Formula One: Red Bull dominate Japan GP, Vettel takes pole position followed by Webber and Alonso
Sebastian Vettel emerged the winner at the Japanese Grand Prix from the Suzuka track. The German driver was impressive from the start of the weekend and had a 100 percent record in the proper track sessions. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber set the two fastest
times in Friday's practice session. Germany's Vettel posted a best time of one minute 31.465 seconds on the Suzuka track, with championship leader Webber of Australia just four hundredths of a second behind his teammate. Vettel went on to start the race at
the front of the grid and followed that up with a race win at the end of the Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver took his 8th pole in qualifiers. What was different in this outing? For starters, the youngster was able to convert that advantage into a race win, only his second chequered flag this season.
Mark Webber made it a Red Bull 1-2. The Australian ended the race as he started it and further consolidated his position in the championship. He also took the fastest lap time stat on the final lap of the race.
Elsewhere, it was a mixed day for Ferrari who, at one side saw their Spanish driver score a competitive third and had to endure a bottom end classification for their Brazilian driver, Felipe Massa. Massa had an accident as early as lap one with the Vitantonio
Liuzzi. The result sees Fernando Alonso stay in contention for a potential move for the championships as the final three rounds of the Formula One season are still to be ticked off the calendar.
As far as Felipe Massa is concerned, the pressure seems to pile up further. He was already heavily mentioned in the tabloids for effectively being a Ferrari 2nd choice driver (the new Barrichello in some cases) and with a zero point finish, it
appears that he’d be lucky to race in a Ferrari in the near future.
The top 3 were followed by the two McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton in fourth and fifth place respectively – The top 5 drivers in the championships featured in the top 5 classifications at Suzuka, irrespective of the order.
Michael Schumacher did reasonably well to finish 6th on a track that has seen him victorious for a record 6 times in the past.
Home town hero, Kobayashi finished 7th for BMW Sauber as the Japanese crowd went bonkers on the stands to appreciate his efforts. His team mate, Nick Heidfeld finished just behind in eighth position, therefore, making it a good day at the office
for BMW Sauber.
Rubens Barrichello for Williams and Buemi for Toro Rosso rounded up the top ten positions respectively.
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