Vettel leads Red Bull one-two at Suzuka

Sebastian Vettel took a commanding victory at the Japanese Grand Prix leading a Red Bull Racing one-two at Suzuka, with Mark Webber extending his championship lead to 220 points, 14 ahead of race winner Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

This was the perfect weekend for the German. Fastest in both practice sessions on Friday, taking his eighth pole position of the season on Sunday morning followed by his second successive victory on this unique figure of eight circuit a few hours later.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished in third while Jenson Button took fourth for McLaren after take a gamble in starting the race on the prime Bridgestone tyre.

As for his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, he put on a brave fight following a row four grid slot due to the team changing the gearbox, but ironically had a problem with a loss of third gear and came home in a disappointing fifth position.

Most of the incident in the race was compacted into the opening minutes – although the destruction began even before the start of the Japanese Grand Prix, when Virgin Racing’s Lucas di Grassi had a massive crash at the 130R on his way to the grid.

Then when the race got underway, the fast-starting Renault of Vitaly Petrov clipped Nico Hulkenberg’s Williams and slammed into the barriers on the pits straight, moments before Ferrari’s Felipe Massa took to the grass going into the first corner and speared into the side of Tonio Liuzzi’s Force India.

The safety car was immediately brought out, and one of the race’s most intriguing possibilities was removed during the yellow caution period. Robert Kubica had split the Red Bulls off the line, but the second-placed Renault pulled off on lap three after shedding its right-rear wheel while cruising around behind the safety car.

Red Bull therefore resumed one-two formation at the restart, with Vettel and Webber easily pulling away from Alonso at around a second per lap initially.

The only time the Red Bull pair were headed was when Button’s alternative strategy allowed the McLaren to lead from laps 25 to 38, as the reigning world champion ran long on his hard prime tyres before changing to the soft option and mounting a late charge.

Button’s targets were his team-mate Hamilton and rival Alonso. A battle between the McLaren pair would have been interesting but alas Lewis encounter a gearbox issue in the final stages of the Japanese Grand Prix, and into the hairpin on lap 44 Lewis allowed Jenson through with ease. As for the possibility of catching and passing Alonso, the time gap was too great and there wasn’t enough laps left.

This was Michael Schumacher’s strongest performance of the season and to finish in sixth for Mercedes GP is a solid achievement following criticism all year long. Michael would have finished beind his Silver Arrows team-mate Nico Rosberg, who had pitted under the safety car at the start, until the younger German lost a wheel and had a big shunt at the S curves with five laps to the flag. Earlier, Rosberg escaped a near-miss with Sebastien Buemi in an attempt to pass the Toro Rosso on the outside at the 130R went skew.

Home crowd favourite Kamui Kobayashi provided the race entertainment with some brave and superb overtaking manoeuvres. Running on the same tyre strategy as Button, the Japanese driver dived past Jaime Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso and the Force India of Adrian Sutil at the hairpin in his first stint, but drop back behind both after pitting.

After switching to the option tyre, Kobayashi was flying and once again surging pass Alguersuari at the hairpin, with the Toro Rosso breaking the front wing as Jaime trying to retaliate.

The Japanese gained another place when Sutil’s engine blew, then passing Rubens Barrichello’s Williams and his Sauber team-mate Nick Heidfeld to the delight of the home crowd with a hard-earned seventh.

Completing the top ten was Sebastien Buemi while in the battle between the second division teams the Lotus pair of Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli finished in P12 and P13 respectively ahead of the sole remaining Virgin Racing of Timo Glock.

Korea is the next stop in this dramatic Formula One season and following news reports whether this new event will take place due to the late completion, the latest is that it will take place and it will be fascinating how the teams and drivers adapt to the new circuit.

Race results after 53 laps, Suzuka:
1.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           1h30:27.323
2.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +0.905
3.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +2.721
4.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           +13.522
5.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +39.595
6.  Schumacher    Mercedes                   +59.933
7.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +1:04:038
8.  Heidfeld      Sauber-Ferrari             +1:09.648
9.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +1:10.846
10.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +1:12.806
11.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +1 lap
12.  Kovalainen    Lotus-Cosworth             +1 lap
13.  Trulli        Lotus-Cosworth             +2 laps
14.  Glock         Virgin-Cosworth            +2 laps
15.  Senna         HRT-Cosworth               +2 laps
16.  Yamamoto      HRT-Cosworth               +3 laps
17.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +5 laps

Fastest lap: Webber, 1:33.474

Not classified/retirements:
Sutil         Force India-Mercedes         45 laps
Kubica        Renault                      4 laps
Hulkenberg    Williams-Cosworth            1 lap
Massa         Ferrari                      1 lap
Petrov        Renault                      1 lap
Liuzzi        Force India-Mercedes         1 lap
Di Grassi     Virgin-Cosworth              1 lap

World Championship standings, round 16:

Drivers:
1.  Webber       220
2.  Alonso       206
3.  Vettel       206
4.  Hamilton     192
5.  Button       189
6.  Massa        128
7.  Rosberg      122
8.  Kubica       114
9.  Schumacher    54
10. Sutil         47
11. Barrichello   41
12. Kobayashi     27
13. Petrov        19
14. Hulkenberg    17
15. Liuzzi        13
16. Buemi          8
17. De la Rosa     6
18. Heidfeld       4
19. Alguersuari    3

Constructors:
1.  Red Bull-Renault          426
2.  McLaren-Mercedes          381
3.  Ferrari                   334
4.  Mercedes                  176
5.  Renault                   133
6.  Force India-Mercedes       60
7.  Williams-Cosworth          58
8.  Sauber-Ferrari             37
9.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         11

Next race: Korean Grand Prix, Yeongam. October 22-24.

13 thoughts to “Vettel leads Red Bull one-two at Suzuka”

  1. Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel has commented that he had an ‘incredible’ day after taking pole position and race victory on Sunday at the fantastic Suzuka circuit. Autosport.com has the story.

    Sebastian Vettel hailed an ‘incredible’ day after securing pole position and victory at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

    The Red Bull had clinched pole position in the morning and then went on to take a commanding victory to boost his title chances.

    Vettel is now 14 points behind championship leader Mark Webber with three races to go.

    The German praised his team for its performance over the weekend, and admitted he was thrilled with the result.

    “Incredible day,” said Vettel, who scored his third win of the season. “This morning pole position and this afternoon it just continued, fantastic.

    “It was down to the team, they have been working very hard. Most of the guys did not sleep from Thursday to Saturday, so it was good there was no qualy!

    “They deserved it today. This track is like drawn for us with the high-speed corners, with the car getting lighter and lighter it was more fun.”

    He added: “We are in a very good position. It is about time, so I’m really happy to be back and have won for the second time here. I’m really proud of it. I think it was a very good day for us, with qualy and the race, a special experience.”

    He said he had Red Bull team-mate Webber under control, despite the Australian finishing the race less than a second behind.

    “He tried to push, but I knew overtaking is not so easy and I think I just went as fast I had too,” he said.

    The German reckons it is a good omen for the championship that he has won back-to-back at Suzuka, like Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher on their way to their titles in the past.

    “I guess, I wouldn’t mind obviously, I love this circuit. It’s always special this circuit. It’s the first time I win a grand prix for the second time so you have to fall in love with this track. I’m very proud, I think it is a good omen!”

  2. As for team-mate Mark Webber, this was a good result for the Austrlian, extending his points gap to race winner Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso to 14 points with three races remaining. But Webber believes he needs to win again to secure the championship. Autosport.com has the details.

    Mark Webber believes he will need to win again in the remaining races of the season if he is to secure this year’s title.

    The Australian finished in second place at Suzuka on Sunday, thus increasing his lead to Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso to 14 points with three races left.

    Team-mate Sebastian Vettel, however, won the race to equal Alonso on points.

    Webber last won at the Hungarian Grand Prix at the start of August, but he reckons he will have to win again in the remaining races.

    “The most important thing is the gap is going in the right way,” said Webber after today’s race. “I have to keep it like that. We have three races to go and it is a good result for me.

    “Seb deserved the victory but five of us can win races. I need to win again in the future and I am confident I can do that. That could be beneficial.

    “Reliability could play a role. We have 75 points to go. These guys have a bit less but in the end I am confident.”

    Webber admitted nonetheless that he was delighted with his result in today’s race despite not winning.

    “Absolutely. A very good day for me. I was close to Seb in qualifying and we know how crucial that is. After that it was difficult for me to win the race unless I got the start right. There was a bit of luck when Robert [Kubica] had the wheel nut come off.

    “It was a beautiful but it was a formation finish. We were following each other around and it was impossible to get closer than 1.5-1 second.

    “I am very happy with how I drove here. Seb deserved the victory and Fernando did not drive bad either.”

  3. For Lewis Hamilton, the McLaren driver was relieved to finish the race following a difficult start to the Japanese Grand Prix after a crash in the opening practice session. To take fifth place despite a gearbox issue was a solid effort and Autosport.com has the story.

    Lewis Hamilton admitted that he was relieved to finish the Japanese Grand Prix after nursing an ailing McLaren home to fifth place in Suzuka.

    The Briton suffered a nightmare weekend, from his accident in free practice to the five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change on Saturday, but he feared he would not finish the race when he lost third gear on the replacement box during the grand prix.

    “You have to try and remain optimistic, but I didn’t think it was going to make it if I’m honest,” he told the BBC. “It was making a lot of noise, so I just kept my fingers crossed and tried not to do too many shifts, and look after it.

    “I had a good gap to those behind me so I had a bit of time I could waste.

    “I am just so disappointed for myself and the team,” he added. “We are doing everything we can to score points and… There was the big mistake on my part on Friday. The gearbox change. Then the [new] gearbox kind of broke, I couldn’t use third gear so I could only use fourth to seventh.

    “So I lost ground to Jenson [Button], but I am just so thankful that I finished the race, it was the first time for a long time.”

    Hamilton also said that he would continue to hold on to his slim title hopes, but admitted that realistically the championship was now a tall order.

    “Still three races to go, still 75 points available, but these guys continue to pick up points consistently, I don’t know when they last had a DNF so it would be very, very difficult but we will keep pushing,” he said.

  4. Finishing the Japanese Grand Prix was Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and the double world champion has admitted that taking 15 points was the best he could achieve behind the flying Red Bulls. Autosport.com has the details.

    Fernando Alonso declared himself happy with 15 points after admitting that third position was the ‘maximum’ he could have achieved at Suzuka.

    The Spainiard is now 16 points behind world championship leader Mark Webber and said that he was satisfied with his damage control exercise on a track that suited Red Bull.

    “We knew that before coming here, third was probably our maximum position coming here,” he said. “But we are convinced that this was the worst track of the remaining races of this championship so a good weekend overall.

    “I think we have to be very happy with the result, 15 points. We lost [three] points on a circuit that was not the best for us, performance wise, it was not our best level. We saw today struggling in Q1, Q2 we saw problems for Felipe, so not an ideal weekend in terms of pace.

    “We only lost three points in the championship, so overall we have to be extremely happy.”

    Alonso added to the BBC that Red Bull’s dominance at Suzuka did not have him unduly concerned heading into the last three races and that consistency was still key to his title hopes.

    “On paper this was a perfect Red Bull track,” he said. “So to come away 14 points behind we have to be happy. We know that the remaining three races we need to keep pushing.

    “When we arrive at circuits with more difficulties for Red Bull we need to take our opportunities. They took today their one.

    “Of the 16 races in the championship, 15 of them were Red Bull circuits and they won only seven. They have done three one-twos and 12 times they didn’t, so the remaining three races it will be difficult for them to be one-twos. Always something happens, and if something happens we can take the opportunity.

    “If not we know it will be hard because in 2010 Red Bull has had the dominant car.”

  5. Even though Jenson Button finished the Japanese Grand Prix in fourth, the reigning world champion has questioned the tyre strategy whether it was the right call. Autosport.com provides the story.

    Jenson Button has questioned whether it was the correct strategy for him to remain on the prime tyre for the majority of the Japanese Grand Prix, while his rivals began the race on ‘option’ Bridgestone and pitted sooner.

    Button finished the race fourth behind the two Red Bulls and Fernando Alonso, but only passed team-mate Lewis Hamilton late in the race when the sister McLaren ran into gearbox problems.

    “I thought the others would struggle on the options at the start of the race, they didn’t,” Button told the BBC. “I wasn’t really able to push Fernando, and I had Lewis right behind me.

    “We need to look at the data but to stay out when everyone else pitted was probably the wrong thing. Maybe you should cover the people that you are racing and we didn’t do that.

    “At the end of the race when we did put the option on it was great. The car had a lot of grip and I was very fast. We weren’t quick enough to beat the Red Bulls and the Ferrari, possibly not,” he added.

    “Just got to look at the data and see why we stayed out for so long, I think it was 40 laps. It was quite a tough race on such old tyres. I don’t mean we would have finished any further up but I think it is just useful information for the future.”

  6. Renault boss Eric Boullier admitted the team was frustrated after leaving Japan empty-handed following a promising qualifying.

    Pole Robert Kubica had qualified in fourth position and moved into second place at the start of the race, only to retire three laps later when he lost the right rear wheel when running behind the safety car.

    Team-mate Vitaly Petrov had retired at the start of the race after making contact with Nico Hulkenberg, then crashing against the wall.

    Boullier, who said his team was still unsure about the cause of Kubica’s problem, admitted it was frustrating to leave with nothing to show for.

    “After such a strong performance this morning during qualifying, it’s very frustrating to come away from this race empty-handed,” said Boullier. “Our car has been competitive throughout the weekend and we were looking forward to showing that in the race.

    “Both cars made good starts off the line, but then we had the double disappointment with both cars out of the race after just three laps.

    “We don’t know exactly what happened with Robert, but it’s a real shame for him because he has been exceptional all weekend and I’m sure we could have had a strong result today. All we can do now is regroup and look forward to the next race in Korea, which will be at new experience for everybody.”

    Kubica added: “We made a good start and managed to gain one position up to P2, but then in the second lap behind the safety car I was warming up the tyres and I nearly lost the car. I thought to begin with it was a problem with the driveshaft, but apparently it was the wheel.

    “I don’t know if there was a technical problem but it became difficult to follow the safety car so I moved to the side of the track and then I lost the wheel.”

    Source: Autosport.com

  7. The star driver of the Japanese Grand Prix who provided the best entertainment for the fans was Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi. The Japanese was thrilled to score points with seventh after making some spectacular overtaking moves. Autosport.com has the details.

    Kamui Kobayashi was thrilled with his result at the Japanese Grand Prix after another spectacular charge from the Sauber driver.

    The local hero finished in seventh position, but not before some spectacular passes following a late charge following his pitstop.

    Although he made contact with some rivals, Kobayashi managed a good result and he was delighted with it.

    “I tried my best and I am very happy,” said the Japanese. “It was a great race for our team, and I’m very pleased for the Japanese fans who have watched an exciting race.

    “It is the second time we have got both cars in the points, and for me it was really something to come back here and race for the first time after seven years in front of my home crowd. Nevertheless it was a very tough race today.

    “After the start I saw the accidents in front of me, and I was really lucky not to be hit. Later it was not too easy to overtake and I had some contact. The car was damaged, but it was not too severe and I was able to finish the race. I really want to thank the team for the great job and the fans for their fantastic support.”

    Team-mate Nick Heidfeld completed the team’s best result of the year with eighth position, the German returning to the points in only his second race for Sauber this year.

    “I’m quite happy – it is the best result for the team this season,” he said. “In the end I could have finished one place higher, but I was on a different tyre strategy to Kamui and he was obviously faster with his fresh option tyres.

    “I started on the option tyres. Obviously I was meant to push really hard in the early laps, but then the safety car came out and later I got stuck behind Rubens (Barrichello). The team did a very good job by calling me in early for the change to the prime tyres.

    “Compared to Singapore, we made good progress in race performance. For qualifying, I think, there is more to come. I’m looking forward to the three remaining races.”

  8. The race stewards at Suzuka has decided to penalise Vitaly Petrov for crashing into the side of Nico Hulkenberg with a five-place grid penalty in the following race. Autosport.com has the details.

    Vitaly Petrov will lose five places on the grid of the Korean Grand Prix for his accident at the start of the Japanese GP.

    The Renault driver made contact with Williams’s Nico Hulkenberg as he swerved to the left as the cars were getting up to speed. Petrov ended up crashing into the wall, with Hulkenberg also retiring with a damaged car.

    The stewards decided Petrov was to blame and imposed a penalty on him for the next race.

    Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa escaped penalty following his crash into Force India’s Tonio Liuzzi at the start.

    The incident was under investigation, but the stewards deemed it was just a racing accident.

    Liuzzi said on the crash: “I had a great start and passed five or six cars before the first corner and thought I was pretty safe but then when I went into turn one I saw Felipe coming up on the inside – I don’t know if he had broken something on the car but he seemed to come into my side like a bullet.

    “I don’t think he was in control of the car at the time, but it’s a shame as it’s another first corner accident and then retirement for me.”

  9. Heikki Kovalainen hailed Lotus’s pace at the Japanese Grand Prix as “amazing” after the team scored its best result to date.

    Kovalainen finished in 12th position, nearly two laps down, with team-mate Jarno Trulli in 13th place.

    The Finn, whose result strengthens Lotus’s 10th position in the championship, was thrilled with the team’s performance.

    “It was a wicked race, really absolutely fantastic for me, Jarno and the whole team,” said Kovalainen. “We decided to start with the soft tyre, which was a little bit of a gamble, and then stayed out during the safety car.

    “The target was to build up enough of a gap to allow me to pit without losing places to the guys behind and we did that, though it was very close with Jarno when I came out. On the harder tyre the car just felt brilliant – I had a huge amount of grip from the second set and it was a lot of fun to push for the rest of the race.

    “Our pace was amazing – we were only lapped once and at this kind of circuit, where we needed to perform, we could not have done any more. An amazing day for the whole team, and now we’re another big step closer to that tenth place, which is obviously the main aim of the whole season.”

    Trulli was also elated with his day after his best result of the season.

    “What a great day for the whole team, just fantastic,” he said. “I’m really pleased for everyone with the result, and congratulations to Heikki as well on a great race. I had a really good start and came in under the safety car to switch to the primes.

    “I came out behind Yamamoto and immediately attacked him – I got past him pretty quick and then went after Heikki. We both had a strong run to the end, and even though I had another hydraulics issue in the last couple of laps, I managed to get the car home which was obviously the main objective.”

    Source: Autosport.com

  10. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was left feeling frustrated after crashing out of the Japanese Grand Prix on the opening lap at the first corner. The Brazilian expresses his views on the incident with Autosport.com and can be read below:

    Felipe Massa was left frustrated by his early exit from the Japanese Grand Prix following a crash with Force India’s Tonio Liuzzi.

    Massa, starting from 12th position, lost control of his car when he moved to the right and into the grass when trying to gain ground at the start.

    His car jumped over the kerb and crashed into Liuzzi, with both men retiring on the spot.

    The accident was investigated but it was deemed a racing incident.

    “I did the start and I was 12th on the grid,” explained Massa after the race. “Rosberg did a very, very bad start from sixth and everybody was passing him. I got in his tow and was much quicker than him and tried to go left.

    “But then I saw that Sutil was on the left so when I saw him I tried to go to the right, because Rosberg was going to the left as well.

    “But then when he saw that Sutil was alongside and that I was on the right, so anticipated a little bit the corner and then I had no space. I had to go on to the grass and then I couldn’t turn and I went straight. When I touched the kerb which sent me completely to the left where there was some cars coming and I hit Liuzzi. It was a shame.”

    The Ferrari driver admitted he struggled again to get the maximum from his tyres over a single lap after his disappointing qualifying performance.

    “When I went to Singapore I had a problem on the first lap of qualifying,” he said. “Then you come here and you have so many issues in the qualifying, and then I had the crash at the first corner, so for sure it is frustrating.

    “I’m not here to start in the middle of the grid, I’m here to fight for first position. That’s what I’m looking for. Now I need to concentrate to do a good result in the last three races.”

    Despite being out of contention for the title, Massa insisted he will try to do his best in the remaining races of the season.

    “We still have three races and we don’t know what is going to happen in Korea which is a completely new track,” he said. “I think many things can happen. I think is you have a race the opposite to today then many things can change again.

    “So I think it is still open, especially when you have many people fighting for the championship. But now the best thing is to be on the podium in every race. Because that will play a big role at the end of the championship.

    “I am a driver, I always drive for the best position. I know I cannot fight for the championship but anyway I will try my best to put myself in the best position on the grid. That’s what keeps you concentrated and optimistic.”

  11. Despite crashing out on the opening car Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is supporting Felipe Massa that he will spring a ‘surprise’ in the remaining three races. Autosport.com has the story,

    Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has backed Felipe Massa to bounce back and be the “surprise” of the final three races of the season.

    Massa retired from the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday as he continued with his disappointing season. The Brazilian is currently 78 points behind team-mate Fernando Alonso.

    Massa also struggled for qualifying pace as his tyre warm-up problems returned at Suzuka, where he qualified down in 12th position before crashing out at the first corner.

    Di Montezemolo, however, believes Massa will react in the final three races of the season.

    “I’m sorry for Felipe, who was certainly not lucky this weekend: I’m sure that he will be the surprise of the last three races of the season,” said di Montezemolo on Ferrari’s website.

    “After this bad day he will be desperately keen to react and we will do everything to give him the possibility to win.”

    The Italian was pleased with Alonso’s third place finish in Japan, conceding Red Bull was untouchable.

    “We knew that in this race Red Bull was practically impossible to beat but we brought home the best possible result with Fernando, who remains firmly in the title battle,” he added. “The team has worked well, with commitment and concentration.”

    Di Montezemolo also praised Alonso’s consistency in the final part of the season.

    “In the last six races our driver has taken three wins, one second and one third place, scoring the most points of anyone. We must continue down this path, seeking to make the podium every time.”

  12. Red Bull Racing believes it is a ‘luxury’ rather than a worry that it now has two drivers firmly gunning for the world championship, after Sebastian Vettel boosted his title hopes with victory in the Japanese Grand Prix.

    Vettel’s triumph at Suzuka has helped him narrow the advantage to team-mate Mark Webber to just 14 points with three races remaining – and it has set up the prospect of a thrilling battle to the wire.

    And although there have been flash points this season between Vettel and Webber – most famously in Turkey when they collided and at Silverstone in a bust-up over a new front wing – Red Bull Racing is comfortable it can manage the situation.

    Team principal Christian Horner said the prospect of his drivers going head-to-head over the remainder of the season was not a concern at all – even though any slip-up could help hand the initiative to Alonso.

    Horner was full of praise for the way that Vettel has hauled himself back into contention in the last few races – having been effectively written off by the media a few races ago on the back of his errors at the Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix.

    “One of Sebastian’s strength of character is the self-belief that he has and I don’t think he has ever doubted for one moment that he is out of this championship,” said Horner after seeing his drivers take a 1-2 finish in Japan.

    “Seb has responded in the best possible way.

    “We are fortunate in the team to have two level-headed and strong-willed drivers. And while that inevitably poses challenges at times – it is a luxury problem to have. I am delighted with the performance of the two drivers and obviously hope that they keep performing at this level over the remaining three races.”

    Horner believes the title fight will now come down to the consistency of his two drivers – with Alonso remaining Red Bull Racing’s closest challenger for now.

    Reflecting on Vettel’s recent recovery, Horner said: “Seb had a less comfortable summer break than Mark probably did, but in the last few races he has driven extremely well.

    “Monza, Singapore and here have all been strong events for him, and he has built a bit of momentum back into his campaign and got himself back into contention.

    “But Mark has been banging in podiums. He achieved it in Singapore, he achieved it in Spa and he achieved it here in Japan. It will be about consistency in the remaining three races between the title protagonists.”

    Horner also reiterated that the team would continue to treat both its drivers equally as they chase a maiden world title.

    “The way the drivers are working at the moment is fantastic,” he said. “They are both working in a completely transparent and open way.

    “They are obviously competing for the biggest prize in motorsport and as a team that brings additional pressures with it, but as a team we are trying our best to support both drivers equally and both drivers are very much still in this championship.

    “Mark has extended his lead today, Sebastian has put himself back into contention and we will continue to back both drivers equally.”

    Source: Autosport.com

  13. Well a rare one-two for the Red Bull team! Something that should have happened many more times than this, but it could well be the final stamp on the constructors title the the energy drink team. Yes, mathematically, its not done deal, but realistically it most definitely is. So imagine how good next years car could be with those extra multi millions and Adrian Newey still at the helm?! Cool.

    So a good race for them and Ferrari’s Alonso to take him to tied second and just fourteen points behind the leader that is Mr Mark Webber (yay). Lewis struggling and Button surely not be able to hold onto his title.

    BUt as Alonso has stated, he still believes the five drivers all have a chance. And to be honest, he has a point. Alonso was written off way back when, on that fateful ‘ovetake’ on Massa. One thing I do think is that yet again, it’ll be done to the final race at Ab “booo” Dhabi. Damn, what an anti-climatic circuit to end it on. Still, it’ll look friggin cool.

    But anyways, blah, blah lets get onto the best part of the race. Kamui “banzai” Kobayashi! Holy crap, that bloke has guts, heart, balls and determination. OK so it was ‘his’ circuit, but my god! Get that bloke in a fast car and watch the fireworks! Maybe another season hopefully to tame him just a little, but this bloke I’m sure will be picked up by a higher ranked team. The bloke is amazing and easily deserves the right to a top flight team.

    Don’t forget also, that of all the moves he’s made on just about every driver, he’s made nearly if not all of them stick AND not taken anyone out? *cough* Vettel *cough*. To be in his position and still take risks, shows he knows he can trust himself, the car and even his opponent. That’s something special and it should be nurtured.

    Shockingly, Schumacher didn’t have, er, a shocker! I do hope so much that Mercedes managed to make a decent car for next year. I’m not Schuey’s greatest fan, not by a long shot. However, in the years he’s been out of a driving seat, he has definitely chilled, got a sense of humour (a bit), but still has that fire in his belly. With a decent car (that we hoped/assumed) for this year, his comeback was of course massively hyped. But it fizzled away within seconds when the world found out the Mercedes car was a complete dog that needed to be put down immediately!!

    This made Michael and Ross look like idiots. But everyone is still after that exciting prospect of the once unbeatable to be up there again, if only for a few races. I don’t think he has lost THAT much talent that he appears to have. But I do think, in a poor car he cant drive for shit. At Ferrari, they could make miracles happen over night. Merc just cant do that this year. I only hope, they more or less abandoned development and investment into this years car long ago, and concentrated on next years car. The good news is the fact that we are talking about the Mercedes Works Team. With money behind them, now, it could work for next year. Clearly, last year damaged the development for this years car, just like Mclaren the year before. Had Merc stayed away, and Brawn was in fact still Brawn this year, I think next year would be no different to 2010. So here’s hoping for a good show in 2011 and the press can eat their words about Shuey. Like I said, I’m not his greatest fan, but any time someone can prove the haters in the press wrong, I’m all for it.

    I loved the fact that Webber got fastest lap on the last lap! Freaking cool. Seb will be pissed……oh well, who cares?!

    So it was an exciting start, boring middle and funny end with a Japanese driver, driving his socks off, oh and McLaren seriously getting the data wrong in regards to how bad (in fact good) the soft tyre would perform. Otherwise, I saw Jenson maybe challenge for that third place. My guess was they didn’t factor in that the washed out track would help the tyres last a lot longer. Hey, little to no rubber on the track so much less heat and wear and so longer lasting tyres. Huh, who’d of thought it? Clearly not McLaren, duh.

    So off we go to the now confirmed Korean Grand Prix. Great! Another shitty new track, with no flow, character or hope. Bring on Sao Paulo then!

    ‘kid

Leave a Reply to invisiblekid Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *