2009 Japanese Grand Prix

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Crashbroke23
And now Jamie has had a massive crash. Brutal.
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Yeah. And the way his car ran through the styrofoam sign gives new meaning to "Ka-BLAMMO!", don't it?

Also, I believe the fuel mixture for a F1 car is supposed to be 99% petrol and 1% of something else. So I was wondering, did the fuel in Vettel's car have 1% of Red Bull Cola in it today? :dopey:
 
Bram Turismo
Dominant drive by Vettel 👍

Either Trulli was very exhausted, or he knows this might have been his last podium for Toyota... Either way, this performance by him should shut up those who think he can't carry a great pace through a full race.
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The FIA allowing a lapped car to stay between Vettel and Trulli didn't exactly help. That creates a gap and then Vettel has a faster car. How does that make Trulli exhausted?
 
I'm only gonna say two things:

1st: If in the next 2 races, Vettel wins and Button ends 7th or 8th, Vettel could win the championship.

2nd: "DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?"
 
interludes
The FIA has published a full grid. The penalties were issued in the order the infringements were performed, so it looks like this:

1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 658.5
2. Trulli Toyota 655.5
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 656.0
4. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 660.0
5. Raikkonen Ferrari 661.0
6. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 660.5 *
7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 684.5
8. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 650.0 *
9. Kubica BMW-Sauber 686.0
10. Button Brawn-Mercedes 658.5 *
11. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 675.0 **
12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 682.5
13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 665.4 *
14. Fisichella Ferrari 661.5
15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 695.7
16. Alonso Renault 689.5 *
17. Grosjean Renault 691.8
18. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 682.5 **
19. Webber Red Bull-Renault - ***
20. Glock Toyota - ****
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I don't understand how Barrichello managed to only lose 1 place (5->6) - yet Jenson lost 3 (7->10)... weird.

C.
 
Tired Tyres
The FIA allowing a lapped car to stay between Vettel and Trulli didn't exactly help. That creates a gap and then Vettel has a faster car. How does that make Trulli exhausted?
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What?

I'm not sure what kind of a point you are trying to make here. Don't you think 50 laps around such a fast track as Suzuka makes you exhausted? I just got the feeling when Jarno got out of the car and during the press conference that he knows these could be his last races for the team. Either this, or he was simply incredibly exhausted from driving 50 qualifying laps to keep the gap between him and Hamilton on a minimum to snatch away that second position at the end.
 
I don't understand how Barrichello ended up just one place in front of Button.

Button in an interview say's that Rosberg set a green final sector when the SC sign came out. If that's true it will be a penalty for Rosberg.

Bram Turismo
What?

I'm not sure what kind of a point you are trying to make here. Don't you think 50 laps around such a fast track as Suzuka makes you exhausted? I just got the feeling when Jarno got out of the car and during the press conference that he knows these could be his last races for the team. Either this, or he was simply incredibly exhausted from driving 50 qualifying laps to keep the gap between him and Hamilton on a minimum to snatch away that second position at the end.
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You were the one saying "exhausted" about Trulli. Not any of the other drivers. That's the point I was making.
 
Bram Turismo
Dominant drive by Vettel 👍

Either Trulli was very exhausted, or he knows this might have been his last podium for Toyota... Either way, this performance by him should shut up those who think he can't carry a great pace through a full race.
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Trulli always looks exhausted after he races or qualifies... last year at france he also was exhausted in the PC so...

Vettel was very good today, and had great concentration to make no errors. Lewis and Jarno did a great job. Also thumbs up to kimi for leapfrogging heidfeld. 👍

yeti
I don't understand how Barrichello managed to only lose 1 place (5->6) - yet Jenson lost 3 (7->10)... weird.

C.
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Penalties were given in chronological order. Rubens first 5 place penalty. But then 4 others before him had a penalty too and as result he only lost like 1 place.
 
Tired Tyres
Button in an interview say's that Rosberg set a green final sector when the SC sign came out. If that's true it will be a penalty for Rosberg.
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Yeah I was a bit confused about this - I felt sad for Rosberg with some bad luck on the SC I thought that would put him well down the grid... but he actually made up 2 places (rubens & heidfeld) under the SC...

I think he might be in trouble!

C.
 
Rosberg just gone up to the stewards room. Maybe explaining to him what he done wrong.

F1 forum on the red button was entertaining today.
 
If Rosberg is penalized, could Brawn GP possible take the constructors championship after all?
 
Bram Turismo
If Rosberg is penalized, could Brawn GP possible take the constructors championship after all?
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Yes.

Hopefully we'll hear about in the next half hour.
 
Great race, great to see the title race go one more race.

Great drive from Vettel, though that Red Bull looked rediculously fast so not too surprising. Not surprised by Brawn's lack of pace, not a circuit that suited their car as much as the others though they could have had a better qualifying if not for the many red flags.
Kovalainen finally pulled a great move but unfortunately also pulled a rubbish one. The pressure over his contract is clearly visible.

Disappointed with Force India, though Sutil was largely screwed by Kovy. Liuzzi had a good battle against the Renaults but ultimately no points at a track where they looked strong.

Button again magically catching Barrichello out of nowhere, a combination of bad laps from Rubens and good ones from Jenson again.
 
Fantastic race that was!!! BMW Nick Heidfeld did a great job for securing some points finally and fantastic result from nowhere for Rosberg. Great one for Vettel and a very unforgettable one for Trulli...

It was a very hard hit from Alguersuari coming through the 130R and I hope that he's owkey. Sad day for Vettel's team mate Webber though... At least the Brawns do scored some points... So next, let's move on to Brazil for the penultimate round of the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship...
 
Yawn... Glad I recorded this one nothing much happened action wise but at least the championship will hopefully close to 6 points by the last race. This year has to be the worst in terms of racing and tension towards the end of the season since Schumacher last championship in 2004.
 
crooky369
Yawn... Glad I recorded this one nothing much happened action wise but at least the championship will hopefully close to 6 points by the last race. This year has to be the worst in terms of racing and tension towards the end of the season since Schumacher last championship in 2004.
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I beg to differ. There are still two races left, and this year could turn out just like 2007. Remember how Kimi won the championship by 1 point despite being behind several two races before the end?

Also, don't forget that we've seen a huge variety of teams in the top 8. On the podium we've seen Brawn, RBR, Renault, Toyota, Mclaren, Ferrari, Force India, and Williams. All but one team has stood on the podium this year, which I find very impressive. The fact that all the cars respond so differently to each track makes all up for much closer racing in the top 8 than in years before.
 
crooky369
Yawn... Glad I recorded this one nothing much happened action wise but at least the championship will hopefully close to 6 points by the last race. This year has to be the worst in terms of racing and tension towards the end of the season since Schumacher last championship in 2004.
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I'm pretty sure Button has overtaken a lot of people this year, I'm interested to know the statistics for champions and their number of overtakes in their championship year (if such a stat exists), because I'm pretty sure Jenson would at least be average, which is pretty good considering the lack of overtaking compared to 10 or 20 years ago.

This season was no where near as boring as 2004 or 2002, just because the championship leader has not changed at all through the season doesn't affect the interest, at least not for me.
 
crooky369
Yawn... Glad I recorded this one nothing much happened action wise but at least the championship will hopefully close to 6 points by the last race. This year has to be the worst in terms of racing and tension towards the end of the season since Schumacher last championship in 2004.
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Completely disagree - I think this has been the best season for years...

C.
 
Disappointed with Barrichello, if he kept his pace after the first stop he could've finished in 4th. He said he struggled to find the right balance, but his first stint was very good.

And Button is doing what every champion needs, not wasting points and having a good amount of luck. I can't remember of any race this year where he waster points with any kind of errors. Also the accident between Kovalainen and Sutil helped him quite a lot today.
 
I'm pretty sure Jenson could have taken Rubens if it wasn't for Alguesuari, then we would have had a tense and epic fight. Trulli was also catching Vettel too before the safety car though I doubt he would have been able to take Vettel.
 
This race was a bit of a yawnfest, but I don't care because Vettel won!
 
PeterJB
This race was a bit of a yawnfest, but I don't care because Vettel won!
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Got to agree, bit of a yawnfest
 
:indiff: Am I the only one who was on the edge of my seat most of that race? It was hardly an uneventful stroll to the finish for anyone. :confused:
 
I thought it was a good race myself. Except for the end when the lapped car wasn't got out of the way for the restart. It would have been good to see Trulli have a go at Vettel for the win.
 
On the restart,I as the annoncers pointed out even was amazed at the gap the cars behind Vettel allowed. Why do they not close up the gap during the SC period?
 
Ardius
:indiff: Am I the only one who was on the edge of my seat most of that race? It was hardly an uneventful stroll to the finish for anyone. :confused:
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Probably! Only good bit for me was seeing Kubica harassing Button at the end especially because of Kubica's late breaking for the hairpin.

All I can hope for is that next year the top drivers mainly Alonso and Hamilton are in the top cars.
 
DaddyVDUB
On the restart,I as the annoncers pointed out even was amazed at the gap the cars behind Vettel allowed. Why do they not close up the gap during the SC period?
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They do, but they are not allowed to overtake till the start/finish line, and as the lapped Grosjean was between Vettel and Trulli, Trulli couldn't floor the throttle till Grosjean did, so Vettel easily got away from Grosjean leaving the rest of the field stuck behind the rookie.
Normally the safety car lets lapped cars past before the restart, I don't know why they didn't in this case, perhaps a rule about number of laps remaining or whether theres marshalls on the track or whatever.

crooky369
Probably! Only good bit for me was seeing Kubica harassing Button at the end especially because of Kubica's late breaking for the hairpin.

All I can hope for is that next year the top drivers mainly Alonso and Hamilton are in the top cars.
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Not Button overtaking Kubica superbly earlier on? Sutil and Kovy battling? Trulli and Hamilton trading fastest laps? The difference between Button and Barrichello during the race (which was closing all the time). Kovalainen blasting past Fisichella on the pit exit?

Define top drivers too. The only "bad" drivers are Nakajima and the rookies. I'm also glad we've got rid of the boring old McLaren vs Ferrari domination.
 
Yeah I realize they cant overtake,but it just looked like they were really way behind at the restart. Looked like Vettel had it covered anyway. It was great to see Suzuka in F1 again,makes you realize what a tremendous job PD did in modeling that track. The in car shots looked like I was in front of my PS3.
 
People are saying, this track doesn't suit BGP, and the fast tracks didn't suit the Red Bull. Sure a track can lend itself to a particular type of aero, but to be on the blunt end and the pointy end, the points for these two teams, seems extreme.
Toyota and Force India are even more extreme, with their performances.

Yet Lewis and Kimi are able to bring the car to the party every week, at least this end of the season. Even though they got left at the gate a little early this season it seems they have come up with a much more consistant package than the the two title contenders. KERS development may have hindered the aero package design development for these teams, but the result is they aren't hitting and missing.

Anyway just an obserevation.
 
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