|
Order
Japanese GP tickets here..
Last season info Suzuka International Circuit
With Sebastian Vettel in first place and teammate Mark Webber in second, it was a one-two finish for Red Bull at Circuit Suzuka during the Japanese F1 Grand Prix. Webber's second place put him in the lead of the Formula 1 Championship. The Japanese F1 podium was completed by last race's winner Fernando Alonso. Jenson Button failed to make it to the podium and finished fourth, ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton who lost pace due to gearbox problems. After a rainy Saturday, the drivers had to qualify on the race-day morning which happened for the last time in 2005, during the Monte Carlo Grand Prix in Monaco. The front row was occupied by the Red Bull drivers, but the fans tried not to get their hopes up as that does not guarantee success during the turbulent 2010 season. The race started 4 hours after the qualification. Also the start of the Japanese F1 Grand Prix race did not go by smoothly as a Safety Car period occurred shortly after. Felipe Massa was forced into the grass by Nico Rosberg at Turn 1 which made him lose control and crash into the Force India of Vitantonio Liuzzi. It was too bad that Kubica's great performance at the start was stopped during the safety-car period. The driver had to retire as his rear wheel gave up on him. This gave Webber the opportunity to be one of the leading pair again. As the Japanese F1 restarted, the Red Bulls took the lead and Alonso could focus on the 2 McLarens behind him who tried to take his third position. This was not too difficult as Button was using hard tires and Hamilton was recovering from his grid penalty. Button had taken the lead for a while after the pit stops, but he was at no point a real threat for the Red Bulls. As Hamilton got anxious, he threw caution overboard and showed what he was made of. He passed his teammate and set one fastest lap after the other in his pursuit for Alonso. Too bad his car was not in the same mood as he was as his gearbox failed when he was on Alonso's tail. He was forced to settle for fifth as his teammate passed him again and took fourth. Webber was now leading the driver's Championship, followed by Vettel and Alonso with Hamilton in fourth.
Winner + pole + fastest lap Suzuka International Circuit
2010 winner: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
Pole Position: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
Fastest lap: Mark Webber (Red Bull)
Historic info Suzuka International Circuit
The Suzuka Circuit was built in 1961 as a test track for Honda. The 1st Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix was held in 1987 after the Japan F1 circuit had undergone several modifications. In 1989 and 1990 the Suzuka F1 circuit became world famous because of the fight between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. In 1989 they almost drove each other out of the race as teammates with Prost coming out as the winner. In the next year they did the same, but this time as competitors with Senna coming out as the winner.
Because the Japanese Formula 1 races are always held at the end of the season at Circuit Suzuka, many Formula 1 World Championship titles have been decided at this circuit. The most famous are ones of Damon Hill, Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher.
Suzuka International Circuit was dropped from the Formula 1 calendar for the 2007 and 2008 seasons in favor of the Toyota-owned Fuji Speedway, after the latter underwent a transformation and redesign by circuit designer Hermann Tilke. Circuit Suzuka and Fuji were to alternate hosting the Japanese F1 Grand Prix from 2009. However, after Fuji announced on July 2009 that it would no longer be part of the F1 calendar, Suzuka signed a deal to host the Japanese F1 Grand Prix in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Listings of past winners (last 10 years)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2008 Fernando Alonso (Renault)
2007 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes)
2006 Fernando Alonso (Renault)
2005 Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
2004 Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
2003 Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)
2002 Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
2001 Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
2000 Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
|
