FORMULA ONE JAPANESE CUP:SEBASTIAN VETTEL returned to the top step of the podium for the first time since July with a flawless victory at the Japanese Grand Prix to climb to within 14 points of championship-leading team-mate Mark Webber, who backed the German up to claim a dominant one-two for Red Bull Racing in Suzuka.
In the period since his last win in Valencia, Vettel has had a turbulent ride, warring with Webber in Silverstone and with the stewards in Hungary and Belgium as racing consistency deserted him and his team-mate scrapped his way to the title lead with wins in Britain and Hungary and a string of solid podium finishes.
Yesterday, though, on a day where he had to both qualify and race after the grid shoot-out was delayed until Sunday morning due to torrential rain the previous afternoon, Vettel was imperious, scoring a lights-to-flag win only interrupted by a brief period when Jenson Button led before making a late pit stop.
“Incredible day,” said Vettel of a crushing win similar to the one here last year. “This morning pole position and this afternoon it just continued, fantastic. This track is like it was drawn for us (Red Bull Racing) with the high-speed corners and with the car getting lighter and lighter (a the fuel load came down) it was more and more fun. It is about time (to score another win), so I’m really happy to be back and to have won for the second time here.”
Quickest in all three segments of qualifying, though only seven hundredths of a second ahead of Webber in the final top-10 shake-up, Vettel lined up on the grid four hours later with the eight-metre advantage over Webber of pole position but more crucially the clean side of the track. When the lights went out, Vettel powered away unmolested, while Webber was immediately pressured and then passed by Robert Kubica, also starting from the clean side in third.
Behind them, though, things were spiralling out of control. Renault’s Vitaly Petrov attempted to slot in front of William’s Nico Hulkengberg and succeeded only in colliding with the German, the accident sending both cars into the barriers. And by the time the midfield had reached turn one more chaos was unfolding as Felipe Massa made a mess of a move down the inside, went off track and spun straight into the path of Vitantonio Liuzzi, both cars again arrowing off the track and into the gravel. Cue the safety car, which controlled the next six laps of the race, enough time for Robert Kubica’s race to come to an ignominious end.
Still second behind Vettel, the ultra-competitive Pole looked like he would cause serious problems for Webber. But on lap three Kubica was out of the reckoning, his Renault shedding its rear right wheel for reasons his team later admitted were mystifying.
That put Webber second and Fernando Alonso third, and when the safety car finally exited, that was how the podium positions would remain for the duration, an outcome championship leader Mark Webber admitted suited him fine. “A very good day for me,” he said. “The most important thing is the gap is going in the right way. I have to keep it like that. Seb deserved the victory but five of us can still win races. I need to win again in the future and I am confident I can do that.”
Vettel was only headed in the race after his pit stop, when Button stayed out on his harder tyre compound in the hope it would have enough pace to let him climb from his fifth place start when he took on the quicker but less durable soft tyre late in the race. It didn’t work, however, as the McLaren driver was quickly reeled in by both Red Bulls and, when he eventually pitted, by Lewis Hamilton, who had climbed from an eighth place start after he had qualified third but been dropped five places for a gearbox change.
Hamilton, though, would soon have woes of his own, the new gearbox also causing problems. After racing to fourth, where be began to exert serious pressure on Alonso, Hamilton suddenly lost third gear and was forced to back off, eventually being passed by Button and left to limp home in fifth ahead of Michael Schumacher.
The gearbox failure was, Hamilton admitted, another heavy blow to his title chances. “There are still three races to go, still 75 points available. But these guys continue to pick up points. It will be very difficult, but we’ll keep pushing,” he said.
The reality is with a 28-point deficit to Webber and his McLaren now looking like the third fastest car on the grid behind Red Bull and Ferrari, Hamilton’s chances are fading fast. For Vettel though, the final three races can’t come quick enough. The German appears to have rediscovered consistency and some belief that the title is within reach.
