The Japanese Grand Prix Race review.

There was plenty of action throughout Friday and Saturday at Suzuka, but the Japanese Grand Prix is always eventful and exciting. The 2013 race was no different.

The Red Bull’s locked out the front row in Qualifying, but it was Webber on pole position. would there be fireworks into turn one?

As the lights went out both Red Bull drivers had a slow start, Hamilton was pressuring from behind. Vettel made contact with the Mercedes puncturing Hamilton’s tyre instantly. Romain Grosjean got the jump heading into turn one and was leading the race from Webber and Vettel. Alonso was making up ground in the Ferrari but Lewis Hamilton was crawling with his rear right tyre totally destroyed. At the back of the grid the action was close too. Jules Bianchi and Giedo van der Garde came together in turn one and both driver were out of the race. It was a very interesting start to the race with the Red Bull’s well in the mix and with work to do. At the end of the first lap Hamilton made a pit stop to change tyres, but worse was to come for the former champion. The tyre failure damaged the floor of the car, Mercedes were forced to retire the car. It was a decision that took him out of the race, and the championship hunt.

Throughout the early stages of the race, Sebastian Vettel in third was not driving to his usual exceptional standard. He was running wide even on the grass at some points. He is so far ahead in the championship it surely couldn’t be the pressure, maybe he was in shock at being told he was in third, Webber was ahead and Grosjean was leading. It was going to be mighty interesting to see the two teammates battle for position. That’s what Ferrari had to deal with as Alonso was trying to get past Massa. the inevitable call came over the radio for the Brazilian, but he was having none of it. Massa kept his foot hard down and Alonso could not find a way past his teammate.

Lotus had a good car in Suzuka, Romain Grosjean was getting the most out of it. The Frenchman was leading the race and keeping up a good pace, the Red Bull’s behind were told to keep a two second gap. There was almost no gap at all between the McLaren’s, Button and Perez were having a great battle. Jenson Button says Japan is like another home race for him and the crowed were cheering him on. Meanwhile Massa and Alonso had caught Nico Hulkenberg in the Sauber, the German was beginning to hold the Ferrari’s up. Alonso used the opportunity to pass teammate Massa. There was some fantastic squabbling, real hard racing action, Hulkenberg wasn’t making it easy for either Ferrari.

Later in the race, Grosjean was coming under pressure from Vettel as Webber had switched to a three stop strategy while Vettel remained on a two stop. The championship leader was now free of his teammate and given orders to catch the Lotus ahead. Further down the field, future Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo was on the move. He overtook the Force India of Adrian Sutil through 130R, it’s not an easy overtaking place as he found out almost loosing control as he ran wide. The Australian kept the position but the stewards thought he gained an advantage and rewarded the Toro Rosso driver with a drive through penalty. I personally thought it was harsh, Ricciardo said afterwards that it ruined his race.

After the pit stops had taken place, Vettel still remained behind Grosjean. On lap 41 he eventually got the done, but the Lotus still had to contend with Mark Webber. He was closing in by over one and a half seconds per lap. But once Webber had caught Grosjean, he couldn’t get passed. Time was critical for the Australian as he was on fresh medium tyres and could potentially challenge for the lead. It took too long and by the time he had made the move, Vettel was too far ahead. It was a real shame for the Australian who switched from a two stop to a three. If he had remained on a to stop he would have almost certainly won the race. But at Red Bull Racing, there is only one man who is seemingly allowed to win.

Sebastian Vettel crossed the line with Webber in second and Grosjean third. It was an interesting race, but also a touch disappointing. I wanted Grosjean to win after his fantastic start and overall race performance. He was without doubt driver of the day. I felt like Mark Webber was robbed of yet another victory by his own team.

This is how they all finished.

1 Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull
2 Mark Webber – Red Bull
3 Romain Grosjean- Lotus
4 Fernando Alonso- Ferrari
5 Kimi Raikkonen – Lotus
6 Nico Hulkenberg – Sauber
7 Esteban Gutierrez – Sauber
8 Nico Rosberg – Mercedes
9 Jenson Button – McLaren
10 Felipe Massa – Ferrari
11 Paul di Resta – Force India
12 Jean-Eric Vergne – Toro Rosso
13 Daniel Ricciardo- Toro Rosso
14 Adrian Sutil – Force India
15 Sergio Perez – McLaren
16 Pastor Maldonado – Williams
17 Valtteri Bottas – Williams
18 Charles Pic – Caterham
19 Max Chilton – Marussia

DNF

Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
Giedo van der Garde – Caterham

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Thanks again to Kevin Bennett for his photos