Grand Prix 2012 Japanese Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Traditonally the title decider but now earlier on the calendar, the F1 circus rolls into Japan with the championship finely poised with Vettel closing in on Alonso despite a setback in Monza. At the moment it's a two horse race with the German and the Spaniard but don't count out Raikkonen and Hamilton just yet, The Finn's incredible consistency has meant he's third in the championship and will be there or thereabouts at the end, particularly if the updates that Lotus are bringing to Japan benefit. Hamilton is in one of the fastest cars on the grid (if not the quickest) and was robbed off a probably win (certainly at least second) in Singapore with gearbox problems and the loss of 25 points has threatened to derail his championship. With 6 races to go he's 50 points behind Alonso. The only benefit for Hamilton, and indeed Raikkonen and Vettel is that Alonso isn't in the fastest car. The only reason that Alonso has been on the podium in recent races is from DNF's from other drivers and also the sheer skill of the Spaniard to drag an average car to places it shouldn't be and that is why he's top of the championship with a reasonable margain, but it's certainly not comfortable and I expect the title to go to the final race in Brazil.

In Singapore, McLaren and Red Bull were the class of the field and I think this will continue in Japan where both teams have been traditionally strong in recent years with Red Bull winning in 2009 and 2010 and McLaren in 2011 with Hamilton taking a podium in 2009. The worrying thing for Ferrari is the hit and miss pace of Sauber and Williams as Perez took 3 points off Alonso in Monza and Maldonado could have taken the final podium place until he had to retire in what was his best drive since Spain. What's interesting also is that with the 4 drivers going for the championship, they are all from different teams and how the 'other' drivers do (Webber, Massa, Button, Grosjean) do will have a significant impact on the championship. Romain Grosjean has already managed that when he took out Hamilton and Alonso at the first corner in Belgium, this enabled Vettel to close 18 points on Alonso, something that is unlikely to happen again this season (such a big swing anyway, unless there are more DNF's).

Races in Suzuka have generally been sunny and dry, but in 2004 and 2010 qualifying was held on Sunday morning due to conditions the day before so rain isn't an impossibility although the last wet race at Suzuka was in 1995 with the last wet race of any kind in Japan being in 2007 with the downpours at Fuji which provided a classic race in the torrential rain. Ferrari will be praying for rain as generally this season it's where they've been able to maximise their car as 2 of Alonso's 3 wins have come in rain affected weekends in Malaysia and Germany. Considering the amount of wet practices/qualifying we've had this season, there hasn't been that many wet races with only Malaysia being wet (not including Monaco as it was still too dry for intermediates at the end of the race).

The Japan/Korea double header will have a big say in the title fight if nothing else than to decide if it's going to be a 2 horse fight or a 3/4 way fight. Certainly Hamilton can't afford any more DNF's and Raikkonen needs to win at some point, although a DNF or a low points score for Alonso would blow the championship wide open and this would play into the hands of Vettel who in my opinion is the favourite for the title at the moment unless Ferrari can find more pace in that Ferrari as Vettel is roughly only one wins worth of points from Alonso and he has the car and the speed to compete for the win at all remaining races. But then I think him and Hamilton are the only two capable of that, the big difference is is that Hamilton is a further 30 points down the road, it's superbly poised, a lot better than this time 12 months ago when the Championship was all but over with Vettel leading by over 100 points

Suzuka circuit write up - http://cliptheapex.com/pages/suzuka-international-racing-course/
 
This is ridiculous and unwarranted character assasination. Would you be mentioning Kimi's clash with this little girl if the incident with Alonso had not happened?

The other day I was in a supermarket and browsing the upright freezer section the ones with the full length doors I was looking through the glass and spotted what I wanted so I opened the door to fetch it, unfortunately I did not notice the toddler who was unattended and and walking towards the door I had just opened, the door hit him on the chest and sent him flying to the floor, to say I was shocked and upset is understating it, but for a few seconds I did not know what to do in this time his father turned up and picked him up to comfort him, he didn't blame me in fact he didn't say anything it was just an accident.

Am I a bad despicable person because I hurt a child and made him cry, I didn't pick him up because of the time element and the fact is it is difficult in this day and age to comfort a child who is a stranger to you, I suspect his dad would have had something to say if I had picked him up...

How I should have reacted in that situation is a mystery to me and I am a father who loves kids and would not do them any harm, and how you can use that incident to judge Kimi's character Kewee is an even bigger mystery.....
 
Found it to be a boring race, reminded me a bit of 2010. Great first lap, packed with incidents and the grid all mixed up, then quickly fizzled out. Add to that, Vettel closed in on Alonso massively, while Hamilton and Raikkonen lagged behind. Looks as if it's a two horse race.

Both McLaren drivers look out of the title hunt, look as if they are a bit behind the Red Bulls, and Ferrari on race pace. Lotus can't string a proper weekend together and look as if they've falling behind the top 3 teams. The Red Bulls look very strong, they've been struggling in qualifying, but with the Double DRS, they've been up there the past two races.

Vettel was the man to beat, pole, lead every lap, got the fastest lap, and most crucially won. Defending his title looks a little easier than it did after Monza. Never was pushed, did everything perfectly, and rarely was seen in the race. Surely looking like the favourite for the title now.

Felipe! Was cheering him on for the win early on when he was catching Vettel, but it was just false hope I guess. From 10th to 2nd, a great result for him. Was on it all weekend, in practice, qualifying and the race. Said he had a problem with the set of soft tyres in Q2 which left him out of the top 10 shootout, looked the better driver out of both of the Ferrari's this weekend. And finally, finally, returns to the podium.

Korn on the Kob-ayashi finally gets the podium place he was after, and unlike his team mate, it was on pure pace alone. Been solid all weekend, and kept the faster Button at bay for the whole race. Been unlucky this season, this is just what he needed to get his season on track, after being put into the shade by Perez. But is it too little too late? I hope not.

A podium finish is what it should have been for Button, he and the team must be disappointed with 4th, even with the gearbox penalty, it was nulified as he made up several places as cars infront tripped over each other was up into 3rd by the first lap. After that it was a bit meh-ish. McLaren seem to be inconsistent, explains their season on a whole really.

Wrong set-up choice put Hamilton on the backfoot, and 5th was the best he was going to achieve. Looked quite slow in the first stint, but then picked it up, and drove a lonely-ish race, survived a scare against the man who will be replacing him next season, and a kept his car in when Raikkonen tried to pass him. Takes some crucial points out of Alonso, keeping him in the title hunt.

The first mistake we see from Raikkonen this season, and it's effectively cost him, although you can argue has it? As he spun in qualifying, not many improved, and it put him alongside his title and long-term rival Alonso. Both collide into Turn 1, damage to Raikkonens front wing, but gets that Alonso DNF that he and the other title contenders where hoping for. Being on tyres that had done 2 qualifying laps and a front wing damage, he was always going to be on the back foot. Finishes 6th, with the team slipping back, his title hopes since his return look rather slim.

Nico Hulkenberg from 15th on the grid got a great start contrary to what Martin Brundle was saying, and never looked back. Had strong pace and was hassling Hamilton and Raikkonen throughout the race, but just couldn't pass them. Looked great this whole weekend, beating di Resta all round. Should be the with the McLaren drive in my opinion, talks of him going to Ferrari, but with Massa's recent strong results, the move looks to be dead.

Grosjean is keeping the title away from Pastor Maldonado of collisions of late. To be fair to the him, he has kept his nose clean the past two races, and has shown some strong results and majority, could have been two points finishes in a row for him, if his car didn't give in at Singapore. Was anonymous during the race, but finished only a second behind Hulkenberg. Finally ends his 8 race pointless run, hopefully for him, it will be a big boost.

Webber made a good recovery from being last and 20s off the nearest car in the first lap to finish 9th. Was rightly aggrieved at Grosjean taking him out, but he managed to get going again, and put in a strong result. Has had several lacklustre races since his win in Silverstone, and has only been on the podium twice this season and both of them being wins.

Ricciardo manages to get another points finish in a car that's been off the pace of it's nearest rivals for some while. Starting to chip away at his team-mates Vergne's lead, quietly doing his job. Kept the faster Schumacher at bay the last few laps to get a well deserved point. Both Toro Rosso's seem to be in a no mans land compared to the rest of the grid.

Grosjean needs to stop thinking he's a missile.

Mercedes just seem to be getting worse and worse, looking less likely for the old man to finish his second retirement on a high.

Another boring race at Suzuka, that's 3 in a row now, I know it's a "drivers" track and a challenge, but I liked Fuji and found both races that it held in 2007 and 2008 entertaining, would be nice if they rotated the tracks like they were meant to.

Hopefully in Korea the title will be blown wide open with Raikkonen and Hamilton finishing 1st and second, with Alonso and Vettel finishing in 9th and 10th or not at all :D
 
Korea.jpg
 
Last night I was flicking through the channels and came across highlights of the race on BBC1 it just so happened that Lee McKenzie interviewing Alonso, Alonso definitely said the accident was his own fault, but what I found amusing is that Lee went on to ask "How was the race going up until then?" ROFL

How was he supposed to answer that? "Well it was going pretty well for about 200 metres but it kinda went down hill from there."
 
well that race threw the cat amongst the pigeons... I knew Vettel would dominate given his record at the track which suits him and Red Bull

As ever Webber seems never be consistent at the crucial moment and has endured a poor series of results no podium in 6 races and another bad start taken out by the nutcase Grosjean

He won't admit it but he is out of the title race and will have to defer to Vettel as only really BRazil of the remaining circuits is where he usually gets close to his teammate


As for Mclaren ...it is clear it much easier for Hamilton to go after the title but Button will still think he has a shot..he must rue his poor mid season form and that breakdown in Monza

I would have thought maybe Mclaren should back Hamilton but if the situations were reversed would he have done the same

Today's twitter was embarrassing and it seems like Lewis has probably lost it and alienate himself further

Kimi - great season of consistency but the lack of development from less resources in 2nd half of season has blunted his title hopes
 
A bit late, but McLaren have stated Hamilton had a rear suspension problem, which accounted for the handling problems.

When asked by AUTOSPORT if his setup choice had led to the car's poor handling, Hamilton said: "It didn't actually.

"I know my car very well, so it's very rare that I get it wrong. And if I do it's only a little bit and I can still manage it.

"But this was the worst it has ever been set up, and I was really shocked that I had done that.

"I hoped it wasn't my fault, but fortunately the guys did a lot of analysis after the race and found our that we had a failure on part of the rear suspension, so that's comforting."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/103277
 
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