Jenson Button (1st)
“This was a hard race - the last five or six laps were extremely tough, I had to really look after the tyres and try to save a bit of fuel to get the car home, but it was an amazing victory. Sebastian [Vettel] came across at me on the start - he kept coming and didn’t stop, so I got on the grass and had to back out of the throttle, otherwise there would’ve been an almighty shunt into Turn One. He said he didn’t see me until he saw me backing out, so that lost me a place. But fighting back was so, so satisfying: the performance has been in the car all weekend. It’s such an emotional victory for me: there’s so much history at this circuit, and the crowd here has been amazing, this is second only to a home victory for me.
“I want to thank every single person here in Japan who’s supported us - hopefully we’ve planted a happy memory in their minds, because a lot of Japan has been through difficult times this year. We did our best and we put on a fantastic show.
“Seb has done a great job all season and he deserved the title. He was given the equipment and just got on and did what was required of him. But, for us, there’s still more that we can achieve this year: I’d love to go out and fight to win the next few races, and I think we have the car and the team to go and do that. We’ll keep pushing and hope to get some more wins this year, but we’re also in a very good place right now - and I think that’s key to success in 2012.”
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Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel Grabs World Championship Despite Jenson Button’s Victory
Formula 1: Japanese Grand Prix - Race Results
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Formula 1: Japanese Grand Prix - Race Line Up
Formula 1 Standings Ahead of Japanese Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso (2nd)
“Congratulations to Sebastian! Winning two world titles at his age, in a season in which he has done it all - in qualifying, the races and every other way, so perfectly, is amazing and it is well deserved. For our part, we can do no more than try and do our utmost to try and beat him next year. Today, we did our best and we came close to winning the race. We know that in qualifying we are behind the Red Bulls and McLarens, but in the race, when there are variables like tyre degradation, then we can exploit some opportunities. Here, the others were very strong for the first five or six laps and then we closed up to them a lot. This podium is a great motivation for the final four races of the season. It was a fun race, in which the strategy was very important. Unlike recent races, today we had a pace that was good enough to fight for the win. We will try again in Korea, where we can go with our heads held high: we will try and win, or at least get on the podium again.”
Lewis Hamilton (5th)
“This was a disappointing race for me, but it was a great day for Jenson and the whole team. Jenson did a remarkable job today - he really deserved this victory, but it wasn’t a great one for me. Still, I’m going to keep my head up and look ahead to the next race where I’ll hopefully have another chance. Clearly, our car has the pace to win, but I wasn’t able to compete today so I’ll go away and look at the data to work out how I can come back and be competitive in Korea next weekend.
“In the race, I don’t really know what happened with Felipe - the car’s mirrors vibrate at high-speed, so I couldn’t see him pulling alongside me. I want to apologise for our cars’ touching, but fortunately nothing happened to either of us. There was no bad intention towards Felipe; I’ve got the utmost respect for him, he’s a fantastic driver and he was extremely quick today.
“Finally, big congratulations to Sebastian for winning the title. We all knew it was going to happen, but his season has really been flawless. It’s a fantastic achievement for him.”
Michael Schumacher (6th)
“I’m very happy with what we achieved in Suzuka today as we maximised our potential of the car, and managed to put in a good race. The team did a great job the whole weekend in finding performance and transforming it into the race. I think there was not more to expect and achieve. The pit stops were perfectly timed and everything worked out according to plan. I would like to congratulate Sebastian and his team who have been exceptional the whole year. It is extremely emotional to see him win the Championship again - I am very happy for him and even a little bit proud.”
Sergio Perez (8th)
“I am very happy for the team to have scored some points here in Japan, especially after we had that technical problem yesterday in qualifying and I had to start 17th. But today the strategy with the tyres worked out very well for me, and the team did a very good job on this. Also the car’s performance was good. I pushed very hard, and gave my maximum today. Physically it was very hard for me because I am suffering from flu, so I’m totally happy that I brought the car home in a position good enough to score points.”
Felipe Massa (9th)
“Once again I finish a race with a very bitter taste in my mouth. Today, our pace was good enough to finish on the podium, as Fernando demonstrated, but instead I am here commenting on a seventh place. It’s a real shame. The contact with Hamilton? My car was definitely damaged by it: when I looked at it after the race, I saw there was a bit of the front wing endplate missing and the floor was not on properly on the left hand side and I could feel it in the way my car was behaving. I think the footage speaks for itself: he was struggling with his tyres and I had almost come alongside him and for no reason, he moved over and hit me. I let you be the judge… It’s pointless for me to say any more about it. However, I do want to congratulate Sebastian Vettel: he is a great guy and deserves this title and I am very happy for him.”
Nico Rosberg (10th)
“I’m pleased to score a point today and had fun out there with a few nice overtaking manoeuvres. This is definitely one of the toughest tracks for overtaking so starting from the back of the grid meant that I had a pretty tough job. Before the race, I hoped to achieve between eighth and 10th places and, whilst it would have been nice to be a bit higher, it’s still a decent result. Thanks to the team for a good strategy and great pit stops today. After this complicated weekend, I hope to have a more normal weekend in Korea and fight in our usual position. And finally, Sebastian, congratulations: you deserve the title.”
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