With four races still remaining Sebastian Vettel’s third place finish in the Japanese Grand Prix behind Jenson Button (McLaren) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), was enough to clinch his second title.

Mark Webber hasn’t had a bad season but it is his Red Bull team-mate that has a sensational season.  Vettel has won nine of the 15 F1 races so far this year, and managed to start in pole position on no less than 12 pole occasions.  That is an amazing record.

I still believe, given the same car, Lewis Hamilton would have been much closer to Vettel this season.  That said, Jenson Button’s achievements this year have been somewhat overshadowed by Hamilton courting the headlines for all the wrong reasons and Vettel’s sheer brilliance.

2011 F1 Japanese Grand Prix

1  Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:36.568
2   Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)  +00:01.160
3   Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) +00:02.006
4   Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) +00:08.071
5   Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) +00:24.268
6   Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP) +00:27.120
7   Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +00:28.240
8   Sergio Perez (Sauber) +00:39.377
9   Vitaly Petrov (Renault) +00:42.607
10 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP) +00:44.322

F1 Drivers Championship 2011

1   Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) 324
2   Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) 210
3   Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 202
4   Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) 194
5   Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 178
6   Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 90
7   Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP) 63
8   Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP) 60
9   Vitaly Petrov (Renault) 36
10 Nick Heidfeld (Renault) 34

Britons Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth and fifth respectively, with Hamilton’s recent run of poor results continuing in Japan when he lost third gear during the race while well ahead of his team mate.

Hamilton had already been penalised for the McLaren team illegally changing the gearbox prior to the race and had paid the penalty of a five place grid penalty.

The former World Champion fought his way into contention as Button paid the price for making the wrong tyre choice and can count himself lucky that he was able to pass Hamilton with ten laps of the race remaining.

The race at Suzuka had started in spectacular style from the off when Petrov in the Renault clipped Hulkenberg’s slow-starting Williams, and Massa, trying too hard to make up for an appalling qualifying, lost control after putting a wheel on the grass trying to cut through on the inside and wiped out the unfortunate Liuzzi’s Force India.

Robert Kubica in contrast had made a spectacular start in his Renault, edging into second place ahead of Webber, but under the Safety Car the rear right wheel of the Renault disappeared down the track leaving Kubica stranded as the race got back under way.

Webber now has a 14-point championship lead, with Alonso second, tied on points with Vettel in third. Hamilton slips to fourth, with Button in fifth, with just three races remaining.

Japan Grand Prix result:

1      S Vettel      1:30:27.323
2     M Webber     1:30:28.228
3     F Alonso     1:30:30.044
4      J Button     1:30:40.845
5     L Hamilton     1:31:06.918
6     M Schumacher     1:31:27.256
7     K Kobayashi     1:31:31.361
8     N Heidfeld     1:31:36.971
9     R Barrichello    1:31:38.136
10     S Buemi     1:31:40.187

Mark Webber is currently leading the race for the F1 title and Button has one eye firmly fixed on the Australian’s performance in Japan this weekend, hoping to outperform the Red Bull cars on the Suzuka circuit to close the gap between himself and the championship leader.

As well as loving Japan as a country, Button reveals that Suzuka is his favourite track on the calendar and how much he is looking forward to racing there this weekend.

He gives his thoughts on the controversial f duct design, obviously considering it a great thing, but also his belief that it will help McLaren in their quest for victory over the last four races.

Watch Jenson Button’s Inside Track interview here:

Timo Glock - Toyota 2009

The 2009 Toyota driver Timo Glock has signed for one of the new Formula One team’s expected on the grid for the 2010 season Manor Grand Prix.

According to rumours, the new team are expected to change their name to Virgin F1 before the beginning of the season, possibly to take place at their public launch which is expected later in the year.

Despite missing the final two rounds of the 2009 championship after being injured in the qualifying session of the Japanese Grand Prix, Glock has been consistent and fast, notching up three podium finishes.

Glock said;

“I had several options for 2010, some of them with more established teams. Every driver has the same overall objective – to win the world championship one day – but the way I want to succeed is to be part of the process of building a team and to play a key role in developing the car. This is why the opportunity with Manor Grand Prix is so exciting for me.

I have spent a lot of time with Nick Wirth, John Booth and other members of the team, and what I liked most is that this a real racing team run by true racers. The team may be small and new, but it has big ambitions and a very impressive car and development programme. I am confident that I can play a big role in terms of my technical input, and that’s a fantastic opportunity for me. I can’t wait to start testing the new car early next year!”

The Japanese Grand Prix 2009

The Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel, dominated the Japanese Grand Prix yesterday after qualifying in pole position.

Vettel lined-up on the grid ahead of the Toyota of Jarno Trulli and Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren, but as the lights changed it was Hamilton that moved into the second place spot, using his KERS to get ahead of Trulli. The German Red Bull driver had been fastest in all the qualifying sessions and has now kept his dream alive of being the 2009 World Champion.

Brawn GP driver Jenson Button, started in seventh place on the grid but after a terrible start was down in twelfth place behind the Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella.

Trulli managed to pass the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton in his final pit stop, taking a well deserved second position for the Toyota team.

In fourth place was Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari followed by the Williams of Nico Rosberg after Nick Heidfeld was held up in the pits when a wheel nut on his BMW Sauber stuck.

Rubens Barrichello crossed the line in seventh place for the Brawn GP team followed by his team-mate Jenson Button in eighth.

Just as the race looked to be a foregone conclusion, the Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari spun exiting the 130º right-hand corner on lap 44.  The safety car was deployed closing the gap as the cars bunched up behind until it came in on lap 49.

Robert Kubica took the ninth position in the second BMW Sauber followed by Fernando Alonso in the Renault in tenth place after starting in sixteenth place.

Sebastien Buemi was the only other retirement in the race after coming to a halt in his Toro Rosso on the starting grid and retiring shortly afterwards with a clutch problem.

Second Toyota driver Timo Glock did not start the race after a huge crash during the Saturday qualifying session left him with a 5cm cut on his lower leg which had been stitched at the local hospital.

Here are the results;

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 53 laps 1hr 28m 20.443s
2. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota +00m 04.8s
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 06.4s
4. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 07.9s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota +00m 08.7s
6. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber +00m 09.5s
7. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes +00m 10.6s
8. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +00m 11.4s

all results unofficial

Hamilton also recalls his memories of the famous incident involving his hero Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in one of the most furiously contested races ever at the Japanese  Suzuka track.

Lewis Hamilton's Second Win Of 2009

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, crossed the line to take the chequered flag yesterday at the Singapore Grand Prix after dominating the race.

Timo Glock in the Toyota took the second step of the podium almost ten-seconds behind the McLaren followed by Fernando Alonso in the Renault for third.

As the race got underway, Hamilton kept his place from pole position as he led the drivers into the first corner, with Nico Rosberg in the Williams slotting into second ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull, while Timo Glock moved up to fourth place from sixth on the grid.

Rosberg stayed on the tail of Hamilton until his first pit stop on lap 19 but was given a penalty for his actions on exiting the pits when he slid across the white line.  A harsh decision by race control left the Williams driver with a drive-through-penalty for crossing the line, losing his chance of finishing in the top three.

Vettel then began to chase down the McLaren driver, however, as the Red Bull driver took his second scheduled stop he was found guilty of speeding in the pit lane and was also given a drive-through-penalty but still managed to finish the race in fourth position.

The two Brawn GP drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, finished in fifth and sixth place after a terrible qualifying session left Barrichello in fifth and Button down in twelfth.  Button managed to jump ahead of his team-mate in his final stop, despite suffering from a brake problem until the end of the race, which leaves him 15 points ahead in the championship standings as they head to the Japan round.

Romain Grosjean retired his Renault on lap 4 after suffering from brake problems since the qualifying session, and on lap 21  it was Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber who was out of the race after being clipped by a spinning Force India driven by Adrian Sutil.  The safety car was deployed as Sutil managed to rejoin the race and the marshalls attempted to clear the track of debris.

As the drivers headed to the pits while the safety car was on track, Jaime Alguersuari in the Toro Rosso, went to leave his pit garage with the fuel hose still attached, pulling over a couple of his team which were fortunately uninjured, but later retired from the race with gearbox failure.

Not a good day for Mark Webber in the second Red Bull after running wide and going off circuit on lap 1 and then later spinning across the track before retiring with front right brake failure.  A similar problem also put the Toro Rosso of Sebastien Buemi out of race.

Here are the results;

1. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 61 laps 1hr 56m 06.337s
2. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota +00m 09.6s
3. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault +00m 16.6s
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 20.2s
5. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +00m 30.0s
6. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes +00m 31.8s
7. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +00m 36.1s
8. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber +00m 55.0s

all results unofficial

Australia has now been chosen as the second round, allowing the race to begin at 5pm to fit in with the television broadcasters who favour racing in ‘twilight’ rather than the dark.  However, the Singapore round will still be under full floodlights when it takes place in late September.

Although as yet no contract has been signed, the Canadian Grand Prix has been pencilled in for the 13 June, if the contract fails again this year the Turkey Grand Prix will be held later to compensate.

South Korea is a new circuit on the calendar, set to take place in mid-October with the final round being held in Brazil as usual but it will be held in November.

Here is the calendar;

Australia          March 28
Malaysia           April 4
China              April 18
Spain              May 9
Monaco             May 23
Turkey             May 30
Canada*            June 13
Europe (Valencia)  June 27
Great Britain      July 11
Germany            July 25
Hungary            August 1
Belgium            August 29
Italy              September 12
Singapore          September 26
Japan              October 3
Korea              October 17
Abu Dhabi          October 31
Brazil             November 14

*Subject to the completion of contract negotiations with Formula One Management. If these are not completed then the Turkish Grand Prix will be moved to 6 June.

Note: The race in Australia will start at 1700 local time, in Malaysia at 1600 local time, in Singapore at 2000 local time, and in Abu Dhabi at 1700 local time.

The Fuji track, owned by Toyota, shares the Japanese Grand Prix with Suzuka and it is unclear at present as to whether Suzuka will be prepared to host the event every year.

Toyota, the Worlds largest car manufacturer, posted record losses for the year ended March 2009 and is expecting it’s finances to be worse this year. The company accounts showed a loss of £2.8bn.

“It has become extremely difficult for us to host the F1 Grand Prix as we face the deteriorating economic environment and see few signs showing a swift economic recovery,” Fuji Speedway said in a statement.

The news is bound to cast a shadow over the Toyota F1 team, who some expected to follow Honda out of Formula one before the start of this season, however there has been no comment on this from Toyota.

Fernando Alonso 2008

Fernando Alonso proved to the doubters that he was capable of winning a Grand Prix without the aid of a safety car on Sunday at the Fuji Speedway circuit.

Alonso slipped into second place at the start of the race after qualifying fourth in the Renault following the race leader Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber.

Alonso took the lead after the first round of pit-stops while his team-mate Nelson Piquet had moved into sixth position.

Alonso kept his lead after the second round of pit-stops to take the victory followed by Kubica in second and Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen in third.

Raikkonen was forced wide on the first corner as Hamilton locked his brakes going up the inside of the Ferrari putting Raikkonen down into seventh place.

On lap two, the second Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, also got in a tangle with Hamilton spinning the McLaren onto the grass moving Raikkonen up to fifth and getting himself a drive-through penalty.

Massa was involved in another incident with Sebastien Bourdais in the Toro Rosso when Bourdais was exiting the pit lane on lap fifty-one.  The two ran side by side until Massa squeezed Bourdais to the edge of the track and sent him spinning.

Lewis Hamilton finished in twelveth place after also receiving a drive-through penalty for the incident with Raikkonen.

Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren Mercedes, was forced to retire from the race on lap seventeen with engine failure.

Bourdais was running in sixth place and the incident between himself and Massa would be investigated after the race.  Amazingly, Bourdais was given a twenty-five second penalty dropping him down to tenth place and no points.

The Williams team scored no points this weekend after Nico Rosberg suffered from a technical problem at the start of the race leaving him in eleventh place at the end of the race while on a one-stop strategy.  Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima got caught up in the incident on the first corner and lost his front wing and had to return to the pits for an unscheduled stop, putting him at the back of the field.

Here are the results;