Strategy Relegates Webber to Second
Vettel drove to a fourth win at Suzuka after a two-stop strategy saw him leapfrog Webber to lead home a 1-2 finish, Red Bull's second of the year. Webber was forced onto a three-stop race which dropped him behind Grosjean, culminating in a charge in the final laps to take second, but with too few left to challenge for the win. Grosjean drove an excellent race, leading for the first stint in a calm and controlled manner, and only losing out to Webber near the end after several laps of stoic defence. Alonso came through in fourth place to keep the championship mathematically alive, with Raikkonen hauling in strong points for Lotus with fifth, just ahead of another great drive from Hulkenberg to take sixth.
Into the Weekend
Japan always offers an exciting spectacle for the Formula 1 calendar, even when the championship is all but over. With a gorgeous, flowing high-speed circuit, much more like what Formula 1 cars should be racing on; it brings a great atmosphere and excitement to the sport every year, and is amongst both drivers and fans favourite tracks. Red Bull were simply looking to maintain their dominance at the front of the pack, untouched by any other team, though Webber was looking for a strong result and to finish without catching fire. Lotus hoped to continue their renewed form from Korea to take solid points in the constructors, while Mercedes hoped to get back the kind of form they expect from their car after failing to quite maximise their Korean weekend. Ferrari needed a step back up against their rivals for second in the constructors, while Sauber hoped to take another great result after a string of good points finishes by Hulkenberg. Following another double points finish for McLaren in Korea, they were hoping for more of the same as they took a further lead on Force India, who again failed to score last time out to mark their woeful drop of form since mid season. Torro Rosso similarly had another bad result in a row in Korea, failing to finish either car, and were hoping to get back into the points, especially with Sauber stealing the march on them in the constructors. Williams wanted anything they could get in their battle to improve and catch the midfield, while behind them Caterham sought to take tenth in the constructors off Marussia, something their performance advantage should have done by now.