After this weekend at Suzuka Raceway in Japan, there are only two races left. Sebastian Vettel, the youngest winner of an F1 race ever, has narrowed the lead in the Drivers Championship and the Constructors Championship with a commanding win from the pole position. But how many more points do Vettel and Red Bull need to catch the three B’s of Button Barichello and Brawn?
Here’s how the grid looked:
1st row:
Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault)
Jarno Trulli (ITA/Toyota)
2nd row:
Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes)
Nick Heidfeld (GER/BMW-Sauber)
3rd row:
Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari)
Rubens Barrichello (BRA/Brawn-Mercedes) (**)
4th row:
Nico Rosberg (GER/Williams-Toyota)
Adrian Sutil (GER/Force India-Mercedes) (**)
5th row:
Robert Kubica (POL/BMW-Sauber)
Jenson Button (GBR/Brawn-Mercedes) (**)
6th row:
Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/McLaren-Mercedes) (*)
Jaime Alguersuari (ESP/Toro Rosso-Ferrari)
7th row:
Sebastien Buemi (SUI/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) (***)
Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA/Ferrari)
8th row:
Kazuki Nakajima (JPN/Williams-Toyota)
Fernando Alonso (ESP/Renault) (**)
9th row:
Romain Grosjean (FRA/Renault)
Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA/Force India-Mercedes) (*)
Pitlane
Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull-Renault)
(*) Five position gearbox change penalty
(**) Penalised for failing to slow under caution
(***) Penalised for blocking.
And here were the final standings:
| P. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1:28:20.443 |
| 2 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 4.877 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren | 6.472 |
| 4 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 7.940 |
| 5 | Nico Rosberg | Williams | 8.793 |
| 6 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW | 9.509 |
| 7 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn | 10.641 |
| 8 | Jenson Button | Brawn | 11.474 |
| 9 | Robert Kubica | BMW | 11.777 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 13.065 |
| 11 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren | 13.735 |
| 12 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India | 14.596 |
| 13 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 14.959 |
| 15 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams | 17.973 |
| 16 | Romain Grosjean | Renault | at 1 lap |
| 17 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | at 2 laps |
| 18 | Alguersuari Jaime | Toro Rosso | out |
| 19 | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso | out |
This means that in the Drivers Championship, Button is now 14 points clear of teammate Rubens Barichello and 16 points clear of the surging Vettel. In the Constructors Championship, Brawn is 35.5 points ahead of Red Bull. Not sure how anyone gets a half-point, but I don’t really care either.
Short of a Hamilton-in-2007-esque collapse in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, it looks like Brawn’s early domination of the season will be enough to secure both Championships. But with the 2009 season going the way it is, never say “never”.
Also, be sure to check out the always entertaining driver’s quotes from this week.
[Photo credits: Mark Thompson/Getty Images and F1-Live.com]