2009 Japanese Grand Prix

The 2009 Japanese Grand Prix, formally known as the XXXV Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix (XXXV フジテレビ日本グランプリ in Japanese), was the fifteenth race of the FIA Formula One World Championship, held on 4 October 2009 at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, Japan.'15. Japan 2009', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)Craig Llewellyn, 'Vettel wins Japanese GP.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 04/10/2009), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/153142/1/vettel-charges-to-suzuka-success, (Accessed 23/03/2020) The race would see Sebastian Vettel keep his title hopes alive as he claimed victory ahead of Jarno Trulli, as Championship leader Jenson Button finished eighth.
Qualifying would be a turbulent affair, with four crashes during the three sessions seeing Timo Glock, Jaime Alguersuari, Sébastien Buemi and Heikki Kovalainen all disrupt the session. Glock, however, would have the worst accident of all at the end of Q2, with his impact into the wall at the final corner causing him to sustain enough injuries that he would miss the race.
Amid the chaos it was Vettel who emerged on pole position, beating Trulli with a late rally in Q3. Lewis Hamilton was next before a slew of penalties jumbled the field, shuffling Nick Heidfeld up to fourth and Championship leader Button down to tenth.
The start of the race would see Vettel pull into an immediate lead, although a KERS assisted Hamilton would ease alongside on the run to the first corner before ultimately giving way. Otherwise, the reduced field would make it through the start without issue and largely in grid order, although Button would lose two positions while Sébastien Buemi dropped right to the back.
The order soon stabilised, with no significant changes to the order until the first round of stops, which began just after Adrian Sutil and Kovalainen collided at the final chicane. Regardless, the order would remain unchanged with Vettel leading Hamilton and Trulli, although a mistake from Hamilton exiting the pitlane allowed the #9 to sneak ahead.
Hamilton's hopes of an immediate response were curtailed when his KERS unit partially failed, preventing him from using his full boost. Furthermore, there would only be one on-track overtake before the second round of stops, with Kovalainen dragging past Giancarlo Fisichella on the start/finish straight.
The second round of stops passed without major issue or incident, setting up a final, quiet, run to the flag. However, with ten laps to go Alguersuari would spin into the barriers at the chicane and cause a Safety Car, causing the field to bunch back up.
The field were released for a five lap sprint to the chequered flag, although there would be no denying Vettel, who stole a march on Trulli and re-established his lead. It was status quo throughout the rest of the field, although Robert Kubica managed to seriously threaten Button's grip on eighth.
With that the race was run, with Vettel easing clear to claim victory ahead of Trulli, while Hamilton fended off Kimi Räikkönen in the final laps to complete the podium. Nico Rosberg, Nick Heidfeld, Rubens Barrichello and Button would complete the scorers, while Webber claimed fastest lap on his final lap by 0.002s, denying teammate Vettel a maiden Grand Chelem.
==Background==
The Championship picture had not changed too drastically as a result of the Singapore Grand Prix, with Jenson Button retaining a fair advantage of fifteen points. Rubens Barrichello was still his closest challenger, while Sebastian Vettel had remained in the hunt with three rounds to go, although he faced a huge deficit of 25 points. Mark Webber, meanwhile, was officially out of the fight in fourth on 51.5 points, while racer winner Lewis Hamilton had moved up to sixth.
In the Constructors Championship had inched closer to their maiden Championship at their first attempt, moving onto 153 points with three rounds to go. had, however, retained a slight hope of challenging for the title on 110.5 points, but would have to outscore Brawn by seven points in Japan to remain in the hunt. Behind, had just kept at bay to hold third, while had remained in fifth.
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Lewis Hamilton 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-24 	 	FO 108W 2.4 V8 	
2 	Heikki Kovalainen 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-24 	 	FO 108W 2.4 V8 	
3 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F60 	 	056 2009 2.4 V8 	
4 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F60 	 	056 2009 2.4 V8 	
5 	Robert Kubica 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.09 	 	P86/9 2.4 V8 	
6 	Nick Heidfeld 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.09 	 	P86/9 2.4 V8 	
7 	Fernando Alonso 	Renault F1 Team 	 	R29 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
8 	Romain Grosjean 	Renault F1 Team 	 	R29 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
9 	Jarno Trulli 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF109 	 	RVX-09 2.4 V8 	
10* 	Timo Glock Kamui Kobayashi 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF109 	 	RVX-09 2.4 V8 	
11 	Jaime Alguersuari 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR4 	 	056 2008 2.4 V8 	
12 	Sébastien Buemi 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR4 	 	056 2008 2.4 V8 	
14 	Mark Webber 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB5 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
15 	Sebastian Vettel 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB5 	 	RS27 2.4 V8 	
16 	Nico Rosberg 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW31 	 	RVX-09 2.4 V8 	
17 	Kazuki Nakajima 	AT&T Williams 	 	FW31 	 	RVX-09 2.4 V8 	
20 	Adrian Sutil 	Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM02 	 	FO 108W 2.4 V8 	
21 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM02 	 	FO 108W 2.4 V8 	
22 	Jenson Button 	Brawn GP F1 Team 	 	BGP 001 	 	FO 108W 2.4 V8 	
23 	Rubens Barrichello 	Brawn GP F1 Team 	 	BGP 001 	 	FO 108W 2.4 V8 	
Source:'Japan 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
** Kobayashi replaced Glock during Friday practice but was unable to replace him for the race.
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
===Q2===
===Q3===
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	Grid
1 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	1 	1:30.883 	 	1 	1:30.341 	 	1 	1:32.160 	1
2 	9 	Jarno Trulli 	 	 	4 	1:31.063 	 	3 	1:30.737 	 	2 	1:32.220 	2
3 	1K 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	2 	1:30.917 	 	2 	1:30.627 	 	3 	1:32.395 	3
4* 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	 	9 	1:31.386 	 	8 	1:31.222 	 	4 	1:32.466 	8*
5* 	23 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	 	6 	1:31.272 	 	6 	1:31.055 	 	5 	1:32.660 	6*
6 	6 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	 	13 	1:31.501 	 	10 	1:31.260 	 	6 	1:32.945 	6
7* 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	 	3 	1:31.041 	 	4 	1:30.880 	 	7 	1:32.962 	10*
8 	4K 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	8 	1:31.288 	 	5 	1:31.052 	 	8 	1:32.980 	5
9† 	2K 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	 	12 	1:31.499 	 	9 	1:31.223 	 	NC 	— 	11†
10‡ 	12 	Sébastien Buemi 	 	 	5 	1:31.196 	 	7 	1:31.103 	 	NC 	— 	13‡
11 	16 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	7 	1:31.286 	 	11 	1:31.482 	 	 	 	7
12* 	7 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	10 	1:31.401 	 	12 	1:31.638 	 	 	 	16*
13 	5 	Robert Kubica 	 	 	11 	1:31.417 	 	13 	1:32.341 	 	 	 	9
14§ 	10 	Timo Glock 	 	 	14 	1:31.550 	 	NC 	— 	 	 	 	WD§
15 	11 	Jaime Alguersuari 	 	 	15 	1:31.571 	 	NC 	— 	 	 	 	12
16 	3K 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	 	16 	1:31.704 	 	 	 	 	 	 	14
17 	17 	Kazuki Nakajima 	 	 	17 	1:31.718 	 	 	 	 	 	 	15
18 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	 	18 	1:32.073 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
19† 	21 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	 	 	19 	1:32.087 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18†
20ƒ 	14 	Mark Webber 	 	 	NC 	— 	 	 	 	 	 	 	PLƒ
Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2009), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2009/races/857/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
*K Indicates a driver was equipped with KERS during the session.
*Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
** Sutil, Barrichello, Button and Alonso all received five place grid penalties for speeding under yellow flags.Pablo Elizalde, 'Five drivers given grid penalties', autosport.com, (Haymarket Media, 03/10/2009), https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/79191/five-drivers-given-grid-penalties, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
*† Kovalainen and Liuzzi received five place grid penalties for changing their gearboxes.
*‡ Buemi was awarded a five place grid penalty for dangerous driving after rejoining the circuit with a heavily damaged car.
*§ Glock failed to set a time in Q2 and was later withdrawn from the race due to injury.Simon Strang, 'Injured Glock out of Japanese GP', autosport.com, (Haymarket Media, 04/10/2009), https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/79222/injured-glock-out-of-japanese-gp, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
*ƒ Webber failed to set a time at all during qualifying and would start the race from the pitlane.
===Grid===
** Webber would star the race from the pitlane.
*† Glock was unable to start the race due to injury.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	15 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	53 	1:28:20.443 	1 	10
2 	9 	Jarno Trulli 	 	53 	+4.877s 	2 	8
3 	1K 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	53 	+6.472 	3 	6
4 	4K 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	53 	+7.940s 	5 	5
5 	16 	Nico Rosberg 	 	53 	+8.793s 	7 	4
6 	6 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	53 	+9.509s 	4 	3
7 	23 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	53 	+10.641s 	6 	2
8 	22 	Jenson Button 	 	53 	+11.474s 	10 	1
9 	5 	Robert Kubica 	 	53 	+11.777s 	9 	
10 	7 	Fernando Alonso 	 	53 	+13.065s 	16 	
11 	2K 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	53 	+ 13.735s 	11 	
12 	3K 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	53 	+14.596s 	14 	
13 	20 	Adrian Sutil 	 	53 	+14.959s 	8 	
14 	21 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	 	53 	+15.734s 	18 	
15 	17 	Kazuki Nakajima 	 	53 	+17.973s 	15 	
16 	8 	Romain Grosjean 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	17 	
17 	14 	Mark Webber 	 	51 	+2 Laps 	19 	
Ret 	11 	Jaime Alguersuari 	 	43 	Spin 	12 	
Ret 	12 	Sébastien Buemi 	 	11 	Clutch 	13 	
WD 	10 	Timo Glock 	 	 	 	 	
Source:'Japan 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)	Source:'Japan 2009: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2009/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 23/03/2020)
*K Indicates a driver was equipped with KERS during the session.
==Milestones==
* 50th Grand Prix start for Adrian Sutil, Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton.
* Sebastian Vettel secured his fifth career pole position.
** This was also the 160th pole for a engine.
* Fourth career victory for Vettel.
* claimed their fourth win as a constructor.
** Renault claimed their 119th win as an engine supplier.
* Eleventh and final podium finish for Jarno Trulli.
* claimed their thirteenth and final podium as a constructor.
** This was also Toyota's seventeenth and final podium finish as an engine supplier.
* Mark Webber recorded the 120th fastest lap for a Renault engine.
==Standings==
Victory for Sebastian Vettel kept the German youngster in the Championship hunt with two rounds to go, as he moved to within sixteen points of the lead. Jenson Button hence had retained the lead, and with teammate Rubens Barrichello fourteen behind the Brit was able to claim the crown in Brazil. Indeed, should Button outscore both Barrichello and Vettel then he would take the title, with a variety of other scenarios enough for him to do so.
Likewise, the Constructors Championship could be concluded on Brazilian soil, for had retained a 35.5 point lead with two rounds to go. Indeed, had just remained in the hunt by half a point as a result of the Japanese Grand Prix, and would therefore have to claim a one-two in Brazil with Brawn failing to score at all just to stay in the fight. Behind, and had held station in third and fourth, while completed the top five.
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Jenson Button 	85 	
2 	Rubens Barrichello 	71 	
3 	Sebastian Vettel 	69 	
4 	Mark Webber 	51.5 	
5 	Kimi Räikkönen 	45 	
6 	Lewis Hamilton 	43 	
7 	Nico Rosberg 	34.5 	
8 	Jarno Trulli 	30.5 	2
9 	Fernando Alonso 	26 	1
10 	Timo Glock 	24 	1
11 	Felipe Massa 	22 	
12 	Heikki Kovalainen 	22 	
13 	Nick Heidfeld 	15 	
14 	Robert Kubica 	9 	
15 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	8 	
16 	Adrian Sutil 	5 	
17 	Sébastien Buemi 	3 	
18 	Sébastien Bourdais 	2 	
World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	156 	
2 	 	120.5 	
3 	 	67 	
4 	 	65 	
5 	 	54.5 	
6 	 	34.5 	
7 	 	26 	
8 	 	24 	
9 	 	13 	
10 	 	5 	
Only point scoring drivers are shown.
==References==
Images and videos:
*
References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2009 Grands Prix
Category:Japanese Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in Japan