Vettel claims championship as Button wins in Japan
Sebastian Vettel finished third at the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest ever double World Champion as Jenson Button claimed victory in Suzuka.
In a frenetic race, Vettel was forced to settle for third after Button and Fernando Alonso managed to pass him but the German was able to consolidate his position and cruise home to claim the Championship.
Lewis Hamilton endured another eventful race as another collision with Felipe Massa and a puncture left him down in 5th behind Mark Webber, while Michael Schumacher rounded off another solid weekend with a 6th place finish.
Vettel, remarkably still the fourth youngest driver on the grid, looked to be showing signs of nerves as he struggled with the softer tyre throughout, but with no concerted challenge coming from behind him to move him back down the gird and out of the points that would have taken the championship race to Korea, took the final podium spot to begin wild celebrations from the Red Bull team.
Before the race Button insisted it was crucial that he got ahead of Vettel into the first corner, but controversially failed to do so as the Red Bull driver squeezed Button onto the grass allowing Hamilton to sneak through ahead of his team-mate – although the race stewards eventually cleared Vettel after an investigation.
The race looked to be following a familiar pattern as Vettel raced into an early lead over his rivals in the opening laps, but the quickly wearing tyres that have caused concern throughout the weekend soon had their say as the German pitted after 11 laps.
Hamilton’s woes continued as he was forced into the pits after suffering a puncture to his right rear tyre on lap 9, allowing Button through to challenge for the lead.
An uncharacteristic sloppy stop meant the gap Vettel had opened up had all but disappeared as the top five concertinaed as Button and Alonso followed a lap later into the pits.
The crucial moment of the race came as Vettel’s second set of option tyres started to go off, allowing Button to close up right behind him, and when the 2009 champion stopped the next lap, he was able to emerge just ahead of his rival for the race lead.
Hamilton’s race took a further turn for the worse as he continued his on-going spat with Felipe Massa, claiming part of the Brazilian’s front wing on lap 21, although mercifully both drivers were able to continue without the race stewards getting involved during the race.
The safety car emerged after debris from Massa’s car lay on the track, and Button was able to get a jump on his rivals from the re-start, roaring into the lead to establish a gap between him and Vettel.
Further down the field a fierce battle was developing for 10th place with Vitaly Petrov and Adrian Sutil attempting to hold off a charge from Nico Rosberg who had started the race down in 23rd.
Kamui Kobayashi’s dream of claiming points in his home race went up in smoke after a poor start that left him down in 12th, and after a four-way battle wound up in 13th as Petrov and Rosberg claimed the final points spots while Force India drivers Sutil and Paul di Resta ended a dissapoiting weekend out of the points in 11th and 12th.
Another round of stops saw the lead drivers switch to the harder tyre that would see them to the end of the race and after Button emerged from his stop crucially ahead of Vettel, matters took a turn for the worse for the Red Bull man as Alonso made his way up to second to set up a grandstand finish, with Vettel showing signs of his frustrations as he gestured furiously to Jerome d’Ambrosio after the backmarker held him up.
Just a matter of seconds separated the top three as Alonso reduced Button’s lead to just above one second to put him within touching distance of being allowed to use DRS and claim an unlikely victory, but Button responded emphatically with a series of scorching laps to hold off the charge behind him.
That left Vettel to coast home in third to claim his second world crown, with the former Torro Rosso driver choked as he thanked his team over the radio after crossing the line.
Vettel now joins an elite club, becoming only the ninth driver to win successive titles along with Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jack Brabham, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and Fernando Alonso.
Japanese Grand Prix Results:
1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h30:53.427 2. Alonso Ferrari + 1.160 3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 2.006 4. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 8.071 5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 24.268 6. Schumacher Mercedes + 27.120 7. Massa Ferrari + 28.240 8. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 39.377 9. Petrov Renault + 42.607 10. Rosberg Mercedes + 44.322 11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 54.447 12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:02.326 13. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:03.705 14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:04.194 15. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1:06.623 16. Senna Renault + 1:12.628 17. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:14.191 18. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1:27.824 19. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1:36.140 20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps 21. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps 22. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps 23. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps Fastest lap: Button, 1:36.568 Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 35
For all the reaction to the race and Sebastian Vettel’s championship win follow us on Twitter!
Check out our special gallery for pictures of the men Vettel has joined in being crowned champion at the Japanese Grand Prix .
Finally, if you fancy a free £25 bet on Formula 1 (why wouldn’t you?) sign up to 188bet here NOW!
F1 News 24/7
Loading ...
Leave a Comment