Mercedes-Benz Forum banner

Suzuka: Vettel takes pole in disrupted session

533 views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  Teutone 
#1 ·
Awaiting the stewards decision this may not be the final grid.
Alonso, and several other drivers were unable to drive timed hot laps because of a late yellow flag period.

Vettel takes pole in disrupted session
http://www.itv-f1.com/home.aspx

Saturday, 03 October 2009 07:42

Sebastian Vettel kept his composure through a fragmented qualifying session at Suzuka to claim his fourth pole position of the season for Red Bull Racing and keep at least a flicker of his world title hopes alive.

Jarno Trulli came within 0.06s of delivering a home pole position for Toyota and will start alongside Vettel on the front row.

Lewis Hamilton was third for McLaren, while his friend Adrian Sutil took an outstanding fourth on the grid for Force India.

Jenson Button did not get the platform he was hoping for a potentially championship-clinching race, qualifying two places behind his Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello in seventh.

The session was punctuated by no fewer than three red flags and several other incidents.

The most serious involved Timo Glock, who crashed his Toyota head-first into the tyre barrier in the final corner and has been taken to a local hospital with a left leg wound but reportedly no other major injuries.

Full report to follow…

Japanese GP starting grid

1. VETTEL Red Bull
2. TRULLI Toyota
3. HAMILTON McLaren
4. SUTIL Force India
5. BARRICHELLO Brawn
6. HEIDFELD BMW
7. BUTTON Brawn
8. RAIKKONEN Ferrari
9. KOVALAINEN McLaren
10. BUEMI Toro Rosso
11. ROSBERG Williams
12. ALONSO Renault
13. KUBICA BMW
14. GLOCK Toyota
15. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso
16. FISICHELLA Ferrari
17. NAKAJIMA Williams
18. GROSJEAN Renault
19. LIUZZI Force India
20. WEBBER Red Bull
 
See less See more
#4 ·
Post qualifying penalties shuffle Suzuka order

Post qualifying penalties shuffle Suzuka order

03/10/09 13:15

F1-Live.com

Penalties for many at Suzuka
Sebastian Vettel’s slim championship hopes took a turn for the better on Saturday evening in Japan.

Not only did the Red Bull driver claim pole position with a relatively heavy fuel load, but title rivals Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello are two of four drivers handed penalties for failing to slow sufficiently following Sebastien Buemi’s accident and subsequent yellow flags.

Adrian Sutil and Fernando Alonso join the Brawn duo in being handed five position grid penalties while Buemi has been given the same penalty for driving his damaged Toro Rosso back to the pits.

"The Stewards having received a report from the Race Director that Car No 12, Sebastien Buemi had suffered serious damage at the exit of turn 14 and subsequently impeded other drivers during Q2 met the driver and the team representative concerned," read a statement.

"Having heard the driver and considered the video evidence the Stewards concluded that the driver had impeded other cars during Q2 following the accident and that the damaged car posed a potential hazard to the other cars participating in the qualifying session."

The penalties mean that while Vettel remains on pole from Jarno Trulli and Lewis Hamilton. Nick Heidfeld is promoted to fourth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, Heikki Kovalainen, Nico Rosberg and Robert Kubica.

Sutil drops to ninth position ahead of Barrichello, Jaime Alguersuari, Jenson Button. Fisichella moves up to 13th ahead of Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, Romain Grosjean, Alonso and Liuzzi. Timo Glock or Toyota reserve driver Kamui Kobayashi is expected to start from the pit lane with Mark Webber.


"We have learnt this evening that Rubens and Jenson have been penalised with five-place grid penalties for failing to reduce their speed under the yellow flag in Q2,” team principal Ross Brawn stated. “We acknowledge and respect the decision of the stewards and will do our best to have a good race tomorrow."

Provisional Suzuka grid order following penalties

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)
Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/McLaren-Mercedes)

4th row:
Nico Rosberg (GER/Williams-Toyota)
Robert Kubica (POL/BMW-Sauber)

5th row:
Adrian Sutil (GER/Force India-Mercedes)
Rubens Barrichello (BRA/Brawn-Mercedes)

6th row:
Jaime Alguersuari (ESP/Toro Rosso-Ferrari)
Jenson Button (GBR/Brawn-Mercedes)

7th row:
Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA/Ferrari)
Sebastien Buemi (SUI/Toro Rosso-Ferrari)

8th row:
Kazuki Nakajima (JPN/Williams-Toyota)
Romain Grosjean (FRA/Renault)

9th row: Fernando Alonso (ESP/Renault)
Tonio Liuzzi (ITA/Force India-Mercedes)

Pitlane: Timo Glock (GER/Toyota)
Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull-Renault)

Championship permutations heading to Japan.

Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top