 on Friday afternoon.

That put the German a mere 0.032s up on Webber while Vettel's main rival and Championship leader Fernando Alonso was third. However, he was three-tenths off the pace.

Practice Two got underway in near perfect conditions with the track temperature up to 30'C as Lewis Hamilton posted the afternoon's first lap time, a 1:41.841.

This sparked a run from his rivals with Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button, Michael Schumacher and Paul di Resta, a 1:40.331, hitting the front one after the other.

Schumacher was the first into the 1:39s but his reign was short-lived as World Champion Sebastian Vettel jumped to the front while his team-mate Mark Webber sandwiched the Mercedes driver.

But while lap times were tumbling lap after lap, drivers were still struggling to keep all four wheels on the asphalt with Schumacher, Felipe Massa, Sergio Perez, Charles Pic, Heikki Kovalainen all testing the track's limits.

Perez's session came to an end just before the halfway stage as the 22-year-old, having complained of DRS issues, stopped on the side of the track with a hydraulic problem.

Halfway through the session the top three were Vettel with a 1:39.089, Webber and Button.

A switch to the supersoft tyres saw the two Red Bulls engage in a private battle for the P1 slot with Webber and Vettel taking hundredths off each other's times.

Button was the first to challenge only to lose out to Alonso, however, neither came close to battling the Red Bulls for supremacy.

With drivers swapping to heavier fuel loads and lapping at about seven second short of their previous bests, Vettel was guaranteed his first P1 finish of the weekend, 0.032s ahead of Webber.

Times
01 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:38.832 33 laps
02 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:38.864 0.032 33 laps
03 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:39.160 0.328 28 laps
04 Jenson Button McLaren 1:39.219 0.387 29 laps
05 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:39.330 0.498 31 laps
06 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:39.422 0.590 30 laps
07 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:39.584 0.752 35 laps
08 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:39.717 0.885 25 laps
09 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:39.739 0.907 33 laps
10 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:39.839 1.007 26 laps
11 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:39.957 1.125 28 laps
12 Bruno Senna Williams 1:40.089 1.257 32 laps
13 Paul di Resta Force India 1:40.112 1.280 34 laps
14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:40.445 1.613 27 laps
15 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:40.745 1.913 11 laps
16 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:40.789 1.957 31 laps
17 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:40.997 2.165 32 laps
18 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:41.200 2.368 33 laps
19 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:41.602 2.770 23 laps
20 Timo Glock Marussia 1:42.596 3.764 28 laps
21 Charles Pic Marussia 1:43.066 4.234 20 laps
22 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:43.067 4.235 22 laps
23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:43.869 5.037 36 laps
24 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:44.533 5.701 24 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Practice One: Hamilton makes his mark

Lewis Hamilton put in a late charge to pip Fernando Alonso to the P1 slot in Friday's first practice for the Korean GP

Although it was the Championship leader who held onto the P1 slot for most of the session, always seeming to improve his time when his rivals closed the gap, it was Hamilton who ended FP1 quickest of all.

The McLaren driver posted a 1:39.148 to edge Alonso by 0.302s. Mark Webber was third.

It was a relatively cool start to the morning with Valtteri Bottas posting the first lap time, a 1:45.225, which, despite going quicker, was easily beaten by Jenson Button by 2.350s.

With the duo doing their part to clean up the dusty Yeongam circuit, others ventured out as the day's action kicked off in earnest.

Fernando Alonso was the next to lead the way with a 1:40.895 while others struggled to stay on the track which was slippery because of the dust. Test drivers Giedo van der Garde and Jules Bianchi both had moments as did Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez.

Halfway through the session the top three were Alonso, Pastor Maldonado and Michael Schumacher.

Alonso's time stood strong while his rivals slowly but surely closed the gap as Nico Rosberg was the first to get within a second of it.

Mark Webber posed the next challenge only for Alonso to extend the gap as he went four-tenths quicker than previously. Lewis Hamilton closed the gap with 30 minutes remaining as he moved up to second, 0.025s off the pace.

With drivers pushing hard in the final 15 minutes, Rosberg ran off the track as did Perez, van der Garde kicked up dirt as he rode the kerbs hard and Alonso locked up, had a serious slide and complained of "a lot" of vibrations.

The weekend's first practice ended with Hamilton putting in a late charge to take the P1 slot with a 1:39.280, relegating Alonso to second by 0.302s.

Times
01 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:39.148 23 laps
02 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:39.450 0.302 21 laps
03 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:39.575 0.427 21 laps
04 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:39.854 0.706 23 laps
05 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:40.088 0.940 21 laps
06 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:40.221 1.073 21 laps
07 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:40.396 1.248 24 laps
08 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:40.422 1.274 22 laps
09 Paul di Resta Force India 1:40.440 1.292 19 laps
10 Jenson Button McLaren 1:40.480 1.332 21 laps
11 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:40.929 1.781 14 laps
12 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:41.048 1.900 25 laps
13 Jules Bianchi Force India 1:41.140 1.992 21 laps
14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:41.220 2.072 19 laps
15 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:41.514 2.366 20 laps
16 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:41.596 2.448 23 laps
17 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:42.021 2.873 25 laps
18 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:42.027 2.879 23 laps
19 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:42.104 2.956 24 laps
20 Timo Glock Marussia 1:42.175 3.027 13 laps
21 Charles Pic Marussia 1:42.706 3.558 22 laps
22 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1:42.820 3.672 19 laps
23 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:44.517 5.369 23 laps
24 Dani Clos HRT 1:45.735 6.587 22 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Team manager reveals: This is how Kimi Räikkönen's contract is made

Eric Boullier told on Sunday in MTV3:s live interview openly about how Kimi Räikkönen's next year's contracts is made.

Boullier has earlier said that Räikkönen's continuance is 100% sure, but Räikkönen himself says that he doesn't have a contract for next year.

- Nothing has yet been signed concerning next year, but his contract which was signed last year is a two-year contract with some options. They are related to performance clauses. We just have to go through the administrative process in order to get the contract again signed for next year, Bouillier described the situation to MTV3.

Boullier emphasizes that announcing the contract isn't even depending on any matters that concern the negotiations.

- It's only about timing.

Source MTV3
Courtesy Nicole

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

Kimi Räikkönen presented his new hairstyle

Kimi presented his new shorter hairstyle in Japan GP

Finland's most followed celebrity has lost his familiar mullet ever since the last F1-race.

The most observant Kimi-fans noticed on Suzuka paddock that the already familiar mullet had disappeared. Kimi who turns 33 on October 17th had cut his blond locks shorter during the break.

Kimi's hair is now shorter than it has been in years. The last time Kimi had this short hair was in year 2007 when he won his career's first WDC.

                                      A more grownup-looking Kimi on Japan GP's paddock

After his championship year Kimi has let his hair grow and a few years ago Kimi's angelic locks were already so long that he could even have a ponytail.

The Iceman has earlier told in public that he hasn't been to a barber in years. Earlier a good friend has been taking care of the barber-stuff by cutting Kimi's hair into a new look whenever necessary.

Kimi hasn't still told about his plans for the future, but he has promised to tell his news on his birthday after one week.

Kimi still had more hair on his head on Singapore GP's paddock

Source: MTV3

Courtesy: Nicole

Räikkönen: I don't care...

Kimi Räikkönen was at his best during a post-qualifying interview at the Suzuka circuit where he made his thoughts on the subject at hand quite clear

The Lotus driver, who had made it through to Q3 in qualifying for the Japanese GP, came up short in the final minute when he lost control of his E20 at Spoon Curve and beached his car in the gravel.

As the chequered flag was waved the yellows were still out for Räikkönen's car meaning his rivals were forced to back off in that sector.

Asked what happened, Räikkönen said: "I spun."

Clearly.

Asked about the impact his yellows would have on the rest of the field, he said: "I don't care what happened to the others."

You have to love him.

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