2009 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel brought his world championship hopes alive again with a superb victory in Japan on Sunday afternoon, winning as he pleased and leading Jarno Trulli’s Toyota home by 4.8s despite a late safety car intervention. Lewis Hamilton was third for McLaren, another 1.5s adrift, after losing out to Trulli in the second pit stops. Through the highly technical sector 1 at Suzuka, Sebastian Vettel was in a league of his own. He had won pole on Saturday after dominating most sessions until then and nobody could match his pace on Sunday as well. Even Hamilton’s KERS-powered McLaren could not sneak ahead at the start and Vettel rode an error-free race to the finish-line.
Kimi Raikkonen, after a hard race, came home in 4th place, in a car that is one of the most under-developed ones of the
season, as Ferrari have made it very clear that they had given-up on their 2009 car to concentrate on the next season. Nico Rosberg made some amends for his Singapore error by taking fifth for Williams. And Nick Heidfeld was sixth for BMW Sauber.
Things seemed to be running perfectly to script for Vettel, until Jaime Alguersuari spun his Toro Rosso exiting 130R on the 44th lap. Out came the safety car from Lap 45 until Lap 49, closing the field and apparently giving Trulli and Hamilton another shot at Vettel. However, Romain Grosjean’s lapped Renault lay between the Red Bull and the Toyota, so that fight never materialised. Raikkonen had a brief look at Hamilton but soon dropped back to keep just ahead of Rosberg and Heidfeld. Further back, however, Button had a brief look at Barrichello at the chicane before having to defend his solitary point from hard-charging Robert Kubica in the second BMW Sauber.
Fernando Alonso’s single-stop strategy for Renault earned him 10th place ahead of Kovalainen, who lost a place to Giancarlo Fisichella in their second pit stop but regained it by diving down the inside of the startled Italian as they left the pits. By the flag Fisichella had his former Force India team mates Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi right on his gearbox. Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima was 15th ahead of Grosjean, while Mark Webber’s sole consolation from a day on which he started from the pits and went back there five times with various problems was fastest lap, set on the penultimate tour. It was surprising that on a day one Red Bull driver got it all right, the other had a forgettable race.
Seventh place for Rubens Barrichello, just ahead of Brawn team mate Jenson Button, leaves the championship points table as Button 85, Barrichello 71, Vettel 69 with two races remaining. Things are shaping-up for a really close finish to the season. Vettel has the momentum right now, but things could change very quickly when we move to Brazhil for the penultimate race of the season. Can Barichello pull-off a win in his home race and take the fight to his team-mate. Or will Sebastian Vettel do a Raikkonen and snatch the championship from the Brawn boys. Let’s find out!
<<Previous Race
Related posts:
Leave your response!