Rankings after the Japanese GP

Formula 1 returned for a weekend at the Suzuka circuit in Japan. For the past two seasons, this Grand Prix was held at Mount Fuji, so it had been three years since the sport last stopped at Suzuka. The entire younger generation of drivers, like Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), did not know this track. And it was precisely the German who secured another victory this season. Many say that winning at Suzuka is a mark of great champions, and there is no doubt about that concerning Vettel. He stepped onto the podium alongside Jarno Trulli (Toyota) and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren). Kimi Räikkönen missed the top 3 but still came in fourth with a Ferrari that is no longer being developed. Nico Rosberg returned to the points along with his Williams team. Nick Heidfeld was once again in the points, confirming BMW’s upturn at the end of the year. Finally, both Brawn GP drivers secured their positions in the top 8, with Rubens Barrichello ahead of Jenson Button. Renault was out of the picture, even though Fernando Alonso finished 10th. Force India and Adrian Sutil were unable to confirm their strong qualifying session. Both Toro Rosso drivers retired, but Jaime Alguersuari was involved in the only crash of the race. It was an incident he will remember, as he was taken by ambulance to the medical center purely as a precaution.

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In the driver championship, nothing is decided yet. There are still three contenders for the title. Vettel is the big winner of the weekend, gaining valuable points on Button, who remains in first place, and especially Barrichello in 2nd. The Englishman has 85 points, the Brazilian 71, and the German 69! Button still has a good margin. The title could be his in two weeks at Interlagos. There are few changes in the standings. Webber is still 4th but is being caught by Räikkönen and Hamilton, 5th and 6th with 40 and 37 points, respectively. Rosberg is not far behind with 34.5 points, but the young German needs to be wary of Trulli in 8th position (+2 places) with 30.5 points. Alonso and Glock each lose a place. Kovalainen and Massa are still tied with 22 points each. Heidfeld (13th) is closing in with his 15 points. Just behind him are Kubica, Fisichella, Sutil, Buemi, and Bourdais with 9, 8, 5, 3, and 2 points, respectively.

In the constructors’ championship, the Brawn GP team is not yet officially champion, falling short by just one point! Indeed, the Brackley team has 156 points against Red Bull’s 120.5, with only 36 units left to distribute. Ferrari manages to hold onto 3rd place at the expense of McLaren, which nonetheless recovers a point. Toyota securely holds its 5th position with a total of 54.5 points to date. Williams is also on track to keep 6th place, while Renault remains 7th, with BMW closing in just two points behind. Force India is still ahead of Toro Rosso (13 against 5 points).

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