Vettel wins as Webber laments Grosjean error
Sebastian Vettel perfectly converted his pole position at the Japanese GP to win after leading from start to finish. Mark Webber who started from second place on the grid was hit by another car in the first lap but recovered to a points scoring position.
Sebastian Vettel, Finish Position: 1th, Start Position: 1st
“It’s been a fantastic weekend. Yesterday’s qualifying was perfect and today again, the balance of the car was amazing. We didn’t change too much at the stops; it just seemed to work fantastically well. I’m very happy, the guys have been pushing very hard and even though we didn’t have major upgrades here, it still seemed to come together and the balance was there – and that’s what made the difference today. It’s a shame for Alonso, it’s not something you hope for and it could happen to us at the next race. We’ve seen this year there are a lot of up and downs and things change quickly – we have to keep our heads down and take it step by step.”
Mark Webber, Finish Position: 9th, Start Position: 2nd
“I haven’t seen what happened at the start, but it’s been confirmed that it was Grosjean who hit me. We’re trying to fight for results each weekend and it doesn’t help so, yeah, it’s frustrating as a few of the big guys suffered out there today. We went onto a one stop strategy from then on, but I kept pushing, I didn’t give up and got something from it. To finish eight seconds off fifth, after the fact I was in reverse at one point – and also the safety car came in before I caught the back of the field – was something. I’ll come back in Korea.”
Christian Horner, Team Principal:
“A great result for Sebastian; to win in such a dominant fashion really closes up the Championship. It was a textbook drive for Sebastian today, he really was in a class of his own. The frustration for the team is the incident with Mark and Grosjean in Turn 2, where Grosjean completely misjudged the corner and hit Mark taking him out of the race. Mark then had to come into the pits for a safety check, change tyres and the nose and then, before he had a chance to join the back of the pack, the race re-started, so he was 20 seconds behind. His recovery from that far back thereafter was excellent and he drove very well. It’s a shame we couldn’t have got even more from today, but it’s always fantastic to win in Suzuka.”
Cyril Dumont, Renault:
“An awesome result – it was the perfect result for Sebastian with pole position, fastest lap and the race win. Unfortunately for Mark it was more difficult, we had the pace to be first and second, but everything was over after Turn 2 for Mark. He made a very good fight back after that. It’s great to be in both Championships for the final races.”
