15 2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX (Suzuka)

Vettel wins Japan GP blow title race wide open

Sebastian Vettel charged to a dominant win as the Japanese Grand Prix returned to Suzuka, although the margin of victory was diminished by a late safety car period.

The German led from start to finish, returning to the front from both of his pit-stops as Red Bull Racing reclaimed the top step of the podium. Despite only have four laps to run after the safety car departed, Vettel still triumphed by 4.8secs.

Jarno Trulli gave Toyota its second runners-up finish in as many week, overcoming Lewis Hamilton at the final round of stops after the Briton had powered past under KERS at the start. Ironically, the McLaren driver suffered a repeat of his Singapore KERS problems in the closing stages, denying the chance to respond.

Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld filled the next three positions, before Brawn picked up three points to limit the potential damage caused by Vettel's win. Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button had to fend off the attentions of Robert Kubica after the safety car, but came home in seventh and eighth respectively as the Brazilian regained the point conceded to his team-mate last weekend.

Vettel's win and Button's eighth place trims the points gap between them to 16, keeping the German in the title hunt as the series heads to Brazil in a fortnight's time. Likewise, RBR lives to fight another day after brawn failed to score the requisite number of points to claim the constructors' crown.


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Japanese Grand Prix – Race result

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 53 laps 1hr 28m 20.443s
2. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota +00m 04.8s
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 06.4s
4. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 07.9s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota +00m 08.7s
6. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber +00m 09.5s
7. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes +00m 10.6s
8. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +00m 11.4s

9. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber +00m 11.7s
10. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault +00m 13.0s
11. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +00m 13.7s
12. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 14.5s
13. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +00m 14.9s
14. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota +00m 15.7s
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +00m 17.9s
16. Romain Grosjean France Renault-Renault +1 lap
17. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +2 laps

Rtd Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 43 laps completed
Rtd Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 11 laps completed

Dns Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota injury

Fastest lap:
Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 32.569s lap 50

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Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying times
1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 32.160s
2. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 1m 32.220s
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 32.395s
4. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 32.466s
5. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 1m 32.660s
6. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 1m 32.945s
7. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes 1m 32.962s
8. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 32.980s
9. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes no time Q3
10. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari no time Q3

11. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 1m 31.482s
12. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 1m 31.638s
13. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 1m 32.341s
14. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota no time Q2
15. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari no time Q2

16. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 31.704s
17. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 1m 31.718s
18. Romain Grosjean France Renault-Renault 1m 32.073s
19. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes 1m 32.087s
20. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault no time Q1