2011 Japanese Grand Prix Results
After the Singapore Grand Prix, F1 teams headed to Japan, to race at the famous Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture. This is race 15 of the season, with only four more races left. The favourite to win the Japanese Grand Prix is Sebastian Vettel, who won in 2010 and 2009, and he comes off three consecutive wins prior to arriving in Japan.
To clinch the Drivers' Championship Title, Vettel just needs to finish in a point-scoring position or Jenson Button not to win in Japan. Well, Button won the Japanese Grand Prix, but Vettel's third place finish clinched the Drivers' Championship Title for him.
All eyes were on Japanese driver, Kamui Kobayashi, with fans cheering for him during qualifying. Qualifying was very much subject to tyre choice, and those drivers choosing softer tyres fared well. Kobayashi drove well during qualifying, earning him a 7th place position on the grid. Nico Rosberg and Vitantonio Liuzzi both were unable to set lap times, due to technical problems, but were still permitted to start the race. Vettel took the pole position, followed by Button, Hamilton, Massa and Alonso – the usual suspects. Michael Schumacher starts in 8th place.
Vettel defended his leading position, but right off the bat, Button starts to give Vettel a run for his money. The battle between the two forced Button wide, allowing for Lewis Hamilton to overtake him. Some suggest Vettel should be penalised for that move, but no action is taken by the stewards. Kobayashi on the other hand had a terrible start and falls to 12th place in the first lap. To the disappointment of local fans, Kobayashi ends up finishing the race in 13th place. Button, Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton continue to battle for the lead, as drivers begin to make pit stops.
Hamilton makes the headlines again, this time in lap 21, with his on-going rival Felipe Massa. The two drivers were battling for 4th place, when Hamilton touches Massa, which rips part of Massa's front wing off and causes the safety car to be deployed, to remove the debris. This is the fourth on-track altercation between the two drivers – the last one being in Singapore – and it lead to a physical and verbal scuffle after the race. Massa was extremely angry at Hamilton, accusing him of reckless driving. After the race, Hamilton did admit that he may have problems with his mirrors and may not be able to see other drivers. Other F1 veterans have suggested earlier in the season that Hamilton may have visibility problems, because he is sitting so low in his cockpit – Hamilton had denied this so far. This issue is being investigated now by the FIA.
After the race resumes, Button is in the lead and Sebastian Buemi suffers the only retirement of the race, with a wheel problem. Alonso was in second place, with Vettel trying to overtake him. Vettel was quickly reminded by his team that he did not need to win the race and drove more conservatively to hold his position. The race ended with Button taking his 3rd win this season, beating Alonso by just 1.1 second!
Vettel's third place finish in Japan means that he's sewn up the Drivers' Championship title for 2011. Vettel has 324 points, followed by Button with 210, Alonso with 202 and Webber with 194 points. Although the championship title is already set, with five more races left, the battle for place 2-4 will still continue.
Red Bull's 3-4 finish in Japan adds another 27 points to their leading position, to a total of 518 points. McLaren also had a good weekend, with a 1-5 finish, bringing their total to 388. Third place is Ferrari with 292 points, as Massa garners 6 points for his 7th place win. The placements in the Korean Grand Prix will most likely determine the winner of the Constructors' Championship title. Three teams have yet to win points: Lotus, Virgin and HRT-Cosworth.
Full Race Results
- Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:30:53.427s
- Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) +1.160s
- Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing-Renault) +2.006s
- Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) +8.071s
- Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) +24.268s
- Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) +27.120s
- Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +28.240s
- Sergio Perez (Sauber-Ferrari) +39.377s
- Vitaly Petrov (Renault) +42.607s
- Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) +44.322s
- Adrian Sutil (Force India-Mercedes) +54.447s
- Paul di Resta (Force India-Mercedes) +1:02.326s
- Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber-Ferrari) +1:03.705s
- Pastor Maldonado (Williams-Cosworth) +1:04.194s
- Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) +1:06.623s
- Bruno Senna (Renault) +1:12.628s
- Rubens Barrichello (Williams-Cosworth) +1:14.191s
- Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus-Renault) +1:27.824s
- Jarno Trulli (Lotus-Renault) +1:36.140s
- Timo Glock (Virgin-Cosworth) +2 laps
- Jerome d'Ambrosio (Virgin-Cosworth) +2 laps
- Daniel Ricciardo (HRT-Cosworth) +2 laps
- Vitantonio Liuzzi (HRT-Cosworth) +3 laps
- Sebastian Buemi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) retired, lap 11