2011 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix - Mercedes GP Qualifying Report - Nico Fails to Set a Time and Michael Takes 7th

Originally Posted by Scourge82

In Q3 Michael Schumacher aborted a late run to save a set of tires for the race

In doing so almost taking out Lewis. Startled him so much he also missed out on his last qualifying run, for which he already was on the limit.
Only one making it as the last driver passing LH and MS was Webber.
Button missing the pole by .009s, increddible. If Mc Laren was gonna have a chance at pole, it would have been here.
Anyways, let's see what happens tomorrow with all this tire degradation.

LH, MW, and MS were fighting to get past the start line before, time ran out. LH decided to abrubtly slow down before the last chicane. Was it because he wanted to have a good gap behind Button or to block MW and MS? I don't know. Still Hamilton knew he had 2 drivers on his tail and should have never slowed down like that. FIA pushed Kobayashi up from 10th to 7th because he actually started a hot lap, while the others didn't So far, I'd like to think this race will belong to Button. He's the best driver out there that knows how to manage his tires. I'd be shocked if he didn't finish 1st or 2nd tomorrow. It still won't matter, all Vettel needs to do is finish 6th and he'll be this year's champion.

Button wins the Japan Grand Prix but, Vettel is the 2011 F1 Champion. Full report to follow after driver interviews.

Now I'm gonna have to get my wife to log into GT5 for me to get my free Red Bull X2010.

Button was not happy with Vettel's action at the start.
Fortunately for him he lived thrue that and got on to win the race.

No he wasn't, that was sort of a $#@! move. Hamilton again was being a little naughty on the track. I'm suprised he escaped with no action. The stewards love him this season.

Originally Posted by Scourge82

Now I'm gonna have to get my wife to log into GT5 for me to get my free Red Bull X2010.

So you get a free car?

Yup, The GT5 game director said that if Sebastian Vettel won the championship in Japan, He would give away a free Red Bull X2010 Vettel edition to everyone who logs in with their GT5 account within a week.

That is pretty cool.

Mercedes GP proved to be the best of the mid running teams this year and at times able to challenge the top teams. This race was no different. Michael Schumacher took advantage of his tire strategy and placed himself between the battling Hamilton and Massa to claim 6^th place. Nico Rosberg, who suffering a hydraulic failure in qualifying and started 23^rd in the race, finished in 10^th place.

Jensen Button won the Japanese Grand Prix in brilliant fashion, His third win of the year. The big story though, was Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel becoming the youngest back to back F1 World Champion at the age of 24 after placing 3^rd in the race.

The excitement began from the start as Vettel held 1^st place after he pushed a fast charging Button onto the grass on the first corner allowing Hamilton to pass by. Button pleaded for a penalty to be issued to Vettel, after investigation, the stewards said it was a fair move and took no action. All that changed when Button passed Hamilton and began attacking Vettel. Little, by little Button began eating away at Vettel’s lead. Button was able to snatch first after undercutting Vettel on the second round of pitstops and never looked back.

After Vettel was radioed not to challenge for 2^nd place, Alonso was free to focus on challenging Button and was able to close the gap to one second, but Button responded with a fastest lap of the race. Webber who had an uneventful race claimed 4^th after being told to not take any risks by challenging Vettel. Hamilton had a difficult race and finished 5^th after he punctured his rear tire and clashed again with Massa.
Sauber’s Sergio Perez claimed 8^th place, while Renault’s Vitaly Petrov took 9^th. Nico Rosberg despite starting in 23^rd place drove an excellent race and managed finish in the points to round up the top 10.

Even though Vettel has become this year’s champion, there are still 4 races left in the season. That means more battles between Button, Alonso, Webber, and Hamilton for 2^nd place. Also with Rosberg and Schumacher just having 3 point separating them, the fight is goes on to be the top Mercedes driver.

Full Results:

	Drivers	Teams	Points
1	J Button (GBR)	McLaren	25
2	F Alonso (ESP)	Ferrari	18
3	S Vettel (GER)	Red Bull	15
4	M Webber (AUS)	Red Bull	12
5	LC Hamilton (GBR)	McLaren	10
6	M Schumacher (GER)	Mercedes-Benz	8
7	F Massa (BRA)	Ferrari	6
8	S Perez (MEX)	Sauber	4
9	V Petrov (RUS)	Renault	2
10	N Rosberg (GER)	Mercedes-Benz	1
11	A Sutil (GER)	Force India	-
12	P di Resta (GBR)	Force India	-
13	K Kobayashi (JPN)	Sauber	-
14	P Maldonado (VEN)	Williams	-
15	J Alguersuari (ESP)	Toro Rosso	-
16	B Senna (BRA)	Renault	-
17	RG Barrichello (BRA)	Williams	-
18	H Kovalainen (FIN)	Lotus	-
19	J Trulli (ITA)	Lotus	-
20	T Glock (GER)	Virgin	-
21	J d'Ambrosio (BEL)	Virgin	-
22	D Ricciardo (AUS)	HRT	-
23	V Liuzzi (ITA)	HRT	-

Mercedes GP Team Comments:

Michael was very happy after the race in Suzuka:

We maximised our potential of the car, and managed to put in a good race today. The team did a great job the whole weekend in finding performance and transforming it into the race. I think there was not more to expect and achieve. The pit stops were perfectly timed and everything worked out according to plan.

I would like to congratulate Sebastian and his team who have been exceptional the whole year. It is extremely emotional to see him win the Championship again - I am very happy for him and even a little bit proud.

After the race, Nico was pleased to have scored a point after starting in P23:

I had fun out there with a few nice overtaking manoeuvres. This is definitely one of the toughest tracks for overtaking so starting from the back of the grid meant that I had a pretty tough job.

Before the race, I hoped to achieve between eighth and 10th places and, whilst it would have been nice to be a bit higher, it’s still a decent result. Thanks to the team for a good strategy and great pit stops today. After this complicated weekend, I hope to have a more normal weekend in Korea and fight in our usual position. And finally, Sebastian, congratulations: you deserve the title.

Ross said:

We made the absolute most of the car and opportunities we had at our disposal today. The car performed well throughout the race, our strategies were right for both cars, and the pit crew produced fantastic stops - we have performed strongly all year in the pits, and today our stops won us places, particularly for Nico during the Safety Car period when he jumped two cars. Michael and Nico both delivered great performances in the cockpit, passing cleanly when they needed to and defending strongly. Overall, I think it was a very exciting race and a fitting Grand Prix in which to crown a new World Champion. Congratulations to Sebastian and Red Bull Racing on his second World Championship - he has driven impeccably all year, and together they have set the standards we must now aim for and exceed.

For Norbert:

Michael and Nico both delivered strong races this afternoon and quite competitive lap times. Michael raced and finished among the top three teams, leading laps during the pit stop cycles, and Nico drove strongly through the field into the points, as we believed he could after qualifying yesterday, even starting from P23. Compliments to our pit stop and strategy crew as well, who played a key role in our team result this afternoon. Congratulations to Jenson Button and McLaren-Mercedes on their victory over the World Champion but, most of all, we take our hats off to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing - not just for winning the title, but also for defending it with an exceptional level of performance throughout the season.

Awesome, awesome, awesome yet again.

You have no idea how nice it is having someone do as detailed and quality of a job as you are.

no problem, thanks for letting take the lead on them.