Rate the race: Japan
What did you think of the Japanese Grand Prix? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:
Rate the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix out of ten
- 1 (1%)
- 2 (1%)
- 3 (4%)
- 4 (5%)
- 5 (10%)
- 6 (19%)
- 7 (27%)
- 8 (21%)
- 9 (8%)
- 10 (4%)
Total Voters: 2,869
Loading ...1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’
F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought were the best and worst races during a season. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.
See the results for past seasons here:
2010 Japanese Grand Prix
- Force India pair expect busy Friday
- Technical review: Japanese Grand Prix
- Tom Hitchings watches the Japanese GP at Suzuka
- Massa pleased by di Montezemolo’s support
- Hamilton takes heart from McLaren pace
- Mercedes admit missed opportunity to keep Schumacher in front of Rosberg
- Alonso says five drivers can still win title
- 2010 Japanese Grand Prix: the complete F1 Fanatic race weekend review
- Who was the best driver of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend? (Poll)
- Dominant win for Vettel piles pressure on Webber (Red Bull race review)
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders) said on 10th October 2010, 9:02
7
I enjoyed it- I like eventful races like these. There was always something going on out there. A few passes, a few crashes- good stuff
BS said on 10th October 2010, 9:03
Great race, really enjoyed that one a lot more than I thought I would. Shame Hamilton never got a chance to catch up Alonso, but he managed. Great performance by Vettel and he’s always smiling so uncontrollably whenever he wins, especially this one.
Kobayashi really managed to make it the race it was though, in front of his home crowd. He’ll most likely be Disqualified though, as he seemed to be running the option and prime tires during his last stint simultaneously. Here’s a photo (courtesy of an Alex in the live chat): http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/1051/kobtyre.jpg
Would be a terrible shame and a horrible mistake by Sauber, but doesn’t really detract from Koby’s performance. Let’s hope the green stripe was just torns off during the Algersuari battle. :)
US_Peter (@us_peter) said on 10th October 2010, 9:07
BS, see Alex’s comment on page 1. Looks like it legitimately rubbed off in the contact with Alguersuari.
BS said on 10th October 2010, 9:08
Yeah, I started typing before that post existed, just saw it after my comment appeared on top of page two. :/
zarathustra said on 10th October 2010, 9:04
7 from me, and that’s only because Kobayashi who was like RK last time.
Kubica – the most unlucky driver today.
Robbie said on 10th October 2010, 9:05
Also, what’s with the word ‘banzai’? Brundle’s used it a few times before but now others are starting to do it as well. Vettel used it (saying ‘bonzai’) and Legard used it in the commentary as well. STOP IT!
Mike said on 10th October 2010, 9:12
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banzai
The top two points sum it up, I think for Kamui it’s quite relevant!
glue (@glue) said on 10th October 2010, 9:19
it’s accessible Japanese stereotyping
BasCB said on 10th October 2010, 9:34
Vettel was just embarressing with his after race outcry i think.
This was exactly the same “that is what i mean” he used whith the first race won this year, just added a stupid “bonzai” to give it some Japanes flavour.
wakenabeb said on 10th October 2010, 9:35
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banzai_charge
means last,desperate attack
Robbie said on 10th October 2010, 9:46
I’m well aware what it means and where it comes from but it just seems ridiculous that such a specific word has suddenly sprouted for no good reason, other than it being the Japanese GP.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk) said on 10th October 2010, 10:23
Brundle who? Not really enough of a F1 hero to go around spewing crap like that.
codesurge said on 10th October 2010, 9:06
Kobayashi saves the day again! It’s a pity we didn’t get to see what Kubica could’ve pulled off in the race, but overall I’d say that this was worthy of an 8. Could’ve done with more action at the front though.
Mike said on 10th October 2010, 9:09
I went for a 9! I really enjoyed that, Maybe I’m just in a good mood!
If the FIA throw the book at Kamui I may regret it though…
Guilherme Teixeira said on 10th October 2010, 9:10
I think the circuit owners should rename the hairpin to something like “Kobayashi Kamui-sama hairpin”. Only that to keep me awake at 4am…
I think it was a really good race, which is unusual because all races at Suzuka that I watched were a snorefest!
8/10
Melchior (@melchior) said on 10th October 2010, 9:40
“Kobayashi Kamikazi Korner”;)
peter said on 10th October 2010, 9:12
Hometown boy Kobyashi was my driver of the day, great stuff!
DavidS said on 10th October 2010, 9:14
Reasonably boring race, Kobayashi saved it from being a repeat of Bahrain. Nothing interesting happened with the front runners, apart from Lewis bowing out with a broken gearbox.
The Japanese producers didn’t help by showing way too much Yamamoto (seriously, pitting from last, rejoining in last is not worthy of air time)
BasCB said on 10th October 2010, 9:19
The best of those moments were, when he got passed by Trulli and Glock :-(
Mike said on 10th October 2010, 9:29
Was it really that boring? I mean you had people battling up and down the field….
I think people use the “it was like Bahrain” line WAY too often…..
Maciek said on 10th October 2010, 9:47
Oh please – of course it’s worthy of air time if it’s your guy. Besides which: if you say the race was boring, what were we missing?
Dane said on 10th October 2010, 11:05
They say it was boring bc Mclaren didnt win. My fav driver didnt win today, but i thought the race was great. Gave it a 9
Leftie said on 10th October 2010, 9:27
It was an ok race, rated it 6, because most the excitement came from Kobayashi (you gotta love him!)
But the moment which grabbed my attention was McLaren. The shots of Lewis approaching the chicane with Jenson behind. Lewis’s brakes were emitting clouds of carbon, and JB arrived at the spot without any visual effects at all. This is really where you should look for similarities between Senna and Prost situation. Generally, Lewis makes this McLaren go faster, but it often fires back with reliability problems. What reliability issues JB had? None! Don’t count Monaco, it was a human thing there. Considering they both get same equipment it is pretty obvious that Lewis harasses his car more than JB does. It’s cool, he’s a fighter and all that. His fighting also gets him in trouble during the races, but sometimes makes him a hero and all that.
But what it’s worth if JB finishes ahead of him in the championship? It doesn’t seems unlikely now. This is, i guess, how it was in McLaren back in the days. A battle between ruthless speed demon and a grossmeister.
And it seems that both McLarens are out of the hunt for the drivers championship, ~30 points with 3 races to go it’s a bit too much to regain in my view.
Robbie said on 10th October 2010, 9:29
Except Lewis’ reliability issues weren’t with the brakes, they were with his gearbox. Dunno what the point of bringing up the brake dust shot shot since that happens a lot anyway.
santi said on 10th October 2010, 9:34
Whatever, but I think Leftie has a point. When all reliability issues hit the same driver to a point when the difference is already statistically significant, the only difference is driving style…
BasCB said on 10th October 2010, 9:36
But that show was nice to see, i found it remarkable as well to see how much Lewis brakes are huffing and puffing dust.
It might be that without the lower gears he had to do a bit more with the brakes.
Leftie said on 10th October 2010, 9:56
BasCB: it was even before! at first i didn’t pay any attention to it, only when JB appeared behind the difference became pretty eye catching
Leftie said on 10th October 2010, 9:54
thanks man, i’m very aware of the fact that brakes don’t have a 3rd gear to loose :)
well of course it happens a lot, but i’m pointing not at the fact of dust emitting alone, i’m pointing at the operating differences between two cars
Simon said on 10th October 2010, 11:47
What have been Lewis’ mechanical failures so far this year though? Here are the 3 that I can recall:
1.) Spain – whilst there were initial speculations that Lewis’ driving contributed to a ‘tyre failure’, it was found to be a wheel nut at fault.
2.) Hungary – gearbox failure, as I understand it. Does anyone know anything more about the reasons for that failure?
3.) Japan – gearbox failure. Considering it was brand new, I can’t imagine Lewis pushed it anywhere near enough in the laps he did to contribute to its failure.
It’s always been clear that Lewis and Jenson have different driving styles and that Jenson is ‘easier’ on his car, but can you point to any evidence that suggests Lewis’s driving style has actually contributed to any of these 3 mechanical issues?
The brake dust issue, as pointed out by Robbie, is a red herring in this case. It may indeed point to Lewis being a bit harder on his brakes, but that doesn’t mean it is detrimental in any way. He’s not suffered from any brake-related issues this year that I can think of?
I think if Jenson does finish ahead of Lewis in the championship, he’ll point to his own mistake at Monza and (arguably) Singapore, rather than how the car was affected by his driving.
DaveW said on 11th October 2010, 4:10
How does a driver’s style affect the reliability of a car in 2010? Does Hamilton flick the steering wheel paddles too hard whereas Button caresses them like a gentleman? This line of reasoning is an excuse for Button not being able to find that usual .3s he lacks from his teammate: he’s saving the car. A Likely Story.
David BR said on 10th October 2010, 13:07
Put it this way, neither Button or Hamilton is going to win the WDC this year. It’s over. But even if Hamilton finishes below Button, the only one of them who *could* have won this year – had not accumulated these DNFs and other problems all of a sudden – is Hamilton. That’s the difference.
Sammy said on 10th October 2010, 19:16
Maybe McLaren should build a more sturdier car for their wunderkind….one that he can actually adapt to his driving style and not suffer so many mech issues?
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley) said on 10th October 2010, 9:29
I hope an onboard from Massa appears online as well as a better angle/onboard of Di Grassi’s enormous a la McNish ’02 crash at 130R.
Steph (@) said on 10th October 2010, 9:33
Massa had an onboard. He went a bit mental and went for a gap that was never really there or was never going to last long and seemed like as he went on the grass to get out of the situation he just lost it.
BasCB said on 10th October 2010, 9:38
I think he got the rear wheel on the grass (still a bit slippery from the rain) and just lost control.
Bur surely Massa’s mistake. At least he did not have to be Alonso’s rear gunner ;-)
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley) said on 10th October 2010, 9:38
It must have been on the BBC only. Can you send me a link if you see it anywhere please Steph?
Steph (@) said on 10th October 2010, 9:45
It was just on the BBC F1 forum. Course I will Damon. I’ve just done a quick search and couldn’t find the onboard I’ll try again later but here are some replays (ignore the random kid)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh5-fo8US5Y
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley) said on 10th October 2010, 9:57
Thanks Steph! I saw those replays live. Has anyone seen any more footage or Di Grassi though?
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley) said on 10th October 2010, 10:04
Could you tweet it to me if you do find anything Steph? What about Rosberg? We never saw what happened to him other than that onboard which didn’t tell us much.
Nin13 (@) said on 10th October 2010, 9:29
7. Race was quite good.
Michałek said on 10th October 2010, 9:29
what can I say?
if there weren`t many crashes on the start and we couldn`t see kamui on the track, the race would be so so boring.
although it was boring…
4. for that
bernie, please think about the future, because i will see RC Cars :)
BasCB said on 10th October 2010, 9:41
The start was interesting, but FOM cameras missed most of the action and it gave us a SC instead of an interesting first 2 laps and then Kubica dropped out as well.
I gave it a 6 mainly for the great passes by Kobayashi. Driving around Suzuka makes it a nice view to watch thoug, so it would not have been less than a 5 for me anyhow.
gabal said on 10th October 2010, 11:01
It wasn’t FOM’s fault, Fuji tv did this broadcast (rather poorly in my opinion).
Ben C said on 10th October 2010, 9:32
What was Webber going on about in the post race interview? Something about “we all know the rules” and his position for the second part of the race. Were they team ordered? His last lap effort to hit fastest lap certainly pointed to a man who could have gone faster, and wanted everyone to know it. Didn’t think too much of that until his comment. Did anyone else hear that?
BasCB said on 10th October 2010, 9:42
Looked like that a bit to me as well. Maybe they were told not to battle (knowing how good Vettel is at that, and with Alonso right on their tail as well).
Robbie said on 10th October 2010, 9:43
Interesting… Webber feeling a bit disgruntled?
hawkfist said on 10th October 2010, 11:26
I thought the smile on his face he tried to hide when the BBC asked him about taking the fastest lap off Vettel said it all ;)
BasCB said on 10th October 2010, 16:21
Have a look at the victory picture with “Vettel celebrating with the whole RBR team” posted here http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/10/10/japanese-grand-prix-in-pictures-2/ .
The only Webber in there is from cardboard!
santi said on 10th October 2010, 9:58
Also, didn’t he leave the interview room before the questions were over?
Melchior (@melchior) said on 10th October 2010, 9:36
A 7 from me.The race was a little bit of a procession at the front.Webber was lucky in Kubica’s misfortune.Kobayashi had an inspired drive and was the highlight for me.But i did get a good laugh on the final lap when Webber took the fastest lap away from Vettel.