F1: Vettel Triumphs In Japan
Vettel claims Japanese GP to keep Red Bull top, too
Formula One third seeded Sebastian Vettel has claimed the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, coming home first in front of driver-table leader and teammate Mark Webber. The German was timed one hour 30 minutes and 27.323 seconds, just .905 ahead of the Australian. It was also a race dominated by Red Bull which also came first during the free practice. World champion Fernando Alonso would arrive third to remain second in the driver standing, 14 points behind Webber and three season-races remaining. Apparently it was a pretty tough race, despite Vettel would led it from the very beginning. He also started from the pole position.
It was also Vettel’s first win since June when he would collect Valencia title. “I’m really, really happy and it’s about time,” the young German said. However, Ferrari’s Alonso, who took two of the previous races, didn’t give up the leading pair the whole race, but still couldn’t do more in order to overcome the Red ‘Bulls’. McLaren’s Jenson Button came on fourth, 13.522 seconds behind the Australian, while teammate Lewis Hamilton came 39.595 seconds behind Webber. Former world champion Michael Schumacher didn’t seem to remain a real danger in the GP. He came sixth, almost one minute behind Webber. “It is the first time I have won a grand prix for the second time, so I think ultimately you have to fall in love with this track,” Vettel said. He would repeat the same performance in Japan, just like both Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher did it in the past. As for the F1’s current leader, Webber didn’t complain about the second place. “A very good day for me. It was probably difficult for me to win the race unless I got the start. It is a beautiful track but it is basically a formation finish. Both Sebastian and I just following each other around and it is very difficult to get much closer,” the Australian added.
Following a five-place grid penalty on weekend, Hamilton dropped one place in the overall to lie on fourth with 192 points. “I was happy that I finished. I lost third gear as I was shifting up. It’s a tough one for the team. Maybe this is a sign,” the Briton, 2008 champion, said. As for Button, he dropped in fifth overall, with 189 points. Finally, the race took place on a sunny Sunday that followed a postponed qualifying on Saturday due to rainy conditions that made the track undriveable. The race included in the same time two crashes. Renault’s Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov ran into the wall after colliding with Williams’ Nico Hulkenberg. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa too would tangle with Vitantonio Liuzzi of Italy and Force India team. Reanult’s Robert Kubica, who came third in the practice, didn’t finish the race.
The driver table is still led by Webber with 220 points, followed by Fernando Alonso which shares the second position with Sunday’s winner Vettel. They have both collected 206 points. Concerning teams’ overall standing, this is led by Red Bull, which seems very solid on its position. They have gathered 426 points, enough to maintain top in the following three races. They are hunted by McLaren, which has 381 points and Ferrari which lies on third with 334 points.
