FORMULA 1 - 2010

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Vettel plays down Bull's favourite tag

Sebastian Vettel had downplayed claims that Red Bull are the favourites to win in Japan, saying it's too early to judge.

Last year, Red Bull dominated the Japanese Grand Prix with Vettel taking pole position on his way to a comfortable race victory.

And although many are expecting a similar showing this weekend, the German insists it's too early to say how the teams will perform.

"It's always easy to make out favourites beforehand," Vettel said.

"Last year we were very quick here. Our car likes medium speed and fast corners, we have some of those here, that's why naturally people see us as a favourite, but we still need to go out and do it. It will be a tough weekend, for sure.

"The weather is a bit of an unknown, especially on Saturday and Sunday, so we will see what we can do."

As for the Championship race, the 23-year-old says he's just focusing on one race at a time, starting with this weekend's event at Suzuka.

"It's just one of 19. Sure, we have only got four left, so it becomes more important, but in the end it's one out of 19," he said.

"In the end, if you are one point behind or 10 points behind, or this year 25 points behind, what matters in the end is you have to believe in yourself and trust yourself.

"I think the races I've had this year were sometimes what we wanted to see and sometimes were not.

"Everyone has his own story he could tell but if anything the performance was always good, so I'm confident that this weekend we can have a good time.

"I'm not in Korea, I'm not in Brazil and I'm not in Abu Dhabi. I'm in Japan, and so I'll put my head down and focus on this race and nothing else."

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Boullier hits back at 'aggressive' Kimi

Renault team boss Eric Boullier insists he never used Kimi Raikkonen's name to boost the team's image, something the Finn has accused them of doing.

Over the past two months, rumours of Raikkonen's possible move to Renault have made headlines after the team revealed that the 2007 World Champ's manager had approached them enquiring about their plans for next year's Championship.

This led to reports of 'will he, won't he' as Raikkonen's manager Steve Robertson admitted to approaching Renault, Renault confessed that finances would play a role in deciding their 2011 line-up and Vitaly Petrov questioned why Renault would want to sign Raikkonen in his place.

The rumours all came to naught earlier this weekend when Raikkonen finally spoke out, saying he "never seriously considered driving for Renault" and was "disappointed with the way they have used my name for their own marketing."

Raikkonen's comments, though, have left Renault feeling rather diasppointed - not because he won't race for them, but because he accused them of using his name.

"We have not piggy-backed on Kimi's image at all, which is what he has been claiming in the press," Boullier told Autosport.

"We were contacted by his managers after Spa. They wanted to enter into discussions and at that time we said: 'Please wait. Yes, we are very flattered that you have contacted us, but we need to finish the evaluation of Vitaly's (Petrov) potential and from that point, when we have our own conclusion, we will get back to you.' There was nothing else.

"Since then, I had not got back to them because we had not finished the evaluation of the potential of Vitaly and there was nothing else to say. I never used the media, and I don't see the benefit of telling to the media that Kimi is interested and chasing us. What would be the purpose of this?

"At the end, there was clearly a big interest in the media and during the last week the media kept reporting about our contact. I guess it was because there was nothing else to report, and I guess Kimi got upset to have all this in the press.

"But I always stuck to my word - and when it was public I was fair and courteous. Yes we were flattered to be contacted but I didn't say anything else. Now, I think it is clear for me, and clear for him, and this is the end of the discussion."

The Renault team boss added that he was shocked by the aggressive nature of Raikkonen's comments. "You cannot be disappointed in his comment, but I do not understand why be aggressive and accuse us of something.

"I would never chase the media to explain them something like this - we were just replying to the questions. Even for us it was pulling us into a bit of trouble because it was constantly back on the table."

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Webber: Title race is on a knife-edge

Mark Webber may be leading the Championship, but the Australian says he does not see himself as the outright favourite for the title ahead of the Japanese GP.

Webber, who has an 11-point advantage over Ferrari's Fernando Alonso with four races remaining, remains calm despite being in the driver's seat for the title, which has not been won by an Australian since Alan Jones clinched the Championship for Williams in 1980.

"It's on a knife-edge, but I'm very relaxed, and this is just another race for me," Webber said.

"I'll do my best, give nothing (to my rivals), and leave no change on the table. The points will look after themselves."

Webber heads a quintet of drivers - Alonso, his Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel, and McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button - separated by just 25 points, the equivalent of a race win.

While the 34-year-old has his nose in front, he says it is far too early to adopt a cautious approach to the final races.

"I'm not the favourite. I think we're all pretty even at the moment, and it can change pretty quickly, in a good way or a bad way for me," he said. "I need to keep racing hard and going for victories - that's what we need to do."

"I have a bit more scope, but I'm not looking to abuse that advantage because it can go very fast," he added.

"The points advantage is a nice thing to have. It would be more important if it was the last race, but this isn't the last race."

Webber comes into this weekend's Japanese GP off a podium in Singapore a fortnight ago, a result that seemed unlikely when he clashed with Hamilton midway through the race.

The Englishman had to retire his McLaren on the spot with suspension damage, but Webber was able to continue despite his right front tyre almost coming off the wheel rim in the final stages of the race.

The Australian admitted that luck played its part in finishing in Singapore, but would not hesitate from engaging in a wheel-to-wheel battle with the combative Briton again if the situation arises.

"I think both of us would do the same thing again and go to the point where it's on the limit," he said.

"When people are going to fight into the same corner, inevitably, when you've got two guys that are competitive, contact can happen.

"Both of us knew that there wasn't much between us getting through that corner, and in the end, both of us didn't. But Lewis is a great competitor, and I expected nothing less from him."

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Yamamoto and Senna in action for HRT

The mystery surrounding Hispania's Japanese GP drivers was unveiled on Friday when Sakon Yamamoto and Bruno Senna took part in Practice One.

When Hispania Racing released their pre-Suzuka press release all the team included where quotes from team boss Colin Kolles while there was no mention of the drivers.

And with four having already climbed into the cockpit of Hispania's F1 cars this season, it was anyone's guess who the team would use this weekend.

But the names of the drivers were finally confirmed on Friday morning as Yamamoto, who attended Thursday's FIA press conference, and Senna took part in the first practice session.

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Alonso: It won't be all smooth sailing

Fernando Alonso has warned Ferrari are due a bad race following on from the euphoria of the back-to-back wins that have re-ignited his championship challenge.

The two-time World Champion has spent much of this season in the doldrums with a car unable to seriously threaten the pace of rivals Red Bull and McLaren, but the Prancing Horse has enjoyed a resurgence that has seen Alonso emerge as a genuine contender.

Alonso's wins in Italy and Singapore have brought him to within 11 points of Championship leader Mark Webber of Red Bull, but the Spaniard fears that sequence could come to a halt at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.

"It seems that you need to keep the momentum now for more races, but we saw this year that people that win two races, or have two or three podiums in a row, then they have some bad results and then they come back good," said Alonso.

"No one had consistently six or seven races at a good level for different reasons, so we expect there will be difficult moments for us.

"What we need to do is be prepared for those moments, not panicking, and score as many points as possible at every race.

"We know sometimes it will be a podium, sometimes maybe a fifth position - it is in those moments when we need to be united and not panic."

While playing down his own victory chances this weekend, Alonso also moved to heap the pressure on Red Bull, who won this race last season with Sebastian Vettel.

"Red Bull Racing are favourites again," he added. "The characteristics [of the circuit] are very good for Red Bull but it does not mean that they will win the race very easily.

"We saw this year some circuits that were good for Red Bull, it was not a 100% victory for them because normally always something happened. So we need to keep pushing them.

"Of the four circuits remaining, maybe Suzuka is good for them - and then the other three are a little bit of an unknown.

"It will be tough. It will be difficult for us, but hopefully difficult for everybody else as well.

"There are five drivers with possibilities - McLaren will come back very strong, I am sure, pushing a lot in the remaining races. But it is still a very open fight."

With Vettel and McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button also vying for the title, Alonso believes the 2010 title race is providing teams with a unique challenge.

"It is different in a way because you need to control more drivers - more teams in terms of strategy," he said.

"Fighting with one driver only is easier in terms of covering him - if he goes out at the beginning of Q1 then you go out as well just in case something happens, so you have the same possibilities.

"Now with five it opens a little bit more the window for different things - and it is difficult to control all of them.

"Sometimes one of the five, or two, they are not completely in control in terms of strategy as well. It is difficult in terms of strategy for the engineers, in terms of strategy for people - but from a drivers' point of view, it is not a big change."

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Prac One: Another crash for Hamilton

Sebastian Vettel set the pace at Suzuka, however, it was yet another accident for Lewis Hamilton that dominated headlines.

Just before the halfway point of the session, and with only nine laps to his name, Hamilton crashed his MP4-25 at the second Degner, having bottomed out at the first. The impact caused heavy damage to his car and to McLaren's testing duties for the morning.

With the Brit, who was second quickest at the time of his accident, out of the running, it was left to his title rivals to contest the P1 slot.

That went to Vettel with a 1:32.585 while Mark Webber was second quickest, 0.048s behind his team-mate as Red Bull dominated proceedings, half a second up on their nearest rival.

Robert Kubica was third for Renault ahead of Adrian Sutil and Hamilton. As for the other two title rivals, Jenson Button was 12th, 1.4s off the pace and Fernando Alonso was 13th, 1.5s adrift.

Report: Dark clouds hovered over the Suzuka circuit as Jaime Alguersuari got proceedings underway, leading the field out for their installation laps in the opening practice session for the Japanese GP. But almost half an hour went by before Sakon Yamamoto set the first lap time of the morning, a 1:42.950 for the Hispania driver.

He was soon joined by Kamui Kobayashi, who went quickest of all with a 1:34.271 with Nico Hulkneberg, Sebastien Buemi, Jerome D'Ambrosio and Vitaly Petrov lining up behind him. Hulkenberg, who reports claim could be dropped by Williams after just one season, was the next to lead the way while Kobayashi ran wide at the Degner curves but without any major troubles.

Michael Schumacher, who has won at Suzuka no fewer than six times, took second place with Rubens Barrichello fourth, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and Petrov. The order changed yet again as Hamilton, who is running major upgrades this weekend, climbed to the top with a 1:33.643 before losing out to Vettel.

However, that was the end of Hamilton's session as he bottomed out at the first Degner, which caused him to go off the track at the second, hitting the barriers and causing heavy damage to the front left of his MP4-25. That will have a huge impact on McLaren's testing for today because, as mentioned, the team is running several big upgrades.

Back to the action, Adrian Sutil climbed to second place ahead of Hamilton while Robert Kubica went fourth ahead of Mark Webber, Nick Heidfeld, Barrichello and Hulkenberg. Fernando Alonso was down in 16th place before improving to 11th, two places behind Jenson Button. Webber slotted into second place, 0.048s behind Vettel as Red Bull hit the front with the 1-2.

In the final few minutes, Button almost repeated Hamilton's crash but managed to keep his car away from the barriers. Schumacher climbed to eighth place and Vettel ended the session at the top of the timesheets.

Times

01 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:32.585

02 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:32.633 0.048

03 Robert Kubica Renault 1:33.129 0.544

04 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:33.639 1.054

05 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.643 1.058

06 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:33.677 1.092

07 Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:33.707 1.122

08 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:33.739 1.154

09 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:33.791 1.206

10 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:33.831 1.246

11 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:33.929 1.344

12 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.042 1.457

13 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:34.169 1.584

14 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:34.271 1.686

15 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:34.373 1.788

16 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:34.379 1.794

17 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:34.991 2.406

18 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:35.684 3.099

19 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:36.949 4.364

20 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:37.329 4.744

21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:37.388 4.803

22 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1:37.778 5.193

23 Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:38.814 6.229

24 Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:39.443 6.858

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Fri: Toro Rosso, Lotus, Virgin, HRT

Toro Rosso joined Lotus, Virgin and Hispania at the bottom of the timesheets in Friday's practice for the Japanese GP...

Toro Rosso:

Sebastien Buemi: "I had an impressive spin at a high speed corner, but apart from that there were no technical problems. I managed to do quite a good lap time on the Option tyres and I feel I have a clear picture of what the car is doing. But we need to work hard now with the engineers to improve the car, although tomorrow will be a different picture if it rains. We do not appear to be as competitive as we were in Singapore and Monza and it is difficult to say exactly why. It is hard to tell how much we can improve, but the situation is still open for us to increase our performance level."

Jaime Alguersuari: "This morning, I tested various new components which made the session more complicated than usual, as I found the car quite difficult to drive. I made a couple of mistakes and there were times when I found it hard to keep the car on track. This afternoon went much better, even if we lack a bit of speed compared to Singapore. We can analyse the data tonight and improve for tomorrow and I would be happy if it is wet for qualifying, as I think we can be more competitive in the rain than in the dry."

Lotus:

Heikki Kovalainen: "I think we've got to be pretty pleased with today. We ran through the whole programme and even though we can't find the same grip levels as the guys ahead, I think we achieved what we set out to today. The battle with the guys around us is now really tight, and that's excellent, for us in the team as it keeps us focused, and for the fans as they have something to keep them on the edge of their seats. Obviously nearly all the effort back at the factory is on next year, so it's good that we can keep ahead of Timo and Lucas, and I think for the rest of the weekend it will be a really good fight between us."

Jarno Trulli: "It's always good being in Japan. I have some fantastic support here, and it's great to be here for the first time with Lotus Racing. It's easy to see what we mean to the fans, and next year will be even better for them, in so many ways for the whole team. Today we completed a good number of laps but I haven't been particularly happy with the grip levels and balance, in either session. I think there's a lot more to come from the car tomorrow, and with some more work tonight we should be able to find more time and more performance tomorrow."

Virgin:

Lucas di Grassi: "For me this is easily the most technically challenging track of the season. There is no margin for any mistakes as the track is very fast and narrow and if you push too hard you're definitely going to go off. It was a real pleasure to drive the track for the first time. A lot of work has been done with the car today. We are still far from where we need to be but there is more to come from the car and myself over the next two days. Things are getting better all the time so I think we can make a good improvement for tomorrow."

Timo Glock: "Today has been a fairly routine day and we kept to our normal programme. This afternoon the car wasn't feeling too bad at the start of the second session but when we switched to Option tyres we weren't able to find any time in them, which is a bit strange. I think we will need to review our set-up direction but as the weather is starting to change towards the cloud and rain forecast for the weekend, this will be the case for everybody. I think we will see rain tomorrow so we will see what those conditions bring for the car."

Hispania:

Bruno Senna: "It was a good day for us and we went through some changes to get a good feedback from the car. We have some ideas of what to do in preparation for the next sessions. Apparently, the weather is going to be wet so we won't be able to carry on with our setup. We hope to do a good job tomorrow and we will see what happens."

Sakon Yamamoto: "It was good to be back racing in Suzuka in front of my home crowd with the team at this challenging circuit. Today was quite successful and we managed to do many laps. Now we have to analyze the data and work on improving for tomorrow. It is going to be exciting to run here under wet conditions, something which I really like to do."

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Fri: Merc, FIndia, Williams, Sauber

There were top ten places on the Suzuka timesheets for Schumacher, Sutil and Hulkenberg while Kobayashi narrowly missed out...

Mercedes GP:

Michael Schumacher: "It's a great feeling to be driving this track again. It's really fun and a great challenge. I have always loved Suzuka and particularly the first sector which is cool and demanding at the same time. If you get it right, you enjoy it big time. I'm pleased with our practice today as the car looks better than I had expected here and I didn't face any real issues. So now we hope for a clean qualifying tomorrow where we will try to achieve as much as we can."

Nico Rosberg: "It's been quite a challenging Friday for me. Unfortunately my morning was hampered by a gearbox issue which cost me some running time at the end of the session which wasn't ideal. From then on, I just haven't been as happy with the car here. I had a lot of understeer which we haven't established the reason for, so we need to look into that overnight. Things started to come together more on the option tyre which gives me hope that we can build on that progress tomorrow. It should be an interesting weekend with the rain so we will try to make the best of that."

Force India:

Adrian Sutil: "I feel today went quite well. In the morning session I did just one run on the hard tyres as we had a small issue that kept us in the garage for longer than we hoped for, but we fixed it between sessions and got on with a very busy programme in the afternoon. We made a lot of runs to test the fuel levels, the wing settings and run through our normal changes. The car felt good the whole day so there wasn't really very much to change. We also didn't have any major problems so overall we can be quite pleased with the progress we've made. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, there's a threat of rain and it should make it a very interesting and exciting qualifying session."

Tonio Liuzzi: "It was generally quite a decent day as we did a lot of work, particularly in the afternoon when we did over 30 laps. We are struggling with the balance at the moment with a lack of overall grip and we couldn't get the best out of the soft tyres when we ran them in FP2. We should be better tomorrow when we've looked through all the data and gone a bit deeper into why we haven't got the ideal set up just yet. The predicted weather will add another dimension so I'm looking forward to getting back on track to have a better day tomorrow."

Williams:

Nico Hulkenberg: "We had some technical problems during today's second session which prevented us from going out exactly when we wanted to, but they didn't really cost us anything and today went ok overall. It's looking really competitive out there. We aren't looking too bad; we just need to get everything right tomorrow. The circuit is living up to expectation and I'm loving driving it."

Rubens Barrichello: "I obviously had a problem with my car during the second session. That was disappointing, but the car seems to be well balanced and should take us through to Q3 again tomorrow."

Sauber:

Kamui Kobayashi: "I am very happy to be in Suzuka, and I enjoy driving here a lot. But nevertheless it was a tough day for me. I wasn't happy with the balance of the car because I have too much understeer. We definitely have to improve the balance by doing the right set-up changes. I found both tyre compounds difficult because they dropped off so quickly. After just one lap I had problems. In the morning I also had some aero parts to evaluate."

Nick Heidfeld: "Driving on the Suzuka Circuit always gives me a lot of enjoyment! I found the car really not too bad on the harder Prime compound, but then it was a surprise when we fitted the softer Option tyres. The car behaved a lot differently and the lap time actually didn't improve. This is something we have to sort out before qualifying. In the first session this morning I did runs comparing different front wings."

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Fri: Red Bull, Renault, Ferrari, McLaren

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber dominated Friday's running at Suzuka, finishing ahead of Kubica, Alonso, Massa and Button...

Red Bull:

Sebastian Vettel: "We had a trouble free Friday, which is the most important thing, especially on a track like this there you need to get into a rhythm with all the quick corners following each other. The car was reliable and I had a good feeling, the pace looks okay too. The forecast suggests rain, but there's no reason why we shouldn't be competitive in the wet. The conditions have been quite inconsistent during all the wet races that we've had so far this year, so it's hard to know what everyone's pace will be."

Mark Webber: "A good day, we couldn't have asked for much more - we had faultless running and got a lot of mileage. The team put the cars together well and we had a smooth day. The balance of the car feels good although it's a

circuit with lots of different types of corners, so you can't have everything - you need to work out what the priorities are for the best lap times. We're not sure what the weather's going to do tomorrow, it looks as though it may be a bit wet, but we've got good info in the bank, so we're ready for what happens."

Renault:

Robert Kubica: "It's nice to be in P3 in both sessions, but we have to remember that this is only free practice. We need to wait and see what the weather will bring us tomorrow and try to do our best in all conditions. The forecast is saying there will be quite a lot of rain, so it was important to do a lot of running today and complete all our evaluation ahead of the race, which looks like it might be dry. If it is wet tomorrow, then today will have been our only chance to drive on dry tyres before the race."

Vitalay Petrov: "I was quite satisfied with my day because we found a good balance with the car and this is really important for this circuit. In the morning we tried not to take too many risks and do normal runs to help me learn the circuit. In the second free practice we just tried to push a bit more to understand the car and the set-up. We changed a lot and the car feels much better so the team did a good job. But let's wait and see what happens tomorrow because I think it will be a very tough day."

Ferrari:

Fernando Alonso: "It is only Friday, so the times today do not really mean much. What we must always keep in mind is that the pecking order between the cars can change significantly in terms of which track we are at: you only have to look at McLaren who were very strong in Spa and Monza, but definitely less so in Budapest and Singapore. So I would say it is best to wait until the end of tomorrow before giving a definite judgement on the situation here in Suzuka. In theory, Red Bull look unbeatable here, as they always have done, except in Monza and also there were various races where come Sunday, they were beaten, so again that's a reason to wait before drawing any conclusions. Today, we did not put together a perfect lap, so there is some room for improvement. We have to analyse the data to see how to do that, but of course the others will be doing the same. The forecast is for rain tomorrow: if that happens, we must concentrate and avoid making any mistakes, which can cost you a lot in the wet. Then it will be down to luck, as to who finds themselves in the right place at the right time on the right tyre. The aim in qualifying is to be in the top five, then we can see how things go in the race. I wish to welcome Sergio Perez to the Ferrari Driver Academy. I am sure that, like me, he will feel at home in the Ferrari family alongside the other guys in the FDA. I know them all and I can say that the communal Latin culture will help him as it helped me in this my first year in Maranello."

Felipe Massa: "I thought Red Bull would be very strong and maybe they are even more so than I had expected. Having said that, it's likely we will have a wet qualifying tomorrow, so anything could happen: we must try and be ready to make the most of whatever situation presents itself. The aim is still the same, whether the track is dry or if it rains, which means to qualify as well as possible. The track is pretty hard on tyres because of the many high speed corners, therefore managing them properly will be important during the race. We will use the blown rear wing, as on this track it definitely brings an advantage in performance terms. There is still room to improve the handling of our car, but we can't really expect any sort of change in terms of performance."

McLaren:

Jenson Button: "This morning was pretty tricky; I couldn't get a balance with the car at all, and was really struggling with understeer through the first sector. You give away so much time when you've got understeer through the esses because it's tougher to get the car to change direction. For the afternoon, we made a few changes and the car felt a lot more responsive. We're quite a bit off the pace of the Red Bulls, but we've got to look at getting the best out of the new package that we've got. And that requires extensive testing, which can take a couple of runs. I don't think we got the best out of our new parts, but we've made some good steps forward. We did a good job today of improving the car, but there's still more to come. That's encouraging, we're just not there yet."

Lewis Hamilton: "I damaged the car in the early laps of the first session. I was only on my second fast lap, and was probably pushing too hard too soon. I didn't go that wide - it wasn't that big an off - but the gravel was very slippery at that point. A couple of other drivers had moments there and got away with it. But that's life. The guys in the garage did an incredible job to rebuild the car - they really had to work hard, and they got me out for the last 10 minutes of the second session. They are so supportive in this team: if one person is down, they'll do their best to lift that person up. That's what we do as a team. I had to run the older rear wing in the afternoon, so I didn't really get a proper feel for where the car is. And, hopefully, we'll have a second new rear wing for qualifying and the race. Tomorrow's another day - and it looks like it's going to rain, so everybody will have to start again. They say bad things come in threes - so after Monza, Singapore and today, I hope this run of bad luck is over and done with."

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Schumi 'pleased' with Suzuka practice

It was a case of so far, so good for Michael Schumacher as the German revealed his Friday practice in Japan was better than expected.

Heading to Suzuka, a track where Schumacher has tasted the victory champagne no fewer than six times, the Mercedes GP driver admitted he wasn't expecting much but had hoped to "get the maximum out" of the weekend.

But he may have misjudged what that maximum could be after finishing eighth in both Friday practice sessions, later admitting his car performed better than he had expected.

"It's a great feeling to be driving this track again. It's really fun and a great challenge," said the seven-time World Champ.

"I have always loved Suzuka and particularly the first sector which is cool and demanding at the same time. If you get it right, you enjoy it big time.

"I'm pleased with our practice today as the car looks better than I had expected here and I didn't face any real issues.

"So now we hope for a clean qualifying tomorrow where we will try to achieve as much as we can."

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Webber: It's Sunday's results that count

Mark Webber says Sebastian Vettel can have the Friday plaudits, just as long as he's the Red Bull driver to take them on Sunday.

Vettel topped the timesheets in the Friday practice sessions at Suzuka and in both he edged ahead of his team-mate Webber.

However, where it counts most - in the Drivers' Championship - it is Webber who is ahead and as long as he produces a result on Sunday afternoon that sees him retain that position, he doesn't see a reason to challenge Vettel on a Friday.

"I don't normally battle on Friday," said Webber. "He did a few more laps and a lap time at the end. As usual he was not hanging around but Sunday is what counts."

The Bulls were by far the quickest team around the Suzuka circuit, with Vettel seven-tenths up on his nearest non-Red Bull rival at the close of play on Friday.

However, Webber has downplayed their showing, believing Red Bull's rivals will close the gap as the weekend progressed.

"As usual, we have seen people have not shown their maximum on a Friday. We had a reasonable day today and we know these guys have the potential to come back.

"So, as usual Friday times don't count towards the Championship - we need to do the job on Sunday."

The Aussie was happy with his own performance on Friday, revealing that he had absolutely no complaints with his RB6.

"The balance is pretty good honestly. It is a circuit that has a lot of different types of corners so you cannot have everything, and you need to work on priorities and what works best for lap times, that is what we will have a look at tonight.

"The car has speed out of box, the boys did a good job to get it together and it ran faultlessly today so a good effort from the guys."

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Hamilton: Pushing too hard, too soon

Lewis Hamilton admits the accident that cost him valuable track-time in Japan on Friday was his own doing as he pushed too hard.

Practice One ended after just nine laps for Hamilton when he crashed at the second Degner, having appeared to bottomed out at the first, pushing his car wide and off the track.

The impact caused significant damage to his MP4-25, costing him valuable track-time as he only ventured out again with ten minutes remaining in the afternoon session.

"I damaged the car in the early laps of the first session. I was only on my second fast lap, and was probably pushing too hard too soon. I didn't go that wide - it wasn't that big an off - but the gravel was very slippery at that point," said the 2008 World Champion.

"A couple of other drivers had moments there and got away with it. But that's life.

"The guys in the garage did an incredible job to rebuild the car - they really had to work hard, and they got me out for the last 10 minutes of the second session.

"They are so supportive in this team: if one person is down, they'll do their best to lift that person up. That's what we do as a team."

The lack of running could prove to be a huge problem as McLaren brought several major upgrades with them this weekend to Suzuka, which Hamilton and his team-mate Jenson Button needed to put through their paces in the three hours of dry running on Friday.

However, Hamilton, who had to use old parts when he did venture out in the afternoon session for eight laps, is drawing one positive from the drama - at least it's going to pour down on Saturday.

"I had to run the older rear wing in the afternoon, so I didn't really get a proper feel for where the car is. And, hopefully, we'll have a second new rear wing for qualifying and the race.

"Tomorrow's another day - and it looks like it's going to rain, so everybody will have to start again. They say bad things come in threes - so after Monza, Singapore and today, I hope this run of bad luck is over and done with."

And although team boss Martin Whitmarsh must have been rather frustrated by the accident, telling the BBC that it was a driver error, he put it down to Hamilton "experimenting too early in the weekend."

[MIKA27]

Haug: Schumacher staying put

Mercedes-Benz Motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug has dismissed speculation that Michael Schumacher could lose his drive at the end of next season if his performances do not improve.

The seven-time world champion returned to Formula One at the start of this season following three years in retirement but has failed to live up to expectations and has been regularly out-performed by Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

The German Bild newspaper reported this week that Schumacher had been warned by his team that he would not see out the final year of his three-year contract unless he raised his game.

But that was today flatly rejected by Haug, who insisted the 41-year-old remained a key component of the team.

Asked to comment on reports of a Mercedes ultimatum, Haug said: "Well, this is an interpretation of what was said, but of course there was no ultimatum.

"We are currently a little bit handicapped with our car but I have no complaints and no regrets that we're going to achieve our target. We need to work hard.

"We are sticking together and Michael is, for me, as good as he ever was and probably even better. He's relaxed, concentrated. He doesn't need anybody to defend him, certainly not me but we are very happy with the job he's doing.

"If you take into consideration that he was not in Formula One for three years, we are heading in the right direction and there is certainly not an ultimatum."

Schumacher certainly appeared to wring the maximum from his car today, finishing eighth in the opening two practice sessions for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

More crucially, he was faster than team-mate Rosberg in both.

"I think Michael again showed today his class, his full commitment," Haug continued.

"I'm happy and I think the Formula One community should be very happy to have Michael."

[MIKA27]

Ecclestone: F1 will race in Korea

Just 48 hours before the track inspection is set to take place, Bernie Ecclestone is adamant the Korean GP will go ahead.

Korea is scheduled to host the next race on the calendar on 24 October, however, work was still continuing on the track when the usual 90-day inspection was meant to take place.

But instead of cancelling the grand prix, the FIA opted to delay the inspection and it will now be held this coming Monday.

Ecclestone, though, firmly believes the track will get the go-ahead and that Formula One will be in Korea in two weeks time.

"I will be there, the world will be watching and we will have a great race - it is on, end of story," the F1 supremo told the Daily Express.

"They had problems but they have done wonders in the last few weeks. I've been in touch; I've seen photographs and the top layer of the track has been laid. They will pass the inspection."

He added: "Despite all the doom stories, I think people will be pleasantly surprised."

[MIKA27]

Qualifying postponed until Sunday

Qualifying for the Japanese GP will take place on Sunday after heavy rainfall made conditions too dangerous for the drivers on Saturday.

With only two drivers taking the risk of setting lap times in Saturday morning's final practice session, it soon became evident that the deluge that flooded the Suzuka circuit could cause chaos in qualifying.

And that's exactly what it did.

Set to begin at 14h00 local time, qualifying was initially delayed by 30 minutes, however, a track inspection by Charlie Whiting in the Safety Car saw it put back by another 30 minutes.

And with the rain bucketing down even harder at 15h00 local time, Whiting delayed qualifying by further 30 minutes.

But when he went out for the track inspection ten minutes prior to the new start, Safety Car driver Bernd Maylander had an almost impossible task of keeping the Mercedes on the track, prompting Whiting to call it quits for the day.

A total of 26mm of rain was recorded in the three hours from noon to 15h00.

Qualifying will now take place at 10h00 local time on Sunday morning - that's 1am GMT!

"Shame about the weather but it was the only decision to postpone the quali," Tweeted Heikki Kovalainen. "I hope all the fans turn up tomorrow for a busy day!"

Qualifying on a Sunday morning is not without precedent in Japan.

Back in 2004, both qualifying and the race took place on the same day after the whole of Saturday's running was lost due to Typhoon Ma-on.

[MIKA27]

Trulli expects to stay with Lotus in 2011

Jarno Trulli says he expects an announcement to be made shortly, confirming his second year with the Lotus team alongside Heikki Kovalainen.

Neither driver has a contract for 2011, but both are expected to stay with the team as they look to make big strides in terms of pace and reliability with the recent announcement that they will use Red Bull hydraulics and gearboxes, whilst a Renault engine deal is imminent.

The Italian hinted at the fact that 'other stuff', quite possibly the technical deals with Red Bull and Renault, were holding up future driver announcements.

"I should be here like Heikki, and it should be confirmed soon," he told Autosport in Japan.

"The team is currently looking after some other stuff - but the announcement should be soon."

[MIKA27]

Watch Webber's Suzuka track guide

The next F1 World Champion takes us for a ride around the fabulous sweeps of Suzuka in the Red Bull simulator

SUZUKA

[MIKA27]

Vettel: It was an incredible day

Sebastian Vettel has hailed his Suzuka Sunday as an "incredible" day as his pole position and victory saw him close the gap in the Drivers' Championship.

With some outsiders and media questioning whether the time had come for Red Bull to put their efforts behind Championship leader Mark Webber in the race for the Drivers' title, Vettel needed to assert his dominance over his Aussie team-mate.

And that's exactly what he did.

The German began his day by claiming pole position in a postponed qualifying session, just succeeding in edging ahead of Webber. From there his day only got better as Vettel led the majority of the Japanese GP and after 53 laps took the chequered flag in a Red Bull 1-2.

His 25 points to Webber's 18 closed the gap between the two to just 14 points with 75 still to play for.

"Yeah, it was an incredible day. This morning with qualifying and the pole position and this afternoon it just continued. It was fantastic," said the 23-year-old.

"It was down to the team, they have been working very hard. Most of the guys did not sleep from Thursday to Saturday, so it was good there was no qualy!

"They deserved it today. This track is like drawn for us with the high-speed corners, with the car getting lighter and lighter it was more fun.

"We are in a very good position. It is about time, so I'm really happy to be back and have won for the second time here. I'm really proud of it. I think it was a very good day for us, with qualy and the race, a special experience."

When it was pointed out to Vettel that in the past World Champions Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen both clinched back-to-back victories at Suzuka on their way to title glory, the German admitted he hopes that is a sign of things to come.

"I guess, I wouldn't mind obviously, I love this circuit. It's always special this circuit. It's the first time I win a grand prix for the second time so you have to fall in love with this track. I'm very proud, I think it is a good omen!"

Pictures:

[MIKA27]

Japan GP: Vettel Takes Commanding Win:

RACE REPORT

Sebastian Vettel boosted his title hopes with a significant victory in Japan as he dominated his team-mate Mark Webber. Fernando Alonso completed the podium places, but it was more gearbox problems for the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton.

There was plenty of action at the start of the race as Vitaly Petrov, Nico Hulkenberg, Felipe Massa and Tonio Liuzzi all crashed into retirement on the opening lap, bringing out the Safety Car. And while the drivers were slowly touring the track behind the Safety Car we had retirement number six as Robert Kubica's right-rear wheel fell off his car, forcing him to park it.

GP REPORT

CONDITIONS: Bright and sunny with no rain predicted: 26C ambient, 36C track. Lucas diGrassi failed to get his car to the grid, the Virgin going off at 130R and hitting the barriers even before the parade lap.

GRID:

1.Vettel, 2.Webber, 3.Kubica, 4.Alonso, 5.Button, 6.Rosberg, 7.Barrichello, 8.Hamilton, 9.Hulkenberg, 10.Schumacher, 11.Heidfeld, 12.Massa

START:

When the red lights went out there was immediate action from the Renault of Vitaly Petrov veering across the track and into the barriers. He'd made contact with the Williams of Nico Hulkenberg seconds after the start. Both drivers out on the spot but Petrov the man at fault.

Further down the main straight Felipe Massa tried to make up quick places from P.12, and put his right wheels on the inside grass of the circuit coming into Turn 1. He slewed straight into the side of the innocent Tonio Liuzzi. Both men out. In Singapore Liuzzi hadn't lasted a lap but this time it was not his fault.

However the big excitement was at the front. Robert Kubica got a much better start from P3 on the grid and was straight in front of Mark Webber and also had the momentum to think about a challenge on Vettel - had the straight been longer.

Nico Rosberg got a dreadful start from P.6 and was immediately passed by Lewis Hamilton who jostled his way from P8 to P5 right behind his team-mate by the Esses. With four cars already at the side of the track, the Safety Car was dispatched immediately so they could be recovered.

LAP ONE ORDER:

1.Vettel, 2.Kubica, 3.Webber, 4.Alonso, 5.Button, 6.Hamilton, 7.Barrichello, 8.Schumacher, 9.Heidfeld, 10.Sutil

Nico Rosberg, who'd dropped a long way back after his poor start, immediately stopped for his harder Prime tyres and rejoined at the back.

Robert Kubica was going to be a big problem for Mark Webber having got himself between the two Red Bulls, but on Lap 3 he'd suddenly dropped a long way off the back of the Safety Car and Sebastian Vettel, and TV cameras picked him up parking the Renault car. He'd lost a rear wheel off the right corner and parked it. Both Renaults out within three laps and six cars in total before we'd completed one lap at racing speed.

The Safety Car came in at the end of Lap 6 and on the restart Michael Schumacher made a classic overtaking move round the outside of Rubens Barrichello into the final chicane, snatching seventh place. At the same time Nico Rosberg tried to get round the outside of Sebastien Buemi at 130R. Buemi wasn't giving way and Rosberg was forced out wide onto the run-off at 170mph plus but miraculously managed to keep control of his car.

The race settled into a pattern with the Red Bulls swapping fastest laps at the front. By Lap 12 Vettel had a 2.0 second lead on Webber and Mark was 3.5 in front of Alonso. Jenson Button had started on the harder Prime tyre and was clearly holding up Hamilton who had the faster Option. But there was no easy way past.

Behind them, home boy Kamui Kobayashi was keen to change his surname to Kamikaze with a less-than-100%-fair move up the inside of Alguersuari into the hairpin, grabbing P10 and using the Toro Rosso as a braking aid. Three laps later he tried the same move on Adrian Sutil into the hairpin, this time pulling off the move perfectly.

Jenson Button had been hoping that the Option tyre runners would need to stop on lap 10 or 12, but the circuit began to rubber in quickly, and with the added laps behind the Safety Car, the first Option runners to pit - Sutil and Heidfeld - only came in at the end of Lap 18. Lewis Hamilton pitted for the Prime tyres on Lap 22 and exited just behind Kobayashi who was up to P7 (but not yet stopped).

Michael Schumacher pitted from sixth place on Lap 23 but exited behind his team-mate, while Vettel and Alonso pitted on Lap 24 and Webber on Lap 25. There were no net changes for the front runners and Hamilton was swiftly past Kobayashi into Turn 1 on Lap 25. He was still several seconds behind Alonso, though.

Out in front, Jenson Button had gained no advantage from running the harder Prime tyre but soldiered on regardless. With 20+ seconds needed for a pit-stop he was not quick enough to retain fourth place, but had a big window for fifth place after his stop. Behind Button, the four who had changed their tyres closed in, the Red Bulls and the Ferrari managing their fuel and temperatures all the while.

LAP TWENTY-NINE ORDER:

1.Button, 2.Vettel, 3.Webber, 4.Alonso, 5.Hamilton, 6.Kobayashi, 7.Rosberg, 8.Schumacher, 9.Heidfeld, 10.Barrichello, 11.Sutil, 12.Alguersuari

Though Hamilton closed down the gap to Alonso to a mere 2.2 seconds on lap 37 after his stop for tyres, that was as close as he would get. On Lap 39 he radioed back that he had lost third gear and because it is a sequential gearbox, the McLaren team didn't want him going any lower. So he was restricted to fourth-to-seventh gear, making the slow exit from the hairpin even slower.

Jenson Button pitted from the lead on Lap 38, as did Kobayashi from P6. Button rejoined in P5 and Kobayashi emerged behind Alguersuari again, in P11. With his new tyres, Button immediately started lapping two seconds a lap quicker than his team-mate who was just hanging on till the finish.

On Lap 45 Kamui Kobyashi proved that you don't have to use the inside line to overtake at the hairpin and overtook Alguersuari round the outside; the Toro Rosso needlessly banging wheels with the Japanese driver on the exit - and more than once. For this stupidity he picked up a puncture and had to pit, while Kobayashi's bent Sauber continued.

While all this was happening Adrian Sutil, Kobayashi's next target, spun in the middle of 130R, swapped ends and continued - the Mercedes engine of his Force India having started to emit plumes of engine oil smoke seconds beforehand. Sutil disappeared into the pits and retirement leaving Kobayashi free to home in on Rubens Barrichello.

Three laps later and Nico Rosberg's race came to a dramatic end as his Mercedes veered off the road at the Esses with a tyre bouncing high up into the air after a car failure. Race Director Charlie Whiting decided to recover the car under waved yellows.

On Lap 49 Kobayashi - on much fresher tyres than all the cars in front of him - sent one up the inside of Barrichello into the hairpin and was through to eighth place sending the Japanese crowd wild. A lap later and team-mate Nick Heidfeld had to defend his seventh place into Turn 1 from Kobayashi. By the time he'd got to the hairpin he'd decided to play the team game and let Kobayashi through- almost letting Barrichello past into the bargain.

At the front of the race Sebastian Vettel started to increase his pace without Button restricting him in front, Mark Webber also upped his pace but never looked like challenging him. Despite the Red Bulls' dominance they couldn't shake off Fernando Alonso's dogged pursuit. Jenson Button, on his fresher tyres, closed a little on Alonso but was never going to catch him, let alone pass.

They held positions to the flag with the falling-back Lewis Hamilton listening anxiously for gearbox noises in fifth. Behind him, in sixth place, Michael Schumacher posted his best result in a long while, having wiped the memory of a poor Singapore GP.

The Red Bulls flashed across the line first and second, Mark Webber gleefully claiming the Fastest Lap on the final lap to show Vettel what he could do in clear air. Alonso was not far off in third and Button ten seconds further back in fourth. However celebrating almost as much as the Austrian team were Team Lotus. They had scored another P12 with Heikki Kovalainen equalling their best result of the season and winning the battle of the new teams. Richard Branson had officially lost his 'air hostess bet'.

Results

01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h30:27.323

02. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 0.905

03. Alonso Ferrari + 2.721

04. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 13.522

05. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 39.595

06. Schumacher Mercedes + 59.933

07. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:04:038

08. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari + 1:09.648

09. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:10.846

10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:12.806

11. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap

12. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 1 lap

13. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth + 2 laps

14. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps

15. Senna HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps

16. Yamamoto + 3 laps

17. Rosberg Mercedes + 5 laps

Did Not Finish

Sutil Force India-Mercedes 45

Kubica Renault 4

Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1

Massa Ferrari 1

Petrov Renault 1

Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1

Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 0

[MIKA27]

Petrov penalised, Massa escapes

Vitaly Petrov has been slapped with a five-grid slot penalty for the Korean GP for causing an accident in Sunday's Japanese GP.

Petrov crashed into Nico Hulkenberg at the start of the Suzuka race, putting both himself and the Williams rookie out of the race. The Russian later claimed he had to move across the track to avoid being hit by Nick Heidfeld.

"I was going passed Hulkenberg with Heidfeld on my right when he started to move left and so I also had to move left to avoid him," said the Renault rookie. "Unfortunately I hit the side of Hulkenberg's car and this is why I crashed."

However, the stewards, led by former F1 driver Alex Wurz, didn't see it that way, putting the blame for the shunt purely on Petrov's shoulders.

The Suzuka stewards handed him a five-grid slot penalty, which will be served at the next race in Korea.

Meanwhile, Felipe Massa escaped punishment for his opening lap accident with Tonio Liuzzi, which the stewards deemed to have been a racing incident.

[MIKA27]

Button: Staying out was the wrong decision

Jenson Button concedes the decision to pit almost 15 laps after his rivals was the wrong call, although doesn't believe he'd have finished any higher had he stopped earlier.

Button was the only driver in the top ten starting the race on the harder option Bridgestone tyres. And while his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who was behind him at the time, pitted on lap 23, Button waited until the 38th lap of the race before switching rubber.

The long wait before come in for his mandatory stop cost Button as he fell behind Hamilton in the order and only retook fourth place because of his team-mate's gearbox problem.

"I thought the others would struggle on the options at the start of the race, they didn't," Button told the BBC. "I wasn't really able to push Fernando (Alonso), and I had Lewis right behind me.

"We need to look at the data but to stay out when everyone else pitted was probably the wrong thing. Maybe you should cover the people that you are racing and we didn't do that.

"At the end of the race when we did put the option on it was great. The car had a lot of grip and I was very fast. We weren't quick enough to beat the Red Bulls and the Ferrari, possibly not.

"Just got to look at the data and see why we stayed out for so long, I think it was 40 laps. It was quite a tough race on such old tyres. I don't mean we would have finished any further up but I think it is just useful information for the future."

[MIKA27]

Alonso: It was a lonely race

Fernando Alonso admits he was driving his own race at the Japanese Grand Prix as it was impossible to catch the Red Bulls.

The Ferrari driver, who started fourth on the grid, finished third behind Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber while McLaren's Jenson Button was a distant fourth.

The Spaniard says he was never going to catch the Red Bulls while Button was too far behind.

"Well obviously it was a tough race, the start was not particularly very good," he said. "Robert [Kubica] had a fantastic start on the clean side, as well.

"It was a lonely race, no pressure from behind and impossible to catch Red Bull in the first part of the race. I was managing the gap to Button but he was never close enough to put too much pressure on us."

Webber's second place has seen him extend his lead at the top to 14 points over Alonso and Vettel.

"On paper this was a perfect Red Bull track," he told the BBC. "So to come away 14 points behind we have to be happy. We know that the remaining three races we need to keep pushing.

"When we arrive at circuits with more difficulties for Red Bull we need to take our opportunities. They took today their one.

"Of the 16 races in the Championship, 15 of them were Red Bull circuits and they won only seven. They have done three one-twos and 12 times they didn't, so the remaining three races it will be difficult for them to be one-twos. Always something happens, and if something happens we can take the opportunity.

"If not we know it will be hard because in 2010 Red Bull has had the dominant car."

[MIKA27]

Fastest lap: Webber denies Vettel

Mark Webber stole the fastest lap from under the nose of his team-mate Sebastian Vettel at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

Vettel likes to accumulate fastest laps and he has a knack of setting them on the final laps. However, he was denied the fastest lap at Suzuka which means he also missed out on the coveted hat-trick following his pole position and race victory.

Vettel posted the best time of the day on lap 51, but Webber and Jenson Button bettered his 1:33.653 two laps later. Championship pacesetter Webber's time of 1:33.474 was just 0.055 better than the time of McLaren's Button.

Fernando Alonso - who finished third in the race - posted the fourth best time of the day while the Toro Rosso of Jaime Alguersuari was fifth thanks to his pit stop late in the race.

Kamui Kobayashi's 1:34.486 was good enough for sixth while Lewis Hamilton - who was nursing a gearbox problem - only posted the ninth best time of the day.

Times

1. M Webber Red Bull 1:33.474

2. J Button McLaren 1:33.529

3. S Vettel Red Bull 1:33.653

4. F Alonso Ferrari 1:33.823

5. J Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1:34.365

6. K Kobayashi Sauber 1:34.486

7. M Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:34.853

8. S Buemi Toro Rosso 1:35.116

9. L Hamilton McLaren 1:35.182

10. N Heidfeld Sauber 1:35.521

11. R Barrichello Williams 1:35.597

12. N Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:36.108

13. A Sutil Force India 1:36.319

14. H Kovalainen Lotus 1:37.620

15. J Trulli Lotus 1:39.710

16. S Yamamoto Hispania 1:39.806

17. T Glock Virgin 1:39.813

18. B Senna Hispania 1:40.329

19. R Kubica Renault 2:41.378

N Hulkenberg Williams - no time

V Petrov Renault - no time

F Massa Ferrari - no time

Tonio Liuzzi - no time

L di Grassi Virgin - no time

[MIKA27]

Sun: Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Merc

Red Bull claimed the 1-2 with Vettel ahead of Webber. Alonso was third in front of the McLarens and Schumacher...

Red Bull:

Sebastian Vettel: "This circuit is very special - the fans are incredible here and to get my second win in Suzuka is fantastic. It was a nice Sunday; to have qualifying and the race in one day is a unique experience and to finish top in both is great. Thanks to the team, to those here and also back in the UK - they all work very, very hard. We had some small upgrades here and they were a step forward. Our car loves this type of circuit and I'm very happy and very proud of today's result. Mark was running in second and was trying to put me under pressure, but having track position helps and the race was basically about managing the car and the tyres until the first stop. It wasn't certain when the soft tyres would go off, but the timing of the pit- stop was right. We were then behind Jenson at the start of the second stint. I wasn't pushing as I trying to control the gap while waiting for him to make his stop. It wasn't easy today, but it was a nice and controlled race."

Mark Webber: "Sebastian had an extra half tenth this morning and pole position is a nice thing to have on the chess board going into this race. Ultimately qualifying was important, but I'm happy with how I drove today - I couldn't have got a great deal more out of the car. I wasn't that happy with the set-up on Friday, but the guys did a good job to get it back to a place where I was happier. I pushed Sebastian in the race - we pulled away on the soft tyre in the first stint and I was comfortable on the hard tyre after my stop. It was a formation finish and a one-two for the team; it's a great result for us in the Constructors' Championship and a good result for me in the Drivers'. Sebastian deserved the victory today, I'm happy."

Ferrari:

Fernando Alonso: "All things considered this was a positive day for us. On a circuit that seemed purpose built to show off the strengths of the Red Bull, we managed to get on the podium, losing just three points to the championship leader. We had a bit of luck because Kubica's retirement meant a potentially very strong rival was out of the reckoning. I did not make an ideal start, partly because of a problem with the clutch, but then I soon made up a place over Button. In the first part, we ran a defensive race, trying to keep the McLarens at a distance, especially Jenson, who was on a very different strategy to ours. Then when we realised they were no longer a threat we tried to put the Red Bulls under a bit of pressure, but there was nothing to be done. Here they were perfect and when that happens they are really hard to beat. However, experience tells us that it is not always like this, or they would have already won the championship. So we must try and make the most of every opportunity. We are trying to improve the F10 with every passing race: here for example we had a new oil from Shell and other minor aerodynamic updates. We will have further new parts in the next few races: maybe not so big but put together they could give us a few tenths which is always useful. We come out of this weekend with our heads held high, knowing that we must try and beat Webber in the coming races to close down the gap to the top."

Felipe Massa: "I think I was really cursed today! This morning in qualifying, because of traffic, I failed to get into Q3. This afternoon in the race, I didn't even manage to get through the first two corners. At the start, Rosberg, who was in front of me, got away poorly and at first I tried to move to the left, but Sutil was coming there. Then I moved to the right, but in so doing I found myself on the grass and the kerb. At that point the car took off on its own, I was unable to make it through the first corner and I ended up colliding with Liuzzi's Force India. It's a shame, because as Fernando showed, in the race our car had a good pace and I could have fought for a points finish. The main problem is still qualifying: again today I struggled, even if traffic played its part. In the race, the situation is better but we know how difficult it is to overtake. These past two races have been frustrating for me but we have seen many times this year how quickly the situation can change: I will be trying my very best in the remaining three Grand Prix."

McLaren:

Jenson Button: "At the start of the race, the drivers in front weren't struggling on the Option tyre as much as we'd expected. So we were a little bit compromised, and I think we stayed out too long for our first stint. As soon as we saw the others were quick on the Option, and I wasn't able to pull a gap, or pressure anyone in front, maybe it would have been sensible to pit at that point and fit the Option. We'll go away and look at the data, and the reasons for it. It was a tough race on such old tyres, but it was fun once we'd fitted the Option; the car felt great - I had a lot of grip, and the car was very fast. Still, we weren't quick enough today to beat the Red Bulls and possibly the Ferrari. And I don't think we'd have finished any further up. I'm in the same championship position as I was before this race, so the title's getting more difficult. We came here with a lot of different new parts - some of them worked really well, while others need a bit of work. We've just got to hope that when we put the new package on the car in Korea, we get the best out of it. For the next race, we'll hopefully have the performance we'd expected to have here."

Lewis Hamilton: "This wasn't a great weekend for me. I made a mistake on Friday, then we changed the gearbox yesterday and I got a grid penalty, and then I had another gearbox problem in the race. That's an unfortunate amount of collective bad luck, but the team and I will bounce back. With the gearbox, I was running normally, then downshifted into third, accelerated and lost the gear. After that, I had to rely on just fourth gear and above. I didn't think the car would make it - it was making a lot of strange noises, but I kept my fingers crossed, tried not to shift too much and looked after it to the flag. I'm thankful and so happy that I least saw the end of the race - it's my first finish for a long time. The championship doesn't look great at the moment. But there are still three races to go and 75 points available, so we'll remain optimistic and keep doing the best job we can. I'll keep fighting."

Mercedes GP:

Michael Schumacher: "I am quite happy with the race today and the car felt really good. The opportunity to make up places was just what I hoped for and sixth place was the maximum that we could have achieved. It was good racing and it must have been very entertaining for the crowd. It was fun to be racing Nico so it is a shame what happened to him. We are now heading to South Korea and although I don't really know what to expect, if our car is as good as it was here, then I hope for another encouraging race."

Nico Rosberg: "It was a disappointing end to the weekend today. Due to a clutch problem, my start was poor but our strategy was good to change tyres under the safety car on the first lap which enabled me to recover the places and be racing in sixth position. My tyres were suffering from having done such a long stint so it was tough to maintain a good pace but it was enough to keep Michael behind. Then something broke on the rear of the car and put me into the tyre barrier which ended my race early."

[MIKA27]

Sun: Sauber, Williams, STR, Lotus

There were points in Japan for both Sauber drivers, Barrichello and Buemi while Lotus were next in line...

Sauber:

Kamui Kobayashi: "I tried my best and I am very happy. It was a great race for our team, and I'm very pleased for the Japanese fans who have watched an exciting race. It is the second time we have got both cars in the points, and for me it was really something to come back here and race for the first time after seven years in front of my home crowd. Nevertheless it was a very tough race today. Qualifying and the race in the space of only a few hours made it quite a busy and unusual Sunday. After the start I saw the accidents in front of me, and I was really lucky not to be hit. Later it was not too easy to overtake and I had some contact. The car was damaged, but it was not too severe and I was able to finish the race. I really want to thank the team for the great job and the fans for their fantastic support."

Nick Heidfeld: "I'm quite happy - it is the best result for the team this season. In the end I could have finished one place higher, but I was on a different tyre strategy to Kamui and he was obviously faster with his fresh option tyres. I started on the option tyres. Obviously I was meant to push really hard in the early laps, but then the safety car came out and later I got stuck behind Rubens (Barrichello). The team did a very good job by calling me in early for the change to the prime tyres. Compared to Singapore, we made good progress in race performance. For qualifying, I think, there is more to come. I'm looking forward to the three remaining races."

Williams:

Rubens Barrichello: "My car was skating all over the track this afternoon. I don't know why and, to make matters worse, I had quite a lot of vibration. We managed to salvage some points today, but I really thought we were going to finish higher up."

Nico Hulkenberg:"I had a bad start and I didn't get off the line at all. I then saw Petrov coming up behind me. He touched my front right wheel and that was it. You never want to finish a race that early, but today it happened and it was unfortunate for us both. The team are doing a really good job developing the car and that showed in our qualifying performance so it was a shame to finish that early."

Toro Rosso:

Sebastien Buemi: "It was a good race for us and I am happy to have got a point. However, it was a bit frustrating as, towards the end, I was catching Barrichello by around one second per lap and maybe if I had switched to the Option tyre earlier I would have been more competitive and got closer to him and maybe got past. The problem I had in qualifying with the floor of my car did not help, as it was the first time I have failed to get into Q2."

Jaime Alguersuari: "We knew it would be a tough weekend for us here and it was, although I had hoped to qualify better than I did. In the race, I pushed as hard as I could. In the later part, Kobayashi was much faster than me, but that is not a reason to let him past, so I fought as hard as I could and we touched and I had to pit for a new nose. I hope my team principal is happy that I was very determined. I am happy for the team that Buemi got a point."

Lotus:

Heikki Kovalainen: "It was a wicked race, really absolutely fantastic for me, Jarno and the whole team. We decided to start with the soft tyre, which was a little bit of a gamble, and then stayed out during the safety car. The target was to build up enough of a gap to allow me to pit without losing places to the guys behind and we did that, though it was very close with Jarno when I came out. On the harder tyre the car just felt brilliant - I had a huge amount of grip from the second set and it was a lot of fun to push for the rest of the race. Our pace was amazing - we were only lapped once and at this kind of circuit, where we needed to perform, we could not have done any more. An amazing day for the whole team, and now we're another big step closer to that tenth place, which is obviously the main aim of the whole season."

Jarno Trulli: "What a great day for the whole team, just fantastic. I'm really pleased for everyone with the result, and congratulations to Heikki as well on a great race. I had a really good start and came in under the safety car to switch to the primes. I came out behind Yamamoto and immediately attacked him - I got past him pretty quick and then went after Heikki. We both had a strong run to the end, and even though I had another hydraulics issue in the last couple of laps, I managed to get the car home which was obviously the main objective."