Formula 1 Insight

Thoughts on the Japanese GP 2009
05/10/2009

I was so pleased that the GP was to be held at Suzuka again after a two-year absence that my expectations may have risen above the possible. Yes, it is a great circuit but it is just as capable of producing a featureless race as any other. And I have to admit that the GP disappointed me probably more than most this year.

Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel

It was not just that Vettel won without a serious challenge from anyone, the RBR5 being by far the best car this time. The whole weekend seemed dismal, rather like the weather on Friday. That was a bad start, the first two practice sessions being almost rained off and certainly no indication of form for the race. The series of accidents was, apparently, a sudden reminder to everyone that Suzuka is a dangerous place. Funny that - I had heard no mention of the fact when everyone was dreaming of its return to the calendar.

Then to have qualifying spoiled by accidents and the subsequent and variably-applied grid penalties was a bad sign for the race to follow. The only bright spot was that the three quickest men were in the first three places; surely a good race must result.

As we know now, that was certainly not the outcome. Vettel disappeared off into the distance and the only interest was the battle between Hamilton and Trulli, resolved at the final pit stop by a slight error from the McLaren driver. Fair enough, Toyota needed the second place to look good at home but it was hardly the stuff of a classic race.

In fact, it was a race largely decided by errors: Heidfeld losing his fourth place through a stuck wheel nut at a pit stop, Button salvaging a point thanks to Sutil and Kovalainen driving into each other just ahead of him, and Alguesuari stuffing it into the barriers again. Follow that with the stewards' illogical decision over Rosberg's speed under safety car conditions and we have a race that is best forgotten.

My only point is that we should regard each GP as a race in itself. Read the reports and the focus is on the championship, all commentators feverishly calculating the slim chances of a result that does not have a Brawn car and driver sweeping the board. But a great race is a great race, regardless of whether the championship is long decided, still in the balance or a nail-biting photo finish. Sure, we should tot up the points afterwards to see how things are going, but to make the various permutations of the numbers the main talking point is a sad commentary on the quality of the race itself.

Come to think of it, it is completely appropriate that this is exactly what happened in Suzuka. Roll on, Brazil...

Clive

verasaki
I confess, I did nod off in the last 30 minutes. Apparently I didn't miss much. What I've been wondering about are those penalties. I missed qualifying but during the pre race they showed a replay of Button( I think,it may hve been another driver) plowing through that debris field like there wasn't a yellow flag waiving at all. Was the caution that difficult to see in that corner? It's jsut a little hard to fathom anyone wanting to slalom through carbon fibre bits and pieces at speed.

Date Added: 05/10/2009

michael
It took me two days to find my rhythm again having gotten up early to watch Suzuka GP. Then i nodded off and when i remembered why i was sat in my arm chair i got up and made my wife breakfast. So Clive I must be in one your aforementioned slumps and fallen completely out of love with F1.

Clive you mentioned Hamilton made a mistake but I read that McLaren had a KERS-issue - what did Ham do this time?

I watched the Singapore GP on my PC again and must say stunning atmosphere absolutely stunning all-be-it the racing was boring too.

The last really exciting race I saw was back when Ham was on a three-stop strategy and lapping like a metronome against the Ferrari's in Turkey I think that was. Awesome yet ages ago. He came close to winning that was cool.
Date Added: 05/10/2009

Peter

Ham stuck it neutral coming out the pits.
Not clear *he* did it, but the car went out of gear.

It must have smelled brazil coming and be getting ready. :)

I watched the 2005 race online at BBC as my warm
up for the race. Wish I had stopped at that...

Peter

Date Added: 05/10/2009

Clive
Vera: I don't know what went through Button's head as he arrived at the scene of the accident but, judging by the speed at which he was going, I'd say he had indeed not noticed any yellow flags before the corner. Guessing again, he may have decided that it was too late to stand on the brakes (a dangerous maneuver anyway) and that he should just power on through and hope for the best.

Both Brawns went through in the same manner and, apparently a few others as well. It looks to me as though the marshals did not get the flags out quickly enough and the "offending" drivers were presented with a split second choice point when they arrived at the debris field. And it seems they all chose to stay on the gas, there being a pretty clear path through the trash.

We need to appreciate the fact that the drivers are just as aware of the rules as we are and only a fool would deliberately opt to ignore waved yellows - the penalty is well known and ensures the driver's race is ruined. One doesn't deliberately risk anything with stewards as unpredictable as F1's!
Date Added: 05/10/2009

Clive
Michael: Peter's explanation of Hamilton's mistake may be correct - I have seen it described as more of a hesitation in the car as he left the pit. He reckons he lost a second through that, the team says 1.7 secs, both of which would have been enough to allow him to at least contest the first corner with Trulli. But it is tiny time slices like that which can make the difference between winning and losing.
Date Added: 05/10/2009

Clive
Peter: Actually, I'm glad that most rate the race as poor - I was afraid my view of it was affected by expecting too much of it. All very well for the Vettel groupies (why is it boring when Button wins unchallenged but not when der Wunderkind does it?) but I found it stupendously characterless.
Date Added: 05/10/2009

Nick Goodspeed
I didn't watch. I refuse to watch races that are tampered with before the fact. That the penalties play into the bean counters hands, tightening up the season finish in the same way this sort of thing has for (at least) the last three seasons is too much to chalk up to coincidence. It seems to me Vettel was running crucially low on engines but I've read nothing about this.
Date Added: 06/10/2009

k2San
On Hamilton's KERS.. It's the second race that it had a problem. Somehow I do not see any reflection on this in the media. For me the highlight of the reace and I really enjoyed that one was Kov's passing on Fisch .
Date Added: 06/10/2009

verasaki
That's what I thought. I can see it happening maybe for the first driver coming through as the flag is coming out, but it was just bizarre that they all got caught out. I wondered if any of them (besides Alonso) had remarked on the visibility or positioning of the marshall.


Date Added: 06/10/2009

Peter Boyle

Hamilton:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8289290.stm

Coming out of the pitlane I got up to the limiter and then
all of a sudden it went into neutral. I didn't actually realise that for a couple of seconds so I lost a little bit of time on exit from the pits, which probably lost me the time that ended up with Jarno coming past me.


Date Added: 07/10/2009

Gusto
Once maybe, twice Hmmm, three times coincidence, four times now your taking the piss.

Date Added: 07/10/2009

Nick Goodspeed
Good show. Jenson champ!!!
Date Added: 18/10/2009

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