2011 Japanese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jenson Button won the Japanese Grand Prix, but third place was enough for Sebastian Vettel to become a double world champion. Fernando Alonso split them on the podium after a close strategic contest at Suzuka.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Pole time	1:30.466
Fastest lap	Jenson Button	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:36.568 on lap 52
First	Jenson Button	McLaren
Second	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Third	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
7 October 2011	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
7 October 2011	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
8 October 2011	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
8 October 2011	Qualifying	14:00
9 October 2011	Race	15:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Sebastian Vettel arrived at round 15 leading the 2011 F1 World Championship on 309 points, with Jenson Button on 185. Red Bull Racing headed the constructors’ standings with 491 points.

Race entries

The 12 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Japanese Grand Prix. Karun Chandhok, Narain Karthikeyan, Nico Hulkenberg also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Jenson Button led FP1 in clear conditions, but Sebastian Vettel crashed at Degner while trying to improve near the finish. Pastor Maldonado also lost running after an excursion and subsequent stoppage. Nico Hulkenberg and Karun Chandhok took reserve-driver outings as the field began preparing for Suzuka’s fast, demanding changes of direction.

Jenson Button remained quickest in FP2 while Williams suffered further trouble. Rubens Barrichello crashed at Degner, and Pastor Maldonado later stopped in the same area. Bruno Senna and Kamui Kobayashi recovered from spins; several drivers were investigated for failing to respect yellow flags, although the stewards ultimately imposed no penalties.

Jenson Button completed a practice clean sweep in FP3, with McLaren looking competitive ahead of qualifying. Bruno Senna’s accident on the exit of Spoon interrupted the session with a red flag, costing Renault valuable preparation. The leading Ferrari and Red Bull drivers remained closely grouped behind the two McLarens.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2011 Japanese Grand Prix FP1, 7 October 2011

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:33.634	20
2	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.091s	18
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.456s	22
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.738s	24
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.792s	25
6	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+1.303s	23
7	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.951s	27
8	18	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1.956s	25
9	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+2.399s	22
10	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+2.736s	18
11	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	+2.853s	18
12	14	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+3.066s	21
13	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+3.314s	24
14	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	+3.315s	22
15	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+3.469s	29
16	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+4.563s	18
17	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+4.697s	11
18	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+4.812s	8
19	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	+5.534s	10
20	20	Karun Chandhok	Team Lotus	+6.312s	22
21	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+7.238s	13
22	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	+7.385s	24
23	22	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT	+7.472s	25
24	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+8.141s	25

Free Practice 2 Classification

2011 Japanese Grand Prix FP2, 7 October 2011

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:31.901	32
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.174s	33
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.194s	35
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.246s	28
5	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.547s	34
6	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.809s	26
7	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.081s	27
8	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+1.344s	26
9	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+1.545s	36
10	18	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1.780s	33
11	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+1.804s	25
12	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.889s	36
13	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+2.492s	35
14	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	+2.656s	27
15	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	+2.700s	33
16	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+4.137s	33
17	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	+4.324s	35
18	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+5.222s	14
19	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+5.539s	30
20	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	+6.192s	30
21	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+6.486s	16
22	22	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT	+6.862s	36
23	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	+7.899s	24
24	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT	+10.579s	4

Free Practice 3 Classification

2011 Japanese Grand Prix FP3, 8 October 2011

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:31.255	13
2	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.507s	16
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.867s	18
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.024s	16
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.146s	14
6	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.174s	16
7	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.470s	19
8	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.623s	17
9	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	+1.803s	15
10	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.169s	14
11	18	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	+2.214s	18
12	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+2.290s	18
13	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.563s	17
14	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+2.581s	21
15	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	+2.735s	16
16	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+3.066s	21
17	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	+4.134s	5
18	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	+4.396s	18
19	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	+5.072s	16
20	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	+5.657s	14
21	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	+6.683s	17
22	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	+6.756s	16
23	22	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT	+7.100s	19
24	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT	+9.842s	8

Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel headed qualifying for Red Bull Racing, with Jenson Button second and Lewis Hamilton third.

Sebastian Vettel beat Jenson Button to pole by just nine thousandths of a second. Lewis Hamilton qualified third, while Nico Rosberg failed to record a time and faced a recovery drive from near the back.

Qualifying Classification

2011 Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying, 8 October 2011

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:33.051	1:31.424	1:30.466	14
2	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:32.947	1:31.434	1:30.475	14
3	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:32.843	1:31.139	1:30.617	14
4	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:33.235	1:31.909	1:30.804	15
5	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:32.817	1:31.612	1:30.886	13
6	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:33.135	1:31.576	1:31.156	14
7	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:32.626	1:32.380	no time	15
8	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:33.748	1:32.116	no time	10
9	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	1:33.359	1:32.297	no time	12
10	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1:32.877	1:32.245	no time	17
11	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:32.761	1:32.463	—	14
12	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:33.499	1:32.746	—	10
13	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	1:33.921	1:33.079	—	13
14	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:33.781	1:33.224	—	14
15	18	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	1:33.064	1:33.227	—	10
16	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	1:35.111	1:33.427	—	10
17	17	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	1:34.704	no time	—	6
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	1:35.454	—	—	3
19	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	1:35.514	—	—	6
20	25	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	1:36.439	—	—	8
21	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	1:36.507	—	—	7
22	22	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT	1:37.846	—	—	7
23	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	no time	—	—	1
24	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT	no time	—	—	2

What happened in the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix?

Vettel held the lead at the start while Button lost second to Hamilton after being squeezed towards the grass. Button soon recovered the position as Hamilton struggled with his tyres, then began to pressure the leader.

Button gained the advantage through the pit stops, taking the lead from Vettel. Contact between Hamilton and Massa left debris that required a safety car, keeping the leading runners close together.

Alonso moved ahead of Vettel through the later stop sequence and pursued Button. Vettel remained in third, comfortably on course for the single point he needed to secure the championship.

Button held on to win ahead of Alonso and Vettel. Webber finished fourth and Hamilton fifth, while Rosberg recovered tenth. Vettel became the youngest double world champion, sealing the title with four races still to run.

Further down the points places, Felipe Massa, Sergio Pérez, Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg completed the scoring positions. Jenson Button set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2011 rules.

After the race, Sebastian Vettel headed the drivers’ standings with 324 points, followed by Jenson Button on 210. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 518, with McLaren on 388.

2011 Japanese Grand Prix race results

The 2011 Japanese Grand Prix was held on 9 October 2011, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	53	1:30:53.427	25
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	53	+1.160	18
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	53	+2.006	15
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	53	+8.071	12
5	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	53	+24.268	10
6	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	53	+27.120	8
7	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	53	+28.240	6
8	17	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	53	+39.377	4
9	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	53	+42.607	2
10	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	53	+44.322	1
11	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	53	+54.447	0
12	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	53	+1:02.326	0
13	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	53	+1:03.705	0
14	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	53	+1:04.194	0
15	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	53	+1:06.623	0
16	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	53	+1:12.628	0
17	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	53	+1:14.191	0
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	53	+1:27.824	0
19	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	53	+1:36.140	0
20	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	51	+2 Laps	0
21	25	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	51	+2 Laps	0
22	22	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT	51	+2 Laps	0
23	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT	50	+3 Laps	0
Ret	18	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	11	Wheel	0

2011 Japanese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	4	Jenson Button	McLaren	52	1:36.568	216.481
2	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber	39	1:36.569	216.479
3	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	50	1:36.614	216.378
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	50	1:36.682	216.226
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	47	1:36.828	215.900
6	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	52	1:36.916	215.704
7	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	47	1:37.053	215.399
8	19	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	41	1:37.411	214.608
9	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	49	1:37.645	214.093
10	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	50	1:37.645	214.093
11	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	50	1:37.800	213.754
12	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	53	1:37.916	213.501
13	15	Paul di Resta	Force India	43	1:37.970	213.383
14	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India	43	1:38.133	213.029
15	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	42	1:38.407	212.436
16	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams	53	1:39.080	210.993
17	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Team Lotus	50	1:39.297	210.532
18	21	Jarno Trulli	Team Lotus	49	1:39.561	209.973
19	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	44	1:39.724	209.630
20	22	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT	49	1:41.437	206.090
21	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	46	1:41.704	205.549
22	25	Jerome d'Ambrosio	Virgin Racing	45	1:41.794	205.367
23	18	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso	6	1:42.107	204.738
24	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT	37	1:42.409	204.134

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2011 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix.

2011 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	324
2	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	210
3	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	202
4	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	194
5	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	178
6	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	90
7	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	63
8	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	60
9	Vitaly Petrov	Russian	Renault	36
10	Nick Heidfeld	German	Renault	34
11	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	28
12	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	27
13	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	20
14	Jaime Alguersuari	Spanish	Toro Rosso	16
15	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Sauber	13
16	Sébastien Buemi	Swiss	Toro Rosso	13
17	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Williams	4
18	Bruno Senna	Brazilian	Renault	2
19	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	1
20	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	Sauber	0
21	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Team Lotus	0
22	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Team Lotus	0
23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	HRT	0
24	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Belgian	Virgin Racing	0
25	Timo Glock	German	Virgin Racing	0
26	Narain Karthikeyan	Indian	HRT	0
27	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	HRT	0
28	Karun Chandhok	Indian	Team Lotus	0

2011 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	518
2	McLaren	388
3	Ferrari	292
4	Mercedes	123
5	Renault	72
6	Force India	48
7	Sauber	40
8	Toro Rosso	29
9	Williams	5
10	Team Lotus	0
11	HRT	0
12	Virgin Racing	0

2011 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2011 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	27 March
2	2011 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	10 April
3	2011 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	17 April
4	2011 Turkish Grand Prix	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	8 May
5	2011 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	22 May
6	2011 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	29 May
7	2011 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	12 June
8	2011 European Grand Prix	Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia	26 June
9	2011 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	10 July
10	2011 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	24 July
11	2011 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	31 July
12	2011 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	28 August
13	2011 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	11 September
14	2011 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	25 September
15	2011 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	9 October
16	2011 Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam	16 October
17	2011 Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida	30 October
18	2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	13 November
19	2011 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	27 November