Lap 51-53 Button is responding he knows Alonso is in the DRS zone. He’s
doing well he’s gained three tenths. Two laps to go and it’s the best finish
to a race we’ve had for quite some time. McLaren radio in to assure their
driver he is out of the dange zone and to maintain his pace.
Lap 50 just over a second between button and Alonso now and Vettel’s
not much further behind. Some very nervous faces in the team areas. This is
going to be quite some finish.
Lap 49: Hold your horses Alonso is catching Button and according to
McLaren the tyres are almost shot to pieces. Four laps to go and the lead
may well change yet again. As things stand however Vettel will be crowned
champion.
Telegraph Sport F1 correspondent Tom Cary: “If things stay as they
are Button will lead Hamilton by 32 points in standings with four races
remaining #battleofbritain #suzuka”
Lap 47 Red Bull to Webber: “Vettel told to take no risk with
Alonso and you shuold do the same.” basically Mark it’s his day let him
finish on the podium. I’d like to see Webber make the move.
Lap 46 wonderful driving from Sutil, he’s made a move on Kobayashi and
that was brave. Vettel closing on on Alonso, Petrov’s overtaken Di Resta!
There’s so much going on out there it’s a fantastic race and besides a
likely victory for Button you still couldn’t predict how this might finish!
Lap 43 10 laps to go and still just seven seconds separate the top
five. Button cruising four seconds clear at the front Kobayashi has climbed
up to 9th with Di Resta behind him. Rosberg has slipped to 13th while
Senna’s climbed three places to 16th. Buemi still the only retirement.
1-5 Button, Alonso, Vettel, Webber, Hamilton
Lap 42 fantastic battle between Alonso and Vettel coming round the
first corner. The Red Bull driver was right with his pre-race warning not to
write Ferrari off. Schumacher has come out of the pits ahead of Rosberg and
in between Hamilton and Massa.
Lap 41 well forget what I just said about Rosberg holding Hamilton up
as the McLaren is through and now closing down on Mark Webber. Schumacher
pits and Button reclaims the lead.
Lap 40 Perez now the fastest man out there! He’s clocked a 1:36:57.
Nico Rosberg holding Hamilton and Massa up in 7th and 8th which is crucial
for Schumacher as he’ll need to pit in the next two or three laps and that
gap (growing at 1.5 per lap) may well allow the German to change wheels and
emerge in a strong position.
Lap 39 Vettel is now the fastest driver on the circuit. Wow I can
barely keep up with the order on the track! Button is two seconds behind the
leader and he needs to keep an eye on Alonso. Just six seconds between th
leader and sixth now.
1-5 Schumacher, Button, Alonso, Vettel Webber
Lap 38 anyone else clamp their eyes shut there as Hamilton made a move
on Massa!? The McLaren completed the overtake I’m delighted to say with no
contact; very nicely done. Schumacher now leads the race!
1-5 Alonso Schumacher Button Perez Vettel
Lap 37 Button pits but emerges ahead of Vettel who has been told to
finish the race on the tyres he is on.
Lap 36 I cannot call how this race is going to end, it’s so tight
between the top six! Hamilton pits for the third time and Button will need
to follow suit soon I think.
Lap 35 Webber pits and these tyres just are not working on the Red Bull
car are they? Vettel up to ninth and he’s behind Sutil.
1-5 Button Alonso Massa Hamilton Schumacher
Lap 34 medium compound going on as Vettel pits for the third time and
he emerges in 11th place. Interesting decision if the German is hoping to
clinch the title on the podium.
Lap 33 Massa warned Hamilton is on his way but his Ferrari team-mate is
flying and gaining on Vettel in the battle for second place.
Lap 32 Button’s lead is up to two and a half seconds. Great racing
between ffourth and sixth. Brace yourself Hamilton is gaining on Massa and
you can’t help but feel there’s more fall out to come between them.
Lap 30 still just one retirement in this race and that’s Buemi. Nico
Rosberg has done remarkably well to get himself up to 11th having started
back in 23rd. Further back Kobayashi is 13th ahead of Barricherllo and
Alguersuari and Senna’s nightmare continues back in 19th.
Lap 29: 1:37:27 Button is flying he’s still the fastest man on the
circuit. Incident between Schumacher and Webber apparently happened three
laps before the safety car came out and it appears the latter may need a
replacement rear wing which is bad news for him as Red Bull only have the
old one and that’s going to slow his race down significantly.
Lap 28 OK the safety car is gone and normality resumes. Great re-start
from button he’s got himself just over a second ahead of Vettel. Hamilton
told his car has not been damaged despite complaining about his under-steer.
1-5 Button vettel Alonso Webber Massa
Lap 27 so it takes six stewards to clear debris off the track and I’m
baffled as to why the safety car is still out there. Anyway when they resume
button is leading with Vettel second and Alonso third. Looks like Webber
will need to come in again as the front of his car has been damaged by
Schumacher’s car…with the safety car out it seems they’ll be under
investigation shortly.
Ferrari Radio: Massa told there is a little damage to the car but
nothing serious or race-threatening.
Lap 25 will be interesting to see how they go off once the car is in.
Plenty of cars taking advantage of the “free” pit. And the
incident between Massa and Hamilton is being investigated. Overwhelming
feeling of deja-vu. If the McLaren driver is handed a penalty I think the
fireworks after the race will be sensational.
Lap 24 Vettel is gaining on Button, great racing at the front. It’s
getting worse for Hamilton in 7th not only is he losing time but he’s got
Schumacher in front of him and the safety car is out, there’s not
been an incident they are clearing debris on the circuit.
Lap 23 another leader! Button now leads after Massa pits, great batttle
in the top five.
1-5 Button, Vettel, Alonso, Webber, Schumacher
Lap 22 Massa now leads the race with Hamilton and Alonso both in the
pits. McLaren dropped a lot of time there but Hamilton drops to 7th. Replays
show that Hamilton and Massa made contact there and it looked like the
Ferrari wing took the bulk of the damage. Look forward to another fall out.
Lap 21 great pit stop from McLaren with Button coming out just ahead of
Vettel. Alonso leads with Hamilton second and Massa third. Further back Di
Resta is 9th and Kobayahsi is up to 10th.
Lap 20 Button pits and Alonso now leads the race.
1-5 Button, Alonso, Hamilton, Massa Vettel
Lap 19 Button is four tenths faster than Vettel…this happened in the final
laps of Singapore and how different that could have been with five extra
laps. Vettel has been forced into the pits again!
Lap 17 Button’s doing well to stay on Vettel’s tail, too many times
this season we’ve seen the German storm to a lead in the double figures.
Hamilton Massa and Webber all battling it out behind the front three.
Lap 16 no sooner do I write that but it looks like Hamilton is losing
pace and Massa is gaining. Couple of nightmare pits firstly for Senna and
then for Kobayashi (13). All the action is behind the home favourite with
Alguersuari, Barrichello and Rosberg duelling for 14th.
Lap 15 Hamilton, sat in fourth, may well feel his puncture was rather
well timed there. He’s got two laps on the rest of the pack but it could
well have worked against him. Now Mark Webber needs to be careful as
Schumacher is flying round the track and has the Australian in his sights.
Lap 13 Button is the fastest driver out there, he’s just clocked
1:39187. Nico Rosberg has pitted from 14th. Just nine seconds between first
and sixth.
Lap 12 plenty of traffic in the pit lane, heat is severely affecting
the tyres. Vettel is now back in the lead with Button and Alonso behind in
2nd and 3rd. Buemi is the first car out of the race and yellow flags are
out.
1-5 Massa Vettel Button Alonso, Hamilton
Lap 10 all change at the front, Button, Webber and Alonso are in for
the soft tyres and Massa leads the race.
1-5 Button, Alonso, Massa, Webber, Di Resta…Hamilton back in 8th,
Vettel’s emerged in 6th
Lap 9 Vettel has now pitted from the lead! Button takes his place but
he needs to be careful as Alonso is flying behind him. Where has the Ferrari
speed come from? Schumacher has also pitted.
Lap 8 Button has overtaken Hamilton and the latter looks likely to be
coming into the pits with a problem. Right rear puncture confirmed by
McLaren.
Lap 7 No further action to be taken against Vettel for the incident
with Button as they cam off the grid. Right decision? I’m fairly sure
Hamilton got penalised for similar move in 2008. Could have gone either way.
Lap 6 Alonso has made a great move on Massa and there was no attempt
from the latter to defend his position. Alonso now fourth. Liuzzi’s come off
the track but is not out of the race. Nightmare weekend for him.
Lap 4 McLaren have claimed Vettel made the move and then resumed his
normal line…this is why they’re campaigning for the drive through. I’m not
entirely convinced any action is going to be taken here. Nico Rosberg has
got himself up to 18th…not familiar territory for him back there.
Lap 3 Vettel is a second and a half ahead of Hamilton and DRS has been
activated.
Lap 1: Vettel is under investigation for that for trying to force a car
off the track. elsewhere home favourite Kamui Kobayashi has had a nightmare
start he’s way bck in 12th but his error allowed for Paul Di Resta to leap
up to 8th from 12th.
First corner: Vettel has held on to the lead but my word he had to
defend himself there. Jenson Button was the biggest challenger and Vettel
pushed him wide off the line top the point that the Mclaren very nearly went
off onto the grass which meant he lost traction and has been overtaken by
Lewis Hamilton. No great dramas off the start but Button is asking whether
Vettel is likely to get a penalty for that move
1-5 Vettel Hamilton, Button, Massa, Alonso
0701 Drivers on their formation lap. Time for some predictions? Well
unless he crashed out I think it’s safe to say Vettel will win the
championship (he hasn’t finished lower than 10th since Belgium last season)
but I’m not convinced he’ll become the world champion with a win today.
McLaren have proven themselves a force to be reckoned with this weekend so
I’m backing Jenson Button for the win. Keep an eye on Hailton off the start.
It wouldn’t be a F1 weekend without a bit of Hamilton fall out. He was fuming
with Michael Schumacher yesterday because of an incident with the Mercedes
driver and Australian Mark Webber of Red Bull at the final chicane prevented
him starting a second time lap.
Here’s what he had to say about it:
“I was entering the last corner, and Mark out of nowhere shot up the
inside and nearly crashed with me, so I had to avoid him. Michael was on the
outside trying to do something – I don’t know what the hell he was doing –
and went off onto the grass. It was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever
experienced at the beginning of qualifying, but that’s motor racing. I
didn’t see Michael, but he came past me and we nearly crashed to the left.
It was quite dangerous.”
What you need to know about Japan:
- Lap distance: 5.807km (3.608 miles)
- Total distance: 53 laps, 307.471 km (191.062 miles)
- Race lap record: Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) McLaren 1:31.540 (2005)
- 2010 pole position: Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 1:30.785
0640 Good morning/afternoon/evening to you wherever you may be joining
me from in the world. The sun is shining in Japan, Sebastian Vettel has one
hand on the world title and needs to secure just one point from this race to
complete historic back-to-back championships.
He is on pole this afternoon, his 14th of the season, but only just. It was
quite a qualifying session yesterday; by all accounts Lewis Hamilton should
have been on pole but another error from the McLaren driver meant he failed
to cross the line in time for a final lap. As such it came down to Vettel
and Jenson Button with the former beating the latter by an agonising 0.009
seconds.
How they start
1st row
- Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault)
- Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes)
2nd row
- Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes)
- Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari)
3rd row
- Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari)
- Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull-Renault)
4th row
- Kamui Kobayashi (JPN/Sauber-Ferrari)
- Michael Schumacher (GER/Mercedes)
5th row
- Bruno Senna (BRA/Lotus-Renault)
- Vitaly Petrov (RUS/Lotus-Renault)
6th row
- Adrian Sutil (GER/Force India-Mercedes)
- Paul di Resta (SCO/Force India-Mercedes)
7th row
- Rubens Barrichello (BRA/Williams-Cosworth)
- Pastor Maldonado (VEN/Williams-Cosworth)
8th row
- Sebastien Buemi (SWI/Toro Rosso-Ferrari)
- Jaime Alguersuari (ESP/Toro Rosso-Ferrari)
9th row
- Sergio Perez (MEX/Sauber-Ferrari)
- Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/Team Lotus)
10th row
- Jarno Trulli (ITA/Team Lotus)
- Jerome d’Ambrosio (BEL/Virgin-Cosworth)
11th row
- Timo Glock (GER/Virgin-Cosworth)
- Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Hispania-Cosworth)
12th row
- Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes)
- Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA/Hispania-Cosworth)