The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka is a thing to savour: a vociferous and knowledgeable crowd; capricious weather and the wildcard factor of a circuit that demands absolute precision from driver and engineer.
In the ultimate analysis, Red Bull Racing delivered a by-the-book 1-2 finish, but as usual the Beast in the East was the real star.
Just to get it out of the way, everyone loves racing at Suzuka…
“To be honest, I think this is the best track in the world. It’s very challenging, it has very high speed corners and it’s a real driver’s track. It lets you experience everything a Formula One car has to offer.”
Jaime Alguersuari – Toro Rosso
“I love being here… there are never enough laps. You just never seem to stop, corner after corner after corner, and it is such a beautiful flow.”
Lewis Hamilton – McLaren
“From a driver’s point of view, this is probably the highlight of the year. It is the ultimate challenge and I really look forward to this one. It has been, through all the years, exceptional.”
Michael Schumacher – Mercedes
Despite Ferrari taking wins at the previous two races, everyone expected this to be a Red Bull circuit.
“Red Bull Racing are favourites again. The characteristics are again very good for Red Bull but it does not mean that they will win the race very easily. We’ve seen already this year that even when the circuits are very good for Red Bull, there isn’t a 100 per cent certainty they’re going to get the victory, so we need to keep pushing them.”
Fernando Alonso – Ferrari
“We come here knowing that the Red Bulls are quick on this type of circuit, and Ferrari has improved a lot on low-speed and high-speed circuits. But we come here with some upgrades – and upgrades that should work very well around here.”
Jenson Button – McLaren
“It's always easy to make out favourites beforehand. Our car likes medium-speed and fast corners – we have some of those here, that's why naturally people see us as a favourite, but we still need to go out and do it. It will be a tough weekend, for sure.”
Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull Racing
'You just think, "OK, put the rain tyres on and you'll be fine." It's not as easy as that' – Sebastian Vettel
The Red Bull boys didn’t disappoint on Friday, with a dominant display in both practice sessions.
“Red Bull were very quick, but many things can happen, especially with the weather forecast for rain on Saturday! Then, maybe the race will be dry, so we need to be ready for anything even if Red Bull were quicker than expected. Things can change.”
Felipe Massa – Ferrari
“As usual, people have not shown their maximum on a Friday. We had a reasonable day today, but we know these guys have the potential to come back. So, as usual, Friday times don't count towards the championship – we need to do the job on Sunday.”
Mark Webber – Red Bull Racing
“We had a trouble-free Friday, which is the most important thing, especially on a track like this. The pace looks OK, too. The forecast suggests rain, but there's no reason why we shouldn't be competitive in the wet.”
Sebastian Vettel
… But Saturday was a washout, with almost no laps in Practice 3 and the Qualifying session being delayed, delayed, delayed and ultimately cancelled.
“I think the race directors did their best in sending the safety car out every 20 minutes to have a look, and it just didn't get better. I know it’s not an easy decision to take, but I think it was the right one. In these conditions, we have no control of our cars.
“For the majority of people, it's difficult to understand – you just think, 'OK, put the rain tyres on and you'll be fine.' It's not as easy as that. The cars are very light, we only have 600 or 700 kilos, half of a road car. Plus our cars are very low, so it’s easy to have aquaplaning when there is any standing water. We’d be passengers, not drivers.”
Sebastian Vettel
“Have you ever seen people using boogie boards out in the surf on a beach? Imagine that at 200mph heading towards a concrete wall – that’s what aquaplaning in a Formula One car feels like.”
Rubens Barrichello
“I think we should have gone – but maybe there was a little bit too much water and the danger of the aquaplaning. But I think we need to expect these conditions. Everybody knows where they are in the dry, but these conditions would make it different.”
Jaime Alguersuari 
Getty Images/Red Bull Photofiles
… All of which meant the very rare sight of Sunday morning qualification…
“Obviously, it is a new situation for most of us to do both qualifying and the race in one day, so it is a tough day. But I think I had a good sleep last night, so everything will be fine!”
Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull Racing accomplished the expected front-row lockout with some ease. Hamilton took third but was demoted for a gearbox change, leaving the second row to Robert Kubica and Fernando Alonso.
“After having Ferrari at the front for the last two races, it’s good to change the colours again. Obviously this track is kind of made for us, so all in all, after the confusion yesterday with the weather and the horrible conditions, it is good that the sun came out and obviously a great start to the day, but the most important bit is yet to come.”
Sebastian Vettel
“The boys did a good job getting the cars ready after a lot of standing around yesterday. It was a tight fight in qualifying. Obviously, it’s very important to get pole here in Suzuka, so Seb did a good job there, but it was very close between us – and a good tussle.”
Mark Webber
Kubica had a mighty start and slipped ahead of Webber, Hamilton propelled himself up the order, but the safety car was soon deployed as two huge crashes down the field littered the track with debris. Kubica stopped, too, with a wheel coming off his car. At the restart, the five championship contenders were line-astern: Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Button and Hamilton.
“Robert [Kubica] got an incredible start – he came off the second row like a cannon. But then he had a problem behind the safety car and that obviously released me to follow Seb. We went away reasonably comfortably from there.”
Mark Webber
Button suffered with strategy, and Hamilton with a mechanical problem, but the top five finished in that restart order.
“It’s about time, so I’m really happy to be back and to have won, my second time here which I’m very proud of. I think it was a very good day for us. It wasn’t too easy in terms of focus to be ready straightaway this morning and this afternoon, but I think the whole team did a very good job, also in the race. I think the pitstops were spot-on. I was really happy with that. Yeah, happy!”
Sebastian Vettel
“Basically it was a formation finish from [the restart on] lap nine. It was very difficult for me to do anything about Sebastian in terms of overtaking – virtually impossible, both very even, same cars… The team have done a phenomenal job and I’m very, very happy with second place, so it’s a great result for the team.”
Mark Webber
'We’re another big step closer to that 10th place finish' – Heikki Kovalainen
“I had a lot of grip, and the car was very fast. Still, we weren't quick enough today to beat the Red Bulls and possibly the Ferrari. And I don't think we could have finished any further up.”
Jenson Button
“This wasn’t a great weekend for me. I made a mistake on Friday, then we changed the gearbox yesterday and I got a grid penalty, and then I had another gearbox problem in the race. That's an unfortunate amount of collective bad luck, but the team and I will bounce back.”
Lewis Hamilton
“We knew before coming here – third was probably our maximum position. I think we have to be very happy with the result. We only lost three points [to Mark] in the championship, so overall we have to be extremely happy.”
Fernando Alonso
Down the field, things were a bit more exciting: Kamui Kobayashi set his home race on fire, finishing eighth. Sébastien Buemi picked up an unexpected point for Toro Rosso and Lotus enjoyed their best ever race, finishing 12th and 13th – the significance of which is the TV money jackpot associated with finishing 10th in the championship.
“It was a wicked race, really absolutely fantastic for me, Jarno and the whole team. The car felt just brilliant and it was a lot of fun to push it. We’re another big step closer to that 10th place finish. “
Heikki Kovalainen – Lotus
“I tried my best and I am very happy. It was a great race for our team, and I'm very pleased for the Japanese fans who have watched an exciting race.”
Kamui Kobayashi – Sauber
“I am pleased that Sébastien picked up a point today, because he has had a run of bad luck in the last few races and he deserved this. One point might not be much, but it's better than nothing! So, with this morale boost for the team, who did a good job, let's see what we can do when we discover Korea for the first time.”
Franz Tost – team principal, Toro Rosso
As the airfreight containers were packed and pointed towards an uncertain future in South Korea, Vettel and Alonso are now tied in second place in the drivers’ championship, 14 points behind Mark Webber, while Red Bull Racing opened up a handy 45-point advantage over McLaren in the race for Constructors’ glory…
“We are convinced that this was the worst track of the remaining races for us. On paper, this was a perfect Red Bull track, so to come away 14 points behind – we have to be happy. We need to keep pushing. When we arrive at circuits with more difficulties for Red Bull, we need to take our opportunities.”
Fernando Alonso
“The championship doesn't look great at the moment. But there are still three races to go and 75 points available, so we'll remain optimistic and keep doing the best job we can. I'll keep fighting.”
Lewis Hamilton
“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 win races. I need to win again in the future and I am confident I can do that.”
Mark Webber
“The way the drivers are working at the moment is fantastic. They are both working in a completely transparent and open way. They are obviously competing for the biggest prize in motorsport, and as a team, that brings additional pressures with it, but as a team, we are trying our best to support both drivers equally and both drivers are very much still in this championship. Mark has extended his lead today, Sebastian has put himself back into contention and we will continue to back both drivers equally.”
Christian Horner – team principal, Red Bull Racing
Want more?
- Sebastian Vettel's Japanese GP blog
- Take a lap of the new Korean GP track with Mark Webber
- More highlights from action around the world
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