Japanese GP: Strategy Summary

Sebastian Vettel joined the exclusive club of drivers who have won a F1 World Championship title with Pirelli tires at Suzuka. In fact, only Giuseppe Farina (1950), Alberto Ascari (1952, 1953), and Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, 1954, 1957) are remembered as Champions equipped with Pirelli tires. The German also becomes the youngest Double World Champion in the history of F1 and the ninth driver to win two consecutive titles.

Suzuka Circuit has now crowned 11 World Champions over the last 24 seasons. The 2011 edition was won by Jenson Button, marking his third victory of the season with Pirelli and giving his team McLaren their ninth win on the Japanese track. The British team remains the most successful team on this challenging circuit, while Button strengthens his position as second in the world championship.

Tire wear was a crucial factor in Japan. Due to the fluid nature of the track and the significant lateral loads exerted on the tires, the podium finishers stopped three times. All of them chose to complete their first three stints on yellow-walled soft tires, before undertaking a final long stint with lightened fuel tanks and the more durable medium compound, with white walls.

It was during the second wave of pit stops that Button took the lead, after Vettel’s refueling on the 19th lap. Vettel was the first to switch to mediums during his last stop on the 33rd lap. He completed the last 20 laps of the race on those same tires. Four laps later, Fernando Alonso stopped his Ferrari to also switch to mediums, and managed to get the upper hand over the new World Champion.

With five laps to go, the top four were separated by only six seconds, ensuring a spectacular finish. Alonso put pressure on Button until the end, crossing the finish line just 1.1 seconds after the McLaren driver.

The other big winner of the day is Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg. Forced to start from the last position on the grid due to a hydraulic problem that affected his qualifying, the German started on mediums before switching to soft tires three times. 14 positions gained, and the point for 10th place rewarded his efforts. The highest-ranked driver who made two stops is Sergio Perez, ahead of Vitaly Petrov, in 8th and 9th places respectively, both also starting on mediums.

The Eye of Paul Hembery, Pirelli Motorsport Director: « First of all, I would like to congratulate Sebastian Vettel on becoming the first World Champion crowned since Pirelli’s return to Formula 1. He was in unbeatable form this year and it’s no surprise to see him clinch his second title today. Congratulations also to Jenson Button for a well-deserved victory against intense competition. The drivers should be highlighted today for providing us with a fantastic race. We are pleased with how the tires performed on an extremely demanding track, where two to three pit stops were expected due to higher than usual levels of degradation ».

To have a better understanding of this chart, you can use the lap-by-lap synthesis from the FIA by clicking here.