Ferrari left the Suzuka track after another excellent display of damage limitation – but with a title up for grabs, that technique is bound to have its limitations.

Realistically, third place was the best that the team could hope for. But with the Red Bull once again breezing to a win, the team knows now that they have to beat the Bulls in a straight fight to battle for the crown they should’ve won months ago.

In spite of qualifying and the race being held on the same day, it was realistically a very dull afternoon for the Scuderia. Felipe Massa compounded a miserable qualifying session with an unnecessary trip across the grass launching him into Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Force India, in a spectacular repeat of their crash at the Canadian grand prix. Massa managed to outpace Michael Schumacher to pole here in 2006, but ending a massive second and a half behind Alonso’s best effort led acted as a catalyst for the Brazilian’s worst weekend of a fairly fruitless season. To make it all worse, his 100% reliability record for the season also now lays shattered in the Suzuka gravel trap.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso’s race can be best described as simple and very dull. Once Robert Kubica’s tyre escaped during the safety car, the double world champ was off the pace of the Red Bulls but never in danger of attack from the McLarens. Encouragingly, Alonso noted that “we are convinced that this was the worst track for us for the remaining circuits of the championship, so it was a good weekend overall.” Now this is what you might hear from many other of the F1 PR machines (for example, try lasting a season of signing up for press releases from Lotus – you’d think they’d won the bleeding title with some of the stuff they come out with!), but in Martin Brundle’s infamous gridwalk, Fernando was frank enough to admit that the car was struggling for startline pace. Regardless of what McLaren fans might tell you, maybe his word is trustworthy after all…

Either way, he was solid and unspectacular, but with McLaren reckoning they had the second fastest package around, beating both the Brits was definitely a job well done. Sebastian Vettel may’ve pulled level with Alonso in the drivers title, but he might well have another error left when he should already have the title in his hands.

For the Alonso to take the title with Red Bull once again looking so strong, they may well need a blaze of flames and fireworks to stand a chance. But the calm before the storm certainly could’ve gone worse…

Related posts: