Japan – Race: Vettel Emperor in Kobayashi’s Homeland

It is on a track heated to 32°C, with an ambient temperature of 23°C, that the drivers set off for the formation lap. All the drivers, except Jean-Eric Vergne, Charles Pic, and Michael Schumacher, set off on soft yellow sidewall tires.

On the grid, Sebastian Vettel takes pole position ahead of Mark Webber and Kamui Kobayashi, while Fernando Alonso, the main rival of the German for the championship, is in sixth place. As the red lights go out, Sebastian Vettel and Kamui Kobayashi get the best start, while at the first corner, Fernando Alonso makes a mistake following a slight touch from Kimi Räikkönen. But Alonso is not the only “victim” of a Lotus driver, as Romain Grosjean loses his wing by hitting Mark Webber at the braking of the second corner.

While the race director deploys the safety car, Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg—victims of a collision with Bruno Senna for which the Brazilian will receive a Drive Through penalty—are forced to retire, while Bruno Senna, Romain Grosjean, and Mark Webber return to the pits and take the opportunity to switch to Hard tires.

The race quickly resumes, with Vettel leading Kobayashi, Button, Massa, Räikkönen, Pérez, Hamilton, Hülkenberg, Maldonado, and Ricciardo. Sebastian Vettel asserts himself at the restart by pulling away from Kamui Kobayashi even before crossing the starting line, while at the first corner, Kimi Räikkönen overtakes Sergio Pérez authoritatively, forcing Pérez to go onto the asphalt section outside turn 1.

In the sixth lap, Sergio Pérez overtakes Lewis Hamilton at the hairpin braking to gain sixth place, while Romain Grosjean receives a 10-second Stop & Go penalty: a sanction that has become rare in Formula One.

While Sebastian Vettel gives Kamui Kobayashi the slip at the front of the race, Sergio Pérez closes in on Kimi Räikkönen, while behind him, Lewis Hamilton is under pressure from Nico Hülkenberg. At the edge of the points, Heikki Kovalainen holds an impressive eleventh place that he hopes to maintain until the first tire changes, as overtaking is difficult at Suzuka.

On the 14th lap, Jenson Button is the first to make a scheduled pit stop, along with Kimi Räikkönen: the two world champions return with Hard tires, just like Kamui Kobayashi who stops the following lap. However, the Japanese driver and Jenson Button end up behind a very fast Ricciardo on the straight and struggle to overtake him, losing ground to Felipe Massa.

Daniel Ricciardo must, however, yield to the relentless attacks of Kamui Kobayashi at the hairpin but manages to hold off Jenson Button in the 130R before entering the pits. A few hundred meters further, Felipe Massa exits his stop ahead of Kamui Kobayashi and Jenson Button, who is concerned about his gearbox over the radio. Behind them, Sergio Pérez makes an error before the hairpin and nearly collides with Lewis Hamilton before getting his Sauber stuck in the small gravel trap: the Mexican must abandon, leaving the Brit alone to battle with Kimi Räikkönen.

After the first round of stops, Vettel is in the lead ahead of Massa, Kobayashi, Button, Räikkönen, Hamilton, Hülkenberg, Maldonado, Webber, and Ricciardo, with the gap stabilizing around ten seconds between the first two.

Beyond the Top 10, Michael Schumacher overtakes Paul di Resta on the inside of turns 1 and 2 to gain tenth place. A Top 10 that Heikki Kovalainen moves away from, logically giving up positions to the faster drivers who found themselves behind him due to race circumstances.

On the 31st lap, Kimi Räikkönen is the first to return to the pits for his second scheduled stop. The Espoo native comes out on Hard tires, while on the following lap, Kamui Kobayashi and Lewis Hamilton also stop to put on the hardest tires offered by Pirelli. Upon exiting, the Briton firmly resists Kimi Räikkönen for the gain of the virtual fifth place.

Five laps later, Jenson Button pits after losing time on the track and logically comes out behind Kobayashi, especially since his stop takes slightly longer. Massa imitates the McLaren driver on the next lap and retains second place as he exits the pits.

After his pit stop, Sebastian Vettel sets the fastest lap in the race. The German is ahead of Massa, Kobayashi, Button, Hamilton, Räikkönen, Hülkenberg, Maldonado, Webber, and Ricciardo at the end of the second round of pit stops.

While at the front of the race, Jenson Button chips away at his gap to Kamui Kobayashi by half-seconds, behind, with fresher tires than Romain Grosjean, Bruno Senna overtakes the Frenchman in the 130R to gain 14th place.

A few laps before the finish, Sebastian Vettel commits an act of pride by setting the fastest lap, but his race engineer politely reminds him: « You have a lot to lose on this one! ». Behind the German and Felipe Massa, Jenson Button gets within DRS range of Kamui Kobayashi, but it will be too late to hope for the podium.

Under the checkered flag, Sebastian Vettel claims his third victory of the season, the second consecutive one, while Felipe Massa returns to the podium for the first time since October 24, 2010, at the Korean Grand Prix. But it’s Kamui Kobayashi’s third place, by a hair ahead of Jenson Button, that makes the stands erupt. The Sauber driver emulates Aguri Suzuki, who stood on the podium at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, becoming the first Japanese driver to reach a podium since Takuma Sato at the 2004 United States Grand Prix.

Japanese Grand Prix 2012 Standings: