Scirocco Central

2011 FORMULA 1 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX



Sebastian Vettel only needs 1 point to win the title. If he fails to finish, Jenson Button must win to keep the championship alive.

- Of all the Formula One champions currently on the grid, Jenson Button is the only one that has never been a runner-up in the championship. This might be his first. His second-best championship result at this moment is his 3rd place finish in 2004 with the BAR-Honda.

- If the only drivers to win the remaining 5 races in 2011 are Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, or Michael Schumacher, this will be the only year in history in which all the races have been won by champions. Although in 1950, 1953, 1963 and 1993, all races were won by drivers that would at some point become champion, but were not yet at the time.

- If Sebastian Vettel takes pole, leads every lap to a win and sets the fastest lap in Japan, he will be the second driver in history to win the title with a Grand Slam/Grand Chelem.

- If Sebastian Vettel clinches the title in Japan, he will be the 6th driver in history to become world champion Formula One in Suzuka, after Nelson Piquet (1987), Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990, 1991), Alain Prost (1989), Damon Hill (1996), Hakkinen (1998, 1999) and Michael Schumacher (2000, 2003).

- Sebastian Vettel holds the unofficial record for most Grand Prix wins with most different helmet designs, a record actually not really considered before, but probably held by Michael Schumacher after adding some stripes in 1994 and switching from blue top to red top in 2000, thus winning races with three helmet designs.

Suzuka
Race Date: 09 Oct 2011
Number of Laps: 53
Circuit Length: 5.807 km
Race Distance: 307.471 km
Lap Record: 1:31.540 - K. Raikkonen (2005)

UK time:
Fri 07 October 2011
Practice 1 02:00 - 03:30
Practice 2 06:00 - 07:30
Sat 08 October 2011
Practice 3 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying 06:00
Sun 09 October 2011
Race 07:00

DRS zone
Dunno yet


Past winners:
2010 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2008 - At Fuji - Fernando Alonso (Renault)
2007 - At Fuji - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2006 - Fernando Alonso (Renault)
2005 - Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren)
2004 - Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
2003 - Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)
2002 - Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
2001 - Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
2000 - Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)

Current Standings




Massa 2010 onboard
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Prost onboard 1990 with commentary

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Mansell onboard 1990

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Senna 1989 onboard with commentary from James Hunt

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DRS zone will be the s/f straight. I guess they thought it was a bit too risky to let them take 130R with the wing open!

I think they'll have to force the teams to put a competitive time in or they lose 5 grid slots, something along those lines. But as Di Resta said at the last race, there isn't much difference in starting 10th or 7th so why waste the tyres. They need to work out how to create the show or the teams near the bottom end of the top 10 will do this all the time.




Kobayashi will actually start 7th as he was on a lap which he had to abort rather than just staying in the garage.

Not a bad race.

Great drive from Button but it wasn't enough.

Well done to Sebastian Vettel who is now the youngest two-time world champion, just 24 years and 98 days. That is actually just 39 days older than Fernando Alonso was when he took his first championship in 2005.

Gonna be close on if that youngest double WC record will be beaten. Prob not in my lifetime, or at least soon.