Today’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka saw Fernando Alonso finish in tenth place, while teammate Romain Grosjean completed the race in sixteenth.
Fernando Alonso, R2904, P10
“My race was really decided after qualifying because although the car was competitive and I pushed hard, it was not enough to score any points. We now have to concentrate on the two remaining races and make sure that we qualify well because if we do that I am sure we can score some strong points and have a good end to the season.”
Romain Grosjean, R2903, P16
“Overall it was a tough afternoon for me. The car was very heavy on fuel and was difficult to drive as I had a lot of understeer. The Suzuka circuit was also a new experience for me this weekend, but I did my best to complete the race without any problems. I’m now looking forward to the next race in Brazil.”
Jean-François Caubet, Managing Director
“I would like to congratulate Red Bull Racing on yet another victory, which shows the competitiveness of the Renault engine. Unfortunately for the Renault F1 Team, a weekend that looked promising for us after the Singapore podium, didn’t meet our expectations. Both cars started so far down the grid that even with a good strategy and an excellent performance from Fernando, who made up six places, we didn’t manage to get into the points. We will need to deliver those in the next two races.”
Bob Bell, Team Principal
“It would be easy to say that it was a disappointing race, but in fact it was a disappointing qualifying session, which really determined what happened to us in the race. Fernando did a great job to gain six places, but I think the race would have been a different story had he not had his qualifying penalty and started in the top ten. Romain drove a solid race to bring the car home, which is as much as we expected from him considering his starting position. So it wasn’t a great weekend, but there are positives: the team worked well together; we remain upbeat; and we look forward to Brazil with continued optimism.”
Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations
“Our return to Suzuka was not particularly successful. We had the speed but our grid positions compromised our chances of a good result. We used new engines for this race and they completed their mileage without any problems. For Brazil, we now have a choice as it’s likely that we will use new engines, but that is still to be confirmed.”
News from Formula One in the Formation Lap.
Sunday, 4 October 2009
2009 Japanese Grand Prix - Brawn review
Brawn GP moved a step closer to securing the 2009 Constructors’ Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka today. Points-scoring finishes for Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button in seventh and eighth positions sees the team requiring half a point from the remaining two races to take the title.
Starting from sixth and tenth positions on the grid, Rubens and Jenson followed two-stop strategies as they achieved the team’s objective of scoring points following a difficult qualifying on Saturday where a number of penalties resulted in a mixed-up grid.
After a good start from sixth place, Rubens maintained his position for the majority of the race before losing a place under the safety car and bringing his Brawn-Mercedes car home in seventh position for two points.
Jenson had a more eventful race as he overtook Robert Kubica on lap three and then took advantage of a clash between Heikki Kovalainen and Adrian Sutil to move into the points in eighth position. Quick laps set him up to jump Nico Rosberg at the final pit stop for seventh position before the safety car intervened and Jenson finished in eighth place for one point.
RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result / Fastest Lap
Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-03 P7 01:33.910
Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 P8 01:33.251
Weather Warm and sunny
Temperatures Air: 25-26°C Track: 35-41°C
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“Qualifying proved crucial for my weekend as it put me ahead of Jenson for the race and I was able to make up a point on him. I struggled with the set-up today and wasn’t able to get the best from the car which is a shame. I was able to follow Kimi when we were both running on primes in the first stint but once he switched to options, he gained a lot of time on me. We would have finished in sixth place without the safety car and that’s the best that I could have hoped for today. It’s frustrating but that’s the way racing goes and the most important thing is that I gained a point on Jenson this weekend. I’m looking forward to my home race in Sao Paulo in two weeks. The Brazilian Grand Prix is always a very special occasion for me and I’ll be giving it my all there to do as well as possible for the championship.”
JENSON BUTTON
“Today was about picking up points after our eventful qualifying session yesterday and that’s exactly what I did. Starting from tenth on the grid was always going to make for a tough race but my pace was really good in the race and I was very happy with the performance of the car. I was pulling massive amounts of time out of the guys in front me but they were on heavier fuel loads which held me up as it’s difficult to overtake here. I did the best that I could in the car that we had this weekend and we got the maximum performance out of it with a points-scoring finish. I only lost one point to Rubens today which is my main priority. Obviously we lost a few points to Sebastian but we were expecting them to be strong here. We go to two circuits now which should suit our car so I’m excited about the end of the season and already looking forward to the next race in Brazil .”
ROSS BRAWN
“We recovered well in the race today from a problematic qualifying session and both drivers brought home valuable points in the fight for the Constructors’ Championship. Whilst we were aware that this track would favour our competitors, I am pleased with the performance of the team and drivers over the weekend to extract the maximum from the car and add to our championship points tally, leaving us with half a point required to take the Constructors’ title. The next two races at Interlagos and Abu Dhabi should suit the characteristics of our car much better so we can look forward to a very exciting conclusion to the season.”
Starting from sixth and tenth positions on the grid, Rubens and Jenson followed two-stop strategies as they achieved the team’s objective of scoring points following a difficult qualifying on Saturday where a number of penalties resulted in a mixed-up grid.
After a good start from sixth place, Rubens maintained his position for the majority of the race before losing a place under the safety car and bringing his Brawn-Mercedes car home in seventh position for two points.
Jenson had a more eventful race as he overtook Robert Kubica on lap three and then took advantage of a clash between Heikki Kovalainen and Adrian Sutil to move into the points in eighth position. Quick laps set him up to jump Nico Rosberg at the final pit stop for seventh position before the safety car intervened and Jenson finished in eighth place for one point.
RESULTS
Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Race Result / Fastest Lap
Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-03 P7 01:33.910
Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 P8 01:33.251
Weather Warm and sunny
Temperatures Air: 25-26°C Track: 35-41°C
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“Qualifying proved crucial for my weekend as it put me ahead of Jenson for the race and I was able to make up a point on him. I struggled with the set-up today and wasn’t able to get the best from the car which is a shame. I was able to follow Kimi when we were both running on primes in the first stint but once he switched to options, he gained a lot of time on me. We would have finished in sixth place without the safety car and that’s the best that I could have hoped for today. It’s frustrating but that’s the way racing goes and the most important thing is that I gained a point on Jenson this weekend. I’m looking forward to my home race in Sao Paulo in two weeks. The Brazilian Grand Prix is always a very special occasion for me and I’ll be giving it my all there to do as well as possible for the championship.”
JENSON BUTTON
“Today was about picking up points after our eventful qualifying session yesterday and that’s exactly what I did. Starting from tenth on the grid was always going to make for a tough race but my pace was really good in the race and I was very happy with the performance of the car. I was pulling massive amounts of time out of the guys in front me but they were on heavier fuel loads which held me up as it’s difficult to overtake here. I did the best that I could in the car that we had this weekend and we got the maximum performance out of it with a points-scoring finish. I only lost one point to Rubens today which is my main priority. Obviously we lost a few points to Sebastian but we were expecting them to be strong here. We go to two circuits now which should suit our car so I’m excited about the end of the season and already looking forward to the next race in Brazil .”
ROSS BRAWN
“We recovered well in the race today from a problematic qualifying session and both drivers brought home valuable points in the fight for the Constructors’ Championship. Whilst we were aware that this track would favour our competitors, I am pleased with the performance of the team and drivers over the weekend to extract the maximum from the car and add to our championship points tally, leaving us with half a point required to take the Constructors’ title. The next two races at Interlagos and Abu Dhabi should suit the characteristics of our car much better so we can look forward to a very exciting conclusion to the season.”
Ferrari F1 race report on Suzuka
The return to Suzuka marked a return to form for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, after the disappointment of Singapore. But a return to form only within the modest targets the team can now set itself for the final part of the season, as all technical effort is focussed on next year’s car. Once again, Kimi Raikkonen produced a very strong drive to come home in fourth place, while Giancarlo Fisichella’s twelfth place finish is not an accurate reflection of how much progress he made this weekend in terms of getting to grips with the F60.
The race was won, with an impressive lights to flag performance by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, the German’s third victory of the season. Joining him on the podium in second place, to the delight of the Japanese crowd, was the Toyota, driven by Jarno Trulli, while third spot went to reigning champion, Lewis Hamilton. With the McLaren man picking up six points compared to Kimi’s five, the Scuderia’s lead over the English team in the battle for third place in the Constructors’ Championship is now down to just two points, the Scuderia on 67 and McLaren on 65. It’s going to be a tough battle over the remaining two races and as Team Principal Stefano Domenicali said after the race, Ferrari will be fighting "tooth and nail" to maintain the advantage.
With five drivers being given penalties, Timo Glock not taking part after his qualifying accident and Mark Webber starting from pit lane, the actual grid bore little relation to the actual times set on Saturday afternoon. Kimi Raikkonen, having qualified eighth was now on the third row in fifth place, with his Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team-mate, Giancarlo Fisichella moving up a row to fourteenth place.
As the lights went out on the downward sloping grid all but Buemi got away, with Vettel pulling out a big lead from pole after fighting off Hamilton at the first corner, who had gone from third to second ahead of Trulli, Heidfeld and Kimi fifth, with Giancarlo moving up to 12th. The gaps grow quickly at this long track and after just two laps, Vettel had a lead of 1.9 over his pursuers, with Kimi already 5.3 down. The tightest battles on around lap 6 were Sutil sitting on the gearbox of Kovalainen in eighth place and Giancarlo getting ever closer to Kubica who was eleventh. The positions remained unchanged for several laps after this. On lap 15, Hamilton was the first to put, followed by Sutil next time round. On 17, Trulli came in from second, then came Button and Giancarlo. The leader Vettel came in on lap 18, followed by Heidfeld, Kimi and Barrichello. So by lap 20, Vettel still led from Rosberg, Hamilton, Trulli, Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Kubica, Kimi at 17.7 and Barrichello. Rosberg and Kovalainen came in on laps 23 and 25 respectively. By lap 30, Kimi was now up to fifth and one lap later, Alonso made his only pit stop. Five laps later, Kimi made his second stop, remaining on the soft tyre and this was enough for him to get ahead of Heidfeld. Lap 39 saw some action as Trulli pitted from second and managed to come out ahead of Hamilton to keep the same position. Kovalainen and Giancarlo came in together and although the Ferrari man got out slightly ahead, as the came past the end of the white line at the pit lane exit, the McLaren dived inside and just squeezed the F60 wide enough to get ahead of the Roman driver.
Lap 45 featured a huge crash for Alguersuari, who demolished his Toro Rosso at the 130R, which brought out the car and the field bunched up. At the restart, Kimi thought about making a move on Hamilton who was having a technical problem with KERS, but there was never a real opportunity. With only a few laps remaining after the SC pulled in, the order remained unchanged, so the podium places went to winner, Vettel, second placed Trulli and third man Hamilton. Behind them came Kimi in fourth, with the rest of the points going to Rosberg, Heidfeld, Barrichello and Button.
The race was won, with an impressive lights to flag performance by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, the German’s third victory of the season. Joining him on the podium in second place, to the delight of the Japanese crowd, was the Toyota, driven by Jarno Trulli, while third spot went to reigning champion, Lewis Hamilton. With the McLaren man picking up six points compared to Kimi’s five, the Scuderia’s lead over the English team in the battle for third place in the Constructors’ Championship is now down to just two points, the Scuderia on 67 and McLaren on 65. It’s going to be a tough battle over the remaining two races and as Team Principal Stefano Domenicali said after the race, Ferrari will be fighting "tooth and nail" to maintain the advantage.
With five drivers being given penalties, Timo Glock not taking part after his qualifying accident and Mark Webber starting from pit lane, the actual grid bore little relation to the actual times set on Saturday afternoon. Kimi Raikkonen, having qualified eighth was now on the third row in fifth place, with his Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team-mate, Giancarlo Fisichella moving up a row to fourteenth place.
As the lights went out on the downward sloping grid all but Buemi got away, with Vettel pulling out a big lead from pole after fighting off Hamilton at the first corner, who had gone from third to second ahead of Trulli, Heidfeld and Kimi fifth, with Giancarlo moving up to 12th. The gaps grow quickly at this long track and after just two laps, Vettel had a lead of 1.9 over his pursuers, with Kimi already 5.3 down. The tightest battles on around lap 6 were Sutil sitting on the gearbox of Kovalainen in eighth place and Giancarlo getting ever closer to Kubica who was eleventh. The positions remained unchanged for several laps after this. On lap 15, Hamilton was the first to put, followed by Sutil next time round. On 17, Trulli came in from second, then came Button and Giancarlo. The leader Vettel came in on lap 18, followed by Heidfeld, Kimi and Barrichello. So by lap 20, Vettel still led from Rosberg, Hamilton, Trulli, Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Kubica, Kimi at 17.7 and Barrichello. Rosberg and Kovalainen came in on laps 23 and 25 respectively. By lap 30, Kimi was now up to fifth and one lap later, Alonso made his only pit stop. Five laps later, Kimi made his second stop, remaining on the soft tyre and this was enough for him to get ahead of Heidfeld. Lap 39 saw some action as Trulli pitted from second and managed to come out ahead of Hamilton to keep the same position. Kovalainen and Giancarlo came in together and although the Ferrari man got out slightly ahead, as the came past the end of the white line at the pit lane exit, the McLaren dived inside and just squeezed the F60 wide enough to get ahead of the Roman driver.
Lap 45 featured a huge crash for Alguersuari, who demolished his Toro Rosso at the 130R, which brought out the car and the field bunched up. At the restart, Kimi thought about making a move on Hamilton who was having a technical problem with KERS, but there was never a real opportunity. With only a few laps remaining after the SC pulled in, the order remained unchanged, so the podium places went to winner, Vettel, second placed Trulli and third man Hamilton. Behind them came Kimi in fourth, with the rest of the points going to Rosberg, Heidfeld, Barrichello and Button.
No action taken on Rosberg incident
The Japanese Grand Prix stewards have decided Nico Rosberg did not deserve a penalty and so the Constructors' Championship is still up for grabs.
Rosberg and Williams technical director Sam Michael were summoned by the stewards after the race following claims from Jenson Button that the German had set his best sector time during the safety car period.
Button reckoned he could have beaten the German had he been slower and the Briton expected Rosberg to be penalised.
A penalty would have given Button's Brawn team the title, as it needs just 0.5 points to clinch it and both the Briton and team-mate Rubens Barrichello would have moved up a position.
The stewards, however, deemed Rosberg had done nothing wrong.
"The Race Director reported to the Stewards that Car No 16, Nico Rosberg exceeded the time delta from when the 'Safety Deployed' message was displayed until crossing the Safety Car line," a statement from the FIA said.
"The Stewards met with the drivers and the team representatives and considered the telemetry data, GPS records, timekeeping and video evidence. This evidence showed a 'low fuel' message on the drivers display had overridden the time delta information preventing the driver from being able to accurately follow the timing information.
"However the telemetry data shows that the driver from a safety point of view had reacted adequately to the yellow flags and safety car boards. In view of this the stewards intend to take no further action."
Rosberg and Williams technical director Sam Michael were summoned by the stewards after the race following claims from Jenson Button that the German had set his best sector time during the safety car period.
Button reckoned he could have beaten the German had he been slower and the Briton expected Rosberg to be penalised.
A penalty would have given Button's Brawn team the title, as it needs just 0.5 points to clinch it and both the Briton and team-mate Rubens Barrichello would have moved up a position.
The stewards, however, deemed Rosberg had done nothing wrong.
"The Race Director reported to the Stewards that Car No 16, Nico Rosberg exceeded the time delta from when the 'Safety Deployed' message was displayed until crossing the Safety Car line," a statement from the FIA said.
"The Stewards met with the drivers and the team representatives and considered the telemetry data, GPS records, timekeeping and video evidence. This evidence showed a 'low fuel' message on the drivers display had overridden the time delta information preventing the driver from being able to accurately follow the timing information.
"However the telemetry data shows that the driver from a safety point of view had reacted adequately to the yellow flags and safety car boards. In view of this the stewards intend to take no further action."
Massa set to test 2007 F1 car
Felipe Massa is set to return to the cockpit of a Formula 1 car in the coming weeks, with Ferrari confirming that he will test a two-year-old Ferrari F2007 at Fiorano in the near future.
Although Ferrari has yet to set a date for the test pending medical examinations, the Brazilian is making good progress after suffering head injuries during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.
A decision on when he will be ready to test is expected this week.
With pre-season testing not starting until next February, it will give Massa, who is understood to be back to training at close to his pre-accident level, the chance to take the first step towards proving he will be race-ready for the start of the 2010 season.
Domenicali insisted that there is no chance of Massa being fit for the Brazilian Grand Prix in two weeks, but left the door open for an outside chance of a return in Abu Dhabi.
"I don't know yet [when the test will be]," said team principal Stefano Domenicali. "We will decide this week because Felipe will come to Maranello tomorrow.
"He will stay with the team this week, he will go and do some training in the simulator, physical training in Maranello, and then we will decide when to do this. Also, because it is compulsory, he has to do an FIA medical check before doing something. This is something we will decide this week.
"What I can say is that it is not planned to do any driving in Brazil. For Abu Dhabi it is very, very unlikely. The main target is Bahrain next year."
Domenicali added that the primary purpose of the test will be to assess Massa's fitness, rather than chasing laptimes, and with the testing restrictions making driving a 2009 car impossible, a run in an old car is the only option.
Michael Schumacher had a similar test in an F2007 in August as part of his ultimately-abandoned comeback in place of Massa.
"Our main target is to make sure Felipe is OK from the physical point of view, as it was for Michael Schumacher in the early summer," said Domenicali.
"We asked the FIA to make sure that the there is no breach of any kind of sporting or testing regulation and this gave us the clearance for this kind of test. It means that when we are ready we will do a test at Fiorano with an F2007 historical car with no changes. Just the customer car and GP2 tyres.
"It is order to have a fit and see how it is from his medical point of view, this is why we have asked the FIA medical delegate to be there. But it is not really a test. It is to see how his body reacts to driving a Formula 1 car, even if is not up-to-date. That is not what we care about, it is to give him an indication how the recovery is going."
Domenicali is hopeful that Massa will not have any trouble with wearing a helmet that puts pressure on his head injury, despite the Brazilian having to cut padding out of that area when he tested a kart at Granja Viana in Brazil earlier this week.
"He said from that point of view he had no real major problem, even where he has the cuts," said Domenicali. "He said he had no problem at all, and it is normal when he has such a big injury to have a lot of things that hurt, but this is something that will be solved very easily."
Although Ferrari has yet to set a date for the test pending medical examinations, the Brazilian is making good progress after suffering head injuries during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.
A decision on when he will be ready to test is expected this week.
With pre-season testing not starting until next February, it will give Massa, who is understood to be back to training at close to his pre-accident level, the chance to take the first step towards proving he will be race-ready for the start of the 2010 season.
Domenicali insisted that there is no chance of Massa being fit for the Brazilian Grand Prix in two weeks, but left the door open for an outside chance of a return in Abu Dhabi.
"I don't know yet [when the test will be]," said team principal Stefano Domenicali. "We will decide this week because Felipe will come to Maranello tomorrow.
"He will stay with the team this week, he will go and do some training in the simulator, physical training in Maranello, and then we will decide when to do this. Also, because it is compulsory, he has to do an FIA medical check before doing something. This is something we will decide this week.
"What I can say is that it is not planned to do any driving in Brazil. For Abu Dhabi it is very, very unlikely. The main target is Bahrain next year."
Domenicali added that the primary purpose of the test will be to assess Massa's fitness, rather than chasing laptimes, and with the testing restrictions making driving a 2009 car impossible, a run in an old car is the only option.
Michael Schumacher had a similar test in an F2007 in August as part of his ultimately-abandoned comeback in place of Massa.
"Our main target is to make sure Felipe is OK from the physical point of view, as it was for Michael Schumacher in the early summer," said Domenicali.
"We asked the FIA to make sure that the there is no breach of any kind of sporting or testing regulation and this gave us the clearance for this kind of test. It means that when we are ready we will do a test at Fiorano with an F2007 historical car with no changes. Just the customer car and GP2 tyres.
"It is order to have a fit and see how it is from his medical point of view, this is why we have asked the FIA medical delegate to be there. But it is not really a test. It is to see how his body reacts to driving a Formula 1 car, even if is not up-to-date. That is not what we care about, it is to give him an indication how the recovery is going."
Domenicali is hopeful that Massa will not have any trouble with wearing a helmet that puts pressure on his head injury, despite the Brazilian having to cut padding out of that area when he tested a kart at Granja Viana in Brazil earlier this week.
"He said from that point of view he had no real major problem, even where he has the cuts," said Domenicali. "He said he had no problem at all, and it is normal when he has such a big injury to have a lot of things that hurt, but this is something that will be solved very easily."
Vettel Triumphant in Suzuka
Sebastian Vettel lead from start to finish in the race at Suzuka to secure his third win of the year.
Seb drove a faultless race from defending his line at the first corner through a Safety Car period towards the end to the final four laps of racing.
It was a less successful afternoon for Mark who had to start in the pitlane after yesterday's practice session crash and not taking part in Qualifying.
His woes were compounded by three pitstops in the first five laps to correct mechanical problems.
Sebastian's win moves him to within 16 points of title leader Jenson Button and the team to 35.5 points behind Brawn themselves.
Seb drove a faultless race from defending his line at the first corner through a Safety Car period towards the end to the final four laps of racing.
It was a less successful afternoon for Mark who had to start in the pitlane after yesterday's practice session crash and not taking part in Qualifying.
His woes were compounded by three pitstops in the first five laps to correct mechanical problems.
Sebastian's win moves him to within 16 points of title leader Jenson Button and the team to 35.5 points behind Brawn themselves.
Japanese Grand Prix - Toyota's Race Round-Up
Panasonic Toyota Racing stood on the podium for the second consecutive race following Jarno Trulli's brilliant runners-up finish in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. As his team-mate Timo Glock had done in Singapore last Sunday, Jarno again equalled the team's best Formula 1 result, taking his third and the team's fifth podium finish of the season. He was the only TF109 on the grid as Timo was unable to start following his accident in qualifying yesterday, in which he suffered a cut leg. Jarno started the race from second on the hard compound Bridgestone Potenza tyre and came out of the first corner in third, behind Lewis Hamilton. From then on he pushed to the limit, always keeping second place in sight. He fell short of taking the position at his first pit stop, when he changed to another set of hard tyres. But more fast laps and exceptional work by the pit crew at his final stop, when he switched to the soft tyres, allowed him to take the position. He was comfortably pulling away when the safety car was brought out due to an accident on lap 45 but when racing resumed four laps later he held position and crossed the line in front of the team's home fans in a well-deserved second place.
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
Grid: 2nd
Race Classification: 2nd (+4.877s)
Pit Stop Laps: 16, 39
"Standing on the podium in the team's home Grand Prix is a fantastic feeling and this great result is down to the whole team; the engineers, mechanics and everyone, including Timo. We work really well together as part of a great team and it's a pity he wasn't able to race today. The car, with the new package, has been really competitive all weekend and I knew the start was likely to be the toughest point of the race. We made a strong start and I almost held my position, but Lewis got by and after that I spent the whole race fighting with him. I closed the gap and just focused on doing qualifying laps every time; it was fantastic fun and I really enjoyed it. It was not easy to push so hard but I kept fighting and after the first pit stops I was again chasing Lewis really closely. It was just a matter of putting as much pressure on as possible and, thanks to the team for the strategy and fast pit work, we got him at the last stop. From then on I pulled away and it was reasonably comfortable, even with the safety car at the end. I want to thank the team; we came here after Timo's great second place in Singapore and again the car was competitive immediately. I really hoped to win but this was the maximum we could achieve and I am extremely happy to be on the podium in Japan."
Timo Glock - Car 10
Grid: Did not start
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal
"Jarno did a brilliant job today with the only Toyota in the race. It's great to get a result like this in our home Grand Prix; we really appreciate our partners and fans so I hope they enjoyed our performance. It's unfortunate Timo couldn't join him in the race because I am sure he would have also had a very strong result but I am very happy with Jarno's podium. The strategy worked perfectly so, thanks to the efforts of Jarno and the team, we got past Hamilton after the second pit stop. Two second places in a row is a credit to the team, who have fought so hard all through the season; they deserve this result. There are still two more races left so we will immediately begin preparations for those and I hope Timo and Jarno will again stand on the podium this season."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
Grid: 2nd
Race Classification: 2nd (+4.877s)
Pit Stop Laps: 16, 39
"Standing on the podium in the team's home Grand Prix is a fantastic feeling and this great result is down to the whole team; the engineers, mechanics and everyone, including Timo. We work really well together as part of a great team and it's a pity he wasn't able to race today. The car, with the new package, has been really competitive all weekend and I knew the start was likely to be the toughest point of the race. We made a strong start and I almost held my position, but Lewis got by and after that I spent the whole race fighting with him. I closed the gap and just focused on doing qualifying laps every time; it was fantastic fun and I really enjoyed it. It was not easy to push so hard but I kept fighting and after the first pit stops I was again chasing Lewis really closely. It was just a matter of putting as much pressure on as possible and, thanks to the team for the strategy and fast pit work, we got him at the last stop. From then on I pulled away and it was reasonably comfortable, even with the safety car at the end. I want to thank the team; we came here after Timo's great second place in Singapore and again the car was competitive immediately. I really hoped to win but this was the maximum we could achieve and I am extremely happy to be on the podium in Japan."
Timo Glock - Car 10
Grid: Did not start
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal
"Jarno did a brilliant job today with the only Toyota in the race. It's great to get a result like this in our home Grand Prix; we really appreciate our partners and fans so I hope they enjoyed our performance. It's unfortunate Timo couldn't join him in the race because I am sure he would have also had a very strong result but I am very happy with Jarno's podium. The strategy worked perfectly so, thanks to the efforts of Jarno and the team, we got past Hamilton after the second pit stop. Two second places in a row is a credit to the team, who have fought so hard all through the season; they deserve this result. There are still two more races left so we will immediately begin preparations for those and I hope Timo and Jarno will again stand on the podium this season."
Force India's Race - Japanese GP
The Force India Formula One Team has finished the Japanese Grand Prix with Adrian Sutil in 13th position and Tonio Liuzzi just under a second behind in 14th.
Adrian, who had qualified in fourth but had started in eighth position following yesterday’s round of penalties, was able to move up to seventh on the opening lap ahead of Nico Rosberg, but on lap four dropped back to ninth behind Kovalainen.
Adrian Sutil - car 20, VJM02/01
13th +14.959secs
Tonio Liuzzi - car 21, VJM02/04
14th +15.734secs
The pair raced nose to tail until Adrian finally moved alongside the Finn on lap 13 going into the chicane. Heikki however refused to yield and the pair touched, sending Adrian into a spin and back down the order to 12th. From that point on Adrian’s race was compromised and despite racing hard with the Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella he crossed the line in a disappointing 13th overall.
Tonio Liuzzi enjoyed a series of battles over the 53 lap race to achieve his second consecutive race finish for Force India. Using a two stop strategy Tonio was able to move up four places on his starting position after battling with the two Renaults, the Williams of Nakajima and Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso.
Adrian Sutil - car 20
It was a really disappointing race. The start was OK and I could keep my position but then I fell back to ninth and was caught behind Kovalainen. I got past him at the chicane but then he cut back across and I spun and lost a lot of time. That was really the end of the race for me. When that happens it’s obviously very disappointing as I thought we could have done really well today and got some points. We’ve just got to look forward to Brazil now - it’s a similar type of circuit to here where the car has been competitive.
Tonio Liuzzi - car 21
Overall I think it was not a bad race. Starting from that position it was always going to be difficult to score points but we showed a strong pace in the race and never gave up. I could have a really good fight with Fernando [Alonso] and the Williams, plus also the Toro Rosso so I think it was a good effort from the team.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal
We had expected a better result from this race, particularly given Adrian’s excellent performance in qualifying fourth yesterday. The penalty cost us dear as Adrian was behind the heavier Rosberg and then dropped back behind Kovalainen early on. Adrian’s race was then compromised when he tried to get past the McLaren but he nevertheless demonstrated that the car is performing very well in race conditions and we are able to race competitively with the top teams. Tonio too had a strong race to secure his second finish in three events. His confidence is now high and we should look forward to the next race in Brazil where we hope we can capitalise on the pace we have showed over the weekend. Hopefully next time we can get the results to prove it.
Adrian, who had qualified in fourth but had started in eighth position following yesterday’s round of penalties, was able to move up to seventh on the opening lap ahead of Nico Rosberg, but on lap four dropped back to ninth behind Kovalainen.
Adrian Sutil - car 20, VJM02/01
13th +14.959secs
Tonio Liuzzi - car 21, VJM02/04
14th +15.734secs
The pair raced nose to tail until Adrian finally moved alongside the Finn on lap 13 going into the chicane. Heikki however refused to yield and the pair touched, sending Adrian into a spin and back down the order to 12th. From that point on Adrian’s race was compromised and despite racing hard with the Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella he crossed the line in a disappointing 13th overall.
Tonio Liuzzi enjoyed a series of battles over the 53 lap race to achieve his second consecutive race finish for Force India. Using a two stop strategy Tonio was able to move up four places on his starting position after battling with the two Renaults, the Williams of Nakajima and Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso.
Adrian Sutil - car 20
It was a really disappointing race. The start was OK and I could keep my position but then I fell back to ninth and was caught behind Kovalainen. I got past him at the chicane but then he cut back across and I spun and lost a lot of time. That was really the end of the race for me. When that happens it’s obviously very disappointing as I thought we could have done really well today and got some points. We’ve just got to look forward to Brazil now - it’s a similar type of circuit to here where the car has been competitive.
Tonio Liuzzi - car 21
Overall I think it was not a bad race. Starting from that position it was always going to be difficult to score points but we showed a strong pace in the race and never gave up. I could have a really good fight with Fernando [Alonso] and the Williams, plus also the Toro Rosso so I think it was a good effort from the team.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal
We had expected a better result from this race, particularly given Adrian’s excellent performance in qualifying fourth yesterday. The penalty cost us dear as Adrian was behind the heavier Rosberg and then dropped back behind Kovalainen early on. Adrian’s race was then compromised when he tried to get past the McLaren but he nevertheless demonstrated that the car is performing very well in race conditions and we are able to race competitively with the top teams. Tonio too had a strong race to secure his second finish in three events. His confidence is now high and we should look forward to the next race in Brazil where we hope we can capitalise on the pace we have showed over the weekend. Hopefully next time we can get the results to prove it.
Japanese GP – points for Ferrari
Suzuka, 4 October 2009 - Kimi Raikkonen gained the fourth place in the Japanese Grand Prix earning five precious points, enabling the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro to keep the third place in the Constructors’ Championship standings. His teammate Giancarlo Fisichella ended the race on 12th, gaining two positions from the start, while the fight for the two World Titles is still completely open.
The race was dominated by Sebastian Vettel with Red Bull, winning the race ahead of Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Lewis Hamilton with McLaren.
The two single-seaters from Ferrari with Kimi Raikkonen and Giancarlo Fisichella started from the fifth and 14th position on the grid respectively due to penalties against several other drivers, which caused a shake-up of the starting order after yesterday’s difficult qualifying, interrupted by four accidents.
Exciting moments during the race involved the Toro Rosso with Jaime Alguersuari, who drove his car in lap 45 directly into the barriers, completely destroying the car while he luckily remained unharmed. When the Safety Car came out there were still five laps to go and the positions were frozen at that point. An exciting moment also for Ferrari when Giancarlo Fisichella who’s car was touched and then overtaken by Heikki Kovalainen immediately after the second pitstop in lap 40 at the exit of the pit lane.
This seasons 16th F1 race will be held in two weeks in Brazil on the Interlagos circuit.
The race was dominated by Sebastian Vettel with Red Bull, winning the race ahead of Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Lewis Hamilton with McLaren.
The two single-seaters from Ferrari with Kimi Raikkonen and Giancarlo Fisichella started from the fifth and 14th position on the grid respectively due to penalties against several other drivers, which caused a shake-up of the starting order after yesterday’s difficult qualifying, interrupted by four accidents.
Exciting moments during the race involved the Toro Rosso with Jaime Alguersuari, who drove his car in lap 45 directly into the barriers, completely destroying the car while he luckily remained unharmed. When the Safety Car came out there were still five laps to go and the positions were frozen at that point. An exciting moment also for Ferrari when Giancarlo Fisichella who’s car was touched and then overtaken by Heikki Kovalainen immediately after the second pitstop in lap 40 at the exit of the pit lane.
This seasons 16th F1 race will be held in two weeks in Brazil on the Interlagos circuit.
Japanese Grand Prix - selected team and driver quotes
Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi on how they rounded off a miserable weekend for Toro Rosso with a double retirement; Ferrari’s Giancarlo Fisichella and McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen on their pit-lane exit altercation; and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel on his third win of the season. The drivers and senior team personnel report back on Sunday’s race action…
Toyota
Jarno Trulli (2nd):
"Standing on the podium in the team's home Grand Prix is a fantastic feeling and this great result is down to the whole team; the engineers, mechanics and everyone, including Timo. We work really well together as part of a great team and it's a pity he wasn't able to race today. The car, with the new package, has been really competitive all weekend and I knew the start was likely to be the toughest point of the race. We made a strong start and I almost held my position, but Lewis got by and after that I spent the whole race fighting with him. I closed the gap and just focused on doing qualifying laps every time; it was fantastic fun and I really enjoyed it. It was not easy to push so hard but I kept fighting and after the first pit stops I was again chasing Lewis really closely. It was just a matter of putting as much pressure on as possible and, thanks to the team for the strategy and fast pit work, we got him at the last stop. From then on I pulled away and it was reasonably comfortable, even with the safety car at the end. I want to thank the team; we came here after Timo's great second place in Singapore and again the car was competitive immediately. I really hoped to win but this was the maximum we could achieve and I am extremely happy to be on the podium in Japan."
John Howett, Toyota president:
"Jarno did a brilliant job today with the only Toyota in the race. It's great to get a result like this in our home Grand Prix; we really appreciate our partners and fans so I hope they enjoyed our performance. It's unfortunate Timo couldn't join him in the race because I am sure he would have also had a very strong result but I am very happy with Jarno's podium. The strategy worked perfectly so, thanks to the efforts of Jarno and the team, we got past Hamilton after the second pit stop. Two second places in a row is a credit to the team, who have fought so hard all through the season; they deserve this result. There are still two more races left so we will immediately begin preparations for those and I hope Timo and Jarno will again stand on the podium this season."
BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld (6th):
“Today was not our lucky day. I’m very disappointed with this result. Fourth place was within reach but several things went wrong today, especially at the second pit stop when the rear right wheel nut got stuck. But certainly I don’t want to complain. These things can happen and normally we have very good pit stops. That was when I lost a position to Kimi, and I rejoined the race just behind him. When the safety car came out I lost another position to Nico, who was lucky to refuel while the safety car was out.”
Robert Kubica (9th):
“The entire weekend was unlucky for me. Yesterday I wasn’t able to show my good pace due to the red and yellow flags. Today I was stuck in traffic a couple of times. Furthermore I lost much time at the beginning of the race with a heavy and understeering car. Once the car was lighter and I got into my rhythm I was quite quick. I was then very unlucky with my first pit stop, as after the stop both Kimi and Nick were in front of me. That cost me time. Also after the safety car period I was in traffic. I was stuck behind Jenson. I was quicker than him in the corners, but was not able to overtake as we were missing some top speed on the straights.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport director:
“That was a strong performance from us with a disappointing end. Nick was quick and well on his way on fourth. Then he lost a position during his second pit stop due to a sticking wheel nut. He lost another position during the safety-car-period when Nico Rosberg passed him after his pit stop. Coming in ninth, Robert missed the points by just a small margin.”
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering:
“Today more should have been possible for us. Nick established himself in fourth for a long time. Until his second pit stop, which we did earlier because Kimi Raikkonen was right behind him, everything went according to plan. But during the pit stop a problem occurred which cost us valuable seconds. As a consequence Kimi was able to get by. During the safety-car-period Nick lost another position. Robert lost a position after the start which he gained back later during the race. But at the end it was just not enough to score a point."
Renault
Fernando Alonso (10th):
"My race was really decided after qualifying because although the car was competitive and I pushed hard, it was not enough to score any points. We now have to concentrate on the two remaining races and make sure that we qualify well because if we do that I am sure we can score some strong points and have a good end to the season."
Romain Grosjean (16th):
"Overall it was a tough afternoon for me. The car was very heavy on fuel and was difficult to drive as I had a lot of understeer. The Suzuka circuit was also a new experience for me this weekend, but I did my best to complete the race without any problems. I'm now looking forward to the next race in Brazil."
Jean-Francois Caubet, Renault managing director:
"I would like to congratulate Red Bull Racing on yet another victory, which shows the competitiveness of the Renault engine. Unfortunately for the Renault F1 Team, a
weekend that looked promising for us after the Singapore podium, didn't meet our expectations. Both cars started so far down the grid that even with a good strategy and an excellent performance from Fernando, who made up six places, we didn't manage to get into the points. We will need to deliver those in the next two races."
Bob Bell, Renault technical director:
"It would be easy to say that it was a disappointing race, but in fact it was a disappointing qualifying session, which really determined what happened to us in the race. Fernando did a great job to gain six places, but I think the race would have been a different story had he not had his qualifying penalty and started in the top ten. Romain drove a solid race to bring the car home, which is as much as we expected from him considering his starting position. So it wasn't a great weekend, but there are positives: the team worked well together; we remain upbeat; and we look forward to Brazil with continued optimism."
Remi Taffin, Renault head of engine operations:
"Our return to Suzuka was not particularly successful. We had the speed but our grid positions compromised our chances of a good result. We used new engines for this race and they completed their mileage without any problems. For Brazil, we now have a choice as it's likely that we will use new engines, but that is still to be confirmed."
Force India
Adrian Sutil (13th):
“It was a really disappointing race. The start was okay and I could keep my position but then I fell back to ninth and was caught behind Kovalainen. I got past him at the chicane but then he cut back across and I spun and lost a lot of time. That was really the end of the race for me. When that happens it's obviously very disappointing as I thought we could have done really well today and got some points. We've just got to look forward to Brazil now - it's a similar type of circuit to here where the car has been competitive.”
Vitantonio Liuzzi (14th):
“Overall I think it was not a bad race. Starting from that position it was always going to be difficult to score points but we showed a strong pace in the race and never gave up. I could have a really good fight with Fernando and the Williams, plus also the Toro Rosso so I think it was a good effort from the team.”
Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India chairman and team principal:
“We had expected a better result from this race, particularly given Adrian's excellent performance in qualifying fourth yesterday. The penalty cost us dear as Adrian was behind the heavier Rosberg and then dropped back behind Kovalainen early on. Adrian's race was then compromised when he tried to get past the McLaren but he nevertheless demonstrated that the car is performing very well in race conditions and we are able to race competitively with the top teams. Tonio too had a strong race to secure his second finish in three events. His confidence is now high and we should look forward to the next race in Brazil where we hope we can capitalise on the pace we have showed over the weekend. Hopefully next time we can get the results to prove it.”
Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari (DNF):
“My accident came on the lap after my second pit stop, when I fitted the soft tyres. At Turn 15, which you take flat, I lost the rear end of the car and crashed into the wall, but I'm not sure why, as it was inexplicable and I would like to see the data, in case there might have been something wrong with the pressure of the rear tyres or a puncture. I am really, really sorry for what happened. I was pushing every lap and running consistently, in terms of my lap times being almost always within the same tenth. Hopefully, we can have a better race in Brazil. “
Sebastien Buemi (DNF):
“I had a problem with the clutch, right from the start of the parade lap, when I couldn’t get off the grid. We tried to fix the problem by adjusting the clutch map, but again for the real start, it didn’t work. Then, after a few laps the clutch failed and I had to retire in the pits. A real shame as the weekend had seemed promising right from Friday in the wet. In qualifying the car was quick enough to get me into Q3 before the accident, so maybe I could have scored points today. Now we have to prepare for Brazil where the top teams might not bring so many developments to their car. So I hope we can end the season with two good races.”
Franz Tost, Toro Rosso team principal:
“Having come to Japan for many years, I know this is a very expensive country and that was certainly the case for us this weekend! Unfortunately, Sebastien had a clutch problem which meant he could not get off the line at the start and later, caused his retirement. Jaime drove a good race up to the point of his accident. After the second stop, on new Options at the 130R, the fastest corner of the track, which meant it was a very big accident, the cause of which, we will now investigate. Fortunately, he is uninjured, which is the most important thing. The car is a different story, but in Brazil, I expect we will have a competitive package.”
Toyota
Jarno Trulli (2nd):
"Standing on the podium in the team's home Grand Prix is a fantastic feeling and this great result is down to the whole team; the engineers, mechanics and everyone, including Timo. We work really well together as part of a great team and it's a pity he wasn't able to race today. The car, with the new package, has been really competitive all weekend and I knew the start was likely to be the toughest point of the race. We made a strong start and I almost held my position, but Lewis got by and after that I spent the whole race fighting with him. I closed the gap and just focused on doing qualifying laps every time; it was fantastic fun and I really enjoyed it. It was not easy to push so hard but I kept fighting and after the first pit stops I was again chasing Lewis really closely. It was just a matter of putting as much pressure on as possible and, thanks to the team for the strategy and fast pit work, we got him at the last stop. From then on I pulled away and it was reasonably comfortable, even with the safety car at the end. I want to thank the team; we came here after Timo's great second place in Singapore and again the car was competitive immediately. I really hoped to win but this was the maximum we could achieve and I am extremely happy to be on the podium in Japan."
John Howett, Toyota president:
"Jarno did a brilliant job today with the only Toyota in the race. It's great to get a result like this in our home Grand Prix; we really appreciate our partners and fans so I hope they enjoyed our performance. It's unfortunate Timo couldn't join him in the race because I am sure he would have also had a very strong result but I am very happy with Jarno's podium. The strategy worked perfectly so, thanks to the efforts of Jarno and the team, we got past Hamilton after the second pit stop. Two second places in a row is a credit to the team, who have fought so hard all through the season; they deserve this result. There are still two more races left so we will immediately begin preparations for those and I hope Timo and Jarno will again stand on the podium this season."
BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld (6th):
“Today was not our lucky day. I’m very disappointed with this result. Fourth place was within reach but several things went wrong today, especially at the second pit stop when the rear right wheel nut got stuck. But certainly I don’t want to complain. These things can happen and normally we have very good pit stops. That was when I lost a position to Kimi, and I rejoined the race just behind him. When the safety car came out I lost another position to Nico, who was lucky to refuel while the safety car was out.”
Robert Kubica (9th):
“The entire weekend was unlucky for me. Yesterday I wasn’t able to show my good pace due to the red and yellow flags. Today I was stuck in traffic a couple of times. Furthermore I lost much time at the beginning of the race with a heavy and understeering car. Once the car was lighter and I got into my rhythm I was quite quick. I was then very unlucky with my first pit stop, as after the stop both Kimi and Nick were in front of me. That cost me time. Also after the safety car period I was in traffic. I was stuck behind Jenson. I was quicker than him in the corners, but was not able to overtake as we were missing some top speed on the straights.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport director:
“That was a strong performance from us with a disappointing end. Nick was quick and well on his way on fourth. Then he lost a position during his second pit stop due to a sticking wheel nut. He lost another position during the safety-car-period when Nico Rosberg passed him after his pit stop. Coming in ninth, Robert missed the points by just a small margin.”
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering:
“Today more should have been possible for us. Nick established himself in fourth for a long time. Until his second pit stop, which we did earlier because Kimi Raikkonen was right behind him, everything went according to plan. But during the pit stop a problem occurred which cost us valuable seconds. As a consequence Kimi was able to get by. During the safety-car-period Nick lost another position. Robert lost a position after the start which he gained back later during the race. But at the end it was just not enough to score a point."
Renault
Fernando Alonso (10th):
"My race was really decided after qualifying because although the car was competitive and I pushed hard, it was not enough to score any points. We now have to concentrate on the two remaining races and make sure that we qualify well because if we do that I am sure we can score some strong points and have a good end to the season."
Romain Grosjean (16th):
"Overall it was a tough afternoon for me. The car was very heavy on fuel and was difficult to drive as I had a lot of understeer. The Suzuka circuit was also a new experience for me this weekend, but I did my best to complete the race without any problems. I'm now looking forward to the next race in Brazil."
Jean-Francois Caubet, Renault managing director:
"I would like to congratulate Red Bull Racing on yet another victory, which shows the competitiveness of the Renault engine. Unfortunately for the Renault F1 Team, a
weekend that looked promising for us after the Singapore podium, didn't meet our expectations. Both cars started so far down the grid that even with a good strategy and an excellent performance from Fernando, who made up six places, we didn't manage to get into the points. We will need to deliver those in the next two races."
Bob Bell, Renault technical director:
"It would be easy to say that it was a disappointing race, but in fact it was a disappointing qualifying session, which really determined what happened to us in the race. Fernando did a great job to gain six places, but I think the race would have been a different story had he not had his qualifying penalty and started in the top ten. Romain drove a solid race to bring the car home, which is as much as we expected from him considering his starting position. So it wasn't a great weekend, but there are positives: the team worked well together; we remain upbeat; and we look forward to Brazil with continued optimism."
Remi Taffin, Renault head of engine operations:
"Our return to Suzuka was not particularly successful. We had the speed but our grid positions compromised our chances of a good result. We used new engines for this race and they completed their mileage without any problems. For Brazil, we now have a choice as it's likely that we will use new engines, but that is still to be confirmed."
Force India
Adrian Sutil (13th):
“It was a really disappointing race. The start was okay and I could keep my position but then I fell back to ninth and was caught behind Kovalainen. I got past him at the chicane but then he cut back across and I spun and lost a lot of time. That was really the end of the race for me. When that happens it's obviously very disappointing as I thought we could have done really well today and got some points. We've just got to look forward to Brazil now - it's a similar type of circuit to here where the car has been competitive.”
Vitantonio Liuzzi (14th):
“Overall I think it was not a bad race. Starting from that position it was always going to be difficult to score points but we showed a strong pace in the race and never gave up. I could have a really good fight with Fernando and the Williams, plus also the Toro Rosso so I think it was a good effort from the team.”
Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India chairman and team principal:
“We had expected a better result from this race, particularly given Adrian's excellent performance in qualifying fourth yesterday. The penalty cost us dear as Adrian was behind the heavier Rosberg and then dropped back behind Kovalainen early on. Adrian's race was then compromised when he tried to get past the McLaren but he nevertheless demonstrated that the car is performing very well in race conditions and we are able to race competitively with the top teams. Tonio too had a strong race to secure his second finish in three events. His confidence is now high and we should look forward to the next race in Brazil where we hope we can capitalise on the pace we have showed over the weekend. Hopefully next time we can get the results to prove it.”
Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari (DNF):
“My accident came on the lap after my second pit stop, when I fitted the soft tyres. At Turn 15, which you take flat, I lost the rear end of the car and crashed into the wall, but I'm not sure why, as it was inexplicable and I would like to see the data, in case there might have been something wrong with the pressure of the rear tyres or a puncture. I am really, really sorry for what happened. I was pushing every lap and running consistently, in terms of my lap times being almost always within the same tenth. Hopefully, we can have a better race in Brazil. “
Sebastien Buemi (DNF):
“I had a problem with the clutch, right from the start of the parade lap, when I couldn’t get off the grid. We tried to fix the problem by adjusting the clutch map, but again for the real start, it didn’t work. Then, after a few laps the clutch failed and I had to retire in the pits. A real shame as the weekend had seemed promising right from Friday in the wet. In qualifying the car was quick enough to get me into Q3 before the accident, so maybe I could have scored points today. Now we have to prepare for Brazil where the top teams might not bring so many developments to their car. So I hope we can end the season with two good races.”
Franz Tost, Toro Rosso team principal:
“Having come to Japan for many years, I know this is a very expensive country and that was certainly the case for us this weekend! Unfortunately, Sebastien had a clutch problem which meant he could not get off the line at the start and later, caused his retirement. Jaime drove a good race up to the point of his accident. After the second stop, on new Options at the 130R, the fastest corner of the track, which meant it was a very big accident, the cause of which, we will now investigate. Fortunately, he is uninjured, which is the most important thing. The car is a different story, but in Brazil, I expect we will have a competitive package.”
Rosberg downplays safety car incident
Nico Rosberg is adamant that he gained no advantage when he pitted under the safety car despite accusations that he went faster than the minimum sector time drivers must adhere to when the race is under caution.
The Williams driver finished fifth after making his final pitstop in the safety car period triggered by Jaime Alguersuari's crash at 130R, leading to Jenson Button, who was hoping to leapfrog the German, claiming that he had gained as much as four seconds.
But Rosberg insists that he did not speed under the safety car and is confident that he will not be hit with a 25-second penalty that would drop him to 15th place and hand Brawn the extra points it needs to clinch the Constructors' Championship.
"What I can say is that for sure I didn't gain an advantage," Rosberg told BBC Sport. "We analysed everything and we didn't gain an advantage, so we need to see. They still want to analyse it, but it should be fine.
"They are up there [in the stewards' room] discussing at the moment, so that's all I can say for now. But what they [Button] say is incorrect for sure."
Rosberg claims that he was not faster than the lap delta issued to drivers for each sector, meaning that he should not get a penalty.
"When the safety car comes out we have a lap delta, that comes into our steering wheel and we have to drive to that," said Rosberg. "There is a line just at the beginning of the pit entry and to ensure that we go slowly all the way back to the pits, slowly past the accident, we have to be exactly spot on for that minimum time.
"It says plus or minus and you just have to follow that and so long as you are in plus by the time you get to that line there then you are fine.
"As far as I am concerned I definitely did what I should do so I think it should be fine."
Rosberg was summoned by the race stewards after the race to look at the incident.
The Williams driver finished fifth after making his final pitstop in the safety car period triggered by Jaime Alguersuari's crash at 130R, leading to Jenson Button, who was hoping to leapfrog the German, claiming that he had gained as much as four seconds.
But Rosberg insists that he did not speed under the safety car and is confident that he will not be hit with a 25-second penalty that would drop him to 15th place and hand Brawn the extra points it needs to clinch the Constructors' Championship.
"What I can say is that for sure I didn't gain an advantage," Rosberg told BBC Sport. "We analysed everything and we didn't gain an advantage, so we need to see. They still want to analyse it, but it should be fine.
"They are up there [in the stewards' room] discussing at the moment, so that's all I can say for now. But what they [Button] say is incorrect for sure."
Rosberg claims that he was not faster than the lap delta issued to drivers for each sector, meaning that he should not get a penalty.
"When the safety car comes out we have a lap delta, that comes into our steering wheel and we have to drive to that," said Rosberg. "There is a line just at the beginning of the pit entry and to ensure that we go slowly all the way back to the pits, slowly past the accident, we have to be exactly spot on for that minimum time.
"It says plus or minus and you just have to follow that and so long as you are in plus by the time you get to that line there then you are fine.
"As far as I am concerned I definitely did what I should do so I think it should be fine."
Rosberg was summoned by the race stewards after the race to look at the incident.
Howett: 14th team not a FOTA issue
The decision on whether to allow a 14th team in Formula 1 next year will now be left up to individual teams, after a FOTA meeting on Sunday ruled that the body should not get involved in the matter.
BMW Sauber needs to get unanimous approval from rival outfits to be guaranteed a place on the expanded grid next year - and without that its entry would depend on one of the new teams not making it.
The matter was briefly discussed in Sunday morning's meeting of the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA), but an increase in team numbers requires a change in the Concorde Agreement - and that needs unanimous support.
With Williams having already made it clear that it will block the move, it now appears there will be no impetus within FOTA to get involved in the matter.
FOTA vice-chairman John Howett told AUTOSPORT: "We touched on the subject, but that is an issue that is not necessarily a FOTA issue - and each team now individually needs to look at it. It is an issue for individual teams, regardless of a majority FOTA position."
FOTA also formalised the decision to abandon KERS for 2010, which was agreed in Singapore, and held further discussions about revising next year's calendar because of the logistical problems involved in having Monaco and Turkey back-to-back.
"We want to see an operating calendar that will accommodate 19 races," said Howett. "But at the moment Monaco/Turkey is more or less impossible."
FOTA also discussed the possibility of a common car launch between teams next year to save costs.
BMW Sauber needs to get unanimous approval from rival outfits to be guaranteed a place on the expanded grid next year - and without that its entry would depend on one of the new teams not making it.
The matter was briefly discussed in Sunday morning's meeting of the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA), but an increase in team numbers requires a change in the Concorde Agreement - and that needs unanimous support.
With Williams having already made it clear that it will block the move, it now appears there will be no impetus within FOTA to get involved in the matter.
FOTA vice-chairman John Howett told AUTOSPORT: "We touched on the subject, but that is an issue that is not necessarily a FOTA issue - and each team now individually needs to look at it. It is an issue for individual teams, regardless of a majority FOTA position."
FOTA also formalised the decision to abandon KERS for 2010, which was agreed in Singapore, and held further discussions about revising next year's calendar because of the logistical problems involved in having Monaco and Turkey back-to-back.
"We want to see an operating calendar that will accommodate 19 races," said Howett. "But at the moment Monaco/Turkey is more or less impossible."
FOTA also discussed the possibility of a common car launch between teams next year to save costs.
Hamilton: KERS glitch cost me second
Lewis Hamilton reckons he probably would have held off Jarno Trulli for second at Suzuka but his KERS not stopped working late in the race.
The duo enjoyed a tense battle all afternoon, with the McLaren getting ahead of the Toyota off the line, then pulling away slightly.
But with Trulli carrying more fuel into the middle stint and set to run two laps longer, Hamilton knew he had to establish a good margin over his rival to be sure of second.
He felt he was on course to do this until losing KERS, which meant Trulli edged ahead as he rejoined following his last stop.
"I think it was just before the last stop, or just after, I lost KERS," Hamilton explained.
"So automatically that loses us a good few tenths per lap, and when that happens also the brake bias changes and all these different things, so it was very hard.
"I had to have a 3s gap before the last stop, and I think I had a 3.1s, and then on that last couple of laps I think I lost half a second a lap or something like that.
"We were very close, but once he was in front of me it was impossible to keep up with him."
McLaren had expected Suzuka to be a tough race given its poor form at similarly fast tracks like Silverstone and Spa, and although third was a much better result than anticipated, Hamilton admitted that the car's lack of fast corner speed was still apparent.
"I couldn't match these two in the first sector, and that was purely down to downforce, but in the middle sector I was quite quick, and in the last sector with KERS we were very quick," he said,
Hamilton had hoped to blast both both Trulli and polesitter Sebastian Vettel into the first corner using his KERS advantage, but only managed to split them - and after that Vettel proved impossible to catch.
"I tried to get both of them at the start, but they both actually got a really good start - which is not always the case," said Hamilton.
"Sebastian drove fantastically for the whole race, so he pulled away into the distance."
The duo enjoyed a tense battle all afternoon, with the McLaren getting ahead of the Toyota off the line, then pulling away slightly.
But with Trulli carrying more fuel into the middle stint and set to run two laps longer, Hamilton knew he had to establish a good margin over his rival to be sure of second.
He felt he was on course to do this until losing KERS, which meant Trulli edged ahead as he rejoined following his last stop.
"I think it was just before the last stop, or just after, I lost KERS," Hamilton explained.
"So automatically that loses us a good few tenths per lap, and when that happens also the brake bias changes and all these different things, so it was very hard.
"I had to have a 3s gap before the last stop, and I think I had a 3.1s, and then on that last couple of laps I think I lost half a second a lap or something like that.
"We were very close, but once he was in front of me it was impossible to keep up with him."
McLaren had expected Suzuka to be a tough race given its poor form at similarly fast tracks like Silverstone and Spa, and although third was a much better result than anticipated, Hamilton admitted that the car's lack of fast corner speed was still apparent.
"I couldn't match these two in the first sector, and that was purely down to downforce, but in the middle sector I was quite quick, and in the last sector with KERS we were very quick," he said,
Hamilton had hoped to blast both both Trulli and polesitter Sebastian Vettel into the first corner using his KERS advantage, but only managed to split them - and after that Vettel proved impossible to catch.
"I tried to get both of them at the start, but they both actually got a really good start - which is not always the case," said Hamilton.
"Sebastian drove fantastically for the whole race, so he pulled away into the distance."
Trulli thrilled with hard-fought second
Jarno Trulli said his 'fantastic' return to the podium at Suzuka was all the more enjoyable because it came after such a hard-fought battle with Lewis Hamilton.
The duo pushed each other to qualifying-style on the limit laps in the middle of the race as Hamilton strived to pull far enough away from Trulli to negate the Toyota's strategy advantage, and Trulli drove equally hard to keep the McLaren in sight.
In the end it worked out in the Italian's favour, as Trulli stayed sufficiently close to Hamilton to grab second when he ran two laps further before his final stop.
"This was a fantastic race for me, I really enjoyed doing almost qualifying laps with Lewis - lap by lap closing the gap," said Trulli.
"It was not easy at all, after the first pit stop I was chasing him closely again, and I was really enjoying it because the car was very strong and it was just a matter of pushing hard as possible and putting pressure on Lewis.
"Eventually thanks to the team and strategy, we got him at the pit stop, and from then on it was easy for me, apart from the safety car."
The result was better than Trulli had expected, as he feared Hamilton would use his KERS boost to disappear into the distance off the line.
"I knew that the start would be the hot spot of the race and the most difficult, because this guy is very strong," said Trulli of Hamilton.
"Generally we don't get very good starts, and as well Lewis has the KERS, so it was pretty easy to imagine what would happen at the first corner.
"This time the car pulled away pretty well, so I was nearly able to keep the position, but obviously Lewis came by and I was obliged to follow him."
Trulli admitted he had similar worries when the safety car came out in the closing stages.
"Again I thought it was going to be a difficult restart and it would be close with the KERS car, but thankfully I pulled away again, so I'm really happy," he said.
But while delighted with second on Toyota's home turf, Trulli confessed to slight disappointment at being unable to live with the dominant Sebastian Vettel.
"I really wanted to win,but it was impossible today becuase Vettel was untouchable," he said.
The duo pushed each other to qualifying-style on the limit laps in the middle of the race as Hamilton strived to pull far enough away from Trulli to negate the Toyota's strategy advantage, and Trulli drove equally hard to keep the McLaren in sight.
In the end it worked out in the Italian's favour, as Trulli stayed sufficiently close to Hamilton to grab second when he ran two laps further before his final stop.
"This was a fantastic race for me, I really enjoyed doing almost qualifying laps with Lewis - lap by lap closing the gap," said Trulli.
"It was not easy at all, after the first pit stop I was chasing him closely again, and I was really enjoying it because the car was very strong and it was just a matter of pushing hard as possible and putting pressure on Lewis.
"Eventually thanks to the team and strategy, we got him at the pit stop, and from then on it was easy for me, apart from the safety car."
The result was better than Trulli had expected, as he feared Hamilton would use his KERS boost to disappear into the distance off the line.
"I knew that the start would be the hot spot of the race and the most difficult, because this guy is very strong," said Trulli of Hamilton.
"Generally we don't get very good starts, and as well Lewis has the KERS, so it was pretty easy to imagine what would happen at the first corner.
"This time the car pulled away pretty well, so I was nearly able to keep the position, but obviously Lewis came by and I was obliged to follow him."
Trulli admitted he had similar worries when the safety car came out in the closing stages.
"Again I thought it was going to be a difficult restart and it would be close with the KERS car, but thankfully I pulled away again, so I'm really happy," he said.
But while delighted with second on Toyota's home turf, Trulli confessed to slight disappointment at being unable to live with the dominant Sebastian Vettel.
"I really wanted to win,but it was impossible today becuase Vettel was untouchable," he said.
Vettel dominates to stay in title race
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel dominated the Japanese Grand Prix from start to finish to keep his slim world title hopes alive, while Rubens Barrichello finished one place ahead of Brawn GP team-mate Jenson Button to inch one point closer to the championship leader.
Vettel was in a class of his own throughout, pulling as much as 10 seconds ahead at one stage before a safety car period in the closing laps (triggered by a huge crash for Jaime Alguersuari) concertinaed the field.
Jarno Trulli lost second place to Lewis Hamilton at the start but regained it at the final pit stop exchange to record Toyota’s second consecutive runner-up finish, this time at its home event.
Hamilton lost time with a slow exit from the pits and then was hobbled by a KERS problem in the closing stages, but managed to fend off Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari for third.
Meanwhile, Button again played a perfect game of damage limitation after the points leader recovered well from his grid penalty and a poor start to finish eighth behind Barrichello.
It means Button now has a 14-point advantage over his Brazilian team-mate heading into the season’s final two races, with Vettel clinging on 16 points adrift.
Brawn's seven-eight finish meant it narrowly failed to clinch the constructors’ title but the trophy is now on ice for the Brackley-based team, which has 35.5 points in hand over Red Bull with just 36 still up for grabs.
However, that particular crown could yet be settled this weekend with the stewards currently investigating whether fifth-placed Nico Rosberg lapped too quickly on his way to the pit lane for his final stop once the safety car had been called.
The Williams driver, who had been in a close battle with the two Brawns over sixth, seventh and eighth, re-emerged from his stop in fifth and the championship-leading team is adamant Rosberg set his quickest middle sector time of the race when he should have been cruising on his in-lap.
Whatever the outcome of that investigation, Vettel will still go to Brazil with his championship hopes alive after the 22-year-old delivered the type of lights-to-flag masterclass he is fast becoming renowned for.
At the start the KERS-equipped Hamilton pounced on the first front-row starter in his sights, Trulli, and positioned himself to the right of left of pole man Vettel on the run down to the first corner.
However, the McLaren driver would have soon run out of track should he have attempted a move around the outside of the Red Bull, so it was Vettel who lead the field through the super-fast right-hander.
Further back and Button was coming under attack from KERS cars behind him on the fifth row, namely the second McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella’s Ferrari, and reached the first corner in 12th - although he soon took one place back from the latter.
But while the championship runner was again toiling at the start of a race, Vettel quickly showed he was in no mood to waste the opportunity to stay in the title hunt by immediately pulling clear of Hamilton at the front.
By the end of lap two the German was already 1.9s ahead of the McLaren andthen steadily continued to lap the 3.6-mile circuit several tenths quicker to give himself a handy 2.6s lead by the end of lap six.
By this time Button had regained his starting position of 10th after expertly passing BMW’s Robert Kubica under braking for the chicane, the Brawn driver having got onto the Pole’s tail after a better run through 130R.
However, while it moved him that one place closer to the points, Button soon found his attempts at further progress significantly blunted by the scrapping Kovalainen and Force India’s Adrian Sutil.
Kovalainen had quickly fallen off the pace of BMW's Nick Heidfeld, Raikkonen, Barrichello and Rosberg ahead and was clearly holding Sutil up.
Button in turn was starting to complain over the radio of suffering with understeer in the pair’s turbulent air.
But just when all sorts of nightmare scenarios may have been beginning to loom large in his mind with several one-stoppers in striking distance behind, Button benefited from the kind of fortune that often decides titles and, in truth, he has benefited from several doses of in recent months.
On lap 13 Sutil finally got a run on the similarly Mercedes-powered Kovalainen coming out of 130R and went for it down the inside of the chicane, but the McLaren man kept his foot in and tried to hold his ground on the outside.
The inevitable collision was the result and as the Force India spun round and Kovalainen took to the asphalt run-off, the road was clear for Button to breeze through into eighth.
And while main title rival Barrichello was at this stage running in sight of fifth-placed Raikkonen, Button now had the chance to get himself back in contention for more points in the laps before his stop and immediately started lapping 1s faster than he had up until that point.
Meanwhile, second-placed Hamilton could have done with a similar surge in pace if he had ambitions to catch Vettel, the world champion the first of the front runners to pit on lap 15 when he was some 4.3s in arrears of the Red Bull.
After Trulli pitted a lap later to retake a comfortable third, the race leader was in himself on lap 18 – but while Red Bull’s stop was mistake free, Vettel nevertheless lost around two seconds as the lollipop man waited for BMW’s Heidfeld to come down the pit lane.
The small delay meant Vettel resumed with his lead reduced to 2.9s, but the lost time only seemed to spur the German star on and he quickly, and consistently, began to build a more comfortable advantage over Hamilton once more.
Hamilton in turn appeared to be less happy on the harder compound tyre and Trulli began to edge closer to him, the Italian getting the gap down to as little as 2.2s during the stint before Hamilton pulled it back to 3s.
With the McLaren driver having been told over the radio that he needed to keep at least 3s ahead of the slightly-heavier Toyota if he was to stay ahead of him through the their respective final stops, it looked set to be a close run thing as Lewis initiated the second round of fuel stops on lap 38.
All went like clockwork for the service itself, but as he flicked his pit limiter off as he crossed the white exit line his MP4-24 appeared to take more time than usual to get up to speed which cost crucial time.
The stuttering exit seemed to prove decisive as, while Trulli only pitted one lap later, the Italian re-emerged just ahead of Hamilton to set up Toyota’s best ever result on home ground.
With serene race leader Vettel enjoying a trouble-free final stop of his own to cement an almost certain race victory and 10-point haul, it remained unclear how many points he would travel to Interlagos behind Button with the Briton having spent the middle stint trying to improve on eighth.
Indeed it was the other Brawn of Barrichello who was the one struggling in the middle phase, the Brazilian having dropped like a stone from the increasingly fast Raikkonen after his first stop and into the clutches of Rosberg, Button and Kubica.
With the Brawns the first to pit – Button ending up right on the tail of Barrichello as the raced entered its final 10 laps – the only question now remaining unanswered was where Rosberg would filter back onto the track in relation to the pair, the Williams driver going longer on the fuel.
The answer would be ahead of both in fifth after he was able to make that stop under the safety car after it came out following a heavy crash for Alguersuari at 130R.
The Toro Rosso teenager appeared to put a wheel on the asphalt as he rounded the circuit’s fastest corner which put him into a wild spin across the track and saw him smashing through one of the foam advertising boards and into an impact with his second tyre barrier in successive days.
The scattered debris meant the safety car was called and, while the field lapped to the controlled time indicated on their dashboard as they prepared to form up behind the pace car, Rosberg took the opportunity to take his pit stop and re-emerged ahead of both Heidfeld and the two Brawns.
After a five-lap full-course yellow, the scene was set for some late order changes at the front but Vettel had simply been in a class of his own all day and reeled off the final four laps to take his fourth career win ahead of Trulli and Hamilton.
Raikkonen had closed onto Heidfeld’s tail with a rapid middle stint and got ahead when the BMW driver had a slow final stop, while Rosberg came home in a controversial fifth ahead of Heidfeld.
Button came under intense pressure from Kubica in the closing laps but held on for the final point, with Fernando Alonso and Kovalainen missing out on points in 10th and 11th.
Japanese Grand Prix result (53 laps)
1. VETTEL Red Bull 2. TRULLI Toyota +4.8s
3. HAMILTON McLareen +6.4s
4. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +7.9s
5. ROSBERG Williams +8.7s
6. HEIDFELD BMW +9.5s
7. BARRICHELLO Brawn +10.6s
8. BUTTON Brawn +11.4s
9. KUBICA BMW +11.7s
10. ALONSO Renault +13.0s
11. KOVALAINEN McLaren +13.7s
12. FISICHELLA Ferrari +14.5s
13. SUTIL Force India +14.9s
14. LIUZZI Force India +15.7s
15. NAKAJIMA Williams +17.9s
16. GROSJEAN Renault +1 lap
17. WEBBER Red Bull +1 lap
R. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso +8 laps
R. BUEMI Toro Rosso +27 laps
DNS.GLOCK Toyota
Fastest lap: WEBBER 1m32.569s (Lap 52)
Vettel was in a class of his own throughout, pulling as much as 10 seconds ahead at one stage before a safety car period in the closing laps (triggered by a huge crash for Jaime Alguersuari) concertinaed the field.
Jarno Trulli lost second place to Lewis Hamilton at the start but regained it at the final pit stop exchange to record Toyota’s second consecutive runner-up finish, this time at its home event.
Hamilton lost time with a slow exit from the pits and then was hobbled by a KERS problem in the closing stages, but managed to fend off Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari for third.
Meanwhile, Button again played a perfect game of damage limitation after the points leader recovered well from his grid penalty and a poor start to finish eighth behind Barrichello.
It means Button now has a 14-point advantage over his Brazilian team-mate heading into the season’s final two races, with Vettel clinging on 16 points adrift.
Brawn's seven-eight finish meant it narrowly failed to clinch the constructors’ title but the trophy is now on ice for the Brackley-based team, which has 35.5 points in hand over Red Bull with just 36 still up for grabs.
However, that particular crown could yet be settled this weekend with the stewards currently investigating whether fifth-placed Nico Rosberg lapped too quickly on his way to the pit lane for his final stop once the safety car had been called.
The Williams driver, who had been in a close battle with the two Brawns over sixth, seventh and eighth, re-emerged from his stop in fifth and the championship-leading team is adamant Rosberg set his quickest middle sector time of the race when he should have been cruising on his in-lap.
Whatever the outcome of that investigation, Vettel will still go to Brazil with his championship hopes alive after the 22-year-old delivered the type of lights-to-flag masterclass he is fast becoming renowned for.
At the start the KERS-equipped Hamilton pounced on the first front-row starter in his sights, Trulli, and positioned himself to the right of left of pole man Vettel on the run down to the first corner.
However, the McLaren driver would have soon run out of track should he have attempted a move around the outside of the Red Bull, so it was Vettel who lead the field through the super-fast right-hander.
Further back and Button was coming under attack from KERS cars behind him on the fifth row, namely the second McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella’s Ferrari, and reached the first corner in 12th - although he soon took one place back from the latter.
But while the championship runner was again toiling at the start of a race, Vettel quickly showed he was in no mood to waste the opportunity to stay in the title hunt by immediately pulling clear of Hamilton at the front.
By the end of lap two the German was already 1.9s ahead of the McLaren andthen steadily continued to lap the 3.6-mile circuit several tenths quicker to give himself a handy 2.6s lead by the end of lap six.
By this time Button had regained his starting position of 10th after expertly passing BMW’s Robert Kubica under braking for the chicane, the Brawn driver having got onto the Pole’s tail after a better run through 130R.
However, while it moved him that one place closer to the points, Button soon found his attempts at further progress significantly blunted by the scrapping Kovalainen and Force India’s Adrian Sutil.
Kovalainen had quickly fallen off the pace of BMW's Nick Heidfeld, Raikkonen, Barrichello and Rosberg ahead and was clearly holding Sutil up.
Button in turn was starting to complain over the radio of suffering with understeer in the pair’s turbulent air.
But just when all sorts of nightmare scenarios may have been beginning to loom large in his mind with several one-stoppers in striking distance behind, Button benefited from the kind of fortune that often decides titles and, in truth, he has benefited from several doses of in recent months.
On lap 13 Sutil finally got a run on the similarly Mercedes-powered Kovalainen coming out of 130R and went for it down the inside of the chicane, but the McLaren man kept his foot in and tried to hold his ground on the outside.
The inevitable collision was the result and as the Force India spun round and Kovalainen took to the asphalt run-off, the road was clear for Button to breeze through into eighth.
And while main title rival Barrichello was at this stage running in sight of fifth-placed Raikkonen, Button now had the chance to get himself back in contention for more points in the laps before his stop and immediately started lapping 1s faster than he had up until that point.
Meanwhile, second-placed Hamilton could have done with a similar surge in pace if he had ambitions to catch Vettel, the world champion the first of the front runners to pit on lap 15 when he was some 4.3s in arrears of the Red Bull.
After Trulli pitted a lap later to retake a comfortable third, the race leader was in himself on lap 18 – but while Red Bull’s stop was mistake free, Vettel nevertheless lost around two seconds as the lollipop man waited for BMW’s Heidfeld to come down the pit lane.
The small delay meant Vettel resumed with his lead reduced to 2.9s, but the lost time only seemed to spur the German star on and he quickly, and consistently, began to build a more comfortable advantage over Hamilton once more.
Hamilton in turn appeared to be less happy on the harder compound tyre and Trulli began to edge closer to him, the Italian getting the gap down to as little as 2.2s during the stint before Hamilton pulled it back to 3s.
With the McLaren driver having been told over the radio that he needed to keep at least 3s ahead of the slightly-heavier Toyota if he was to stay ahead of him through the their respective final stops, it looked set to be a close run thing as Lewis initiated the second round of fuel stops on lap 38.
All went like clockwork for the service itself, but as he flicked his pit limiter off as he crossed the white exit line his MP4-24 appeared to take more time than usual to get up to speed which cost crucial time.
The stuttering exit seemed to prove decisive as, while Trulli only pitted one lap later, the Italian re-emerged just ahead of Hamilton to set up Toyota’s best ever result on home ground.
With serene race leader Vettel enjoying a trouble-free final stop of his own to cement an almost certain race victory and 10-point haul, it remained unclear how many points he would travel to Interlagos behind Button with the Briton having spent the middle stint trying to improve on eighth.
Indeed it was the other Brawn of Barrichello who was the one struggling in the middle phase, the Brazilian having dropped like a stone from the increasingly fast Raikkonen after his first stop and into the clutches of Rosberg, Button and Kubica.
With the Brawns the first to pit – Button ending up right on the tail of Barrichello as the raced entered its final 10 laps – the only question now remaining unanswered was where Rosberg would filter back onto the track in relation to the pair, the Williams driver going longer on the fuel.
The answer would be ahead of both in fifth after he was able to make that stop under the safety car after it came out following a heavy crash for Alguersuari at 130R.
The Toro Rosso teenager appeared to put a wheel on the asphalt as he rounded the circuit’s fastest corner which put him into a wild spin across the track and saw him smashing through one of the foam advertising boards and into an impact with his second tyre barrier in successive days.
The scattered debris meant the safety car was called and, while the field lapped to the controlled time indicated on their dashboard as they prepared to form up behind the pace car, Rosberg took the opportunity to take his pit stop and re-emerged ahead of both Heidfeld and the two Brawns.
After a five-lap full-course yellow, the scene was set for some late order changes at the front but Vettel had simply been in a class of his own all day and reeled off the final four laps to take his fourth career win ahead of Trulli and Hamilton.
Raikkonen had closed onto Heidfeld’s tail with a rapid middle stint and got ahead when the BMW driver had a slow final stop, while Rosberg came home in a controversial fifth ahead of Heidfeld.
Button came under intense pressure from Kubica in the closing laps but held on for the final point, with Fernando Alonso and Kovalainen missing out on points in 10th and 11th.
Japanese Grand Prix result (53 laps)
1. VETTEL Red Bull 2. TRULLI Toyota +4.8s
3. HAMILTON McLareen +6.4s
4. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +7.9s
5. ROSBERG Williams +8.7s
6. HEIDFELD BMW +9.5s
7. BARRICHELLO Brawn +10.6s
8. BUTTON Brawn +11.4s
9. KUBICA BMW +11.7s
10. ALONSO Renault +13.0s
11. KOVALAINEN McLaren +13.7s
12. FISICHELLA Ferrari +14.5s
13. SUTIL Force India +14.9s
14. LIUZZI Force India +15.7s
15. NAKAJIMA Williams +17.9s
16. GROSJEAN Renault +1 lap
17. WEBBER Red Bull +1 lap
R. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso +8 laps
R. BUEMI Toro Rosso +27 laps
DNS.GLOCK Toyota
Fastest lap: WEBBER 1m32.569s (Lap 52)
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Interview with Fernando Alonso
Fernando, your life has been like a fast train: always at top speed and only stopping at a few stations. Have these nine years in Formula 1 gone by quickly for you?
Yes, these nine years have gone by so quickly, in my private life and as a racing driver even more so - we are always moving from place to place, we are always on the go with races, engagements, sponsor events… the truth is that it seems like I only just started yesterday.
Was it worth for you to have done so many sacrifices in your life?
Yes, this is my life. It’s what I enjoy doing. For me, I’m someone in a single seater with a steering wheel in my hands, it is natural.
Could you live without Formula 1?
I think so. Right now it is my job and my passion, but this will not last forever. I’ve got other dreams in life and I will be ready to face them when the moment is right.
You said one day that regardless of how long you will be in F1 you would like to end you career by winning a world championship title. Do you still feel the same way?
Yes, that is one of the things that I’ve got in my head, but it's not easy. The danger is that when you win and everything goes well, you are always under the temptation to keep going for another year to repeat it again, without realising that achieving a title is something very complicated. That is why, I’m sure in the next few years, if I am lucky enough to win another title, it would be the perfect moment to stop.
Will you miss what you will be leaving behind? Renault is your life, they are your people, your family, a bit like your own house…
Yes, all my F1 life I’ve walked hand-in-hand with Renault. They are people that I could never forget because with them, and thanks to them, I accomplished everything I have today. I will be eternally thankful and, of course, I will always keep in contact with all the good friends that I have made through the years. Renault is a team and a group of people that I will always keep in my heart.
How many things do people don’t know about you?
Lots. In truth, they shouldn’t need to know who I am. I believe that what they should only be interested in is how I perform in a car.
You are 28 years old; you have won two titles and are earning a good living, what remains of the 19 years old who arrived in Australia in 2001 to race in Formula 1 for the first time?
I'm the same guy than that day in March in 2001 when I arrived in Australia and the same that is in Suzuka today. I have not changed at all. The things that have changed are the ones around me. When I arrived at Minardi nobody knew me and I didn’t generate interest in the paddock. Now people respect you much more, admire you and maybe that is what has changed. Fernando, the person, remains the same; maybe it’s because of my education, thanks to the family I've got: humble people that keep doing the same things than ten years ago and will keep on doing for ever.
You are not the typical driver that sees himself as a superstar…
I'm a very normal person. People who know me well know that I haven’t changed.
You know that many people say that you are the best…
The only thing I know is that I can take one hundred per cent performance of any car that you give me. Now if people say that I'm the best... no I do not think I can say that.
You are very honest. Sometimes this a virtue; do you think that it can be an inconvenience?
I don’t think that it’s an inconvenience. Things should be said face to face, always. When they are good things, fantastic and when they are bad things, they are said face to face to improve and never to criticise.
How would you like to say goodbye to Renault?
With good racing. After the first podium of the season, which was a great delight for everyone, I only hope I can give them the greatest number of points possible in the three races left and of course I would like to say goodbye with a big hug to all the people that I care for and with the hope that they will be a strong rivals in the future. I will miss them a lot. I hope they will do very well.
You are the 11th driver in history to obtain such a number of victories, you are one off to enter in the top ten, two to equal Nelson Piquet and three to equal Juan Manuel Fangio, four to equal Niki Lauda and Jim Clark and six from Jackie Stewart. How do you feel about that?
I don’t follow any statistics. It is good to know and now that you mention it, it fills me with hope, but I think that this is for when you retire. Then, when I will reflect back and think about how well I did in this sport, when I see that I'm at the same level as the greatest names in motorsport, all these legends, I will be very proud.
You have fought hard to be where you are now, but on a personal level, who helped you the most in the way to achieve it?
My family
After so many victories, have you learnt how to loose?
Yes, I have learnt how to loose because with age you learn to know the world better, the whims of destiny and the sport itself. It is impossible to have a victory every time that you go on the track or to do it year on year. It is a simple rule of life. But there are moments when you are ready to win and you should take advantage of those moments and the only thing that you can do is to give all you can and try to improve as quickly as possible
Yes, these nine years have gone by so quickly, in my private life and as a racing driver even more so - we are always moving from place to place, we are always on the go with races, engagements, sponsor events… the truth is that it seems like I only just started yesterday.
Was it worth for you to have done so many sacrifices in your life?
Yes, this is my life. It’s what I enjoy doing. For me, I’m someone in a single seater with a steering wheel in my hands, it is natural.
Could you live without Formula 1?
I think so. Right now it is my job and my passion, but this will not last forever. I’ve got other dreams in life and I will be ready to face them when the moment is right.
You said one day that regardless of how long you will be in F1 you would like to end you career by winning a world championship title. Do you still feel the same way?
Yes, that is one of the things that I’ve got in my head, but it's not easy. The danger is that when you win and everything goes well, you are always under the temptation to keep going for another year to repeat it again, without realising that achieving a title is something very complicated. That is why, I’m sure in the next few years, if I am lucky enough to win another title, it would be the perfect moment to stop.
Will you miss what you will be leaving behind? Renault is your life, they are your people, your family, a bit like your own house…
Yes, all my F1 life I’ve walked hand-in-hand with Renault. They are people that I could never forget because with them, and thanks to them, I accomplished everything I have today. I will be eternally thankful and, of course, I will always keep in contact with all the good friends that I have made through the years. Renault is a team and a group of people that I will always keep in my heart.
How many things do people don’t know about you?
Lots. In truth, they shouldn’t need to know who I am. I believe that what they should only be interested in is how I perform in a car.
You are 28 years old; you have won two titles and are earning a good living, what remains of the 19 years old who arrived in Australia in 2001 to race in Formula 1 for the first time?
I'm the same guy than that day in March in 2001 when I arrived in Australia and the same that is in Suzuka today. I have not changed at all. The things that have changed are the ones around me. When I arrived at Minardi nobody knew me and I didn’t generate interest in the paddock. Now people respect you much more, admire you and maybe that is what has changed. Fernando, the person, remains the same; maybe it’s because of my education, thanks to the family I've got: humble people that keep doing the same things than ten years ago and will keep on doing for ever.
You are not the typical driver that sees himself as a superstar…
I'm a very normal person. People who know me well know that I haven’t changed.
You know that many people say that you are the best…
The only thing I know is that I can take one hundred per cent performance of any car that you give me. Now if people say that I'm the best... no I do not think I can say that.
You are very honest. Sometimes this a virtue; do you think that it can be an inconvenience?
I don’t think that it’s an inconvenience. Things should be said face to face, always. When they are good things, fantastic and when they are bad things, they are said face to face to improve and never to criticise.
How would you like to say goodbye to Renault?
With good racing. After the first podium of the season, which was a great delight for everyone, I only hope I can give them the greatest number of points possible in the three races left and of course I would like to say goodbye with a big hug to all the people that I care for and with the hope that they will be a strong rivals in the future. I will miss them a lot. I hope they will do very well.
You are the 11th driver in history to obtain such a number of victories, you are one off to enter in the top ten, two to equal Nelson Piquet and three to equal Juan Manuel Fangio, four to equal Niki Lauda and Jim Clark and six from Jackie Stewart. How do you feel about that?
I don’t follow any statistics. It is good to know and now that you mention it, it fills me with hope, but I think that this is for when you retire. Then, when I will reflect back and think about how well I did in this sport, when I see that I'm at the same level as the greatest names in motorsport, all these legends, I will be very proud.
You have fought hard to be where you are now, but on a personal level, who helped you the most in the way to achieve it?
My family
After so many victories, have you learnt how to loose?
Yes, I have learnt how to loose because with age you learn to know the world better, the whims of destiny and the sport itself. It is impossible to have a victory every time that you go on the track or to do it year on year. It is a simple rule of life. But there are moments when you are ready to win and you should take advantage of those moments and the only thing that you can do is to give all you can and try to improve as quickly as possible
Japanese GP - Fisichella: “I love Suzuka circuit”
Suzuka, 1 October 2009 - Giancarlo Fisichella is pleased to be in Japan, where he is hugely popular with the local race fans, but it was another drive’s news that was the subject of the first question at his conference in the Suzuka paddock this afternoon: the arrival next season of Fernando Alonso: “I think it is a great decision and Ferrari did something fantastic in getting him to drive for the team next year,” said the Italian. “Fernando is one of the best drivers in the world and I’m sure he will have a good season with such a great team like Ferrari. For my part, I will be happy to be working to support him and Felipe in my role as third driver.”
Fisichella is growing in confidence within the team since making his Ferrari debut in Monza and admitted he was really looking forward to this race. “I love Suzuka circuit and I’ve gone quite well here in the past with a couple of podium finishes,” he said. “I have a good feeling for this track, so now I must ensure I also get that good feeling in the Ferrari car. The track here is completely different to Singapore and I feel we have the possibility to go quite well here, so I hope we can have a good weekend and get a good result for the team. If it’s a wet race, anything could happen and I wouldn’t mind. The hard thing for me would be if it rains for free practice but is dry for qualifying, which I would find tough. I feel comfortable now with the team, so it is just a case of getting more comfortable with the car, which especially in Singapore was difficult, in terms of finding the limit. The main area I need to improve is dealing with the car under braking, which makes me not so confident, but I feel it should be better at this circuit. As for the KERS, I think I am using it quite well now. I still lose a couple of tenths because of concentrating on the different ways of operating systems on this car compared to my last one. But overall, this is becoming less of a problem. For sure this weekend will be better and my aim is to get a better result and hopefully score some points.”
One of the unique features of racing in Japan, is that the fans are very knowledgeable and extremely passionate about the F1 drivers, with Giancarlo one of the most popular. “I have one of the best and the biggest fan club here in Japan,” said the Ferrari man. “I will meet all of them tomorrow evening at the circuit and I look forward to their support throughout this weekend.”
Fisichella is growing in confidence within the team since making his Ferrari debut in Monza and admitted he was really looking forward to this race. “I love Suzuka circuit and I’ve gone quite well here in the past with a couple of podium finishes,” he said. “I have a good feeling for this track, so now I must ensure I also get that good feeling in the Ferrari car. The track here is completely different to Singapore and I feel we have the possibility to go quite well here, so I hope we can have a good weekend and get a good result for the team. If it’s a wet race, anything could happen and I wouldn’t mind. The hard thing for me would be if it rains for free practice but is dry for qualifying, which I would find tough. I feel comfortable now with the team, so it is just a case of getting more comfortable with the car, which especially in Singapore was difficult, in terms of finding the limit. The main area I need to improve is dealing with the car under braking, which makes me not so confident, but I feel it should be better at this circuit. As for the KERS, I think I am using it quite well now. I still lose a couple of tenths because of concentrating on the different ways of operating systems on this car compared to my last one. But overall, this is becoming less of a problem. For sure this weekend will be better and my aim is to get a better result and hopefully score some points.”
One of the unique features of racing in Japan, is that the fans are very knowledgeable and extremely passionate about the F1 drivers, with Giancarlo one of the most popular. “I have one of the best and the biggest fan club here in Japan,” said the Ferrari man. “I will meet all of them tomorrow evening at the circuit and I look forward to their support throughout this weekend.”
Lewis Hamilton denies 'total war' with old foe Fernando Alonso next season•
'I have a huge amount of respect for him,' Hamilton says
McLaren team will 'do everything to beat' Alonso
Lewis Hamilton is relishing taking on his old foe Fernando Alonso next season following the Spaniard's move from Renault to Ferrari.
The world champion said his relationship with Alonso had improved following a tense season together as McLaren team-mates in 2007. "People say it will be total war between me and Fernando but that's not the case," said Hamilton. "He's a former world champion and I have a huge amount of respect for him. We get on very well. He will be very strong at Ferrari and we've got to make sure we do everything to beat him. We've got our work cut out; we've got to do a solid job with our car."
With Kimi Raikkonen rumoured to be returning to McLaren as team-mate to Hamilton, the British driver is relishing the competition for 2010. "I'm looking forward to it," said Hamilton. "It sounds like it could be an exciting year and back to the old days that I remember. I grew up watching Kimi and Fernando at the front, along with [Michael] Schumacher, and I see those guys as the greats. So being able to compete with Raikkonen and Alonso and to have [Felipe] Massa in there as well, it's going to be a close, close battle. As drivers, we always want to be racing against the best. And you always want to be ahead and be better."
Alonso said the switch to Ferrari was a dream move. "Hopefully I can continue as long as I want and I can finish my career here with a lot of wins," said Alonso. "I really think that Ferrari will be my last team. Leaving Ferrari to change teams is a step backwards. Ferrari is more than a team and I want to finish my career there. All the drivers dream one day of driving for the Scuderia Ferrari and this dream has come true for me. I'm extremely happy and I'm ready for the challenge in 2010.
"I will go there to be in the best team possible for my career and Ferrari and I share many things together, such as the passion for competition and to give 100% every race. I think that this is the best destination of my career. Hopefully I can give to them the maximum performance in the car, from a driving point of view. Outside the car I can be part of the team and be as professional as possible and to try and help the team produce the best car and give the best performance. I think all the drivers try to do this and sometimes you succeed. Winning a championship is something special and winning with Ferrari would be more special, but I cannot tell you now as I haven't yet experienced it."
Rubens Barrichello, a former Ferrari driver, had no doubt about the strength of the partnership between the Italian team and Alonso. "There has been talk of him going there for the past two years but it never came to anything," said Barrichello. "For me, it came as a surprise when it was finally announced this early, especially when they had a contract with Kimi. When I say it's love, Fernando has been wanting to go there for a long time and Ferrari feel the same. When it's like that, then it will gel very easily. Fernando is a top-class driver, on the same level as Michael Schumacher. I just hope that my friend Felipe Massa can hold on to him because I think he's going to be the guy to beat. Felipe is very fast and they are going to have equal terms – which is not something [we] all had the pleasure of."
Barrichello was referring to having to accept team orders at Ferrari. The Brazilian, meanwhile, would not confirm reports that he will leave Brawn to join Williams in 2010. "I'm in much better shape than I've ever been," said Barrichello. "I hope to be driving next year in a competitive car and that's all I can say for the time being. It's not done."
McLaren team will 'do everything to beat' Alonso
Lewis Hamilton is relishing taking on his old foe Fernando Alonso next season following the Spaniard's move from Renault to Ferrari.
The world champion said his relationship with Alonso had improved following a tense season together as McLaren team-mates in 2007. "People say it will be total war between me and Fernando but that's not the case," said Hamilton. "He's a former world champion and I have a huge amount of respect for him. We get on very well. He will be very strong at Ferrari and we've got to make sure we do everything to beat him. We've got our work cut out; we've got to do a solid job with our car."
With Kimi Raikkonen rumoured to be returning to McLaren as team-mate to Hamilton, the British driver is relishing the competition for 2010. "I'm looking forward to it," said Hamilton. "It sounds like it could be an exciting year and back to the old days that I remember. I grew up watching Kimi and Fernando at the front, along with [Michael] Schumacher, and I see those guys as the greats. So being able to compete with Raikkonen and Alonso and to have [Felipe] Massa in there as well, it's going to be a close, close battle. As drivers, we always want to be racing against the best. And you always want to be ahead and be better."
Alonso said the switch to Ferrari was a dream move. "Hopefully I can continue as long as I want and I can finish my career here with a lot of wins," said Alonso. "I really think that Ferrari will be my last team. Leaving Ferrari to change teams is a step backwards. Ferrari is more than a team and I want to finish my career there. All the drivers dream one day of driving for the Scuderia Ferrari and this dream has come true for me. I'm extremely happy and I'm ready for the challenge in 2010.
"I will go there to be in the best team possible for my career and Ferrari and I share many things together, such as the passion for competition and to give 100% every race. I think that this is the best destination of my career. Hopefully I can give to them the maximum performance in the car, from a driving point of view. Outside the car I can be part of the team and be as professional as possible and to try and help the team produce the best car and give the best performance. I think all the drivers try to do this and sometimes you succeed. Winning a championship is something special and winning with Ferrari would be more special, but I cannot tell you now as I haven't yet experienced it."
Rubens Barrichello, a former Ferrari driver, had no doubt about the strength of the partnership between the Italian team and Alonso. "There has been talk of him going there for the past two years but it never came to anything," said Barrichello. "For me, it came as a surprise when it was finally announced this early, especially when they had a contract with Kimi. When I say it's love, Fernando has been wanting to go there for a long time and Ferrari feel the same. When it's like that, then it will gel very easily. Fernando is a top-class driver, on the same level as Michael Schumacher. I just hope that my friend Felipe Massa can hold on to him because I think he's going to be the guy to beat. Felipe is very fast and they are going to have equal terms – which is not something [we] all had the pleasure of."
Barrichello was referring to having to accept team orders at Ferrari. The Brazilian, meanwhile, would not confirm reports that he will leave Brawn to join Williams in 2010. "I'm in much better shape than I've ever been," said Barrichello. "I hope to be driving next year in a competitive car and that's all I can say for the time being. It's not done."
Kimi Raikkonen Q and A: Maybe I’ll race in 2010, maybe I won’t
Even though he’s known for some time that 2009 will be his last season with Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen was unexpectedly emotional when speaking about it in the Suzuka paddock on Thursday, giving one of the longest interviews of his entire career. However, the Finn, who will be replaced by Fernando Alonso next year, remained pretty tight-lipped about his future plans, refusing to reveal whether rumours of a return to McLaren are accurate…
Q: Kimi, you had good times at Ferrari, won a championship and now it’s all over. How do you feel about that?
Kimi Raikkonen: Well, let’s face it, in the end I have achieved what I wanted - I’ve won a championship. I’ve worked with them for the last three years and now things have changed. It’s not the first time that it has happened in Formula One and surely won’t be the last time. That’s all I want to say.
Q: But how did Ferrari convince you to end the relationship. You had a contract for 2010 with them?
KR: There are many reasons. You should ask them. But in Formula One, even if you have a contract, there is always a lot of money involved, so there can always be different options in life. That’s obviously what happened. Sure, there is not only one reason for what has happened, that’s why everybody decided to end up in this position.
Q: You had a contract for next year and have done your best over the last three year, winning one championship. Do you feel you’ve been unfairly treated?
KR: I’m still happy with what I’ve done and I think I will have a good future. Sure, if you sign a contract you finish it, but obviously it didn’t work out. Overall I’m okay with it.
Q: How long ago did you know you won’t race for Ferrari in 2010?
KR: For quite a while now.
Q: Are you okay with the solution you’ve found?
KR: Yeah.
Q: There are a number of options open to you for the future. One of them is returning to McLaren. Could you imagine going back? Would you enjoy it there again?
KR: I have nothing bad to say about them as we always had a good relationship, and of course it’s a chance. But honestly I haven’t thought too much about these things, but in time I will make my decision. I will let you know!
Q: Are you a bit frustrated with Ferrari this season?
KR: I don't think anyone expected Ferrari to have this kind of season, which turned out to be so difficult. But this can happen in Formula One sometimes, when you don't deliver a car capable of getting us to the front, but this is just one year and we will wait and see what happens next.
Q: Renault said that they will make their announcement next week. Could they be an option and have you talked to them?
KR: No, not with them.
Q: If you could do it all over again would you do anything differently?
KR: Would I have made different decisions? No. I am happy about what I have done, but sure if you look back in hindsight you probably would have done different things. But that’s easy to say afterwards. Regarding my contracts, no I would not have changed anything.
Q: What did you give to Ferrari and what did Ferrari give to you in the last three years?
KR: I’ve achieved with them what I always wanted to achieve. We had good times, of course, but we also had difficult times. But that’s part of the whole business. Sometimes you have good moments and sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and carry on. Overall I have happy memories of my time with the team. I have won a championship and the team has won two. That is something that nobody can take away.
Q: You have seemed to have had ups and downs. Did you always give 100 percent or have there been moments where you lacked motivation?
KR: No, there has never been a lack of motivation. All the stories came from the media - basically you guys. I never had any motivation problems. Sure if you have good results life tends to be easier, but then these things happen.
Q: Many times before you’ve said that Ferrari will be your last team. Have you changed your mind or were you forced to change your mind?
KR: Like I said, there have been many options around and what happened now is just one of them. I think in the end I am happy with what happened, otherwise I would not have done the deal with them. For the moment I have not decided if I want to continue racing, or what I want to do. Before I had a contract for 2010, now not anymore. That changes things. Maybe I’ll race, maybe I won’t.
Q: What are the chances of you going rallying now?
KR: There is chance, but there is also chance of racing in Formula One. For sure I will decide before the start of the next season what I am going to do.
Q: Did you ask Ferrari why Fernando and not me, or why Felipe Massa and not me? Did you get a satisfying answer?
KR: I know more or less the reasons and it has nothing to do with my racing or anything I’m doing in the team. It’s just purely another reason.
Q: How much has your departure to do with the arrival of Santander?
KR: For that you’ll have to ask the team.
Q: Wherever destiny takes you, do you hope to fight with Fernando for another world title?
KR: If I decide to go with a team next year, I am surely not going with any of the small teams, as that will never give me the chance to fight for the championship. And if I’m not able to fight for the championship, there will be no reason for me to be in Formula One.
Q: Kimi, you had good times at Ferrari, won a championship and now it’s all over. How do you feel about that?
Kimi Raikkonen: Well, let’s face it, in the end I have achieved what I wanted - I’ve won a championship. I’ve worked with them for the last three years and now things have changed. It’s not the first time that it has happened in Formula One and surely won’t be the last time. That’s all I want to say.
Q: But how did Ferrari convince you to end the relationship. You had a contract for 2010 with them?
KR: There are many reasons. You should ask them. But in Formula One, even if you have a contract, there is always a lot of money involved, so there can always be different options in life. That’s obviously what happened. Sure, there is not only one reason for what has happened, that’s why everybody decided to end up in this position.
Q: You had a contract for next year and have done your best over the last three year, winning one championship. Do you feel you’ve been unfairly treated?
KR: I’m still happy with what I’ve done and I think I will have a good future. Sure, if you sign a contract you finish it, but obviously it didn’t work out. Overall I’m okay with it.
Q: How long ago did you know you won’t race for Ferrari in 2010?
KR: For quite a while now.
Q: Are you okay with the solution you’ve found?
KR: Yeah.
Q: There are a number of options open to you for the future. One of them is returning to McLaren. Could you imagine going back? Would you enjoy it there again?
KR: I have nothing bad to say about them as we always had a good relationship, and of course it’s a chance. But honestly I haven’t thought too much about these things, but in time I will make my decision. I will let you know!
Q: Are you a bit frustrated with Ferrari this season?
KR: I don't think anyone expected Ferrari to have this kind of season, which turned out to be so difficult. But this can happen in Formula One sometimes, when you don't deliver a car capable of getting us to the front, but this is just one year and we will wait and see what happens next.
Q: Renault said that they will make their announcement next week. Could they be an option and have you talked to them?
KR: No, not with them.
Q: If you could do it all over again would you do anything differently?
KR: Would I have made different decisions? No. I am happy about what I have done, but sure if you look back in hindsight you probably would have done different things. But that’s easy to say afterwards. Regarding my contracts, no I would not have changed anything.
Q: What did you give to Ferrari and what did Ferrari give to you in the last three years?
KR: I’ve achieved with them what I always wanted to achieve. We had good times, of course, but we also had difficult times. But that’s part of the whole business. Sometimes you have good moments and sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and carry on. Overall I have happy memories of my time with the team. I have won a championship and the team has won two. That is something that nobody can take away.
Q: You have seemed to have had ups and downs. Did you always give 100 percent or have there been moments where you lacked motivation?
KR: No, there has never been a lack of motivation. All the stories came from the media - basically you guys. I never had any motivation problems. Sure if you have good results life tends to be easier, but then these things happen.
Q: Many times before you’ve said that Ferrari will be your last team. Have you changed your mind or were you forced to change your mind?
KR: Like I said, there have been many options around and what happened now is just one of them. I think in the end I am happy with what happened, otherwise I would not have done the deal with them. For the moment I have not decided if I want to continue racing, or what I want to do. Before I had a contract for 2010, now not anymore. That changes things. Maybe I’ll race, maybe I won’t.
Q: What are the chances of you going rallying now?
KR: There is chance, but there is also chance of racing in Formula One. For sure I will decide before the start of the next season what I am going to do.
Q: Did you ask Ferrari why Fernando and not me, or why Felipe Massa and not me? Did you get a satisfying answer?
KR: I know more or less the reasons and it has nothing to do with my racing or anything I’m doing in the team. It’s just purely another reason.
Q: How much has your departure to do with the arrival of Santander?
KR: For that you’ll have to ask the team.
Q: Wherever destiny takes you, do you hope to fight with Fernando for another world title?
KR: If I decide to go with a team next year, I am surely not going with any of the small teams, as that will never give me the chance to fight for the championship. And if I’m not able to fight for the championship, there will be no reason for me to be in Formula One.
Kubica still undecided on future drive
Robert Kubica says he is yet to make a decision about his future in Formula 1, although the Pole is "95 per cent" certain that he will land the seat he wants.
"I haven't made my choice yet," Kubica told reporters at Suzuka. "From me, in my point of view, there is not 100 per cent confirmation where I will be and we will have to wait.
"My options were not Ferrari so it did not depend from Fernando [Alonso] if he would go there or not, what I will do in the future.
"It takes a bit of time to fix everything, to make a deal, and that is it. I think now if the period where you will have to decide and in the end from the driver point of view and team point of view, it is better to have closed the deal and everything, so sooner or later we will know where we will be."
The BMW Sauber driver said he continues talking with the Renault team, who will announce Fernando Alonso's replacement next week after the Spaniard confirmed his move to Ferrari from 2010.
Despite Renault's announcement, Kubica insists nothing is signed with the French squad.
"Then they have decided, but as I said there is nothing 100 per cent sure," he said of Renault's plans to announce its driver next week.
"Until I sign the contract it is difficult to say where I will be racing. Once I sign the contract we will see."
When asked how confident he was that his preferred option will happen, he said: "95 per cent, 90 per cent."
The Pole suggested staying at his current team was still a possibility, but admitted there were more options than just that and Renault.
"I think there are some other options apart from these two. But, as you say, there is never 100 per cent a guarantee of performance as I said before, who will be quick and who will not be quick, but it is a difficult period for all of F1, not only for this team but for all teams, most of the teams.
"There is always kind of uncertain points on the future, but I think this will not be the case of the team in which I will go."
"I haven't made my choice yet," Kubica told reporters at Suzuka. "From me, in my point of view, there is not 100 per cent confirmation where I will be and we will have to wait.
"My options were not Ferrari so it did not depend from Fernando [Alonso] if he would go there or not, what I will do in the future.
"It takes a bit of time to fix everything, to make a deal, and that is it. I think now if the period where you will have to decide and in the end from the driver point of view and team point of view, it is better to have closed the deal and everything, so sooner or later we will know where we will be."
The BMW Sauber driver said he continues talking with the Renault team, who will announce Fernando Alonso's replacement next week after the Spaniard confirmed his move to Ferrari from 2010.
Despite Renault's announcement, Kubica insists nothing is signed with the French squad.
"Then they have decided, but as I said there is nothing 100 per cent sure," he said of Renault's plans to announce its driver next week.
"Until I sign the contract it is difficult to say where I will be racing. Once I sign the contract we will see."
When asked how confident he was that his preferred option will happen, he said: "95 per cent, 90 per cent."
The Pole suggested staying at his current team was still a possibility, but admitted there were more options than just that and Renault.
"I think there are some other options apart from these two. But, as you say, there is never 100 per cent a guarantee of performance as I said before, who will be quick and who will not be quick, but it is a difficult period for all of F1, not only for this team but for all teams, most of the teams.
"There is always kind of uncertain points on the future, but I think this will not be the case of the team in which I will go."
Suzuka, 1 October 2009 - The Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Team Principal does not usually talk to the media officially on a Grand Prix Thursday, but with the important announcement that Fernando Alonso is joining the team next year, Stefano Domenicali was in much demand at a press conference this afternoon as dusk fell on Suzuka circuit. “We are happy as a team to have Fernando joining us, there is no doubt about that,” he said. “But for the moment, we want to concentrate on the remaining races of this season, so the atmosphere here within the team at the track is one of maximum concentration on what we have to do in order to get the best possible result for the season as a whole. Certainly, this announcement is the first step towards 2010, which will be a very important year for us.”
Domenicali admitted that making the driver choice for next season had not been easy. “As always when you have to make this kind of decision, it is not necessarily an easy one, as with Kimi and Fernando you are talking about two great drivers, both of them champions. But dealing with these situations is why we are here and if you ask whose decision it was, the answer is that it is a Ferrari decision, but as the head of the team, the decision rests with me.”
One concern raised by the press was the possibility that Felipe Massa might not be fit enough to drive again next year, in which case, releasing Raikkonen might have proved premature, but Domenicali dismissed this. “I am sure Felipe will be back to his normal self for the beginning of next season. He is recovering very well and is already in the second stage of his training, doing some karting activity. Everything is going very smoothly and I think he will be back in Europe next week to work using our simulator and after that, we will see what will be the next step. As for speculation that he will return to the cockpit for the Brazil Grand Prix, I can refute it categorically.”
Naturally the media were hoping for some criticisms of Raikkonen, but equally naturally, there were none. “You will never hear me saying anything negative about Kimi, never,” emphasised Domenicali. “Because he is a great champion and he is part of Ferrari’s history, having won the Drivers’ world title with us, achieving his ambition with us, so Kimi is part of our team. Kimi is fantastic. After that, one has to consider the future of our team, which is a different matter. Looking ahead, we felt this was a decision we had to take. You look at all the options and then go with what you feel is the best one. As for the driver’s personality, of course Fernando is more Latin, because he is Latin! We know he will relate differently to Kimi to the team. But as the team principal, it is important that our values which demand that the team has to be respected by the drivers, remains the same as ever.”
The Scuderia has often run great driver combinations over the years and the Ferrari man had no concerns about managing the situation between two drivers like Felipe and Fernando, both of them wanting a shot at the title. “We will deal with this the same way we have controlled Felipe and Kimi over the past two years, because this is the way we manage the team. Drivers who want to come and race for us have to respect our rules. We saw a situation where Felipe helped Kimi, the year Kimi won the title and then Kimi helped Felipe last year, even though unfortunately he was not able to take the title. And it will happen in the future, because this is the way we work and is part of the team’s spirit.”
Domenicali admitted that making the driver choice for next season had not been easy. “As always when you have to make this kind of decision, it is not necessarily an easy one, as with Kimi and Fernando you are talking about two great drivers, both of them champions. But dealing with these situations is why we are here and if you ask whose decision it was, the answer is that it is a Ferrari decision, but as the head of the team, the decision rests with me.”
One concern raised by the press was the possibility that Felipe Massa might not be fit enough to drive again next year, in which case, releasing Raikkonen might have proved premature, but Domenicali dismissed this. “I am sure Felipe will be back to his normal self for the beginning of next season. He is recovering very well and is already in the second stage of his training, doing some karting activity. Everything is going very smoothly and I think he will be back in Europe next week to work using our simulator and after that, we will see what will be the next step. As for speculation that he will return to the cockpit for the Brazil Grand Prix, I can refute it categorically.”
Naturally the media were hoping for some criticisms of Raikkonen, but equally naturally, there were none. “You will never hear me saying anything negative about Kimi, never,” emphasised Domenicali. “Because he is a great champion and he is part of Ferrari’s history, having won the Drivers’ world title with us, achieving his ambition with us, so Kimi is part of our team. Kimi is fantastic. After that, one has to consider the future of our team, which is a different matter. Looking ahead, we felt this was a decision we had to take. You look at all the options and then go with what you feel is the best one. As for the driver’s personality, of course Fernando is more Latin, because he is Latin! We know he will relate differently to Kimi to the team. But as the team principal, it is important that our values which demand that the team has to be respected by the drivers, remains the same as ever.”
The Scuderia has often run great driver combinations over the years and the Ferrari man had no concerns about managing the situation between two drivers like Felipe and Fernando, both of them wanting a shot at the title. “We will deal with this the same way we have controlled Felipe and Kimi over the past two years, because this is the way we manage the team. Drivers who want to come and race for us have to respect our rules. We saw a situation where Felipe helped Kimi, the year Kimi won the title and then Kimi helped Felipe last year, even though unfortunately he was not able to take the title. And it will happen in the future, because this is the way we work and is part of the team’s spirit.”
Japanese Grand Prix Preview - Vettel and Barrichello target Button
Fuji proved a much more popular venue than many expected, but everyone is looking forward to going back to a heavily revamped Suzuka and the spiritual home of the Japanese Grand Prix. Not least McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who have never raced there.
Vettel believes that Red Bull will have their best chance of adding to his victory tally here, on a track where downforce is at a premium, and both he and team mate Mark Webber will be doing all they can to close the gap to the Brawns. Now that Webber’s own title hopes are over, it is likely that he will be asked to assist his team mate in whatever way he can.
Suzuka a very technical and challenging circuit, with plenty of very high-speed corners and changes of direction. Drivers say it is not unlike Spa in that respect. There are many different types of corner so the ideal car is one that is strong in all areas, especially balance, braking and horsepower. As it is a medium-high-speed track, aerodynamic performance is also crucial but with the long pit straight the perfect set-up is far from a foregone conclusion. Bridgestone have brought their hard and soft compound tyres.
Since 2006 the pit exit has been realigned to join the track after the first corner; there is asphalt in parts of the run-off area around the outside of Turns One and Two; the track has been resurfaced between Turns 17 and Seven, and barriers in some corners have been moved further back. Grandstands have also been modified, there are new pit buildings and team offices, and the paddock has been expanded.
Fresh from a great victory in Singapore, Lewis Hamilton is bubbling about the prospect of competing here. “It feels like I’ve been waiting my whole life to race at Suzuka,” the world champion says. “So, as you can imagine, I’ll be really excited when practice starts on Friday morning. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve raced Suzuka on computer games - and while it kind of gives you an idea of how the circuit goes, nothing can beat the real thing. It looks like a real driver’s circuit - the first sector esses look very demanding and the higher speed corners towards the end of the lap will require real precision and a good car set-up.”
McLaren may not be quite so strong here as they were in Singapore, their latest and final 2009 package notwithstanding, while the anticipated low ambient and track temperatures may not suit the Brawns either. Ferrari are not too optimistic as they have stopped development on the Spa-winning F60. "I don't expect the situation to be much different next week in Suzuka,” Kimi Raikkonen said after Singapore. “It is a very demanding track for the car, from an aerodynamic point of view, and we are lacking in this area.”
Toyota, Renault and Williams all come here on highs, however, expecting to do well. Timo Glock’s second place in Singapore was crucial for Toyota as they head home, and the German has hopes for a repeat. “It’s good to go to Japan with a podium and P2. I don’t know how our car will be in Suzuka but I think the high-speed corners suit it, so I’m looking forward to it and hopefully we can be on the podium again. That would be great.”
“I’m really excited to be returning to this amazing track which is one of my favourites,” Renault’s Fernando Alonso says. “I have some great memories from Suzuka as I won the race there in 2006, which was a very important result for the championship. Also my battle with Michael Schumacher in 2005 is something that I will always remember. Japan is certainly one of the most enjoyable races of the season because there is a special atmosphere and the fans always show their enthusiasm in a respectful way.”
Talk us through the technical challenge of the circuit…“I think all the drivers enjoy the high-speed corners of Suzuka, but it’s also a technical track which gives the engineers a big challenge. In terms of set-up, you have to work hard to make sure you have a car with a good front end for the changes of direction, and a stable rear so you have the confidence to attack the high-speed corners. The Esses section is an important part of the lap as you have to cope with fifteen seconds of continuously changing direction, so it’s very demanding physically. You also need to keep your concentration as there is only one line through the corners and any mistakes cost you a lot of time.”
If Hamilton was the man seeking redemption in Singapore, that role falls to Nico Rosberg here after his error exiting the pits cost Williams second place after the FW31 showed great pace last weekend.
Team mate Kazuki Nakajima will also be a focus of attention and is desperate to open his points score here. “I kind of grew up around Suzuka,” he says. “I have been to the circuit many, many times and it’s the place where I started karting. I’ve also watched countless races here, not just Formula One, but many other forms of Japanese motorsport, so going there feels like going home. Apart from a short trip last April, I haven’t been there for the past four years so it will be almost like a new experience.” As would be scoring points…
BMW Sauber are also optimistic, after their significant upgrade of the F1.09 in Singapore. “It is working well, and I hope it will be even stronger on a fast track such as Suzuka,” team principal Mario Theissen says.
Overall it may be another damage limitation race for the two principal championship contenders, Brawn GP’s Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The Englishman loves the place and the Brazilian has won here previously. “I will be running my own race, and we’ll see what happens,” Button says. “We have to wait and see about tyre temperature issues, but there is a lot of heavy braking and fast cornering, which will certainly help.”
Barrichello, meanwhile, says: “Suzuka is quite like Silverstone, and I always seem to go pretty well at both tracks.” At the former, interestingly, his driving style was able to generate between five and 10 degrees more tyre temperature than his team mate.
Button could wrap up the title with victory here this weekend, but says: “I know I can clinch the title if I finish five points ahead of Rubens here. But it’s just another race to me and I won’t be changing the way I drive. I will keep doing what I have been doing, and hopefully that will be enough.”
Vettel believes that Red Bull will have their best chance of adding to his victory tally here, on a track where downforce is at a premium, and both he and team mate Mark Webber will be doing all they can to close the gap to the Brawns. Now that Webber’s own title hopes are over, it is likely that he will be asked to assist his team mate in whatever way he can.
Suzuka a very technical and challenging circuit, with plenty of very high-speed corners and changes of direction. Drivers say it is not unlike Spa in that respect. There are many different types of corner so the ideal car is one that is strong in all areas, especially balance, braking and horsepower. As it is a medium-high-speed track, aerodynamic performance is also crucial but with the long pit straight the perfect set-up is far from a foregone conclusion. Bridgestone have brought their hard and soft compound tyres.
Since 2006 the pit exit has been realigned to join the track after the first corner; there is asphalt in parts of the run-off area around the outside of Turns One and Two; the track has been resurfaced between Turns 17 and Seven, and barriers in some corners have been moved further back. Grandstands have also been modified, there are new pit buildings and team offices, and the paddock has been expanded.
Fresh from a great victory in Singapore, Lewis Hamilton is bubbling about the prospect of competing here. “It feels like I’ve been waiting my whole life to race at Suzuka,” the world champion says. “So, as you can imagine, I’ll be really excited when practice starts on Friday morning. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve raced Suzuka on computer games - and while it kind of gives you an idea of how the circuit goes, nothing can beat the real thing. It looks like a real driver’s circuit - the first sector esses look very demanding and the higher speed corners towards the end of the lap will require real precision and a good car set-up.”
McLaren may not be quite so strong here as they were in Singapore, their latest and final 2009 package notwithstanding, while the anticipated low ambient and track temperatures may not suit the Brawns either. Ferrari are not too optimistic as they have stopped development on the Spa-winning F60. "I don't expect the situation to be much different next week in Suzuka,” Kimi Raikkonen said after Singapore. “It is a very demanding track for the car, from an aerodynamic point of view, and we are lacking in this area.”
Toyota, Renault and Williams all come here on highs, however, expecting to do well. Timo Glock’s second place in Singapore was crucial for Toyota as they head home, and the German has hopes for a repeat. “It’s good to go to Japan with a podium and P2. I don’t know how our car will be in Suzuka but I think the high-speed corners suit it, so I’m looking forward to it and hopefully we can be on the podium again. That would be great.”
“I’m really excited to be returning to this amazing track which is one of my favourites,” Renault’s Fernando Alonso says. “I have some great memories from Suzuka as I won the race there in 2006, which was a very important result for the championship. Also my battle with Michael Schumacher in 2005 is something that I will always remember. Japan is certainly one of the most enjoyable races of the season because there is a special atmosphere and the fans always show their enthusiasm in a respectful way.”
Talk us through the technical challenge of the circuit…“I think all the drivers enjoy the high-speed corners of Suzuka, but it’s also a technical track which gives the engineers a big challenge. In terms of set-up, you have to work hard to make sure you have a car with a good front end for the changes of direction, and a stable rear so you have the confidence to attack the high-speed corners. The Esses section is an important part of the lap as you have to cope with fifteen seconds of continuously changing direction, so it’s very demanding physically. You also need to keep your concentration as there is only one line through the corners and any mistakes cost you a lot of time.”
If Hamilton was the man seeking redemption in Singapore, that role falls to Nico Rosberg here after his error exiting the pits cost Williams second place after the FW31 showed great pace last weekend.
Team mate Kazuki Nakajima will also be a focus of attention and is desperate to open his points score here. “I kind of grew up around Suzuka,” he says. “I have been to the circuit many, many times and it’s the place where I started karting. I’ve also watched countless races here, not just Formula One, but many other forms of Japanese motorsport, so going there feels like going home. Apart from a short trip last April, I haven’t been there for the past four years so it will be almost like a new experience.” As would be scoring points…
BMW Sauber are also optimistic, after their significant upgrade of the F1.09 in Singapore. “It is working well, and I hope it will be even stronger on a fast track such as Suzuka,” team principal Mario Theissen says.
Overall it may be another damage limitation race for the two principal championship contenders, Brawn GP’s Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The Englishman loves the place and the Brazilian has won here previously. “I will be running my own race, and we’ll see what happens,” Button says. “We have to wait and see about tyre temperature issues, but there is a lot of heavy braking and fast cornering, which will certainly help.”
Barrichello, meanwhile, says: “Suzuka is quite like Silverstone, and I always seem to go pretty well at both tracks.” At the former, interestingly, his driving style was able to generate between five and 10 degrees more tyre temperature than his team mate.
Button could wrap up the title with victory here this weekend, but says: “I know I can clinch the title if I finish five points ahead of Rubens here. But it’s just another race to me and I won’t be changing the way I drive. I will keep doing what I have been doing, and hopefully that will be enough.”
Thursday's press conference – Japan
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q. Adrian, you have had a certain amount of experience at this circuit.
Adrian SUTIL: Yes, I know the circuit quite well from my time in Formula Three here. A very nice circuit and in general one of my favourites. Very high speed. You need a lot of grip here, but also with the long straights it is good for racing in general. I have had some good races here and I am really happy to be back.
Q. Have you had a look around to see what changes have been made?
AS: Yeah, I had a circuit walk today. It is not too much of a difference. Just the first sector. I think the first two or three corners are different. A new surface and a little bit safer in the run-off areas, but I think everything else looks quite similar.
Q. Some people are saying Force India will be once again suited to this circuit, but I would have thought it is still quite a high downforce circuit, isn't it?
AS: It is high downforce, but also you need a really good engine which is what we have with the Mercedes. There are also two very long straights, so you need some kind of top speed. I would say it is not comparable with Spa, it is more downforce definitely, but I would say a mix of Spa and Silverstone, so it should suit us much better than the last one.
Q. So you are quite optimistic?
AS: Yes:
Q. Kazuki, tell us about the pressure of racing at home. I think you have had quite a busy lead up already to this grand prix.
Kazuki NAKAJIMA: Well, actually it is not as busy as last year which was quite nice. I managed to have some time off yesterday and I managed to go back to my home as it was on the way from Tokyo to here. There is a pressure, but this is only the second time for me and the first time to be in Suzuka, so I never know what is going to happen. Last year I really enjoyed the Japanese Grand Prix and I didn't really have too much pressure, so hopefully it is the same for this year. As it is my first time to drive Suzuka with an F1 car I just feel quite excited. Hopefully the weather will be good but it doesn't look like that at the moment.
Q. It doesn't look good at the moment. Is that local knowledge?
KN: I haven't got any special forecast with me. We will see.
Q. How much racing have you done here in other categories?
KN: I have done quite a lot with F3 or like GT but it is the first time since 2005, so it is a long time and I will have to dig into my brain to get it back.
Q. What are your thoughts on your future in terms of F1?
KN: At the moment there is nothing I can say really. I think it is the same for many drivers. I think the situation is really tricky at the moment and we will have to just wait and see. The results have not been there but I think my performance is certainly better than last year. There has been some good races, so I hope that I can do the same job next year.
Q. With Williams or with another team?
KN: No idea. If I could stay with Williams that would be the best but we will see.
Q. Nick, obviously a disappointing end to the grand prix in Singapore but Mario Theissen says there is quite a lot more to come from the car. Would you agree with that?
Nick HEIDFELD: That is what we hope. We don't have another update here but we had a big package for Singapore. But our feeling is that our car is not the best mechanically and probably it was possible also to see that on the television pictures. We were jumping around quite a bit even though the track was newly resurfaced. Here it should be more of a normal track and we hope our aero package will suit it pretty well, but we will find out.
Q. It is very much a favourite track of yours?
NH: Yes, it has always been my favourite circuit. Last year actually it was Singapore and it is great now having two of my favourites circuits within a week.
Q. What is it about this circuit?
NH: I always find it pretty difficult to explain why you like a circuit and why you don't like a circuit. You just drive it and get a special sensation. What is obvious here is that it is a relatively long circuit. Therefore you have a lot of different corners. The circuit has got a nice flow to it and especially the esses are special. Each lap you arrive there, you are looking forward to that. It is medium speed - definitely more than 200kph – and it is just a great feeling if you get them right.
Q. And if you get one of them wrong it puts you out for the rest presumably?
NH: Well, it is important to get the first one right as it will have a knock-on effect. But that is also part of the fun. It is very difficult to get it perfectly right, so sometimes you mess up the first corner a bit and then you have to get the rest as perfect as possible. Then you look at the split time and know if it worked out or not.
Q. How do you accept the engine penalties now that you have gone over the eight engines?
NH: Well, I am on my ninth engine now which hasn't done a lot of kilometres in Singapore. Most likely I will use it here and in Brazil and then I will be allowed to use one of the older engines for Abu Dhabi, not before that, but that will not have a lot of mileage on as well. I changed engines at the last race and got a penalty but from now on I think I am in pretty good shape.
Q. Jenson, we had a quote from you during the week that you are not pushing to seal the title here. What is the policy?
Jenson BUTTON: First of all, good afternoon everyone. I am looking forward to the weekend. This is a circuit that I have enjoyed very much in the past. It is a very fast flowing circuit and I think every driver enjoys racing here. But I don't come into this race thinking I am going to seal the title here. There are so many possibilities this weekend. There are still three people who can still challenge for the championship. I am one of them, and the most important thing for me to do is work as hard as I can on Friday and Saturday to get the car ready for qualifying and the race and have a good race, the same as all of these guys. I shouldn't be thinking about anything else.
Q. Do you think you have got the qualifying problems sorted out? You had had a problem with the back end of the car.
JB: No, in Singapore it wasn't that at all. It was my mistake but we tried a few different things to help the balance of the car in Q2 which was probably the wrong thing to do. We didn't do two new tyre runs in Q2 which put quite a bit of pressure on the second run and I hit the brakes into turn seven and at about 280kph the front of the car hit the ground and I locked up. With two massive flat spots I couldn't really do a good lap time. Coming here I am in very good shape. I am looking forward to the weekend. Last weekend was a very interesting race. I still have got a few bruises to show after the bumpiness of the circuit. But it was a good weekend. We came back from a very tough Saturday and had a good Sunday, so I was happy. This weekend the weather is looking interesting. I would rather if it was dry all weekend for sure, but it is what it is and we will make the best out of it. As far as I know it should be wet tomorrow and Saturday, and Sunday more likely dry than wet.
Q. The weather forecast according to Jenson Button.
JB: Yes, 27 degrees, few clouds in the sky and a slight headwind.
Q. Timo, are you optimistic when it comes to your future in F1? Obviously a great result last weekend, but all sorts of stories coming out about your future. Would you tell us the real situation?
Timo GLOCK: I think the stories after the race on Sunday were the funniest I've ever read on the Internet. And to be fired on Saturday after qualifying is just b***t and it's not correct. The point is that we already had a couple of discussions a couple of weeks ago and we are open with Toyota, Toyota is open to me. We have the possibility to look around and that's it really. There is nothing new, there were no discussions over the weekend about any contract situation or whatever. That's the only thing that I can say. There are rumours going around and I think maybe for some it was a bit boring on Saturday and they had to find a story for Sunday or after the race on Sunday.
Q. Obviously a great result on Sunday, can you do it again here? How much pressure have you had from Toyota at their home race?
TG: The pressure is normal. I think you have the pressure at every race. Overall, I think we had a good performance in Singapore. Singapore is completely different to Suzuka, for sure, but the improvements that we had in Singapore were already on the positive side. This circuit should suit our car. Spa didn't look too bad for us, and I think Suzuka should be in the right direction but we will see. The others are strong. I think Brawn and Red Bull will be strong here, McLaren as well and we will see what BMW can do. It will be tight but I hope we can just do a good race. It would be great for me to maybe have wet conditions, I like the wet quite a lot. We will see how it goes and I will just try to fight as hard as possible as I did in Singapore and then we will see the result.
Q. Obviously you were here in 2004 with Jordan; what other experience do you have of this circuit?
TG: I know it. It's positive that I already know it in wet and dry conditions but that's a couple of years ago and it's been resurfaced since then, so we will see how it goes tomorrow. I hope there's not another typhoon like in 2004, otherwise the rest should be fine.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q. (Marco Degli'Innocenti – La Gazzetta dello Sport) For all of you: are you envious of Fernando Alonso at the moment?
TG: Why?
Q. (Marco Degli'Innocenti – La Gazzetta dello Sport) It was the most kept secret in Formula One but now it's no longer a secret.
JB: I'm pretty happy actually where I'm sat right now. I'm good to go.
TG: There's nothing to say. I think it was clear for everybody a couple of months ago, so now it's just official.
Q. (Marco Degli'Innocenti – La Gazzetta dello Sport) But are you envious of Fernando?
TG: No.
AS: I think it's good for him but for me nothing has changed. I don't care.
KN: Same for me.
NH: I think he's one of the few guys who is in a team for next year where he can believe he might have a better chance to fight for the championship than in many other teams. Ferrari has always been one of the strongest teams in the last couple of years, and on top of that, even though I drive for BMW and I'm very happy there, Ferrari has a special name in the sport, so it must be a special thing. It's not only for Italians like you, which is why you asked the question, but I think Ferrari is a great team.
Q. (Marc Surer – Sky Germany) Timo, you once said that you never know why you're quick or why you're slow with this car. You were so much faster than Jarno (Trulli) in the last race; do you know why – apart from your talent, of course?
TG: I was already quick in Singapore last year. I like street circuits. I don't know if the ChampCar series in 2005 was experience for me which just made it easier in Singapore but overall I like the circuit, and I think you can make a difference as a driver in Singapore. Overall, it was a possibility for me, with my driving style, to set up the car very much more in my direction. Jarno took over the set-up on Saturday morning and it didn't work for him, so I just like to drive on circuits like this. You can just go high risk, you can't make any mistakes. That's the reason why I was quick in Singapore. I like the circuit quite a lot, it's good fun, and I think everything came together.
Q. (Jerome Bourret – L'Equipe) Jenson, you're known as a pretty relaxed and cool guy, but how stressful has this season been? How do you deal with all these ups and downs? And was Singapore really a race for you or not?
JB: It has been a pretty hectic season, obviously with a fantastic start. Then there were a few races when the car wasn't as good as we had hoped and then there were a couple of races where I didn't really get the best out of the car. So yeah, the last two races have been good for me. I've been happy with my performance, I've been very happy with the team's performance. It sounds silly but it is a bit of a rollercoaster when you're fighting for a championship, and it's been a long time since I've been fighting for a championship, so you do forget. But if it was easy we'd all be doing it. It's part of the challenge, it's a sport that is very emotional for me. I've always loved motor racing since I was very, very young and being in the position that I'm in, I'm certainly very privileged and very lucky to be fighting for a championship, so I will never forget that. And I also have some great people around me who keep me grounded and focussed. It's obviously tough but it's also very exciting and I wouldn't change it for the world, for sure.
Q. Jenson, I understand that you're not trying too hard to win the Japanese Grand Prix here on Sunday. For you, obviously, winning the championship is more important but remembering what happened in Brazil last year, Lewis Hamilton said finishing fifth was actually more difficult than winning some races. What's your opinion there?
JB: I've never said that I don't want to win this race, for sure. We go to every race to win it. I think you're getting it confused with... for me the most important thing is to win the World Championship. It's not when or where, that's exactly what I said. For sure, I would love to win in Suzuka, it's a circuit that I love. I've got a lot of connections with Japan from the past and from the present. So for sure I'm here to win this weekend and that's my aim. So the second part of the question is irrelevant.
Q. (Marco Degli'Innocenti – La Gazzetta dello Sport) I have a question for Adrian: if you can tell us something about your future. Maybe you are going to drive another Mercedes engine somewhere else?
AS: Well, right now I've got a real good offer, driving in a winning team… in GP2! I'm going to try to go there!
Q. (Ralf Bach - R & B) Question to Nick and Adrian: did you speak about your accident in the last race or not?
NH: Yeah, I think the first time we spoke about it was when I came out of the stewards' room. I asked him what went on. He explained. He said he was sorry and for me that was OK.
JB: That was a big fine!
AS: Yes, big enough.
NH: Just a big verbal fine, but nothing with the hands.
AS: I've explained it several times and I think there's nothing more to say. We saw all the pictures and that's it. We spoke to each other, twenty thousand is enough.
NH: I didn't receive it yet.
AS: It's not for you.
Q. Adrian, you have had a certain amount of experience at this circuit.
Adrian SUTIL: Yes, I know the circuit quite well from my time in Formula Three here. A very nice circuit and in general one of my favourites. Very high speed. You need a lot of grip here, but also with the long straights it is good for racing in general. I have had some good races here and I am really happy to be back.
Q. Have you had a look around to see what changes have been made?
AS: Yeah, I had a circuit walk today. It is not too much of a difference. Just the first sector. I think the first two or three corners are different. A new surface and a little bit safer in the run-off areas, but I think everything else looks quite similar.
Q. Some people are saying Force India will be once again suited to this circuit, but I would have thought it is still quite a high downforce circuit, isn't it?
AS: It is high downforce, but also you need a really good engine which is what we have with the Mercedes. There are also two very long straights, so you need some kind of top speed. I would say it is not comparable with Spa, it is more downforce definitely, but I would say a mix of Spa and Silverstone, so it should suit us much better than the last one.
Q. So you are quite optimistic?
AS: Yes:
Q. Kazuki, tell us about the pressure of racing at home. I think you have had quite a busy lead up already to this grand prix.
Kazuki NAKAJIMA: Well, actually it is not as busy as last year which was quite nice. I managed to have some time off yesterday and I managed to go back to my home as it was on the way from Tokyo to here. There is a pressure, but this is only the second time for me and the first time to be in Suzuka, so I never know what is going to happen. Last year I really enjoyed the Japanese Grand Prix and I didn't really have too much pressure, so hopefully it is the same for this year. As it is my first time to drive Suzuka with an F1 car I just feel quite excited. Hopefully the weather will be good but it doesn't look like that at the moment.
Q. It doesn't look good at the moment. Is that local knowledge?
KN: I haven't got any special forecast with me. We will see.
Q. How much racing have you done here in other categories?
KN: I have done quite a lot with F3 or like GT but it is the first time since 2005, so it is a long time and I will have to dig into my brain to get it back.
Q. What are your thoughts on your future in terms of F1?
KN: At the moment there is nothing I can say really. I think it is the same for many drivers. I think the situation is really tricky at the moment and we will have to just wait and see. The results have not been there but I think my performance is certainly better than last year. There has been some good races, so I hope that I can do the same job next year.
Q. With Williams or with another team?
KN: No idea. If I could stay with Williams that would be the best but we will see.
Q. Nick, obviously a disappointing end to the grand prix in Singapore but Mario Theissen says there is quite a lot more to come from the car. Would you agree with that?
Nick HEIDFELD: That is what we hope. We don't have another update here but we had a big package for Singapore. But our feeling is that our car is not the best mechanically and probably it was possible also to see that on the television pictures. We were jumping around quite a bit even though the track was newly resurfaced. Here it should be more of a normal track and we hope our aero package will suit it pretty well, but we will find out.
Q. It is very much a favourite track of yours?
NH: Yes, it has always been my favourite circuit. Last year actually it was Singapore and it is great now having two of my favourites circuits within a week.
Q. What is it about this circuit?
NH: I always find it pretty difficult to explain why you like a circuit and why you don't like a circuit. You just drive it and get a special sensation. What is obvious here is that it is a relatively long circuit. Therefore you have a lot of different corners. The circuit has got a nice flow to it and especially the esses are special. Each lap you arrive there, you are looking forward to that. It is medium speed - definitely more than 200kph – and it is just a great feeling if you get them right.
Q. And if you get one of them wrong it puts you out for the rest presumably?
NH: Well, it is important to get the first one right as it will have a knock-on effect. But that is also part of the fun. It is very difficult to get it perfectly right, so sometimes you mess up the first corner a bit and then you have to get the rest as perfect as possible. Then you look at the split time and know if it worked out or not.
Q. How do you accept the engine penalties now that you have gone over the eight engines?
NH: Well, I am on my ninth engine now which hasn't done a lot of kilometres in Singapore. Most likely I will use it here and in Brazil and then I will be allowed to use one of the older engines for Abu Dhabi, not before that, but that will not have a lot of mileage on as well. I changed engines at the last race and got a penalty but from now on I think I am in pretty good shape.
Q. Jenson, we had a quote from you during the week that you are not pushing to seal the title here. What is the policy?
Jenson BUTTON: First of all, good afternoon everyone. I am looking forward to the weekend. This is a circuit that I have enjoyed very much in the past. It is a very fast flowing circuit and I think every driver enjoys racing here. But I don't come into this race thinking I am going to seal the title here. There are so many possibilities this weekend. There are still three people who can still challenge for the championship. I am one of them, and the most important thing for me to do is work as hard as I can on Friday and Saturday to get the car ready for qualifying and the race and have a good race, the same as all of these guys. I shouldn't be thinking about anything else.
Q. Do you think you have got the qualifying problems sorted out? You had had a problem with the back end of the car.
JB: No, in Singapore it wasn't that at all. It was my mistake but we tried a few different things to help the balance of the car in Q2 which was probably the wrong thing to do. We didn't do two new tyre runs in Q2 which put quite a bit of pressure on the second run and I hit the brakes into turn seven and at about 280kph the front of the car hit the ground and I locked up. With two massive flat spots I couldn't really do a good lap time. Coming here I am in very good shape. I am looking forward to the weekend. Last weekend was a very interesting race. I still have got a few bruises to show after the bumpiness of the circuit. But it was a good weekend. We came back from a very tough Saturday and had a good Sunday, so I was happy. This weekend the weather is looking interesting. I would rather if it was dry all weekend for sure, but it is what it is and we will make the best out of it. As far as I know it should be wet tomorrow and Saturday, and Sunday more likely dry than wet.
Q. The weather forecast according to Jenson Button.
JB: Yes, 27 degrees, few clouds in the sky and a slight headwind.
Q. Timo, are you optimistic when it comes to your future in F1? Obviously a great result last weekend, but all sorts of stories coming out about your future. Would you tell us the real situation?
Timo GLOCK: I think the stories after the race on Sunday were the funniest I've ever read on the Internet. And to be fired on Saturday after qualifying is just b***t and it's not correct. The point is that we already had a couple of discussions a couple of weeks ago and we are open with Toyota, Toyota is open to me. We have the possibility to look around and that's it really. There is nothing new, there were no discussions over the weekend about any contract situation or whatever. That's the only thing that I can say. There are rumours going around and I think maybe for some it was a bit boring on Saturday and they had to find a story for Sunday or after the race on Sunday.
Q. Obviously a great result on Sunday, can you do it again here? How much pressure have you had from Toyota at their home race?
TG: The pressure is normal. I think you have the pressure at every race. Overall, I think we had a good performance in Singapore. Singapore is completely different to Suzuka, for sure, but the improvements that we had in Singapore were already on the positive side. This circuit should suit our car. Spa didn't look too bad for us, and I think Suzuka should be in the right direction but we will see. The others are strong. I think Brawn and Red Bull will be strong here, McLaren as well and we will see what BMW can do. It will be tight but I hope we can just do a good race. It would be great for me to maybe have wet conditions, I like the wet quite a lot. We will see how it goes and I will just try to fight as hard as possible as I did in Singapore and then we will see the result.
Q. Obviously you were here in 2004 with Jordan; what other experience do you have of this circuit?
TG: I know it. It's positive that I already know it in wet and dry conditions but that's a couple of years ago and it's been resurfaced since then, so we will see how it goes tomorrow. I hope there's not another typhoon like in 2004, otherwise the rest should be fine.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q. (Marco Degli'Innocenti – La Gazzetta dello Sport) For all of you: are you envious of Fernando Alonso at the moment?
TG: Why?
Q. (Marco Degli'Innocenti – La Gazzetta dello Sport) It was the most kept secret in Formula One but now it's no longer a secret.
JB: I'm pretty happy actually where I'm sat right now. I'm good to go.
TG: There's nothing to say. I think it was clear for everybody a couple of months ago, so now it's just official.
Q. (Marco Degli'Innocenti – La Gazzetta dello Sport) But are you envious of Fernando?
TG: No.
AS: I think it's good for him but for me nothing has changed. I don't care.
KN: Same for me.
NH: I think he's one of the few guys who is in a team for next year where he can believe he might have a better chance to fight for the championship than in many other teams. Ferrari has always been one of the strongest teams in the last couple of years, and on top of that, even though I drive for BMW and I'm very happy there, Ferrari has a special name in the sport, so it must be a special thing. It's not only for Italians like you, which is why you asked the question, but I think Ferrari is a great team.
Q. (Marc Surer – Sky Germany) Timo, you once said that you never know why you're quick or why you're slow with this car. You were so much faster than Jarno (Trulli) in the last race; do you know why – apart from your talent, of course?
TG: I was already quick in Singapore last year. I like street circuits. I don't know if the ChampCar series in 2005 was experience for me which just made it easier in Singapore but overall I like the circuit, and I think you can make a difference as a driver in Singapore. Overall, it was a possibility for me, with my driving style, to set up the car very much more in my direction. Jarno took over the set-up on Saturday morning and it didn't work for him, so I just like to drive on circuits like this. You can just go high risk, you can't make any mistakes. That's the reason why I was quick in Singapore. I like the circuit quite a lot, it's good fun, and I think everything came together.
Q. (Jerome Bourret – L'Equipe) Jenson, you're known as a pretty relaxed and cool guy, but how stressful has this season been? How do you deal with all these ups and downs? And was Singapore really a race for you or not?
JB: It has been a pretty hectic season, obviously with a fantastic start. Then there were a few races when the car wasn't as good as we had hoped and then there were a couple of races where I didn't really get the best out of the car. So yeah, the last two races have been good for me. I've been happy with my performance, I've been very happy with the team's performance. It sounds silly but it is a bit of a rollercoaster when you're fighting for a championship, and it's been a long time since I've been fighting for a championship, so you do forget. But if it was easy we'd all be doing it. It's part of the challenge, it's a sport that is very emotional for me. I've always loved motor racing since I was very, very young and being in the position that I'm in, I'm certainly very privileged and very lucky to be fighting for a championship, so I will never forget that. And I also have some great people around me who keep me grounded and focussed. It's obviously tough but it's also very exciting and I wouldn't change it for the world, for sure.
Q. Jenson, I understand that you're not trying too hard to win the Japanese Grand Prix here on Sunday. For you, obviously, winning the championship is more important but remembering what happened in Brazil last year, Lewis Hamilton said finishing fifth was actually more difficult than winning some races. What's your opinion there?
JB: I've never said that I don't want to win this race, for sure. We go to every race to win it. I think you're getting it confused with... for me the most important thing is to win the World Championship. It's not when or where, that's exactly what I said. For sure, I would love to win in Suzuka, it's a circuit that I love. I've got a lot of connections with Japan from the past and from the present. So for sure I'm here to win this weekend and that's my aim. So the second part of the question is irrelevant.
Q. (Marco Degli'Innocenti – La Gazzetta dello Sport) I have a question for Adrian: if you can tell us something about your future. Maybe you are going to drive another Mercedes engine somewhere else?
AS: Well, right now I've got a real good offer, driving in a winning team… in GP2! I'm going to try to go there!
Q. (Ralf Bach - R & B) Question to Nick and Adrian: did you speak about your accident in the last race or not?
NH: Yeah, I think the first time we spoke about it was when I came out of the stewards' room. I asked him what went on. He explained. He said he was sorry and for me that was OK.
JB: That was a big fine!
AS: Yes, big enough.
NH: Just a big verbal fine, but nothing with the hands.
AS: I've explained it several times and I think there's nothing more to say. We saw all the pictures and that's it. We spoke to each other, twenty thousand is enough.
NH: I didn't receive it yet.
AS: It's not for you.
Ferrari denies sponsor forced Kimi exit
Stefano Domenicali has dismissed Kimi Raikkonen's insinuation that the Finn was dropped in favour of Fernando Alonso at the behest of major new Ferrari sponsor Santander.
Ferrari announced yesterday that Alonso's long-rumoured Ferrari move would happen in 2010 and that Raikkonen's contract had been terminated early by mutual agreement.
Raikkonen implied that his on-track performances had nothing to do with his departure.
"I know more or less the reason," he said.
"It’s nothing to do with my racing or anything what I do in the team.
"It’s just purely some other reasons."
When asked if the arrival of Spanish banking giant Santander was a factor, Raikkonen replied: "You need to ask the team."
Domenicali, however, said this was not the case.
"No, all the things have to be put on the table but I don't think it is correct that it was a commercial decision," he said.
The team boss refused to criticise Raikkonen's contribution to Ferrari, but would not go into the specifics of the driver switch.
"You will never get me to say anything negative about Kimi, because I feel that he is one of the strongest in the field, and I respect him not only as a driver but also as a person," Domenicali insisted.
"You try to put on the table the positive and the negative things of all the options you have.
"If we are taking this decision it is because we feel there are positive elements towards that kind of choice."
But he did accept that Alonso was likely to bring a different approach to Ferrari.
"Kimi is Finnish and he has a different and pragmatic approach to the team," said Domenicali.
"But I would say that with regard to Kimi, he is part of the team and he has worked very well with the team.
"We know one of the characteristics of Fernando, looking ahead to the future, is someone who is very charismatic with the people that are working around him, but this is another way of relating with people."
Ferrari announced yesterday that Alonso's long-rumoured Ferrari move would happen in 2010 and that Raikkonen's contract had been terminated early by mutual agreement.
Raikkonen implied that his on-track performances had nothing to do with his departure.
"I know more or less the reason," he said.
"It’s nothing to do with my racing or anything what I do in the team.
"It’s just purely some other reasons."
When asked if the arrival of Spanish banking giant Santander was a factor, Raikkonen replied: "You need to ask the team."
Domenicali, however, said this was not the case.
"No, all the things have to be put on the table but I don't think it is correct that it was a commercial decision," he said.
The team boss refused to criticise Raikkonen's contribution to Ferrari, but would not go into the specifics of the driver switch.
"You will never get me to say anything negative about Kimi, because I feel that he is one of the strongest in the field, and I respect him not only as a driver but also as a person," Domenicali insisted.
"You try to put on the table the positive and the negative things of all the options you have.
"If we are taking this decision it is because we feel there are positive elements towards that kind of choice."
But he did accept that Alonso was likely to bring a different approach to Ferrari.
"Kimi is Finnish and he has a different and pragmatic approach to the team," said Domenicali.
"But I would say that with regard to Kimi, he is part of the team and he has worked very well with the team.
"We know one of the characteristics of Fernando, looking ahead to the future, is someone who is very charismatic with the people that are working around him, but this is another way of relating with people."
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