Formula One: Japan F1 Qualifying postponed due to rain
There was something of an anticlimax at the Suzuka circuit in Japan as qualifying could not take place due to bad weather. The hour long session would now take place on Sunday before the actual race.
There was a lot of anticipation ahead of qualifying in Japan, as this is the 4th last race of the season and the leader-board is as close as could have been at this stage. Japan fans packed the stands hours before qualifying but were disappointed
to have gone home without witnessing any action on the tracks.
Current World Champion Jenson Button said that he feels bad for the thousands of fans who had flocked to see the drivers in action. He added that it is unfortunate that the qualifying could not take place, but said that unfortunately there is nothing that
they could have done to help the situation.
Despite the heavy rain pour, there was still some optimism from the teams that there may still be chance for qualifying to take place. FIA director Charlie Whiting in the end decided to call it a day when conditions showed no signs of improvement. He said
that there was no way the drivers can go out and give it their all, there would a huge element of risk so it has to postpone.
Meanwhile, things just don’t look to be going right at the moment for the 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton. After suffering 2 races without any points, Hamilton was handed a 5 place penalty by the race stewards following an illegal gearbox change.
Lewis Hamilton while talking to the media described the conditions as horrible. He said that normally water on the tracks is not such a bad thing, but the way it was pouring down there was no way to keep the cars in control. He added that the amount of water
on the tracks would not have allowed the tyres to keep the required temperatures and hence number of unwanted accidents could have taken place. The youngest world champion said that even if the cars had gone out on the tracks there would have been an element
of hesitation and no driver would have been able to go full throttle, so in the end calling it off for the day was a wise decision.
Hamilton’s team mate Jenson Button said that considering the conditions it would have been like floating on the track, rather than driving.
Button added: "It's not driving a racing car; you are floating the whole time. You might as well stick a rudder and a sail on it. It's disappointing but in the morning we will have some good action in qualifying and race. For me, it's fun to have something
different."
On Friday, it was the Red Bull duo of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel who were quickest by some distance, but in rainy conditions, it is simply a lottery. The 2 drivers from Austria based team also agreed with the decision to call off the race.
"It's not an easy decision but in those conditions we can't control the cars," said Vettel.
"The race director did his best, sending the safety car out every 20 minutes to have a look. For the majority of people outside, it's probably difficult to understand why we can't put our rain tyres on and it'll be fine”.
The Japan Grand Prix is termed as one of the most crucial ones in terms of the title race; the top 5 drivers are separated by just 25 points. That is equivalent to a race win, Hamilton for instance was on top 4 races ago. But failing to end on the podium
in 2 and crashing out in other 2 races meant he has dropped down to 3rd position. While Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso has made a late surge to get himself back in the reckoning for the world title by wining the last 2 races in Italy and Singapore.
Whoever ends up winning the race in Japan on Sunday would hold an upper hand, and may be able to dictate the terms in final 3 races of the season.
Mark Webber from Red Bull leads the table, with Fernando Alonso from Ferrari in 2nd and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton in 3rd.
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