Formula One Highlights: Japanese Grand Prix, Raceday Part 1
After an action packed qualifying round, focus shifted to the race at the Suzuka circuit in Japan.
Welcome to the highlights of the Japanese Grand Prix from Suzuka! After a dry qualifying session earlier that morning, it appeared that the teams were in store for a dry race as well. Qualifying was dominated by Red Bull Racing. Sebastian Vettel took pole
position followed by teammate Mark Webber. Hamilton set the 3rd fastest time, only 3 tenths slower than Webber, but dropped 5 places for a gearbox change. Kubica started from 3rd on the grid due to Hamilton's penalty.
During qualifying, Kubica had continued with his impressive pace at Friday’s practice. However, a strong race by Kubica could have worked in Red Bull’s favour if he was able to dock points of the other championship contenders. Alonso started from 4th
followed by Button at the 5thspot. Button was the only driver in the top 10 to start on harder compound tyres and was therefore expected to pit later than the other drivers. Rosberg and Barrichello started from 6th and 7th
respectively, followed by Hamilton, who was given a 5-place grid penalty. Hulkenberg and Schumacher completed the top 10.
The race got off to a dramatic start as Di Grassi crashed at 130R on his formation lap; his race was effectively over. The warm up lap restarted. The start was bound to be interesting as the two Red Bulls raced to the first corner.
The five red lights went out and the race got underway. Vettel got off to a clean start and led into the first corner. His teammate Mark Webber was not so lucky. The Australian lost a place to Kubica. Moments later, there was a huge incident in the mid field
that saw Petrov and Massa out of the race. The safety car was deployed as the debris on track made it unsafe to drive at full blast.
The confusion at the start of the race was clearing up as the second lap began. The drivers that were out of the race were Massa, Petrov, Hulkenberg and Di Grassi. Meanwhile, the McLaren drivers got off to a decent start. Lewis Hamilton was on 6th
after starting at the 8th spot on the grid. Jenson Button was racing at the 5th and was leading the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, going into the first corner; he seemed to have lost his position.
The Massa versus Petrov clash became crystal clear. Replays suggested Petrov going off independently while Massa and Hulkenberg making contact, causing both of drivers to retire – a sad ending for both parties; not even able to go around the Suzuka circuit
once.
As the race marshals cleared the debris, Timo Glock’s Virgin had visited the pits twice – 2 stops after 2 laps? It was becoming an uphill battle already. Meanwhile, Robert Kubica had a mechanical problem and had to retire from the race. It was a huge disappointment
for the Renault team as both their drivers were effectively out of the race. Replays revealed that Kubica lost a wheel which caused him to retire.
The safety car was still out as the drivers started lap 5. The marshals had focused their attention towards Kubica’s halted car for the moment. Rosberg made a pit stop and was down at the 13th position – perhaps a signal of a changed strategy
for the Mercedes as it was believed that he was set to finish the race on his present set of hard compound tyres. However, while the safety car is often perceived as a reminder of chaos and confusion, a few cars were actually able to take advantage of this
period. Heidfeld, Sutil and Alguersuari had all made decent starts to run in 8th, 9th and 10th respectively. The safety car lights went out which signalled that the race was to restart after the lap.
The start may have been bumpy but with nearly 47 laps to go, a lot could change. The fight for the title was very much on.
Stay tuned…
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