2013 Japanese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Sebastian Vettel won at Suzuka after Red Bull used different strategies to overcome Romain Grosjean‘s early lead. Mark Webber finished second, with Grosjean taking another podium for Lotus and Esteban Gutiérrez scoring his first points.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing
Pole time	1:30.915
Fastest lap	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing
Fastest-lap time	1:34.587 on lap 44
First	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Second	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing
Third	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
11 October 2013	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
11 October 2013	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
12 October 2013	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
12 October 2013	Qualifying	14:00
13 October 2013	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 2013 F1 World Championship on 272 points, with Fernando Alonso on 195. Red Bull Racing headed the constructors’ standings with 402 points.

Race entries

The 11 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Japanese Grand Prix. Heikki Kovalainen also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Lewis Hamilton led FP1, but Suzuka punished several mistakes. Jules Bianchi crashed at Degner and damaged his Marussia badly enough to miss the afternoon, while Giedo van der Garde also went off there. Pastor Maldonado lost a wheel at Spoon after an unsafe attachment, bringing Williams a substantial fine.

Sebastian Vettel led FP2 as accidents continued to interrupt preparation. Sergio Pérez crashed heavily at Spoon, Pastor Maldonado became stranded at Degner, and Kimi Räikkönen spun into the gravel at Dunlop. Fernando Alonso escaped his own Degner spin, but the repeated incidents left several teams without complete longer-run tyre information.

Mark Webber led FP3 while Sebastian Vettel missed the closing stages with a mechanical problem. Jules Bianchi returned after overnight repairs, but Adrian Sutil crashed at Spoon and Nico Hülkenberg needed exhaust-related work. Improved grip helped drivers push harder, although those setbacks left several qualifying preparations incomplete.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2013 Japanese Grand Prix FP1, 11 October 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:34.157	19
2	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.330s	19
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.611s	24
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.630s	20
5	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.969s	14
6	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.997s	16
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.022s	15
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+1.207s	17
9	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.293s	27
10	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.478s	19
11	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.711s	22
12	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+1.743s	18
13	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.909s	20
14	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.008s	19
15	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.021s	12
16	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.183s	23
17	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+2.242s	18
18	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+2.603s	22
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+3.438s	22
20	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+3.472s	8
21	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+3.868s	15
22	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+4.606s	18

Free Practice 2 Classification

2013 Japanese Grand Prix FP2, 11 October 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:33.852	35
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.168s	35
3	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.262s	36
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.350s	17
5	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.559s	30
6	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.590s	36
7	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+0.621s	30
8	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.846s	35
9	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.060s	34
10	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.235s	32
11	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+1.237s	36
12	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.257s	34
13	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+1.330s	34
14	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.423s	35
15	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.489s	25
16	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.857s	8
17	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.284s	41
18	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.870s	6
19	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+3.778s	31
20	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+4.053s	36
21	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+4.269s	33

Free Practice 3 Classification

2013 Japanese Grand Prix FP3, 12 October 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:32.053	17
2	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.134s	18
3	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.302s	18
4	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.654s	26
5	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.747s	14
6	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.762s	14
7	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.816s	17
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.893s	25
9	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.983s	8
10	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+1.023s	12
11	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.105s	15
12	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.207s	15
13	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.437s	16
14	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1.585s	17
15	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.607s	19
16	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+1.679s	15
17	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.902s	18
18	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+2.720s	8
19	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+3.420s	20
20	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+3.465s	18
21	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+3.791s	16
22	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+7.325s	20

Qualifying

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

Mark Webber took pole ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. Adrian Sutil received a five-place gearbox penalty, while Charles Pic and Jules Bianchi were penalised for accumulated reprimands.

Qualifying Classification

2013 Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying, 12 October 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:32.271	1:31.513	1:30.915	13
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:32.397	1:31.290	1:31.089	13
3	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:32.340	1:31.636	1:31.253	17
4	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:31.824	1:31.565	1:31.365	21
5	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:31.994	1:31.668	1:31.378	17
6	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:32.244	1:31.764	1:31.397	17
7	11	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	1:32.465	1:31.848	1:31.644	19
8	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:32.371	1:31.828	1:31.665	16
9	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	1:32.377	1:31.662	1:31.684	19
10	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:32.606	1:31.838	1:31.827	15
11	6	Sergio Pérez	McLaren	1:32.718	1:31.989	—	16
12	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:32.286	1:31.992	—	15
13	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:32.613	1:32.013	—	14
14	12	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	1:32.673	1:32.063	—	15
15	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:32.875	1:32.093	—	15
16	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:32.804	1:32.485	—	11
17	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:32.890	—	—	10
18	18	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:33.357	—	—	6
19	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	1:34.320	—	—	8
20	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	1:34.556	—	—	8
21	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	1:34.879	—	—	9
22	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	1:34.958	—	—	5

What happened in the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix?

Grosjean made an excellent start to take the lead. Hamilton suffered a puncture after contact with Vettel and later retired with damage, while Bianchi and Giedo van der Garde collided at the first corner.

Grosjean held the lead through the opening phase, but Red Bull split its strategies. Webber made three stops, while Vettel managed his tyres carefully and extended his running to gain an advantage later in the race.

Vettel moved ahead of Grosjean after the final round of stops and secured the win. Webber closed on the Lotus on fresher tyres and passed near the end to complete a Red Bull one-two.

Alonso finished fourth ahead of Hülkenberg and Räikkönen. Gutiérrez took seventh for his first championship points, while Rosberg finished eighth after a penalty for an unsafe pit release. Vettel’s title confirmation would have to wait until India.

Further down the points places, Esteban Gutiérrez, Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button and Felipe Massa completed the scoring positions. Mark Webber set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2013 rules.

After the race, Sebastian Vettel headed the drivers’ standings with 297 points, followed by Fernando Alonso on 207. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 445, with Ferrari on 297.

2013 Japanese Grand Prix race results

The 2013 Japanese Grand Prix was held on 13 October 2013, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	53	1:26:49.301	25
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	53	+7.129	18
3	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	53	+9.910	15
4	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	53	+45.605	12
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	53	+47.325	10
6	11	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	53	+51.615	8
7	12	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	53	+1:11.630	6
8	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	53	+1:12.023	4
9	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	53	+1:20.821	2
10	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	53	+1:29.263	1
11	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	53	+1:38.572	0
12	18	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	52	+1 Lap	0
13	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	52	+1 Lap	0
14	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	52	+1 Lap	0
15	6	Sergio Pérez	McLaren	52	+1 Lap	0
16	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	52	+1 Lap	0
17	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	52	+1 Lap	0
18	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	52	+1 Lap	0
19	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	52	+1 Lap	0
Ret	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	7	Collision damage	0
Ret	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	0	Collision	0
Ret	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	0	Collision	0

2013 Japanese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	44	1:34.587	221.015
2	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	46	1:34.650	220.868
3	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	52	1:35.020	220.008
4	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	39	1:35.317	219.322
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	35	1:35.516	218.865
6	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	53	1:35.549	218.790
7	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	46	1:35.845	218.114
8	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	39	1:35.877	218.041
9	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	52	1:35.895	218.000
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	48	1:35.991	217.782
11	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	33	1:36.482	216.674
12	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	50	1:36.499	216.636
13	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	30	1:37.001	215.515
14	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	29	1:37.367	214.705
15	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	41	1:37.407	214.617
16	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	30	1:37.423	214.581
17	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	51	1:37.489	214.436
18	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	43	1:37.856	213.632
19	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	45	1:38.713	211.777
20	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	3	1:41.202	206.569

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

2013 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix.

2013 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	297
2	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	207
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus F1	177
4	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	161
5	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	148
6	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	126
7	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	90
8	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	87
9	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	60
10	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Sauber	39
11	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	36
12	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	26
13	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	McLaren	23
14	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Toro Rosso	18
15	Jean-Éric Vergne	French	Toro Rosso	13
16	Esteban Gutiérrez	Mexican	Sauber	6
17	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	1
18	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	0
19	Jules Bianchi	French	Marussia	0
20	Charles Pic	French	Caterham	0
21	Giedo van der Garde	Dutch	Caterham	0
22	Max Chilton	British	Marussia	0

2013 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	445
2	Ferrari	297
3	Mercedes	287
4	Lotus F1	264
5	McLaren	83
6	Force India	62
7	Sauber	45
8	Toro Rosso	31
9	Williams	1
10	Marussia	0
11	Caterham	0

2013 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2013 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	17 March
2	2013 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	24 March
3	2013 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	14 April
4	2013 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	21 April
5	2013 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	12 May
6	2013 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	26 May
7	2013 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	9 June
8	2013 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	30 June
9	2013 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	7 July
10	2013 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	28 July
11	2013 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	25 August
12	2013 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	8 September
13	2013 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	22 September
14	2013 Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam	6 October
15	2013 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	13 October
16	2013 Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida	27 October
17	2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	3 November
18	2013 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	17 November
19	2013 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	24 November