Jensen Button won the Japanese Grand Prix in brilliant fashion, His third win of the year. The big story though, was Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel becoming the youngest back to back F1 World Champion at the age of 24 after placing 3rd in the race.
The excitement began from the start as Vettel held 1st place after he pushed a fast charging Button onto the grass on the first corner allowing Hamilton to pass by. Button pleaded for a penalty to be issued to Vettel, after investigation, the stewards said it was a fair move and took no action. All that changed when Button passed Hamilton and began attacking Vettel. Little, by little Button began eating away at Vettel’s lead. Button was able to snatch first after undercutting Vettel on the second round of pitstops and never looked back.
After Vettel was radioed not to challenge for 2nd place, Alonso was free to focus on challenging Button and was able to close the gap to one second, but Button responded with a fastest lap of the race. Webber who had an uneventful race claimed 4th after being told to not take any risks by challenging Vettel. Hamilton had a difficult race and finished 5th after he punctured his rear tire and clashed again with Massa.
Sauber’s Sergio Perez claimed 8th place, while Renault’s Vitaly Petrov took 9th. Nico Rosberg despite starting in 23rd place drove an excellent race and managed finish in the points to round up the top 10.
Even though Vettel has become this year’s champion, there are still 4 races left in the season. That means more battles between Button, Alonso, Webber, and Hamilton for 2nd place. Also with Rosberg and Schumacher just having 3 point separating them, the fight is goes on to be the top Mercedes driver.
Full Results:
| Drivers | Teams | Points | |
| 1 | J Button (GBR) | McLaren | 25 |
| 2 | F Alonso (ESP) | Ferrari | 18 |
| 3 | S Vettel (GER) | Red Bull | 15 |
| 4 | M Webber (AUS) | Red Bull | 12 |
| 5 | LC Hamilton (GBR) | McLaren | 10 |
| 6 | M Schumacher (GER) | Mercedes-Benz | 8 |
| 7 | F Massa (BRA) | Ferrari | 6 |
| 8 | S Perez (MEX) | Sauber | 4 |
| 9 | V Petrov (RUS) | Renault | 2 |
| 10 | N Rosberg (GER) | Mercedes-Benz | 1 |
| 11 | A Sutil (GER) | Force India | - |
| 12 | P di Resta (GBR) | Force India | - |
| 13 | K Kobayashi (JPN) | Sauber | - |
| 14 | P Maldonado (VEN) | Williams | - |
| 15 | J Alguersuari (ESP) | Toro Rosso | - |
| 16 | B Senna (BRA) | Renault | - |
| 17 | RG Barrichello (BRA) | Williams | - |
| 18 | H Kovalainen (FIN) | Lotus | - |
| 19 | J Trulli (ITA) | Lotus | - |
| 20 | T Glock (GER) | Virgin | - |
| 21 | J d'Ambrosio (BEL) | Virgin | - |
| 22 | D Ricciardo (AUS) | HRT | - |
| 23 | V Liuzzi (ITA) | HRT | - |
Mercedes GP Team Comments:
Michael was very happy after the race in Suzuka:
After the race, Nico was pleased to have scored a point after starting in P23:
Ross said:
For Norbert:
vBulletin Message