Race: Vettel wins, title still uncertain for Button!

Sebastian Vettel claimed his 4th Grand Prix victory, his third this season, by dominating the Japanese GP from start to finish. Trulli capitalized on Toyota’s strong performance at home to seize second place, while Lewis Hamilton, a newcomer here, also finished on the podium. At Brawn GP, Barrichello finished ahead of Button for the minor points, keeping the suspense alive for the last two races of the season.

The start of this early morning Japanese Grand Prix was very well handled by Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull driver, starting from pole position, maintained his lead over Lewis Hamilton and his KERS system, which allowed him to gain an advantage over Jarno Trulli. This group largely dominated the entire Grand Prix, creating sufficient gaps so that they were never caught, except when the Safety Car came in. Alguersuari, with 8 laps to go, violently hit the wall, necessitating the deployment of the Safety Car. Once the gaps were narrowed, the drivers restarted for the last three laps of the race, without any changes in the hierarchy.

Vettel quickly took more than a 10-second lead, putting himself out of danger from the competition after his first pit stop. Behind, Hamilton was ahead of Trulli until the second pit stop, where Trulli, on a more aggressive strategy, was able to regain the advantage over McLaren; securing a very nice podium at home for Toyota and perhaps ensuring the Japanese team’s continuity for 2010.

Kimi Räikkönen finishes once again close to the podium, despite the halt in the development of the F60. The Finn is 4th, taking advantage of Nico Rosberg’s (Williams) last stop to overtake him. Just before the Safety Car. Rosberg thus scores significant points once again. He finishes ahead of his fellow countryman Nick Heidfeld in the BMW, who is making a strong comeback at the end of the season.

Behind, the last two men in the points are from Brawn GP. Barrichello is 7th, ahead of Jenson Button by one place and a small point. Button started from 12th place but was able to quickly overtake Fisichella and Kubica. Button then benefitted from an overly aggressive move by Sutil on Kovalainen to regain the position lost after spinning out with help from the McLaren – that of Force India. He then managed his race not to lose too many points to his main competitor and teammate. The Englishman thus retains the lead in the championship and, most importantly, his chances of winning the title in the next race, in Brazil. However, Barrichello and Vettel also remain mathematically in contention for the title with two races left.

Kubica and Alonso complete the top 10. The BMW driver could have claimed to score points today as his attack was fierce during the last laps of the Grand Prix once the Safety Car was removed. Alonso, on his part, was the only one, along with his teammate Grosjean, on a one-stop strategy. Very ingenious, the Spaniard started 17th and finished in the top 10. The strategy worked much less for Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman made a few small mistakes and finished second to last in 16th position.

Kovalainen is 11th, benefiting from an overtake on Fisichella at the pit exit. The Ferrari driver mishandled his PIT button and gave up his spot to the Finn. He is 12th ahead of the Force India of Sutil. The German’s strategy was abolished by the FIA yesterday after receiving a 5-place penalty, like many other drivers. The second Force India, driven by Liuzzi, follows in 14th place.

Nakajima, for his home race, did not shine and still does not score any points. He is 15th, ahead of Romain Grosjean. Webber is the last driver to finish. The Australian, who has not been able to race since FP3 due to a gearbox change, seemed to be setting up his car as if in private testing. He will, in fact, set the fastest lap in the race, right under the nose of his teammate. He likely takes advantage of the lost opportunity to prepare for Brazil and will pit five times.

Alguersuari, once extracted from his wrecked car 8 laps from the finish, stands up on his own but is eventually evacuated by ambulance. He states on his radio that he is not injured. The other Toro Rosso, driven by Buemi, retired on the 11th lap for unknown reasons.

See you in two weeks in Brazil with inverted schedules to follow the penultimate Grand Prix of the season, where the stakes will be the highest for Button.

Results of the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix – Sunday, October 4, 2009: