This championship was won months ago, yet you could tell what Sunday meant to
him. As he crossed the finish line in third place on the day, it was a while
before he was able to say anything. Then a voice cracked with emotion came
on the radio. “Thank you so much,” it said softly. “Every single one. We
took nothing for granted. And we did it.” It was the very essence of what
makes this young driver so special: humility, ambition and determination.
Later, once the podium celebrations were over and Vettel had extricated
himself from a sea of Red Bull mechanics, he was asked to expand on his
emotions.
“It’s difficult to know where to begin,” he said. “There are so many things
you want to say at this moment but it’s hard to remember all of them. I
don’t know what to say.” But he did. He thanked his family, his team, his
team-mate Mark Webber. He paid particular tribute to his trainer, Tommi
Parmakoski.
“He was the one not allowing me at any stage this year to lose the grip, or
think about things that are not in our control,” Vettel said.
“I think today we saw that it is extremely tight. Tighter than maybe sometimes
it looked this year.”
That is the hope to which the rest of the paddock is clinging. With the 2012
regulations featuring no major changes, the experts tell us the start of
next season should closely resemble the end of this.
And with fewer than 10 seconds separating the top four cars at the finish,
those of an optimistic bent are predicting that the top teams will be
closely matched.
Button is one of those optimists. After celebrating his new McLaren contract
with a stunning win at one of the classic circuits, there may be a few more.
Despite being squeezed on to the grass by Vettel off the start line, a move
for which the German was fortunate to escape sanction and which saw Button
leapfrogged by his team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, the 2009 world champion
remained cool; played the long game.
A slow puncture for Hamilton allowed Button to reclaim second spot and it was
not long before he had the lead, emerging from his second pit stop on lap 20
just ahead of Vettel.
Despite running short of fuel and being put under late pressure by Ferrari’s
Fernando Alonso, who had also managed to pass Vettel, Button always had pace
to burn.
He proved it, too, by setting the fastest lap of the race — only the sixth
time in his career — on the penultimate loop as Alonso threatened to get
into DRS range.
A magnificent win; Button’s third of the year and a particularly rare one for
him on a high-speed track and in the dry. But the truth is the day belonged
to Vettel, who joined a list of champions which includes Ayrton Senna, Alain
Prost and Damon Hill to have been crowned in Japan.
After a brief remonstration with the German for his opening-lap antics, Button
was happy to give his rival a hug. He said he could empathise with his
verbal outpourings. “I remember when I won the world championship,” Button
said. “It was like: what am I supposed to feel right now?
“It normally comes when you’re on your own and you can really think about what
you have achieved. I’m sure Seb’s going to look forward to that at about
five or six in the morning.” Again Vettel grinned. “Oh no. Afternoon,” he
replied.
Watch out for a severely hung-over two-time world champion at this weekend’s
Korean Grand Prix.
Heppenheim’s record-breaker headed off to Red Bull’s post-race party last
night hell-bent on pushing through to daybreak in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Results:
- 1. Jenson Button, Britain, McLaren, 53, 1:30:53.427, 216.481 kph.
- 2. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Ferrari, 53, 1:30:54.587.
- 3. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Red Bull, 53, 1:30:55.433.
- 4. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull, 53, 1:31:01.498.
- 5. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren, 53, 1:31:17.695.
- 6. Michael Schumacher, Germany, Mercedes, 53, 1:31:20.547.
- 7. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari, 53, 1:31:21.667.
- 8. Sergio Perez, Mexico, Sauber, 53, 1:31:32.804.
- 9. Vitaly Petrov, Russia, Renault, 53, 1:31:36.034.
- 10. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes,53, 1:31:37.749.
- 11. Adrian Sutil, Germany, Force India, 53, 1:31:47.874.
- 12. Paul di Resta, Britain, Force India, 53, 1:31:55.753.
- 13. Kamui Kobayashi, Japan, Sauber, 53, 1:31:57.132.
- 14. Pastor Maldonado, Venezuela, Williams, 53, 1:31:57.621.
- 15. Jaime Alguersuari, Spain, Toro Rosso, 53, 1:32:00.050.
- 16. Bruno Senna, Brazil, Renault, 53, 1:32:06.055.
- 17. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Williams, 53, 1:32:07.618.
- 18. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, Lotus, 53, 1:32:21.251.
- 19. Jarno Trulli, Italy, Lotus, 53, 1:32:29.567.
- 20. Timo Glock, Germany, Virgin, 51, 1:31:42.392.
- 21. Jerome D’Ambrosio, Belgium, Virgin, 51, 1:31:42.392.
- 22. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Hispania, 51, 1:31:44.888.
- 23. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Italy, Hispania, 50, 1:30:59.218.
- Not classified
- Sebastien Buemi, Switzerland, Toro Rosso.