Round Sixteen: South Korea Review

Greetings Internet,

When we left Japan we saw the conclusion of the driver's championship as that German Bloke put it completely out of reach from the chasing pack despite his only challenger winning the race. And now while the sun has well and truly set over Yeongam, many hours ago now another championship has been wrapped up and sealed off - Red Bull finalising the constructors championship and occupying 66.666*% of the podium in the process. Leaving the rest of the season to be run as a series of one-off all-for-glory events for the leaders while the mid field will be aiming to secure a better pit-stall and championship position for the 2012 season.

Behind them was a race where battles were fought on-track and in the pit lane.making rather strategic use of the DRS zone. The tyres weren't as diverse as it was threatened in the pre-race and across the qualifying program forecasting huge amounts of stops and monolithic amounts of tyre wear and degradation on the softer compound. But they held up as well as at any other race of the season running a traditional two-three stop strategy for many of the runners - it was even postulated that Lotus were trying a one-stop plan but it didn't play out.

The Race

Credit to F1Fanatic.co.uk

Opening out with another outside broadcast this week with a difference, using the magic power of digital technology to bring the race from the early morning into the afternoon following a few laps of the circuit in question in the virtual domain.

The skies above Korea were dull and laden with moisture, hovering ominously, bearing down on the racetrack. Yet they only loitered keeping the precipitation trapped within the veils of vapour and cloud, only the occasional spot making it's way onto the camera lens around the diabolical turns 4-6. The teams and drivers set their vehicles ready for the first Korean GP to start and possibly finish in the dry.

At the start the first few rows got away in the order that they started and with such a short run down to the first corner there wasn't too much time to make any position changes, but the mid-field seemed all to arrive into T1 all at the same time. Luckily they all managed to avoid each other by fanning out, using the maximum width of the track - although somewhere in the melee a Torro-Rosso was forced to slow on the exit of T2 being dodged by Saubers and Williams in the process.

Down into turn three, the cars once more fanned out looking for an advantage into the hairpin and it was Massa who made the greatest move passing both Webber and Button into what was then third at the time. Jenson fought back round the outside in turn 4 while Alonso was now in competition with Webber. At the very front of the pack Hamilton failed to close the door on Vettel and the German went through into the lead - and that would be the last we'd see from him in a while. 

Mark managed to use the horrid section of corners to his advantage to go past both Massa and Button within the space of two corners to claim his turn in third while Jenson was eased out wide allowing Alonso through. This stabilised the positions for a while as more spots of rain fell on the camera lenses but not enough to signify anything more torrential, just enough for a slippery surface flag in the evil chicane complex. Further back in the opening couple of laps an HRT seemed to loose an front wing, there were no indications to figure out which one or who was hit by it.

By the end of the first ten laps the minute drizzle had tapered off, and light began to pierce the skies cascading unto the track below, glinting off the more shiny liveried vehicles when cresting the hill before turn 7. But the beginning of the pit stop window was approaching as the field had settled down into a rhythm, Vettel out front from Hamilton, Webber and. The others were starting to get rather trapped behind Massa
who was holding up his team-mate, Button and Rosberg was catching in the Mercedes.

In an effort to get out from behind a slow Massa, both Button and Rosberg took to the pits - exiting alongside each other. But Nico locked up and ran wide ceeding the position to Jenson - however that meant he crossed the DRS detection line first so Rosberg could activate it and re-take the position on the straight. It was only temporary as Jenson was able to re-take the position round the back of the circuit where the McLaren was stronger than the Mercedes. Despite their little battle both cars did jump the two Ferraris.

Stability was about to be breeched, yellow flags were out in the turn three hairpin, reports Schumacher had span and rejoined - the reports were true with the exception that he'd rejoined missing his rear wing and most of his rear wheel. There was also an entire front wing laying on the track, so who did it belong to - well it turned out Wing Commander Petrov decided he didn't like Schumacher anymore and wanted rid of him and coming within millimetres of taking Alonso out in the process. The pair have made contact before this year, such as in Istanbul but this time Vitaly was at fault being sidetracked by racing the Ferrari who'd just left the pits.

The Safety Car was called to allow the marshals to clear the scattered parts of Renault Squadron, and Mercedes wings littering the hairpin - maintain Korea's record of a 100% of races being interrupted by the SLS. Bunching the cars back up again ready for the restart, a restart Vettel handled with ease being able to build up the 1s gap to Hamilton before the DRS became active. The positions remained stable towards the front but the mid-field were getting rather involved with each other - Kobayashi was running three wide at one point with a Torro Rosso and Bruno Senna - resulting in a chipped front wing. Forcing the Sauber driver to drop back after using the most strategic use of DRS of the season on Maldonado some laps earlier.

However change was on the cards, Ferrari running in close formation behind Rosberg with Massa the lead attacking car - Felipe made several attempts of at Nico but the speed of the Mercedes in a straight line countered the DRS laden charge. But the constant pressure forced Rosberg into an error - severely locking his front wheel inducing a flat spot allowing both chasing red machines through.

Another battle was raging further up the field as Webber had caught up with Hamilton's McLaren and enjoyed a spectacular interchange of position. All kicking off in the evil 4-6 complex where Lewis ran wide in the first part of the series allowing Webber to throw it down the inside of the last of the three corners. Hamilton cut back to the inside of the Webber and ran two wide through-out the entire of the middle sector virtually but the position was finally handed back to Lewis several turns later.

This battle brought Button and Alonso closer but just tantalisingly out of reach, unable to access the DRS to chase down Webber in front. With five laps remaining Webber had another go at passing Hamilton this time into turn one after lapping the Lotus of Jarno Trulli. He claimed the position but Lewis was awarded the DRS activation, and mixed with the superior traction of the McLaren Webber was defenseless on the main straight  having to concede defeat to Lewis on this occasion, as the Red Bull was unable to find a way through for the remainder of the race.

Just behind them Alonso declared he'd given up with it all and couldn't catch Button ahead, but one man who hadn't given up was Jaime El Incognito who had appeared in the points right behind Rosberg and the two fastest cars in a straight line were in battle. Jaime's team-mate Buemi was also moving forward systematically passing the Force India Team finishing with Di Resta a few laps from home, but that was as far as he was going to get. Back with Alguersuari however he was able to conquer Rosberg using the DRS to overpower the Mercedes into turn three, as Nico seemed to be running out of fuel.

Back at the very front of the grid, Vettel sauntered across the line to claim his tenth victory of the season and firmly cementing his domination of 2011 by claiming fastest lap on the final lap, Hamilton was able to hold Webber off for third with Button in fourth. The man who gave up rounded out the top five while Massa finished a distant 6th, as Jaime was king of division 2 and defeated division the remaining 1.5 runner Rosberg into 7th while the German claimed 8th before pulling over on the lap back to the pits. As did Alonso - the man who gave up - with I'd suspect fuel issues also. The points positions were filled by Buemi in 9th and Paul Di Resta for Force India in 10th.

The Official Bonus Points Championship points winners


As now both the actual championships have been won and finished off this weekend everything going in Red Bull's direction for the year I've now become the holder of the only open competition of the series where so many drivers/teams/inanimate objects can still be crowned overall champion. Here are the winners from the Korean GP

10pts - Mark Webber - for making such brilliant use of a crap corner in the form of the 4-6 chicane, and for  a fantastic race with Lewis Hamilton and on top of all that for deciding that the official dignitaries on the podium needed soaking.
8pts - Jaime El Incognito  - for once more appearing in the points from seemingly nowhere to win division two and beating the division 1.5 car of Rosberg as well
6pts - Heikki Kovalainen  - for beating both Saubers  -yes Kamui had wing damage and Perez pitted on the last lap but for also being faster than the Renault ahead of Senna in a division three car.
5pts - Alonso, The man who gave up - for managing to avoid Schumacher on pit exit and then by a combinaition of luck and a tiny amount of skill avoided Petrov's nose by the smallest of margins.
4pts - Felipe Massa - for the manoeuvre on lap one to take both Webber and Button in one corner
3pts - Kamui Kobayashi - for the the most sneaky use of the DRS section, allowing Maldonado through only to regain the position in T3, rather than defending into 1 and losing it into 3.
2pts - Hamilton - for being able to race wheel to wheel without hitting anyone, that was mainly due to Webber but Lewis didn't hit anyone today
1pt -  Red Bull Racing - OK I guess winning the constructors championship deserves a point.

The Also Official Penalties Championship


After a weekend in Japan where the officials didn't need to disperse any form of penalty this weekend things were a little different.

• Pastor Maldonado - Drive Through Penalty - for going the wrong side of a bollard in the pit lane, which would appear to be the bollard on exit as I couldn't see any others. Has to have a bonus point also for most unusual penalty of the season 
• Wing Commander Petrov - Five Place Grid Drop - for assaulting the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher at the end of the DRS section after passing Alonso and oh so nearly taking the Ferrari with him

The Still official Dubious Dealings Championship

When the officials have no power to issue an official sanction this where this championship steps into the forefront to point those drivers/teams/ other assorted individuals or objects out and deliver penalty points.

• The Korean pit lane exit - resembling a section of circuit that could have been designed by a child with a crayon blindfolded. Certainly was an afterthought to the design of the layout a 'we'll just stick this bit on the end' approach, caught Rosberg out in practice and almost caused a collision between Schumacher and Alonso in the race.

Looking to forward to India

From the the former newest edition to the season to it's immediate successor now, introducing the Indian GP's first time on the calendar with another dual personality style layout quite simliar in theory to Korea. An opening section built from long straights and heavy breaking zones, and the second half of the lap in the form of a series of quick flowing corners judging by the layout - one I haven't driven on so have limited knowledge. But from what I have seen India has one thing Korea doesn't have and that is a significant amount of undulation, which makes it sound a lot more interesting.

A new addition to the season is always an exciting prospect, somewhere different and unusual in a new country to boot. It's a new track to learn not only for the drivers and teams but for me sitting here, a new batch of corners to understand and then see in action. A place where we have no idea who will come out on top especially considering how close the division one cars have been running recently, this race will be a voyage into the complete unknown for more reasons than one.

When it comes to making the posts for the weekend, there we or more accurately I encounter a problem in the fact that I don't have an Indian GP layout to film the video on. There is a developmental version released but it is rather inaccurate - with the pit-lane on the wrong side of the front straight. However there is hope, I scouted YouTube for independent productions of the track and found a rather nice one which I do hope to be able to use for the weekend coming up.

South Korea Pre-race

Greetings Internet,

It certainly appears the construction workers of Korea have vanished, barring the repositioning of the concrete barriers in the final corner absolutely nothing has changed. The grand plans of skyscrapers, apartments, hotels and a grand marina have failed to materialise. No sign of construction work whatsoever leaving the track as a thin section of tarmac surrounded on all sides by swampland out in the middle of nowhere. The entire resort district looks even more like the slot-car layout you'd build on the carpet, the line of black with an empty void in the infield and nothing on round the outside of the racetrack. Almost representing something from an old style video game where only the things at driver eye-level were rendered.

The race weekend also started exactly as it was left off last year with a significant degree of precipitation for first practice, seeing several cars spinning off and running wide - including Schumacher grazing the wall in the pit lane entry. Only be outdone by Rosberg in FP2 who attacked Jaime El Incognito who was exiting the pits as Nico attempted turn one. But amongst the rain, the mistakes and the contact change was afoot this weekend and that change came forth in qualifying where we actually have a grid without the German bloke or any of the blue machines on the front row at all. The baton being taken by someone else this weekend, but will that carry on to the race itself, who knows. But this is how today's session played out

Qualifying 

credit to F1Fanatic for the image

With the TV schedule showing the session kicking off at 5am, I looked at the clock as I headed to bed from a rather mad rehearsal where my evil took on several new levels of weirdness and menace, only to decide that 5am was not going to happen. So step forward the good old VCR machine, I know there are folks out there with all sorts of shiny new devices and gizmos, well none of those things live here. That said the VCR in my room no longer lives any more - it does seem to have died, under the crushing disease of obsolescence I assume. However all was not lost, I just watched the session on the same machine it was recorded on, an oddity as the rest of the folk here tend to complain about motorsport on the main TV. 

All that sort of thing sorted out, and the play button pressed we - or I - considering no-one else was around was greeted by a rather dull and cloudy Korea. with about as much atmosphere as the moon. The paddock was filled to bursting point with... what appeared to be air and not too much else - you have thought South Korea had suffered a Zombie Outbreak  and the population had all joined the ranks of the undead. Hardly surprising considering there is no civilisation for miles, set in the middle of nowhere in a rice field by the looks of it.

Q1 was officially underway, and who was to come out first, someone from the bottom three teams perhaps, as it happens it wasn't this time - nor was it a Torro Rosso who liked lining the pit lane exit in Monza. This time it was Bruno Senna for Renault Squadron who had visited the barrier in morning practice, venturing out to finish establishing a race setup to recover from time lost in the FP3. He was then joined by the Wing Commander to make it a Renault Squadron 1-2. 

Then things got a little weird, Red Bull  - the constructor champions elect - came out on the soft tyres in this the first session, the very tyres you'd like to save for the race in normal circumstances. On top of that they managed to go slower then the McLarens out front who were on the harder of the compounds available. Apparently it was a decision related to the harder tyre actually predicted to be better in race conditions due to degradation rates, whether that will actually be the case who knows.   

However the more important battle in Q1 was hovering around the relegation zone with the bottom three teams confirmed in the drop zone - Ricciardo out with mechanical issues to boot there was only the final spot open for relegation. So who was fighting over it, well it was a battle between Williams and Sauber, One-stop Perez went first and put himself out of harm's way, team-mate Kamui followed suit but not completely safe. Leaving the two Williams to fight it out, Rubens picked up tyre degradation on his final run forcing him to abandon it, opening the door for Maldonado who pounced on the chance to make it into Q2 at the expense of his team-mate.

More footage from behind the pit garages showed the deserted paddock once more, not even Eddie Jordan seemed to be bothered to make the race, so Jake, the only remaining inter-session presenter borrowed Karun Chandok from Lotus to make it look like there was someone on the television who knows what's going on in depth.

As the camera panned away from the wasteland the next session was about to start, seven cars lighter now, and it was Hamilton to set the early pace, also going straight for the softer tyres. It was a time that wasn't going to be beaten and eased him into Q3. The other division one runners followed suit, running the super-softs and confirming a place in the final shoot-out. Vettel made his run a little interesting by opening the DRS a little early in the final arc turn  having to correct a slide as the car wanted to introduce itself to the barrier. 

With division one finished their opening runs - the only ones for the drivers who were safe, Michael Schumacher was left to his own devices on the circuit. Likely as a result of having reported he had a vibration, best to leave Michael and his vibration alone for a while, considering this was the same car that also has a magic paddle we were told in Istanbul. None of those things could help the German out as he slipped down the timing board. 

As Schumacher was encountering difficulties there could be three places up for grabs in Q3, and five cars in with a realistic chance of fighting for them, belonging to Force India, Renault Squadron, and of course Michael wasn't out yet. It was Wing Commander Petrov who struck first taking the car to the front of division 2 into 8th place, and as the vibrating Mercedes stayed in the pits, both Force India's were able to scrape into the top 10 as the flag fell on another close fought session.

Then there was only ten remaining as both Saubers and Torro Rosso's were eliminated along with Maldonado, Senna and Schumacher. It was Rosberg who fled the pit lane first with the McLaren piloted by Hamilton close behind, and it was the Brit once more who claimed the top spot on the timesheets. The other six cars that were going perform a lap entered the circuit with Vettel at the back of the queue, but none of them could knock lewis off the top spot, although Vettel came within 0.03s of taking provisional pole. 

Only one run left to compete for the top of the grid, but this run was to be completed without Nico Rosberg who determined he wouldn't be able to improve and make an impression on the division one teams. It's was Webber who headed the queue this time from Hamilton, while Button and the Ferraris made up the second batch ahead of Vettel and Di Resta only on an installation lap. Mark abandoned the run having lost time, but Lewis managed to extend the pole position margin, placing it out of race for the chasing pack. Vettel and Button came closest at 0.2 and 0.3s apart respectfully but pole was taken by someone other than Sebastien or Webber - in the form of a resurgent Hamilton.

However despite taking pole, Lewis looked as if someone had taken away his happy pills - appearing rather miserable indeed. Clearly that's what taking pole position away from Red Bull does to you, now I'm used to being a miserable bugger but seriously someone give Hamilton some cake, Bruno Senna should have some left over from his birthday celebrations. Because cake is normally a good idea.

Looking to Tomorrow

With the weather forecast only predicting clouds we could see our first dry Korean GP, on the Yeongam track where the battle out front is closer than it has been for a considerable time, with Vettel having nothing to lose any-more considering it is all wrapped up on that front, and Hamilton on some form of return warpath. Whatever head space he's in right now could lead to some erratic driving in the race, something Hamilton is prone to in normal conditions usually involving Felipe Massa in the same way Schumacher is drawn to Saubers. 

Outside the lead battle Ferrari will want to take something away from this weekend, and to avoid being bottom of division one which is where they lie after qualifying. Then there is the competition for the final points where the entire midfield is in contention for, depending on how the race plays out.

So how will it play out, well no-one can really be sure, as already mentioned the first dry Korean race mixed with the DRS, KERs and the degrading tyres opens up so much opportunity for some madness and chaos. Add to that the rather lacking amount of trackside infrastructure there is a chance of a safety car deployment as crashed vehicles may be difficult to remove, especially on the 'resort' phase of the lap. The images from today did show a lack of track-side cranes and a total of a single low loader. But behind the scenes there could be more trucks waiting in the wings. 

It is another early 6am start for those with the strength of will to wake up for it - so pack the energy drinks and snacks to keep going while sunrise slowly gathers it's power. I however will be asleep at this point, I know it's laziness but I do have a rehearsal to go and need to be on top form for that, so through the power of recording technology, and advanced technology at that. Taking the outside broadcast to a new level of innovation over and above my old fashioned VCR at a more sensible time of waking with tea and whatnot. So prepare yourselves for a plunge into the unknown as South Korea builds itself for a rather odd race on a rather odd racetrack.

Round Sixteen: South Korea Preview

Greetings Internet,

Less than a week after the conclusion of the Japanese GP, here I am again writing words all over this little corner of the internet. As the season has reached it's next destination making the short journey across the sea from Japan to South Korea, the newest of the returning locations of the season and barring India the most recent addition to the calendar.

Last year it was a weekend of vast contrasts, the track still being finished off on the Friday prior to the practice sessions, followed by some dry running for qualifying. Then the race itself was drowned in a major downpour resulting in a race almost three hours long, opening in red flag conditions with safety car interventions in the rain. It was a pivotal race then, seeing the end of Webber's championship challenge as he crashed out, and also containing the last mechanical failure Red Bull have suffered. Korea was the only blot on an impeccible score-sheet since. But with the title all wrapped up, there is no need to worry about history repeating itself.

This year there is a lower chance of rain for the race, so it will be interesting how the track performs in a dry race conditions, and on top of that there is the development of the external buildings that were shown on the original track plans and how will their presence effect the running of the race in accumulating debris and dust from the construction work, falling onto the track surface.

The Track

Credit to the FIA for the track map

So as to the stretch of tarmac where upon this newest episode in the season will be played out, built rather in the opposite way round. Traditionally a track is built within the confines of a city or in open cleared land, but in this case the track has been built and then the resort is being constructed around it. With plans for hotels and a marina surrounding the odd turn 17 area. When the track first graced our screens last year the surroundings were rather bland and empty missing the other structures - resembling more of a construction side on the other side of the concrete barriers.

But what about the layout, the actual series of corners the drivers will be faced with - well it is presented in two distinct phases. One half of the lap is situated within the prospective resort complex while the other half just serves to bring the cars back round to the start of the resort section. The corner layout also matches this dual-personality while the opening phase is defined mainly by the monolithically long back straight, which bisects the resort zone. Starting and ending with hairpins, so rather lacking imagination in that respect. 

Sadly the second section also starts off with a hairpin, in fact a whole complex of tight annoying corners, it looks as if it has been designed on the basis of having spare sections of scalextric track in the bottom of the box. There is a special place in hell for complexes like this, the virtual representation I've worked with may have given it an injustice but it's really is awful. 

After it however, it does get a lot better with a series of actually entertaining corners brought abruptly to a halt in turn as the track starts to edge back towards the resort. The final couple of corners are actually rather good, again it is something different in the form of a walled arc around the soon to be marina whenever that will come into form who knows, especially given how close they came to missing the race last time construction speed tends to be rather unpredictable in this project.  

Instead of rambling on any more about the layout and it's corners here is the obligatory video where I drive around the lap a lot slower than the real thing trying not to crash into things and complete the lap without making a complete fool of myself. Well there is the joy of editing to cancel out most of the foolishness, the little spins and mistakes, but they can't make my lap time any faster. So here is the lap, which is faster than the best race lap of 2010, although that was in a monsoon.

What to expect

This is a track of two halves, two very different halves which will benefit different teams and car configurations, the latter section will play to Red Bull, but as recent results have shown McLaren and Ferrari are much closer. Most likely as a result of Red Bull easing off on the developmental accelerator with the title in the bag already, which could see the other division one teams be able to compete on the same level as Red Bull and even be in with a chance of breaking their stranglehold on qualifying.

Further back in division 1.5 Mercedes will have an advantage in straight line speed terms on the main straight and combined with their tendency to make rather impressive starts could interrupt the races in the top division. Behind them in division two, which does seem to have been joined by the Renault Squadron there will be immense competition. Where any of the teams involved could be in for the final two points positions, or more if others further up mess up. The main contenders will be Sauber, Force India and of course favourites in the group Renault Squadron.

Statistically this race has seen a high average in terms of the amount of Safety Car interventions per race, but of course that was a rather anomalous race with the rain and collisions. However due to the enclosed nature of the resort based section of the lap there is a limited amount of space to extract crashed vehicles. At the time the internal track infrastructure was compromised due to the development of the other structures so service roads and possibly trackside cranes were not in place. This year those facilities could be in place so the areas of the track which would require the introduction of a safety car to clear will be condensed. 

DRS and KERs

Credit to F1Fanatic.co.uk for the DRS map

Oddly there will only be a single DRS zone this weekend, on a track where multiple zones could be implemented - with three acceptable straights to mark for DRS activation. But only one of these has been selected and naturally that choice has been donated to the 1km back straight. However the oddities continue, as already noted the track does offer several places to implement the DRS including one of the longest straights of the season and then the FIA introduce one of the smallest DRS zones of the year. On paper it sounds like madness, failing to use all of the space available. But given that the start position is in the middle of the main straight a smaller zone would avoid overtaking being too easy, as it was in Turkey and Canada.

In terms of qualfying pace the DRS will be very useful but will impact the gear ratios needed for the event as the speed difference of using DRS in qualifying on such a long straight and then running without it in the race. Of course the system will also be available on the other straights in qualifying so there is a large amount of lap time to be gained from maximising the system.

And then there is the KERs system, which does seem to be having a smaller impact as the season goes on, playing a smaller part as an overtaking tool - prominently being used as a defensive mechanism or as an opportunistic passing solution. It's main purpose now seems to be in qualifying where not using the additional power does result in a lap time deficit, so it is still very important in that respect. Especially in the realm of the midfield where the difference between making Q3 and being relegated in Q1 could be a matter of tenths, the tenths earned from using KERs. And here in Korea there are a fair few slower corners to power out of and straights to use the KERs boost on to utilise that power.

With another early start for this weekend's action it is time once more to operate the video player because I rather like sleep and being in my bed... even if I'm the only one in there, ah ranting on the internet is a solitary life. Although there are many other factors influencing that social status... my internal loathing aside this will be a rather interesting event. With last year being a wash out, this will almost be a clean sheet in terms of race conditions and the DRS and KERs will add another dimension that wasn't on the schedule last time around

So for those with the strength of mind to pry yourselves from bed at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning congratulations and you can award yourselves a bonus point for the success. Because you'll be the first to see the new developments that have taken place since the last visit to the Korean International Circuit, to see which buildings have sprung up if any. Either way it's a good time to warm up the toastie maker for those needing a much earlier breakfast for the first sessions.

Round Fifteen: Japan Review

Greetings Internet,

Well my initial plan of getting up at the middle of dawn to catch the live race rather fell apart at the seams when I first forced open my eyes to see that it was 7:15, a long way off the 6am actual start point for which the alarm was set. Although I'm starting to think there may have been some minor flaw in that plan, never the less I caught the race on the good old iPlayer before being rather frightened at my appearance on the politics show and heading out for the only form of social interaction. Not accounting for the world of theatrical wonder I attend also.

But the frivolities of the day aside there was a race taking place although it does seem so long ago now probably because it was a long time ago. There was the inevitable conclusion of the championship but you didn't really need to see the race to expect that to happen. The German Bloke was going to come away from Japan with the single point he needed and some extras just to sweeten the deal. However there was a small amount of change sailing in the Japanese winds because neither of the first two cars that crossed the line were blue or contained the German. Which in a season of complete and utter dominance the bottom step of the podium could be seen as a very conservative way of bringing the title back once more.

That obviously wasn't the only story of the race and here is how the 53 laps of Suzuka played out.

The Race

Credit to F1Fanatic.co.uk for the image

I had to skip most of the pre-race information in order to make sure I left the house in time so I can't truly say I'm clued up on the stories floating around the grid. But everything seemed quiet as grid preparations mounted in the bright sunshine that coated the circuit.

At the start button made the strong early jump, but Vettel pulled across forcing the McLaren onto the grass as Jenson had to get out of the throttle to avoid an accident. This handed the opportunity to Lewis who used the extra momentum to steal second position from his team-mate. In a complete contrasting fortunes the local man Kamui Kobayashi had a poor start losing places to both Force Indias and the Renault Squadron. Losing more spots avoiding Senna as he ran wide out of turn two.

The opening laps were unusually clean and damage free - a long way shy of the madness we've seen in earlier events and all the drivers had settled into their positions - with the exception of Rosberg who was making up for a technical problem in qualifying. I'm not to sure whether it was the sleep deprivation still pickling my brain cells but not much seemed to happen in the first ten laps.

Change however was on the horizon, Hamilton dropped back in to the clutches of Button in 3rd while Vettel remained out front but not too far compared to normal. Lewis picked up a slide on the way into Spoon corner to concede the position falling further back towards Alonso in 4th as a result of a rear puncture. Luckily it wasn't to far ouside the pit window so the overall damage done to the race was limited. Only having three corners to contend with before returning home.

On the next lap the pit window had opened with the first volunteer for new rubber being the leader Sebastien Vettel, handing the lead to Jenson. Once all the opening stops had cycled through the positions had returned and reset with Vettel leading Button, Alonso, Hamilton, Massa and Webber. Division one had once again separated themselves from the rest of the grid - with Schumacher just in tow behind them several seconds back. Teams further down the grid were running longer on tyres, Williams and Perez were still on their opening set of tyres to compensate for a grid position.

Tyre degradation was hitting Red Bull harder then normal this weekend as both cars we in for their second stops by lap 20. In order to cover the advantage of newer tyres Button and Alonso had to pit, this worked out rather well for Button as he ended up with the lead - something on balance is a nice change from the form of the past few races where the same blue car has been out front for a rather significant proportion of the laps. But there was a degree of conservatism in the Red Bull strategy knowing there was only one point needed to claim the title.

Elsewhere Japanese GP tradition was re-occurring from last year, starting off with wheels having a difficulty stayin on race cars, in 2010 Kubica and Rosberg both lost wheels and this year burden was handed to Sebastien Buemi whose front wheel parted company. Parking the three wheeled car up on the entrance to the essess after it wasn't fitted properly following his pit stop. Then Kobayashi corner came into use once more as the man himself passed the remaining Torro Rosso on the exit, a move One-stop Perez then managed to repeat a couple laps later.

Battle resumed further up the field when increasing angry rivals Hamilton and Massa found themselves on the same piece of racetrack once again, and once again Hamilton doesn't really recognise the size or shape of the McLaren her is driving. Not really understanding the space it occupied as he drifted wider into the side of Felipe's car on the entrance to the Casio Triangle. Dislodging Massa's endplate casting it into the middle of the breaking zone. Now it lay there waiting on the tarmac for several laps, the red carbon fibre glinting in the sunlight. No-one wanted to run out an collect it, being on the exit of 130R I don't blame them -the only solution was to call out the safety car - and so it was done. There was also an amount of debris in turn 7 where Webber clipped the back of Schumacher knocking a little of his wing off too.

Button controlled the restart well if not a little too slowly before running away only into the nearby distance. The entire of division one was running at regular intervals fairly close to each other for several laps. Before tyres again began to fade becoming a problem for Red Bull once more as Vettel pitted first once more this time to switch to the harder compound. Aiming to run to the end of the race, which forced the hand of the other teams in contention in the form of McLaren and Ferrari to match the plan. However switching to the newer tyres sooner didn't help him close on Jenson out front in fact he dropped further away opening a window for Alonso to drop into after his stop, demoting the German bloke down to third.

Further back however Mark Webber was adding a new corner to the collection of places he has passed cars at this year, overtaking Paul Di Resta on the inside of 130R the fastest corner of the track. A feat that was only beaten by the move Adrian Sutil managed on Kobayashi in the same corner from a much tighter turn in line.

In the overall standings however the positions were sealed for the remainder of the race, Button claiming another victory - leading the table in drivers who aren't in a Red Bull who can win races and doing a very solid job. Fernando Alonso finished second proving that Ferrari were are remaining strong and can't be counted out during the race. Vettel finished 3rd picking up more than enough points to claim the title and more silverware to the team garage.Webber finished 4th after both Red Bull drivers were given the call to ease of and conserve their places until the end. Hamilton recovered to 5th after repassing Massa without contact this time, Schumacher also jumped Felipe to claim 6th and the Ferrari driver taking 7th. Division two was won by One-Stop Perez once again using tyre conservation to score points from 17th. While  Wing Commander Petrov and Rosberg rounded out the points paying positions.

The Official Bonus Points Championship points winners


With the main championship all done and wrapped up with several races still to be run in Asia and South America the attention turns now to the more important bonus points championship and here are the winners from the Japanese GP.

10pts - One-Stop Perez - for going from the back of the division one grid after techincal dramas in qualifying to win the group at the end of the race using his patented one-stop less than everyone else strategy
8pts - Nico Rosberg - 23rd to 10th deserves some recognition making a lot of the passes towards the end of the race
6pts - Jenson Button - For a strong victory and strong performance across the weekend, beating Vettel on pace resigning them to their conservative strategy
5pts - Adrian Sutil - For making a more risky pass then Webber on a car that defended the position into 130R corner
4pts - Mark Webber - For adding another pass in a high speed corner to his repetoire
3pts - Fernando Alonso - For being rather unimpressive but managing significant speed to catch and pass the Gernan bloke in the pit-stop phase
2pts - Kamui Kobayashi - For making a pass in what I've named as his own corner which was rather nice
1pt -  All you can eat Buffets - For matching the concept of food with a challenge to, which pushes my innards to their limits too

The Also Official Penalties Championship

There were investigations against both Vettel and Hamilton but no action was taken against either driver, also an incident where One-Stop Perez and Rosberg ended up two wide in the pit lane was left without a sanction being handed out. So overall there were no official penalties, which does make altering that table a lot easier

The Dubious Dealings Championship

While the officials were a little lapse on the handing out of penalties I of course will be a little less lenient and will deal the following penalty points.

• Lewis Hamilton - For having absolutely no idea what size his car is - the third time in the past four races he has made contact with another car simply by wandering into them or clipping them in the rear wheel. Two of those events have been with Massa who is rather annoyed, haven't heard his comments on today but wouldn't be too pleased.
• Empire Cinemas - The blog doesn't not appreciate being held up by 30 minutes when no-one presses play on the film reel knocking everything out of sequence.

Looking ahead to Korea

Returning back to the track that only just made it's début last year, screwing down the final pieces as the teams were rolling into the paddock. This time we should see a more complete facility with more of the surrounding structures completed, the preview images and plans that were produced before it's inception showed a whole resort and marina to be constructed. This year will see how much of that plan has been built  to form the resort that is to surround the circuit. 

It should also be a much drier race than last year when the race lasted for around four hours due to rain delays and safety cars for the collisions. As a layout it isn't too inspiring, created in a sort of track design by numbers approach, throw in some long straights into overtaking hairpins and then finish the rest of with a series of corners in an attempt to throw some variation into the mix. However in Korea that attempt didn't work too well - the final corner is a little innovative but the rest is a bit dull, perhaps in dry conditions this time around next week we can see what racing it can produce with the new DRS and KERs systems to apply on the long straights. 

Alas live twitter coverage may be missing from that event as it was from this one as a result of time differences and the fact I'll be watching a tape delayed version of the sessions so won't be exactly live myself .Thank you all and until next time, farewell..

Something Extra - Bathurst 1000

Greetings Internet,

Me again, I know so soon after my last entry and here I am with another contribution to the internet. This of course was aimed at a release for Friday but the video took longer than expected and then the upload to the world of youtube took until 2:30am so I didn't feel like composing something at that time of night and still be in control of the concept of language and grammar. Although saying that the Canada pre-race was written in the small hours of the morning while watching Le Mans after an evening performance.

But this time I am appearing before you with a small track insight into the other great race that will be happening this weekend, kicking off in just over a few hours time in Australia but I shall be asleep at the time, resting before the start of the Japanese GP. I am of course cryptically alluding to the Bathurst 1000 an endurance race in the Australian V8 Supercar series which produces some of the greatest racing in the world of motor racing - this time racing for 1000km round the magnificent Mt Panorama circuit.

The Track

Image from Wikipedia

Mt Panorama is one of the ultimate contrasts in motor-racing featuring two huge straights taking cars to and from the epic mountain section which in itself comes in two phases. Opening with two tighter corners at Quarry and The Cutting, the sector opens into a series of high speed walled corners completed with cars which on the downforce scales are a million miles away from the F1 cars on the rest of the blog.

In the second half of the mountain section comes a series of corners with extreme undulation as the track begins to descend back down the mountain. Once more twisting between high concrete walls which conceal a significant drop on the other side. The layout mixes the fastest phases of the entire V8 Supercar season which opens the window for frighteningly large accidents. Last year Fabien Coulthard suffered a tyre faliure at the end of the Conrod Straight - the fastest point in the lap and ended up rolling the car into oblivion in the gravel. Fortunately he was able to walk away from the ruins of his Holden.

The race also highlights the peak in the national rivalry that exists in Australia between Holden (Australian version of Vauxhall) and Ford as the only two competing manufacturers. A competitiveness which extends deeply into the oceans of fans who attend the mountain where fan groups share a devout loyalty to their manufacturer and this is derby day. Well every race is derby day but this is the highlight of their season and Australian motorsport as a whole marking it as a prominent international event. 

Being an endurance race the regular team drivers have to pair up with an co-driver to work the differing stints across the 7hr event. Normally the second driver in a car is drawn from the V8 support series or other national series. But drivers from across the world have been asked to compete in the great race, drivers from the BTCC, WTCC and even Champcar have taken part to add more depth to the grid for an exciting event. The length of the race also means the weather has more of a chance to intervene and because of the enclosed nature of the mountain phase of the circuit a damp circuit makes the walls seem a lot closer and makes it all the easier to visit them.

Now in the tradition of my other pre-event posts there is also a video and like with Le Mans and the Nurburgring 24h races I have driven a car round the lap - partially because it's a whole lot of fun to have a go and to add something to this post. Now due to time constraints with two fantastic events running this weekend requiring two videos this one has no annotation just the visual and it was run on the first timed lap without practice or car setup so the time isn't that great. But that aside here is a lap in a current 2011 V8 Supercar of Mt Panorama

This will be the only post on the weekend as I won't really see the race until a few days from now as a result of other commitments - I know weird isn't it, me doing something else other than sitting here typing these things out and watching motor-racing. That would be an ideal life, but who really has them any more, so simulated driving around shall have to do

Japan Pre-race

Greetings Internet,

Here we are at the completion of another qualifying session, although this contribution is taking place somewhat later then normal, a combination of an earlier then normal start time - being in Japan and all and being preoccupied with other people invading my little house. The blog forbids siblings for having birthdays on race weekends - they get far too excitable making screeching noises when I'm trying to watch the recorded session. And on top of that something seems to have gone rather wrong with my video player so had to be in the same room as an overly excitable child...

Anyway amongst the high pitched noises I did manage to see some form of qualifying session - couldn't hear great deal of it - either that or Eddie Jordan had forgot to learn the words and became a mime artist. Which somehow I rather doubt. It also appeared that the German Bloke once again decided that he didn't want to share the pole position with any one outside the team. While everyone else decided to have a bit of a meeting in the Casino Triangle instead of completing their final runs.

But to cover how this came to pass how the rest faired here is how qualifying played out.

Credit to F1Fanatic for the image

Qualifying 

After having a morning argument with the video recorder only to find it refused to power up - curses and what not so there was a need to find an alternate video player to watch the event. Several moments later after realising all the spare fuses were locked away, I retreated to the main room - sadly the epicentre of the irritating child based celebrations.

All that sorted out it was time so settle down - with tea in place and a working video player in operation - I know obsolete technology and all but it works... most of the time; and that's good enough for me. Then the time of Q1 had arrived and the green light was met with a green car piloted by Jarno Trulli who duly opened the time charts being the first car on track.

But within moments the rest of the grid opened their accounts considerably quicker than Jarno's benchmark time. Division one claiming their place at the top Alonso at the very front ahead of Button and Vettel, Hamilton was initially off the pace, running wide in Spoon corner using the tarmac run-off as a get of jail free zone where the indigenous gravel would have ended his session. But after this early slump he found the missing pace jumping up ahead of Button.

Things were going rather less well in the Mercedes garage, while Nico Rosberg was experiencing technical gremlins in the hydraulic system - but nothing to the gremlin that was still groaning about birthdays and other nonsense in my living room. Nico's problems were enough to put him out of Q1 and remove all the risk for the other drivers as the last places were all booked up with the newer teams. This didn't stop some drivers running a couple of security laps to confirm progression on the softer tyres. Kamui Kobayashi local legend who's 2010 race has sold 1000 more tickets in Kobayashi corner, took full advantage of the softs and topped the timesheet for the end of Q1.

Roll on Q2, and it was nice to see a car leaving the pit lane at the beginning of the session - and for this segment it was the turn of Force India to lead the group. But once more the division one field headed out onto the track to shuffle for the lead positions. Vettel went fastest early on, remaining a 100th of a second ahead of Button only to be defeated by Hamilton.With three places left on in Q3 there a major battle was brewing to claim them - Force India, Renault Squadron and Kobayashi were all competing for the remaining places.

One-Stop Perez was taken out of the competition when hydraulic gremlins ended his session as well, but his team-mate forced himself into 8th. All this with no time left on the clock, Sutil's lap moved him into 9th and Wing-commander Petrov claiming the final spot. But things were not quite finished sorting themselves out quite yet, it was Renault Squadron who made the improvements, both team cars moving ahead of Kamui into 8th and 9th dropping the local hero into 10th but still into the next session with the division one competitors.

Only the final session remained and it was the remaining Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi who was waiting at the end of the pit lane to kick the session off - but he was only there for an installation lap on the hard tyres before returning to the pit lane. It was the top teams who were on track to set competitive times. However I had no idea who was setting what time - partially on the account of annoying children drowning out the sound of the television. But that would have been ok, I'd just look at the on-screen graphics - but no they had gone down, what I do know is that Hamilton went fastest ahead of Button and Vettel.

The teams were reluctant to do too many laps due to the high tyre degradation and to save tyres for the race ahead. So they saved it all for a final effort at the end of the session, but timing that run didn't work out too well for Hamilton who's outlap was too slow. As a result he was caught by both Michael Schumacher and Webber who both had to pass him into the final chicane. Out of the three Webber was the only one to find another lap, taking away Hamilton's chance for pole position.

This left Vettel and Button to be unchallenged as pole would be decided between themselves. It was the German bloke again - the one that only needs one point who was first to set a time - and a rather quick one at that. Button tried to respond, to take the pole position away from Vettel, but fell 0.009 seconds short. But this does mean the front row is made up of the FIA points leader and the bonus points leader, making it an interesting run to turn one. The rest of the top ten was populated by Hamilton, then the two Ferraris lead by a still rather angry Massa, from Webber - the last car to set a proper time. Out of the cars that didn't really bother Kobayashi heads Schumacher and the Renault Squadron, Senna out-qualifying Wing Commander Petrov.

The official Bonus Points Championship points winners

Upon one of the greatest layouts of the season within one of the more entertaining countries here are the points winners from Japanese GP qualifying 2011.

• Kamui Kobayshi - for being fastest in Q1, and for making Q3, and on top of that for the epic save he performed in FP2 on Friday
• Mark Webber - for being the only one to get through Hamilton's slow down moment to complete a final run despite losing a fair amount time in the process
• Felipe Massa - for out qualifying Alonso and for ranting about Hamilton with being blanketed behind PR formalities and niceties.
• Renault Squadron - for making a comeback after the humiliating performance in Singapore to get both cars in the top ten positions
• McLaren - for being on the same pace as the Red Bulls this weekend, beating them in practice and came close to being the first non-Red Bull on pole

The Still official dubious dealings championship

The tyre degradation issue in Suzuka meant some teams opted not to do a complete lap in qualifying which although being a tyre saving plot earns a penalty point for not taking part in the session. This weekend saw four drivers in Q3 not bothering - although Schumacher's lap was affected by Hamilton so I'll let him off as he was going to complete a time. The other three however... get penalty points 

• Kobayashi - despite a strong session not playing in Q3 earns a penalty point
• Wing Commander Petrov - also for not playing in Q3 
• Bruno Senna - also for not playing in Q3 

Looking to Tomorrow

And is a very early morning it is too, commencing at 6a.m, which I shall likely have to wake for as well... but it will be worth setting the alarm for. It will be a race that within all realms of probability will see the crowning of that German Bloke as the double world champion scoring that final point to place it mathematically out of reach of the only remaining contender - Two-Cakes-Up Button. However that amount of dominance may not be on the cards when dawn arises tomorrow morning, McLaren have been very close to Red Bull so far this weekend and that should continue in the race.

There is interest further back down the grid as well, with the likes of Rosberg and One-Stop Perez further down the grid then their car pace suggests they should be and with plenty of new tyres at their disposal. Rosberg in particular should be exciting coming from the back row of the grid towards the points scoring positions. The greatest instability lies once more in the mid-field where drivers from Renault Squadron all the way back to the newer teams are on a very similar pace making strategy the ruler of the final points positions.

Weather predictions show that it looks dry for the race, taking one unpredictable variable out of the mix, but there is still a chance of a safety car because of the limited run-off in some areas and the size of the accidents that can happen on the layout - Kamui narrowly avoided one on Friday practice but Rubens and Senna had accidents that would have brought out the safety car. The other thing to look out for is of course Kamui Kobayashi who was a whole new level of awesome last year and could be just as entertaining this time around.

The blog update may be running a little later than normal this weekend as a result of other events in my ever popular schedule... well my years worth of socialisation is raining down in these two days but that aside set the alarms or video equipment in preparation for the 2011 Japanese GP.

Round Fifteen: Japan Preview.

Greetings internet,

Onward the series moves now leaving the night-time running behind and travelling into the far east, to the land of the rising sun and the home of small yellow animated creatures. Suzuka steps into the spotlight to host the next round in the calender in readiness for the Japanese GP, in a country devastated by the horrific earthquake and Tsunami earlier on in the year. Being in the south of the country the Suzuka region remained largely unaffected by the primary impacts of the disaster proceedings and infrastructure for the event will be intact

Aside from a backdrop of the events in the country this year, Japan is one of the more culturally entertaining venues the teams will be setting down in over the course of the season. A world where complete madness and the surreal becomes commonplace, even accepted as the norm. Sporting a plethora of spectacular and enthralling racing venues and at fairly close to the top of that list is the magnificent track we are visiting this weekend.

The Track

Credit to the FIA for the track map

When this end of the championship is populated by so many new ultra-modern race tracks it's nice to see a strong traditional style track remain. Standing in stark contrast to the likes of Korea, India and Abu-Dhabi joining the season in recent years, Suzuka has all the hallmarks of the European greats like Spa and the Nurburgring - with fast flowing undulating bends coursing up the hill and down the other side into the degner curves. 

But at the centre of this supreme facility lies something a little different that it's closer counterparts over here - the unique crossover section. An example of Japan wanting to do something innovative and exciting, the track sweeps over itself before entering the iconic 130R corner. A corner which has been somewhat beaten by the speed and downforce of the cars, but still manages to catch people out, the likes of Alquersuari in recent years have been victims of the wall. Then there was Di Grassi's accident last year where he binned it during the warm-up lap.

Amongst the flowing turns and undulation there are places to make overtaking manoeuvres as so expertly demonstrated by Kimi Raikkonen in 2005 going round the outside in turn one. But there are more conventional locations especially the Casio Triangle and based on last year the renamed - at least from the blog's perspective - Kobayashi corner. The hairpin following second degner was exceptionally put to use by Kamui and had bonus points been in operation then he'd have scored the top rank.

Now comes the time to unleash the recent video, where I drive around the tracks of the season several seconds off the pace - except in Singapore when I claimed pole by a couple of seconds, but that may have something to do with a track inaccuracy.  Anyway back to the point at hand and this weekend, ideally there would have been a section in it to reference the Bathurst 1000 from Mt Panorama but perhaps a separate entry for that.

What to expect 

Well the first thing that we can almost be certain this weekend is that German bloke may score that single point he needs to claim the F1 Drivers Championship. Which pales into insignificance when placed alongside the far superior Bonus Points Championship where Two-Cakes-Up Button has a commanding lead, but pretty much the entire field can claim the title with 50 points still on offer. 

Given the nature of the circuit it should play straight into Red Bull's hands, the high downforce configuration strongly suits their strengths there is almost an inevitable forecast of some more domination in the air and a degree of finality to this segment of the season. But as always Ferrari and McLaren will be close behind just waiting for anything to go wrong among the lead pairing. 

Further back the mid-field will be very crowded this weekend, as Renault Squadron should be back in the picture after a dismal performance in Singapore. Yet at the other end Mercedes will be wanting to reclaim their place in the void between two main divisions - as sort of division 1.5 which belongs to them alone. The contest for the final points places will be fierce with Renault Squadron in competition with Force India and Sauber with home hero Kobayashi fuelled by the local support.

Then there is the final three, these teams have began to fall further away from the established teams in front of them - despite Heikki beating Wing Commander Petrov in Singapore the newer teams have been losing ground. This could be attributed to the difference in development pace and a different focus possibly aiming more at the 2012 car.

On top of all that there is one second variable to add into the mix, the rain. Southern Japan has a tendency to experience typhoons - like the one that washed out qualifying last year resulting in 24hr all-nighter here with the Race, the qualifying session and the Bathurst 1000 in the interlude. Already from the team's twitter feeds rain has visited the area and the weekend could very well see some precipitation.

KERs and DRS

This weekend there will only be the one DRS zone positioned on the front straight, but what is interesting this  time is that the detection zone is located on the exit of 130R - oddly prior to the Casio Chicane - which means that if a pass happens in the chicane then the attacking driver will gain full use of the DRS un-impeded down the front straight. It's a similar issue that was encountered in Canada with the dual zone with the single activation point there. 

In terms of the zone itself it should provide some overtaking, as it does lead into a plausible overtaking area in turn one, if the attacking car manages to get alongside considering the shallowness of the breaking zone. But as has been shown in the past it is also possible to make overtaking manoeuvres round the outside of the corner given enough of a speed advantage offered by the DRS. 

Then there is the KERs, which does seem to only have a place in terms of overall lap time in qualifying but could have an impact should cars end up in the right place at the right time. Conveniently that right place could be on the run into the Casio Triangle Chicane - right between the two DRS lines. Additionally there is also a chance of KERs influencing the use of Kobayashi corner depending on the exit speed from second degner. 

The Japanese GP is one of the few events where both the country and the circuit are exceptional places, balancing the European style flow and speed to counter the eclectic and eccentric nature of the host nation. Throw in the threat of rain and an incident peppered qualifying session which have been a feature since Suzuka took over from Fuji. This is another one of the races that is worth looking forward to, ranking just behind Spa as one of the greatest tracks on the season.