FORMULA 1 - 2015

[MIKA27]

Button frustrated by McLaren mistake

Jenson Button says his McLaren cannot afford to make silly mistakes like the one which cost him a place in Q2 during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.

The British driver was knocked out in Q1 for the 10th time this year after he used the wrong engine settings during his run because his team forgot to tell him to change them over the radio.

The mistake meant Button's car batteries were drained before the end of the lap.

As McLaren continues to struggle, Button said the team needs to make sure it avoids errors like today's.

"On the first run I wasn't told what engine mode to be in," said Button, who will start 16th.

"Every time before a timed lap we are told before we start and I wasn't told so I was in the wrong setting and it emptied the [battery] pack after half a lap.

"They forgot to tell me, so I went to the one that I would normally go to and that just emptied the pack halfway around the lap, so the last half of the lap I didn't have any deployment.

"We can't make little mistakes like this. It's the simple things. We've got bigger things to worry about."

He added: "It's not frustration. it's stating the obvious. You can't have little mistakes like this, from any one us, me included. We have to iron those issues out, because we have bigger problems right now."

Button was confident he would have made it into Q2 without the mistake.

"I don't know if it would have happened, but it definitely felt like it would have. But that's what it is," he said.

"You have a chance of doing something, but we definitely messed up. It's gonna be tough for everyone, the race, because the pressures are so high, the tyres are overheating after one lap.

"So everyone will have troubles tomorrow, us included."

Best ever lap for Alonso

Teammate Fernando Alonso also endured a disappointing day and qualified in 14th position.

The Spanish driver said he had driven his best ever lap around Suzuka.

"I think today, actually, this was the best I could do and I told the guys the lap was probably the best around here that I did all my career," he said.

"I can put a hundred set of tyres in the afternoon and I'd probably not repeat the time again.

"So I was very happy with the lap, but the position we know is still not very competitive - and we need to keep improving."

[MIKA27]

Ecclestone considers moving Australian GP to March 27

Formula 1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone is considering moving the Australian GP forward by a week as he attempts to finalise the 2016 calendar.

The race is currently scheduled to open the season on April 3, but Motorsport.com understands that there is a chance that it could be moved to March 27 when the World Motor Sport Council ratifies the calendar in next week's meeting.

The complication is that that date also happens to be Easter Sunday, when many Melbourne residents would normally be going away for the weekend. It remains to be seen what impact that might have on attendance.

Impact on teams too

There would also be an impact on teams, who have already commenced with their carefully planned schedules of R&D, car build and crash testing, with the aim of being ready for a first test in Barcelona on March 1.

Either that test will have to move forward or the gap between it and Australia will have to shrink, leaving less time to finalise a Melbourne spec. Either choice will create some compromises.

It's not yet clear how other races will be moved around to make the calendar work and create a summer break, but Ecclestone is also believed to have looked at a triple-header in Europe.

One of the key issues is that Singapore does not want to be twinned with Malaysia, while the latter does not want to return to the start of the season.

[MIKA27]

KVYAT: I NEVER ROLLED A CAR BEFORE

Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat will start the Japanese Grand Prix from the pitlane after turning his car into the biggest wreck of his career.

“Clearly, we will have a very long night producing a car for him to race tomorrow,” said team principal Christian Horner after the Russian’s accident brought a premature end to qualifying. He will have to start from pit lane and has nothing to lose so he will be running an aggressive race.”

Kvyat was unhurt in the crash, given a clean bill of health after a trip to the circuit medical centre and then sounding remarkably upbeat as he chatted to reporters in the team hospitality.

“I am OK, and you?,” he enquired cheerfully. “I think they told me [the impact] was about 20G or something, I thought I could do better than that.”

With Formula One already in a sombre mood on the paddock’s return to Suzuka a year on from French driver Jules Bianchi’s ultimately fatal accident, another big crash made for a tense moment.

Kvyat got a rear wheel onto the grass as he approached the hairpin, losing control as the car veered sideways and then slammed into the wall before flipping — “a rolling procedure” he called it — and coming to rest with the left side wheels ripped off.

“I wouldn’t say the car looked great,” he said. “So I will be supporting them (the mechanics) tonight, I am not as good as they are at building the car but I will try to stay with them as long as I can tonight.

“I mainly feel sorry for them. But it was a missed opportunity because the lap wasn’t looking too bad until then.”

Kvyat, in his first year with Red Bull after a season at sister team Toro Rosso, had to rack his brains for a bigger accident at any previous stage of his career and failed to come up with one.

“By far the hardest for sure,” he said, estimating his speed at around 180-190kph at the time he lost control. “I never had a car crash until now. Maybe in karting but I never rolled a car before. Unfortunately there is a first time for everything.”

[MIKA27]

BUTTON: I SPOKE TO NIKI WHILE GOING FOR A PEE BUT I NEVER UNDERSTAND HIM

Jenson Button down played Niki Lauda’s suggestion that they had a conversation and that the Briton said he wanted to stay at McLaren next year and any uncertainty was about money.

Triple champion Lauda, now a non-executive chairman of the Mercedes team as well as a television pundit, told the BBC at the Japanese Grand Prix that he had spoken to Button about the situation.

“I said to Jenson yesterday, fight your fight with Ron Dennis over money, because it is always the same. But then stay, because if you go, one of the last quick guys has gone,” said Lauda, who won his third title with McLaren in 1984.

“What is the best combination to make the car go fast and develop the engine? It is those two guys. Put a young guy in the car and the engine does not go faster,” he added.

“In the end, Jenson and Ron are clever enough to get it together. Jenson said to me yesterday he wants to drive there and he doesn’t want to retire.”

Button disputed that version, the 35-year-old, denying that money was at the heart of the issue, “We spoke as I was going for a pee, and I never understand him anyway. I think I just said ‘yes’, being friendly. I didn’t really have a conversation as such. It’s nice that he’s gone to the media and said that, though.”

Button also responded to a comment by McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale, who had told reporters that he hoped Button would stay but one had to respect the driver’s position if he did not want to be in the car.

“It’s nice to read comments from other people in the team for once, it’s not just mine that are in the press but nothing’s changed,” said Button.

While the Briton was resigned to questions about his future, team mate Fernando Alonso was more surprised to be facing them after comments from his manager Flavio Briatore appeared in Spanish media.

Briatore was quoted as saying Alonso could leave if Honda-powered McLaren, who have had a nightmare season and last won a race in 2012, did not give him a winning car.

“I thought those type of questions were for Jenson today,” said Alonso. “Definitely I can tell you that I will not go anywhere else.

“I trust the project and I think… it’s just a matter of time that they will win again. They are one of the best in the business,” he added.

“Unfortunately we are in a difficult time and the starting point was quite low but we are making progress as fast as we can. Hopefully we can make this tough time as short as possible.”

[MIKA27]

ALONSO: I HOPE I CAN BE WORLD CHAMPION AGAIN

Fernando Alonso has not ruled out quitting Formula 1 altogether in order to chase his dream of winning more championships.

Still involved in the Spaniard’s management, Flavio Briatore said this week that “no one imagined” the new McLaren-Honda project would be the “disaster” it has been in 2015.

But the flamboyant Italian is sure: “In 2016 they will be fighting for podiums.”

If not, and Alonso “cannot cannot get a winning car in formula one, he will find it somewhere else”, Briatore warned.

Fascinatingly, as teammate and fellow former champion Jenson Button is also contemplating his future, Alonso has now repeated Briatore’s view that quitting F1 could be a possibility.

“I hope I can be world champion again,” Alonso is quoted by El Confidencial newspaper, having pointed out that a decade has now passed since he won his first of two F1 titles.

“It seems that more years than that have passed — it feels like 20 years,” he insisted. “So if I cannot do it here, there are other categories to be world champion as well,” said Alonso, who has admitted his desire to race at Le Mans.

“I still have a few years in front of me,” he added.

When asked about 34-year-old Alonso’s predicament as one of the most talented drivers in F1 but stuck in a sluggish car for now, Button told AS newspaper at Suzuka: “He’s in a similar position to me.

“He has some time to go on his contract, like me, but I think there comes a time when a driver must choose whether he thinks it will happen or not at his team.

“I can see that he still believes it will happen in his time in this sport,” Button added, “and I hope he gets it. He deserves it,” added Button.

[MIKA27]

VERSTAPPEN GIVEN THREE PLACE GRID DROP AT SUZUKA

Dutch teenager Max Verstappen collected a three place grid drop for the Japanese Grand Prix after leaving his Toro Rosso car in a dangerous position when it broke down in qualifying at Suzuka.

Stewards said the 17-year-old had stopped on the racing line in an incident that brought out warning flags and affected rivals’ hopes of doing a quick lap in the first phase of qualifying.

Noting that he had suffered a sudden loss of power at the exit to Turn 11, stewards said Verstappen initially moved to the left of the track towards a safe position but then switched back to the racing line and stopped.

“This caused double yellow flags to be shown and endangered oncoming drivers,” they said.

[MIKA27]

ECCLESTONE SAYS LOTUS RENAULT DEAL NEEDS TO BE SEALED BY MONDAY

F1 commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said that the deal for Renault to buy Lotus needs to be completed by Monday, as the 84 year old tycoon confirmed publicly for the first time some details of the negotiations behind the scenes.

Speaking to Reuters, Ecclestone said that Monday is D Day.

“Apparently Renault are going to take over Lotus. Apparently. This is what has been foreseen. Whether it will be completed, I don’t know. If they don’t complete it (the takeover) by Monday or put some money in soon… unless Renault come to the party, it won’t happen,” he said.

“It’s strange that a company as large as Renault are taking such a long time to make a decision, to be honest with you.”

According to Reuters, “Lotus are due back in the London High Court on Monday to face demands from Britain’s revenue and tax authority (HMRC) to have the team placed in administration as a result of unpaid taxes.”

It is a complex deal, which has to account for substantial debt on the Lotus F1 team, albeit most of it is to the main shareholders.

Genii Capital is likely to retain a minority holding in the team once the deal is complete. However Alain Prost has distanced himself from suggestions that he would be a minority shareholder in the mode of Niki Lauda at Mercedes F1 team.

Ecclestone, who is not attending for the second Grand Prix in succession after Singapore, confirmed that his negotiations with Renault revolved around their entitlement to CCB bonus, which rewards heritage in the sport and is a separate fund from the main prize money fund for championship positions. The five leading teams currently qualify for this, so the fund excludes Lotus, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Manor and Force India.

Ferrari receives an annual CCB bonus of $100m, while Mercedes gets $34m, the same as McLaren. Renault feels it is entitled to be treated in a similar way to Mercedes, as the most successful engine maker in F1 history and as a two-time champion constructor in 2005 & 2006.

“They’ve been waiting for us to make a contribution to give them a reason to do something, which we’ve done two weeks ago. So I don’t know,” said Ecclestone.

“They wanted the same sort of deal as Mercedes and some money. So we tried to work it out. We got a calculator and worked out what nine years would be.” This is believed to be a reference to Renault’s request for nine years guaranteed CCB money, to 2024.

The current bilateral agreements with the five leading F1 teams expire the end of 2020. These bind the big names to the sport.

“What we’ve done for them is not anything that we need to do, or had to, but we’ve done it to try and be helpful and keep Renault in Formula One.

Ecclestone added the caveat “Our agreement is with Renault and not with Lotus.”

Lotus is in a parlous state this weekend as the deadline looms on its adjourned court room date with HMRC in London over tax bills. The team has been locked out of its hospitality unit in Suzuka due to unpaid bills from last season and Ecclestone arranged for the team to be fed by his Formula 1 Paddock Club caterers on Friday.

Last Sunday Pastor Maldonado was confirmed at the team for 2016, meaning the continuity of his funding to the team from Venezuelan oil giant PDVSA.

[skalls]

Good race. Lewis dominated and there was virtually no footage or taking about him.

Alonso was not happy with his gp2 engine.

[Baldy]

Mercedes is back to winning forum, all is good.

Tough year for my team, McLaren-Honda. Button and Alonso are not getting younger and their talents is being wasted. If Honda don't get their act together next year, it would not surprise me if they exit F1...again. McLaren will and is struggling financially. Oh well at least it's Mercedes and not Ferrari who's dominating.

Camera work at the Japanese GP was one of the worst I've seen in any sport. Just terrible.

[MIKA27]

JAPANESE GRAND PRIX: HAMILTON CRUISES TO DOMINANT VICTORY

Lewis Hamilton won the Japanese Grand Prix by 19 seconds after starting the race from second on the grid, when the red lights went dark he blitzed off the line, getting past his pole winning Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg by turn two and from then on never put a foot wrong to claim his 41st Formula 1 career victory and his first at Suzuka.

After qualifying on Saturday, Hamilton believed he could have taken pole position had the final stages of Q3 not been disrupted.

On race day he made his point as he powered out of the starting blocks, got alongside Rosberg going into Turn 1 but crucially on the inside and stayed there until the exit of the second turn upon which Rosberg ran out of track and had to back off.

Thereafter Hamilton made the most of the empty space ahead and within a few laps was in control of proceedings. When required he popped the fastest lap of the race and remained at the front until the chequered flag waved. Another dominant display by the world champion.

Hamilton said aferwards, “I’m so happy right now. The team has done a fantastic job all weekend. I had a great start. For me to come here to a race where I used to watch Ayrton Senna drive, and match his career wins, it doesn’t feel real at the moment.

“It was important for us to strike back. We didn’t bring our ‘A’ game in Singapore and we had to bring it today,” he added.

Meanwhile Rosberg was on the back foot from the moment Hamilton got by, as Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari and Williams’ Valtteri Bottas pounced when they found him tripping up.

From then on it was damage control for the Silver Arrows driver and he duly toiled hard and eventually ambushed Bottas at the chicane with a well calculated move to take third.

After his final pitstop he also got past Vettel, who tried the undercut but did not have the firepower to make it work and for Rosberg the damage limitation job was complete with second place in the bag. But in the end he simply had no answer for Hamilton on the day and saw the points gap at the top of the championship table widen even more.

Rosberg summed up his day at the office, “Lewis just got a better start, fair play. It was great to fight back to second because fourth would not have been acceptable. It is also great for us as a team to be back here after Singapore. I had to win today, that didn’t work out. Just have to try again next time.”

Vettel was third with Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen staying out of the wars to claim fourth ahead of Bottas.

Vettel commented on the podium, “It’s my favourite race, I love the track and I love the fans. Overall it was a fantastic race. The start was interesting – watching these two fighting in the first corner and I was able to take advantage of that.

“Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the big trophy today. They are very difficult to beat,” added the Ferrari driver.

Report in progress…

[MIKA27]

Hamilton defends Rosberg overtake

Lewis Hamilton says Nico Rosberg just ran out of road in their battle for the lead at Suzuka, adamant there was nothing more sinister than that.

Starting second on the grid in the Japanese Grand Prix, Hamilton made a quick getaway to take the fight to pole-sitter Rosberg.

Side-by-side the World Champion gained the inside line and held it through the first and second corners.

But as they came up the exit of Turn 2, Rosberg’s challenge faltered as he ran a bit wide while his team-mate swept into the lead.

“It got really close on the exit of Turn 2 and I had to back out of it there and that lost me the race,” he said.

“I haven’t seen it on TV. For sure it was close – I had to avoid a collision – but it is difficult to comment now.”

Hamilton, however, says it was his line and his corner.

“I don’t really feel it was that close,” explained the race winner. “The inside line is the inside line, so it was my corner.

“I was understeering and I was running out of grip.

“I imagine Nico was running out of road but that is what happens when you are on the outside.”

As for his victory, the 41st of his Formula 1 career, the Brit was delighted to have not only matched Ayrton Senna but also to have put Mercedes’ Singapore woes firmly in the past.

“I can’t really describe it; it doesn’t feel real at the moment,” he said.

“It was definitely important for us to strike back here. Ferrari was incredibly quick at the last race and we didn’t bring our ‘A-game’.

“We took a step back afterwards and brought it here. It’s remarkable what the team has done, the car was beautiful to drive today.”

[MIKA27]

Lotus holding up Manor-Merc deal

While most of the headlines have been about Red Bull and Lotus, Manor are poised to change engines next season but that is being held up by Lotus.

At present Manor are powered by Ferrari having agreed a deal during the team's 11th hour rescue bid to run year-old Ferrari power.

Next season, though, the backmarker outfit could potentially have the best engine on the grid as a deal with Mercedes is in the pipeline.

However, with Mercedes uncertain as to whether Lotus will be bought by Renault and thus swap to French power, Toto Wolff says that is holding up the Manor deal.

"We like Manor a lot because there is a competitive edge to the whole story," Wolff revealed.

"If Manor gets the right chassis and engine it would be a pretty interesting narrative of how the team develops.

"But for us at the moment we are a little bit on standby as we need to understand what will happen with Lotus and then move from there.

"This is where we are."

The motorsport boss added that if Lotus and Renault don't make an announcement soon, Mercedes will make their own call.

"We are not in a position to give Lotus or Renault a deadline," he told Autosport.

"But there needs to be a moment when Manor knows what is happening, and we need to know who we are supplying with engines.

"We are very close to that moment, to that decision. If they don't take the decision then we will decide."

[MIKA27]

HAMILTON: I’M JUST FULL OF JOY AND HAPPINESS AND LIGHT

Lewis Hamilton powered to victory in the Japanese Grand Prix and in the process ticked a whole bunch of boxes: winning for the first time at Suzuka, matching his boyhood idol Ayrton Senna’s 41 grand prix victories, claiming his eighth win of the season and extending his lead in the championship title race to 48 points with five rounds remaining. He spoke afterwards of his triumph.

You equalled Senna’s record… tell us about your magic start. ?

Lewis Hamilton: Yeah, well I firstly have to say a big thank you to all these fans that have come and stood in the rain… I don’t know if anyone can hear us… Oh you hear us: Konnichi-wa! Really I’m so happy right now. The team has done a fantastic job this weekend. It’s great to be back up here with a one-two. I had a great start. Thanks again to the team for working so hard to make sure we get good starts this race. For me to come here to a race where I used to love watching Ayrton drive and to match his wins… yeah, I can’t really describe it, it doesn’t really feel real at the moment.

So how important was it for you to strike back after Singapore?

LH: It definitely was important for us to strike back. The Ferraris were incredibly quick in the last race and I guess we didn’t bring our A-game, so we really had to take a step back in these last few days and make sure we brought it here and, as I said, couldn’t have done it without this team. Just remarkable what they’ve done. The car was beautiful to drive today.

We are in the land of karaoke and you are a brilliant singer, not only a brilliant driver, so what will be the song you are going to perform tonight then?

LH: ‘Victory Dance’? I don’t know! I did a song last night called ‘Victory’ so that’s the one I’ll be playing.

It seemed to be a trouble-free race once you had taken the lead at the first corner, but we heard one or two mentions of heat in your seat, which we’ve heard before, and also vibrations as well, so how bad was that?

LH: It wasn’t too bad, I’ve definitely had worse. It was such an amazing race. This has been a circuit that I can honestly say that I’ve struggled [at] through all the years that I’ve come here but one that I’ve loved driving, and I think that goes for all the drivers. But you really want to come here and dominate at a track like this. I was able to get the balance in the right place, my engineers did an amazing job – Bonno, Ricky and just the whole crew did a great job to get the car, with the short amount of time we had, in a beautiful window. It was better today than it was even in qualifying. I was really able to work on my lines and improve and at the front there it was just a beautiful… it’s like sailing. When you go through the corners here, it’s flowing. Honestly, I wish I could share the feeling with you. Also knowing that this would be the race that I would equal Aytron, who won here and who had quite an interesting here. So, yeah, quite an emotional day. But to be honest I’m not a teary guy, so I’m just full of joy and happiness and light and I’m really grateful for, as I posted the other day, all the people who have helped me get to where I am today and this team, because without them I would not be here.

Can you describe for us the way you start? Is it a different way or is it the same way for both of you?

LH: Individually are they different? It’s the same sequence for both of us. Yeah, it’s been the same pretty much since we got to Formula One. It’s not really changed, the start, has it? I mean, you have to go through a different sequence to get to the same thing but it’s just a different equation basically.

Could you give us your view of that very close moment there coming out of turn two with Nico?

LH: I didn’t really feel it was particularly that close but the inside line is the inside line, so I had my corner and so we were very very close but I was basically understeering, I was running out of grip. I imagine Nico was running out of road, but that’s what happens when you’re on the outside.

Do you prepare your start differently [to Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg] and can you explain why it was so good for you this time?

LH: Honestly, there’s not really much difference. You have to do your sequence when you leave the grid, then you do a normal start. It’s the same movement with the paddles. The input differences are the reaction time from the paddle and then how smooth you are with the second paddle in terms of how you… and also how smooth you are with the throttle which makes the difference generally. And also obviously the clutch has to perform, sometimes it overperforms but with the new rules we generally have the same set-up with that. So yeah, I guess it’s just the luck of the draw: sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong, sometimes you’ve got the clutch too hot, sometimes you’ve got it too cold, sometimes you have your tyres too cold, sometimes you have them too hot. So it’s a combination of things, but generally the sequence is very very similar between – I’m pretty sure – the whole grid.

Some of your colleagues yesterday were worried about the tyre pressures. They said there was too much pressure and they were worried they might have some problems during the race. Have you been affected in the race by that?

LH: I don’t know really. All I know is that the tyres were… we don’t say it very often but the tyres were pretty amazing, particularly in the last stint. They were the best they’ve felt for a long time. They really felt really good but it must have been how it felt for him (Vettel) in the last race. Through qualifying, they were good but generally in the race it was getting better and better as the car gets lighter and stuff but I don’t think they were a problem this weekend.

[MIKA27]

ROSBERG: I WAS HAPPY WITH THE FIGHT-BACK

The Japanese Grand Prix was won and lost within a couple of a hundred meters from the start, as pole sitter Nico Rosberg was a tad slower into Turn 1 than his Mercedes teammate and exiting Turn 2,on the outside, the German ran out of track, fumbled, recovered and spent the rest of the afternoon turning fourth place into second and keeping his title chances alive. He spoke after the race at Suzuka.

Fantastic fight-back to the podium but tell me what happened when the light went out?

Nico Rosberg: Yeah, Lewis just got a better start, fair play, and then it was a good battle into Turn One but in Turn Two he had the inside and just made it stick, so that was the end of it there. Then it was great to fight back to second place, because fourth place would definitely not have been acceptable. Second was the best possible thing after that, so I was happy with the fight-back and great also for us as a team. To be back up here after Singapore is really awesome.

Seems that Lewis is pulling a little bit away in the championship. Can you still catch him?

NR: Yeah, for sure, it’s going the wrong way – definitely. I had to win today, that was important but it didn’t work out. Just need to try to win next time out.

Can you be as ecstatic about your car as Lewis was about his? And what about toughing it around the outside at that first corner?

NR: Yeah, for sure the car is really back to its best now and that’s reassuring after Singapore, so that’s great. Especially in qualifying, it’s just a pleasure to drive. Like on rails. Then in the the race, yeah, start of course. Pity to lose out at the start and then big battle around Turn One and Two and got very close on the exit of Turn Two so I had to back out of it there and that lost me the race eventually.

Can you describe for us the way you start? Is it a different way or is it the same way for both of you?

NR: It’s the same but you do have your own individual input and you can do your individual thing. You can fine tune it to your liking.

We need to come back to that moment where you were a little bit out of the track. Do you think it was a little bit too harsh, Lewis?

NR: I haven’t even seen it myself on TV. For sure it was close, I had to avoid a collision. It’s difficult for me to comment now.

For the start do you prepare it differently and can you explain why it was so bad for you?

NR: It’s always the same thing, the same we practise before the formation lap, going through the pit lane and then on the exit of the pit lane, formation lap practice, so you get a feel for it. That’s it.

Some of your colleagues yesterday were worried about the tyre pressures. They said there was too much pressure and they were worried they might have some problems during the race. Have you been affected in the race by that?

NR: No, not at all. Everything was perfect. No problems at all.

[MIKA27]

VETTEL: WHAT KIND OF RACING DRIVER WOULD I BE IF I STOPPED BELIEVING?

After winning in Singapore a week earlier Sebastian Vettel could do little to contain the resurgent Mercedes pair at the Japanese Grand Prix, but nevertheless was best of the rest and celebrated third place on the Suzuka podium. He spoke after the race.

Being here on the podium again after a marvelous victory, what do you think about it in front of these fantastic Japanese Ferrari fans?

Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, thank you very much. It’s great to be back on the podium here, it’s, I think, my favourite race; I love the track, I love the fans, I love the trophies. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the bigger one today; it was close with Nico. I think we had a chance but it’s always easy with hindsight. Overall, I think it was a fantastic race. The start was very tricky and it was interesting to see those two fighting in the first corner – obviously I could benefit – but, yeah, all in all, very happy with the race today.

What direction is Ferrari going in right now – are there more victories to come this season?

SV: I think we are going in the right direction. Obviously we knew from the beginning of the season that these boys would be difficult to beat. They’re doing a great job, first of all, both of them. They have a great car, a great engine and all in all it makes them difficult to beat. But I think we are much better than people expected and it’s nice, as I said, to be back on the podium here. On top of that it’s been 20 years now that I have been with my helmet supplier Arai. I know that I shouldn’t probably mention this but it’s something very special. I remember when I was a small child walking in, so thanks also to all the people in Japan at Arai and yeah, I love this podium.

It seemed to be damage limitation. You couldn’t really prevent the undercut and from then on, was there anything you could do about the Mercedes?

SV: Well I think we thought we were safe because tyres were in reasonable shape but I think Nico was a surprise, the pace he had in his out-lap. So, I was very happy with the in-lap, which goes at the same time, but it was a question of a couple of tenths. Into Turn One he just had the upper hand and then it was clear it would be difficult because he was catching before. So, also the fact that Lewis disappeared: they had a bit more speed today so, yeah. Had we pitted one lap sooner I think it could have been more interesting and challenging for Nico to get past. It’s not so easy to follow the cars here through the high-speed sections, so I think we had a good chance but, yeah, probably underestimated the out-lap that he had, so, with hindsight, it’s always easy so, nevertheless, it’s a great day. Good recovery. Especially as Friday wasn’t that good for us. I know it was wet but still, the feeling we go was not that great. Saturday morning as well. So, yeah, good quali and obviously that was the base for another podium today.

Now you are 59 points behind Lewis is it realistic to think that’s it’s fight for the championship or is it done?

SV: It’s not done ‘til it’s done. So, the chance is there – and what kind of racing driver would I be if I stopped believing? So, of course I know it’s difficult because the opponent is very strong. They are currently in stronger form than us, so it’s not easy to turn things around when you are behind – but you have to keep believing otherwise I guess it’s pointless rocking up and trying to fight. I think there’s always a chance on Sunday. Being realistic, as I said, I think it will be very, very difficult but who knows what’s going to happen. We have to do our thing and that’s the maximum we can do. Everything else is not in our hands, it’s probably in there hands.

Are you confident in the development of the car for the next races and the end of the season, considering that maybe you are going to use a fifth engine with more upgrades? You still have four tokens to spend.

SV: Well, there are still some races to go. We are pushing as hard as we can. Obviously last weekend and this weekend were very different but I think it’s more down to them struggling but we had very strong form in Singapore and we used our chance. It’s very simple; if the chance is there, we have to use it. We know though that they are very very strong so we will do everything we can in the remaining races of this year, trying to catch them, trying to improve ourselves first of all. I think there are always lessons to learn; this weekend was interesting. Again, thinking about tyres: Friday, Saturday, I think there are some lessons and some things that we can improve. On top of that, as I said, we try to improve the car naturally. I think the times of big updates, they are over. We try every race to bring everything we have and yeah, everything else we will see when we get there.

[MIKA27]

FERRARI: PLENTY OF REASONS TO BE HAPPY WITH THIRD PLACE

A good start and a consistent pace saw Sebastian Vettel come home third in the Japanese Grand Prix.

Having moved up to second in the exciting opening moments after the start, the German was undercut by Nico Rosberg at the second and final tyre change.

Kimi Raikkonen had a tough race and produced a faultless performance to come home fourth. Vettel and Raikkonen both consolidate their championship positions, in third and fourth places respectively.

So too the Scuderia, which extends its lead over third placed Williams in the Constructors’ classification.

Maurizio Arrivabene: “You’re never completely happy when you don’t win the race, but I think this result should not be compared with what we had achieved in Singapore one week ago. We’d rather compare this track to Silverstone, because it has similar characteristics. And if we look back at the British Grand Prix, at the gap that we had there to our main rivals, we can see that today we have been closer. And this means that there has been a major development in all areas, starting from our power unit. As for the strategy, we were in doubt as to shortcut the Mercedes or pit after them; but there were not many data available from practice, due to the rain on Friday, so making certain choices would have meant a huge risk for the life of the tires.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “Today we did the maximum we could and, considering where we had started the race from, fourth position is the best we could get. The car was OK and we had the right speed, but on a circuit like this, when you are stuck behind other cars, it’s always hard to overtake. We did a good job at the pit stop, managed to jump Bottas on the way out, and chose the right tires at the right time. I don’t think we could have done much more. This kind of track is not the best for us right now, but it seems things have worked well today. There’s still work to be done, but we are doing the right things and going in the right direction. Obviously, we always want to be at the top, but I think we have done an amazing job all year long and since last year. Now we keep doing the same progresses and try to improve. We take what we have got today and go to the next race trying to do the maximum.”

Sebastian Vettel: “All in all, today there is plenty of reasons to be happy with third place. At the second round of pit-stops, we were surprised by the outlap that Nico pulled. I guess we thought the gap was big enough, so you can’t say we made a mistake. But in the end it’s a bit of a shame when you cross the line; I think that if we could have stayed ahead it would have been difficult for Nico to pass, as around there it is not so easy to get close, and we saw that he struggled a long time with Bottas. But we have to accept that Mercedes were just a bit quicker and for this reason they deserved to be ahead. Nevertheless, third and fourth is a great result for the team. We got good points, and it was a strong recovery after a difficult Saturday morning.”

[MIKA27]

MERCEDES: GREAT TO BE BACK ON TOP STEPS OF THE PODIUM

Suzuka 1-2 as the Silver Arrows Strike Back

• Lewis took victory at the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix to take his career wins to 41, matching that of Ayrton Senna, fourth in the list of all-time winners
• Nico claimed second to secure an eighth Silver Arrows 1-2 of the season with his 37th career F1 podium finish
• The drivers went into Turn One side-by-side and Lewis emerged from Turn Two in the lead while Nico dropped to P4 after he had to run wide on corner exit
• Nico recovered strongly, stopping on laps 15 and 29, overtaking Bottas and running well on the prime tyre to undercut Vettel and regain two positions
• Both drivers ran a two-stop strategy with Lewis running option/option/prime (stops on L16, L31) and Nico option/prime/prime (stops on L15, L29)
• Mercedes AMG Petronas (506) now leads Ferrari (337) by 169 points in the Constructors’ Championship
• Lewis (277) now leads the Drivers’ Championship by 48 points from Nico (229)

Lewis Hamilton: “I’m buzzing like you could not believe. As I’m walking through after the race I’ve got this rush but I’m thinking about all the different experiences I’ve been through and the people that have helped me along the way: my family, without whom I wouldn’t be here today, and everyone else that’s helped me – they know who they are. As I arrived today, I knew Nico had done a great job in qualifying and I needed to get a good start. It was very tight through Turn One but from then on it was just the most beautiful day. I have struggled every year at this circuit, but I always loved it. When you have the balance and the car is doing what you want it to do, and you’re attacking through the corners, there’s no better feeling. The engineers and everyone in the garage did a great job. We didn’t have much data to go through after practice, but the car felt unbelievable. I am really grateful to the team because without them I wouldn’t be here. I also want to thank my fans who have supported me all this way, and still we rise.”

Nico Rosberg: “A tough day for me. It was very close throughout the corner and on the exit I had to go off the track to avoid a collision, which cost me speed and pushed me back to fourth place. After that, I was fighting for P2 today rather than the win. But I was able to push then and overtake Valtteri, which was great. The team did also a great job with the undercut of Sebastian, this worked out perfectly with a really hard out-lap on the new tyres. So second place is damage limitation for me, as I had to win here in Japan to close the gap to Lewis. But I will keep pushing and try to win in Sochi now. I had lots of positives this weekend. So I will be back strongly.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “That was a great race for us and a great feeling to be back on the top steps of the podium – it feels a little bit like our first race win to me. It wasn’t plain sailing at all for us today. First, there was the start – Lewis got away a little better than Nico, so they ran wheel to wheel through the first corners. That was pretty stressful to watch as they drifted out towards the edge of the track, with Nico forced to run up on the kerb, and Lewis complained about some understeer in Turn Two straight after that. That left Lewis to run the race we had planned, and he pulled good gaps on each stint to make the strategy work. With Nico, it was more tricky but we pulled two different strategic moves to move him up the order; first, we played the long game with Bottas, letting him stop early and then passing him on track with fresher tyres; then we were able to undercut Vettel on the second stop and claim second position. As for Lewis, he had some challenges out there, too, especially when he got a big tyre vibration in the second stint after locking up, and we had to pull him in for his final set of tyres. But we were able to manage the different issues today and get both cars home. Of course, this doesn’t mean we can just write off Singapore and say that we are back to normal; we must stay on our toes, keep working and keep learning. But this was a good day for us, with great drives, quick pit-stops and a fantastic job from the whole team to bounce back conclusively from last weekend.”

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): “It was great weather for the race today with the sun shining all day. Two great starts, Lewis getting away from the line slightly better and going into Turn One side-by-side, but it was good to see them both emerge from the other side in one piece. Nico unfortunately lost two positions in the battle, so we faced a difficult job to get him back to the front. During the race, there were a few issues to manage with engine temperatures and a flat spot on Lewis’ second set of tyres, which was through to the canvas. As always, even when you’re in a position with apparent control of the race, there are always risks and worries but it was great to get both cars home, which we haven’t done since Belgium. Congratulations to Lewis and Nico for some great driving today and particularly Lewis for reaching a very significant marker in his Formula One career to match Ayrton Senna’s total of 41 wins.”

[MIKA27]

LOTUS: A GREAT RESULT FOR AFTER A CHALLENGING WEEKEND

Lotus F1 Team completed a strong Japanese Grand Prix with both cars finishing in the top eight for the first time since the Indian Grand Prix in 2013. Romain took seventh, with Pastor finishing just 1.3 seconds behind him in eighth.

Romain started from P8 on the grid on his qualifying medium compound tyres. He changed to scrubbed mediums on lap 11 and new hards on lap 33.

Pastor started from P11 on new medium tyres, changing to new mediums on lap 12, and new hards on lap 36.

Romain Grosjean: “We finished with both cars in the points so I’m definitely happy with that! When it came to my own race we were a little bit slow against the Force India. We tried to fight Nico Hulkenberg but couldn’t. I really struggled with the tyres at the end – it seems the new Pirelli limits hurt us more than our rivals so we’ll work around that for the next race. Overall though, we’ve had a good result as a team.”

Pastor Maldonado: “It was a good race for us and we really deserved a happy result today after pushing hard all weekend. It’s a shame we weren’t able to keep Hulkenberg behind us so we’ll review the strategy and performance to see if there was more we could have done. The team has been united all weekend, we scored some nice points and we’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal: “It’s a great result for all of the team after a reasonably challenging weekend. It just goes to show that you can never discount an Enstone team no matter what the circumstances. We have to say thank you to all the crew at the track for working through a slightly unusual situation as well as thank you to Bernie for his help behind the scenes. We’re looking forward to continuing to fight back in Sochi.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “It’s great to get both cars solidly in the points and score more than our immediate championship rivals Force India and Toro Rosso. Force India looked stronger than us in the race and we didn’t have the pace to match Hulkenberg today. It was nevertheless a good performance from both drivers and the entire team.”

[MIKA27]

RED BULL: A FRUSTRATING AFTERNOON FOR US FROM LAP ONE ONWARDS

Red Bull report from the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Danil Kvyat: “It was pretty boring for me out there this afternoon, because a combination of circumstances meant I had to just sit back and was unable to attack. I had a completely new car, so that wasn’t so easy. We had difficulties with the tyres, the brakes and the overtake button, which made life complicated. In the end, I did manage to overtake some people, but it wasn’t great. It’s frustrating and annoying, but there was nothing I could do. Battling for P13 does not give you much satisfaction. But a big thank you to the team, they had a lot of work to do on Saturday night to get the car ready for the race.”

Daniel Ricciardo: “At the start, the best line for me was straight down the middle. I saw the gap between Kimi and Felipe and I knew it was close, but I thought they would make a bit of room. I haven’t seen the footage and don’t want to put the blame on anyone so we’ll call it a racing incident for now. It’s a shame for the team, I think we could have gained some positions off the line and then the race would have been completely different. But we had the puncture, and that damaged the floor so we lost some downforce. I tried to do what I could, we started to catch some cars towards the end but by then I didn’t have the grip to do anything. On a positive note, even with the damaged floor, the car was handling well.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal: “It was a frustrating afternoon for us from lap one onwards. Daniel made a great start, then found himself the cheese in a sandwich between Massa and Raikkonen, resulting in a puncture, which is the worst thing that can happen on the first lap. This cost him a huge amount of time. His recovery and pace was decent after the stop for fresh tyres but with no safety cars, catching up was a tough task. For Dany, it was a busy afternoon; we elected to go onto a three-stop strategy and he endured some brake issues throughout the race which caused a few lock ups and made the car quite difficult to drive, which comprised his pace throughout the race. It was a frustrating Japanese Grand Prix for the team and our first non-scoring race of the season. On another note, the boys in the garage did an incredible job on Dany’s car overnight, with both sides of the garage working side-by-side to get the car ready for the race.”

Matthieu Dubois, “That was a tough race to watch with both cars being virtually last after lap one with no real option to finish much higher than where we ended up, sadly out of the points. On the positive side we did not have any major problems, particularly on Daniil’s car that had to be totally rebuilt from scratch overnight. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the team of mechanics who did an outstanding job there. On the plus side, both cars from our sister team managed to grab points, which is good. We are looking forward to Russia where hopefully we can make much better use of our recent uptrend in form.”

MIKA: Let the whining and threats of quitting commence! AGAIN

[MIKA27]

WILLIAMS: WE DIDN’T SHOW THE PACE WE WERE HOPING FOR

Williams report from the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Race Notes:

• Valtteri Bottas finished the Japanese Grand Prix in fifth place, whilst teammate Felipe Massa finished in 17th.
• Valtteri was jumped by Vettel at the start but held on to third in the early stages after passing Rosberg on the first lap.
• Contact with Ricciardo at the start resulted in a front-right puncture for Felipe, with him needing to pit for new tyres and front wing on the first lap.
• Being a lap down after the stop made it difficult for Felipe to challenge for points today.
• Valtteri ultimately finished in a comfortable fifth after being passed by Raikkonen at the final round of pitstops collecting an important ten points for the team to extend the gap to Red Bull Racing in the Constructors’ Championship to 69 points.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It was a tough race for the team today. Unfortunately I don’t think we showed the pace we were hoping for. Felipe had a bad start which was further compounded when he received a puncture following a collision with Ricciardo. He then had to complete a whole lap on three tyres which put him down by a lap and effectively ended his chances of a competitive race. Valtteri had a good position at the start and was driving very well. Our call on the first stop was the right one and kept us in front of Rosberg, but our second stop was too late and so we lost the position to Raikkonen. We have further solidified our third place in the Championship but leave Suzuka with the knowledge that we could have achieved more.”

Valtteri Bottas: “Not a perfect day for us, but we will take the ten points. I was hoping for a podium, but the pace wasn’t as good as we had expected. Defending from the quicker cars was hard and I think we should have pitted earlier for the final stop, but it’s always easier to say that after the race.”

Felipe Massa: “A very tough day for me today right from the first lap. I had a bad start and then had contact with Ricciardo and it took me a long time to get back to the pits. From there it was the end of the race barring any miracle. We have scored some decent points for the Constructors’ Championship with Valtteri’s fifth but I had the car to contribute a good haul of points as well. We have to regroup and get those points back at the next race.”

[MIKA27]

TORO ROSSO: TO FINISH WITH BOTH CARS IN THE POINTS IS QUITE A SUCCESS

Toro Rosso report from the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Max Verstappen: “It was a great race! I think the start was good and I was able to overtake Nasr straight away in Sector 1, even though he got me back in the hairpin because I got a bit blocked and I didn’t want to take too many risks! That was a shame, because I then got stuck behind him for quite a lot of laps and lost some time with the other cars ahead… But after my first pit-stop I was able to push again until I got stuck behind Kvyat first, then Alonso. But I didn’t give up and in the end we were able to end up in front, which is very positive. To go from P17 to P9 at a track like this one is a good result and I’m happy to have scored points again, it was a very good day!”

Carlos Sainz: “It was a good race until the mistake in the pit entry and I even think it was being one of my best races so far this year. It was a good first stint on the Options and an even better one on the Primes, I was really flying, catching the cars in front. Then it got to the point that it was simply impossible to overtake the Lotus on track, so we decided to go for the undercut. The team told me to do the opposite to Maldonado, and it looked like he was going to pit so I was meant to stay out on track, but he suddenly continued on track and I was so aggressive on the turn into the pit entry that I hit the bollard and damaged my front wing. I therefore lost some time during the pit-stop and if it was already meant to be a final long stint, it became an even longer one behind Perez, who was slow in the corners but fast on the straights. I destroyed my tyres behind him and in the end it was all about making sure I brought the car back home. The team did a very good job and I’m sure that we would’ve finished higher than P10 if it hadn’t been for my mistake – a rookie error that I will learn from. All in all, I’m pleased with my first Japanese Grand Prix!”

Franz Tost (Team Principal): “Taking into consideration that we started today’s race in tenth and seventeenth position, to finish with both cars in the points is quite a success for the team. We knew that Suzuka was going to be a tricky circuit for us, as it requires very high top speeds, therefore I must say that we’ve achieved the best possible result for us here. Both drivers did a fantastic job, especially Carlos in the first stint, when he overtook a couple of cars, showing a really good performance. For Max to go from P17 to P9 demonstrates how strong his race was. From a strategy point of view, I think we made the most out of it. In the end, It was a good race for us, finishing with both cars in the points for the second time in a row – the cars are reliable! We are now looking forward to Sochi, where I expect to be more competitive than here in Suzuka.”

Cedrik Staudohar (Renault Sport F1 track support leader)

“It was in the end a good race for us. On Max’s car in particular it was a good recovery after yesterday’s electrical issue. For the second race in a row both cars have finished the race in the points so we can be happy with the reliability and performance. Let’s keep pushing like this.”

[MIKA27]

SAUBER: A DISAPPOINTING WEEKEND

After a difficult qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix with starting positions at the back of the field, the Sauber F1 Team finished the race in 14th (Ericsson) and 20th (Nasr).

Marcus Ericsson made a mistake, which cost him some positions. His teammate, Felipe Nasr, had to retire at the very end of the race due to an unidentified problem at the Sauber C34-Ferrari, which needs to be investigated.

Marcus Ericsson: “I had a good start. In the first stint especially, I had a reasonable pace running in the points in P10. Towards the end of this stint I was pushing a bit too much and had sort of a half spin in turn 13, so I lost some time there. That was a shame. We gambled a bit with the early second pit stop, knowing we would have a long last stint on the hard tyres. Then I was able to keep the train of cars behind me for many laps, but at the end the rear tyres could not hold on anymore. I think we had a better performance today, even if the result does not show that. However, there are still things to improve.”

Felipe Nasr: “The race started well. I gained a couple of positions at the start, and I had some good fights and overtaking manoeuvres in the early stint. Suddenly, I had a strange feeling in the car. Together with the team, we decided to stop the car and retire from the race. Now we have to look into it to understand the issue.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: “A disappointing weekend from which generally we expected more. After qualifying, we knew it would be difficult starting from these positions. Marcus and Felipe both had good starts, and there was a chance we could have finished the race in the points. Unfortunately it did not happen. Felipe’s car had an unidentified problem, which needs to be investigated. Marcus spun, which cost him some positions, but he kept on fighting.”

[MIKA27]

MCLAREN: OUR BEST ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH AT THE MOMENT

The 2015 Japanese Grand Prix was a disappointing home race for the McLaren-Honda team.

Despite starting from 12th (Fernando Alonso) and 14th (Jenson Button) on the grid, and taking advantage of a couple of first-lap incidents to nick a few extra places, neither driver was able to hold back the stream of faster cars behind them.

Fernando battled gamely against the Toro Rossos of Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen, and was able to establish an advantage over the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson, to finish 11th.

Jenson was unlucky to fall behind the Swede’s Sauber after the second round of pit-stops. That meant he fell into the clutches of a gaggle of faster cars. He ended his afternoon 16th.

“We did our best, but our best isn’t good enough at the moment”

Fernando Alonso:

• Started 12th & Finished 11th
• Fastest Lap 1m39.614s on lap 45 (+3.469s, 16th)
• Pit-stops Two: laps 9 (2.54s) and 28 (2.76) [Opt-Opt-Pri]

“It’s difficult when you have other drivers overtaking you along the straights, then you arrive at the corners, and watch them outbrake themselves, or make mistakes. Then, when you take the corner perfectly, and get overtaken again along the straights, it feels frustrating. We need to improve the programme. The remaining races will be tough, but we’re looking towards next year. We’ll win together, and we need to make it happen as quickly as possible. Hopefully, we can learn some lessons from today’s race and keep improving things.”

Jenson Button:

• Started 14th & Finished 16th
• Fastest Lap 1m40.121s on lap 31 (+3.976s, 18th)
• Pit-stops Two: laps 10 (2.71s) and 27 (3.09) [Pri-Opt-Opt]

“When there’s that much of a speed differential between our car and the others’, you don’t know what to do. When they overtake you, you just back out of it – there’s such a difference in speed, that you can’t be sure where they’re going to be. At my second stop, Ericsson got past me, and that messed up my race because I was quicker, and had the better tyre – I was on the Option, he was on the Prime – for the final stint. If I’d come out ahead of him, we’d have been fine, because we were quicker than him, and he was holding cars up behind, which helped Fernando to run his own race. But I couldn’t keep the faster cars behind me, and fell farther back. It’s been a tough weekend in front of the whole of Honda and all the fans we have here; and that’s tough, because we want to succeed in front of them.”

Eric Boullier, Racine director, McLaren-Honda: “It’s not always easy to perceive progress when your overall performance is poorer than two great Formula 1 brands such as McLaren and Honda are used to, and of course none of us is pleased with our 11th and 16th places here this afternoon, but nonetheless there are positives. Both cars ran completely reliably to the finish, which is encouraging. No, our friends at Honda didn’t get to watch the cars on which they’ve worked so hard score points in their home race today, but both Fernando and Jenson finished it and it’s via such incremental stepping stones that we’ll march together to our eventual destination: podiums and victories. Finally, I want to pay tribute to our guys, especially the boys in the garage who have worked so incredibly hard, in such hot and humid conditions, over two very arduous back-to-back weekends, here and last weekend in Singapore. Well done!”

Yasuhisa Arai, Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport: “We received an unbelievable amount of cheers from our fans at the start of the race. As predicted, both our drivers made brilliant starts which put them close to the points-paying positions, but we knew coming into the race that energy management would be tough at this track. Disappointingly, we missed out on 10th position, and the final point on offer today. Through rain and sunshine, our fans gave us the support we needed throughout the three days of the grand prix weekend. We hope that we’ll be able to give back to them soon, by fighting every step of the way to improve in the remaining races of the season and development for next year. I cannot say thank you enough for everyone’s support.”

[MIKA27]

FORCE INDIA: DISAPPOINTMENT FOR NOT GETTING BOTH CARS IN THE POINTS

Sahara Force India scored eight points in today’s Japanese Grand Prix with Nico Hulkenberg finishing in sixth place. Sergio Perez suffered a puncture on the opening lap, which cost the Mexican the chance of scoring points.

Nico Hulkenberg: “A great result today and realistically sixth was the maximum we could achieve when you remember that I started from P13. I made a really good start and jumped a couple of cars away from the line, and then stayed on the inside going into turn one, which turned out to be a good decision. By turn two I was up in eighth, close up behind the Lotuses and actually they were holding me up during the first stint. The team pitted me early to undercut them and we then out-raced them with our stronger pace. It was a lonely race for me, but effective and the result is very welcome. The team did a great job today and I think we deserved these eight points.”

Sergio Perez: “Twelfth place is a very disappointing outcome for a weekend that had started really well. Unfortunately, my race was an uphill battle from the first corner: I saw Massa going slowly in the centre of the track and had to avoid him, and that’s when I got the hit [from Sainz]. We tried to recover and I did all I could to get back into the points, but even our best was not enough. It’s a shame as our pace was really good, but with no safety car or any other incidents, the points were too far away. It was still a good result for the team with Nico scoring points, something that will help us with our championship battle.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: “We leave Suzuka with the confidence of having a very strong car but also the feeling of disappointment for not getting both cars in the points. Nico drove a tactically brilliant race: he made another great start to regain the ground he had lost through his grid penalty and then had a fairly lonely race. He executed our strategy perfectly, leapfrogging the two Lotuses during the first pit stop window, and from then on he worked hard to continuously increase his gap. Sixth was the maximum he could have got today and it’s just the result Nico needed after a difficult run of races. Unfortunately, Sergio could do nothing to escape the incident at turn one: he moved to the right to avoid Massa, who was driving slowly, and he was hit by Sainz. Sergio avoided hitting the wall, but his race was heavily compromised by the puncture. He performed a solid comeback and showed very good pace, but the points were just out of reach. Even though we conceded two points in the battle for fifth place, we take encouragement from having such a well-executed race with Nico and the pace of the car.”

[MIKA27]

Alonso: I have three years, my career will end at McLaren

Fernando Alonso has taken to social media to settle some claims about his future after he gave mixed signals with regards to his commitment to the McLaren-Honda project.

The Spaniard compared his Honda powerunit to that of a GP2 engine over team radio during the Japanese Grand Prix, whilst also saying the situation was "embarrassing, very embarrassing".

After the race the Spaniard was asked if he would be at McLaren next season, to which he replied: "I don't know."

However several hours after the race, Alonso took to Twitter to clear things up, saying he has a three-year deal with the team and that his F1 career will end at McLaren.

"Some things from today that seem not clear to everybody: Today was our third best result of the season! We keep working hard," he wrote.

"When we are fighting in [a] group [it] is difficult, we all want to win, and sometimes [they] transmit the team radios, but it should be private chats.

"No one should have any doubt that I have three years with McLaren and my career in F1 will end with this team, hopefully winning everything."