2013 Japanese Grand Prix result

2013 Japanese Grand Prix

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Pos#DriverCarLapsGapDifferenceReason
11Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault53
22Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault537.1297.129
38Romain GrosjeanLotus-Renault539.9102.781
43Fernando AlonsoFerrari5345.60535.695
57Kimi RaikkonenLotus-Renault5347.3251.720
611Nico HulkenbergSauber-Ferrari5351.6154.290
712Esteban GutierrezSauber-Ferrari5371.63020.015
89Nico RosbergMercedes5372.0230.393
95Jenson ButtonMcLaren5380.8218.798
104Felipe MassaFerrari5389.2638.442
1114Paul di RestaForce India-Mercedes5398.5729.309
1218Jean-Eric VergneToro Rosso-Ferrari521 lap1 lap
1319Daniel RicciardoToro Rosso-Ferrari521 lap2.188
1415Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes521 lap11.746
156Sergio PerezMcLaren521 lap0.118
1616Pastor MaldonadoWilliams-Renault521 lap2.209
1717Valtteri BottasWilliams-Renault521 lap0.582
1820Charles PicCaterham-Renault521 lap60.271
1923Max ChiltonMarussia-Cosworth521 lap19.207
Not classified
10Lewis HamiltonMercedes746 laps45 lapsAccident
21Giedo van der GardeCaterham-Renault053 laps7 lapsAccident

2013 Japanese Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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60 comments on “2013 Japanese Grand Prix result”

  1. They just can’t beat him, can they. So he can win from the front, he can score podiums from the back, he can race in the wet, he can race in the dry, he can qualify, he can overtake and he can pull off alternative strategies akin to Räikkönen.

    Now it’s just a matter of sealing his fourth world title, and I would say on the basis of this season’s performance that he’s thoroughly deserved it!

    1. He’s skill is still questionable though. Because of reasons.

      1. *His

        1. @silence hehehe absolutely! because of, you know, those reasons!

      2. @silence

        He’s skill is still questionable though. Because of reasons.

        Absolute rubbish.

        1. His coolness under pressure in title deciders is not in doubt thats for sure the guy gets it done look at 2010 end of year he seen it through to be 1 year ahead of Ham as youngest F1 champion. But what is not in doubt is this car advantage or do you believe Vet is faster than Alonso and Hamilton without kers in qualifying?

          1. I believe Vettel is the greatest driver we’ve ever seen. Just a brilliant all round driver. No questions remain about anything he can do. But not everyone believes this and I don’t understand why…

    2. To right he deserves it Max but come on now ever since Silverstone the car has been even more quicker, even though Vet was leading it was mainly close especially in races now its not when their in clean air its no contest. You know Vet is only 2 wins away from 2011 tally and at the start the car want seen as good as in previous years yet Vet could concievably win all races yet you guys will keep saying he is easily the best. I dont dislkie Vet far from it, i just dont know how you can say like he done it again as if its that difficult for him, i remind you he is beating someone who is 37 and should really be 2nd in the championship in that Rbull yet he never achieves it. Its just annoying when you see Vet beat Mercs without kers, proves my point really. Also look at all years Webbers been in f1 and compare him to is teammates is he really that good?. 2010 he was only init cuz of bad luck to Seb but even then he could outqualify Vet a few times.

      1. @danclapp I have no doubts that Vettel has the fastest car, both in qualifying and in the race. However, he is making it the fastest car, which the “37 year old” is failing to do.

        Again, I don’t doubt Alonso for example would be able to do a better job in the number two car, but do I think he could drive it as fast as Vettel? Honestly, I don’t. And I wouldn’t have said that last year.

        1. @vettel1

          / which the “37 year old” is failing to do.

          I know Alonso has been not his former self this year as he has made some errors , but hey , you cannot expect him to be faster than Vettel in that ferrari , especially not after Hungary . All we are saying is that had the 37 year old had a better car , he might give Vettel a run for his money like a certain 36 year old did last year .

          1. @vettel1 oops, sorry . I thought you were talking about alonso .. sorry mate . my mistake . Change everything to 32 year old :-P

          2. Alonso is not 36 lol.

        2. I know max thats the point that 37 year old is not doing it well done to seb on that, but come on its making everyone look mugs this dominance and we can all tell its not that clear cut. Vet would have been miles ahead in qually of other cars if he had kers its silly their advantage and you cant deny it that when their in clear air in the races they are unstoppable the only chance is look that you get ahead and they hit traffic in their stops. Merc are clearly slower than Lotus same with Ferrari. Its just a lil unreal how Seb is going to be a 4x WC before Ham is a 2xWC(if Ham only gets 1 that will be 1 of the biggest travestys ever in f1 history for his talent), same with Alonso(no title since 06). I just dont see the gap of the WC Vet will have as a measure he is somehow that much better, im sure youd agree? I personally think Alonso won ever win another WC he as been on a real high level for 3 years, 4 even. You just see little signs he will wane soon, dont you think? I think Ham will have a chance as he has around 5 years to the end of his peak, he is just comming into that now.

        3. @vettel1 that’s your opinion and it is never going to be verifiable anyway. :)

          1. @spoutnik at least my opinion has the consensus of the paddock at this stage ;)

    3. Very good thinking with the strategy, and Vettel made it work for him with driving and passing where needed. A deserved win IMO.

      Maybe Webber can blame his crew somewhat for giving him a tad too risky a strategy to make it work, because it relied on him passing Grosjean a lot sooner, which he didn’t. And Grosjean will have to concede that its a corner battle when Red Bull have to cars in the game to play on splitting their strategies. Fact is, having 2 cars in their is a tribute to the team and they made the best of it to get that 1-2.

      A great race for Vettel, and for Grosjean and Hulk. Bit of a shame that Hamilton got his car damaged as much right at the start, otherwise he could have been a force for the podium fight too.

  2. Excellent race, not the usual customary Seb win. Hopefully India can throw a better race

  3. That was a good race. Vettel did great job on Grosjean while Webber couldn’t. He definitely showed why he is better than Webber.

    1. You know webber never got the run were Vet did right? Webber should have been doing the same startegy his tyres werent going off far from it.

    2. They ran different rear wings, Mark had more downforce therefore had less top speed than Vettel. Therefore, Vettel had it easier when passing Romain.

      1. Directed at @eggry

      2. Webber had a skinnier rear wing @hsvdt15.

        1. Exactly @vettel1 which means Vettel had it harder passing Grosjean. @hsvdt15 , they must have mentioned it at least 5 times today and yesterday on the Sky broadcast, but believe otherwise if you want. Still, good to see Webber have a strong race. His best this season along with Silverstone IMO.

          1. Webber should have done a 2 stop 2 laps is all Vet done on the first stint more Redbull took the easy option and went 3 stops, Web was catching Grosjean when he pitted.

          2. @danclapp his tyres were shot, so he couldn’t have done the two extra laps. Neither is there much chance he could’ve extended the second stint to within 5 laps of what Vettel did provided when he pitted first is a given, and judging from how difficult he found it to pass Grosjean anyway I think he might’ve even finished 3rd on a two stop.

          3. I would rather say, that maybe Lotus should have brought Grosjean in when Vettel passed him, so that he could have a go at the Bulls. Because then we might have seen Webber take the fight to Vettel and that could have offered RoGRo the chance to pass one of them.

            But its more or less academic now, and doesn’t take anything away from either driver, because they gave it what they could, and we got a very nice battle for that 2nd podium spot with superb defensive driving for as long as his tyres allowed him.

          4. @david-a could’ve sworn they said in qualy that Vettel would have a higher top speed, must’ve heard wrong. My mistake.

  4. vettel needs to change teams to really prove his greatness.

    1. @sato113 I see no reason for him to want to do that. He’s still winning prolifically at Red Bull, so why would he change?

      1. Additionally Alonso has only won in a Renault.

        People think their opinions matters whether Vettel is great or not, the only issue that is important how much success he can achieve – like a certain Ayrton Senna who switched to Williams for a winning car.

        It’s totally unimportant what people think of you. The same people doubting him now would question him in the future too when he wins with Ferrari. I think the majority is doubting him because he makes success of their favourite team or driver impossible.

        1. Oh come on Alonso left Renault and won with Ferrari im nt even a fan of Alomso but he as had 2 final day heartache in the not outright fastest car on avg this is facts. For all we know Alo could retire and Ferrari build a winning car and seb goes their and wins more championships, is that Alonso fault. Keep on believeing that people are just bitter, were not bitter but its unreasonable to say Vet is the better driver by being 2X extra WC.

          1. Excuse me, but what?

          2. @danclapp – No-one’s saying Alonso isn’t great, it’s the idea that Vettel has to prove himself by moving teams (or winning for another team). It’d be cool (I am a Ferrari fan, who’d love to see Vettel do a Schumi), but not a pre-requisite for greatness.

          3. @david-a Vettel will move once he has eclipsed Schumi’s record

          4. David not Coulthard (@)
            13th October 2013, 11:48

            Once RBR is forced to move from Milton Keynes.

          5. @david-a I agree, as a Ferrari fan, I’d really like to see Vettel in Ferrari. It would be such a cool combination.

            But on the other side, Red Bull has managed to win my heart over the years. I really like Horner, how passionate he seems and how he runs the team, how organized and efficient they are, Newey and co. etc.

            While Red Bull perse means nothing to me, it’s difficult not to admire or like all the people of the team, and how everything is run.

          6. @danclapp

            Alonso left Renault and won with Ferrari

            When did that happen?? Did I miss a season… Or is it you are referring to GP wins and not WDC :p

        2. alonso won at mclaren

          1. When did Alonso won at mclaren? I think he still has 2 WDC

          2. https://www.racefans.net/members/bascb/

            He won races @oletros

            I think that the OP was referring to WDC, not races

    2. Couldn’t disagree with you more. For me Vettel has proved his greatness already and today proved it even more. Vettel makes it look easy.

      Hamilton, on the other hand, wants to make it look hard. And for me it is Hamilton who still needs to prove himself as a true great. Year after year Hamilton dazzles only to retire from a crucial race (sometimes his fault sometimes not). Let’s be honest – Hamilton should finish 2nd or 3rd this season. Anything less is really not OK given that Merc has won 3 races. For me it’s very difficult to say if even Alonso is better than VET. VET and Alonson are the greats right now. Rai and Ham just below (in that order with Hulkenberg set to upstage at least 3 of those 4).

    3. @sato113 – Yeah, just like how Hamilton wasn’t any good when he won 21 races and a WDC for Mclaren, but he’s suddenly learned how to drive after 3/4 of a season in a Merc.

    4. Yeah, that argument loses a lot of weight once you start talking a bit about it. People are fond of repeating over and over again though.

  5. Fantastic performance by Vettel. It’s quite tiring to see many fans rubbish his achievements by linking it to the car only. Even Michael Schumacher didn’t had this much criticisms. Yes, he has a great car underneath him which unfortunately Kimi or Lewis or Fernando don’t have unfortunately but what many fans fail to see is the amount of hard work he puts in with utmost sincerity and his down to earth nature. Every time on his team radio, you hear him giving credit and appreciating the whole team without fail first. Today it was said on Sky Sports that he presented a box of chocolates to all female members at the factory. I even remember a few races back Christian Horner mentioning how Seb never fails to bring a box of chocolates for the receptionist at the factory since he knows that she loves chocolates. From such instances, you can smartly figure out the man’s head is still on his shoulders.

    It doesn’t take away anything from the other drivers but he must be applauded for his efforts. Not many people said that Senna was lucky to win the title in 91 or Mansell in 92 due to their cars. Senna – McLaren, Schumacher – Ferrari, Mansell – Williams, Hakkinen – McLaren are matches made in heaven just like Vettel – RBR.

    It’s not to say that Seb is God but it’s not fair to just brush him away as an ordinary driver in an extraordinary car. We all might not like him winning races after races (I don’t) but we must be realistic enough to appreciate him as a stand out driver.

    1. David not Coulthard (@)
      13th October 2013, 11:42

      Stewart-Tyrrell, just in case somebody asks you for another match. Clark-Lotus wasn’t too bad either, and Ascari-Ferrari. Citroen-Loed, Mitsubishi-Makkinen…….

    2. @neelv27 As one of the silent majority ( subjective comment) I (we) fully agree. Your comment is both balanced and sensible. Vettel will be a worthy champion lets stop the debate.

  6. Two questions, would request answers from F1F’s, looping in @keithcollantine:

    1. Has Redbull wrapped up the WCC, if not when are they likely to do that?

    2. Has Vettel broken Alberto Ascari’s record

    1. See here (and my reply) for your first question for further detail, but the short answer is no, they haven’t and probably the next round in India.

      For the second, again, no. He has to win 4 more to equal that yet (providing the Indianapolis 500 is discounted) – obviously then 5 to beat it (so he’d have to win the opening round in 2014), or (providing the Indianapolis 500 does count, which is technically does) he needs to win two more to equal, three more to better! :)

    2. @noob
      1. Their lead is 149 points, with 172. They wrap up the WCC in India, if Ferrari fail to outscore RBR by 21 points or more.
      2. Nope, Ascari won 9 races in a row. Vettel would have to win every race until the end of the season for that (this would also see Vettel equal Schumacher’s record for 13 wins in a season).

      1. @david-a
        @vettel1
        Thanks… its a tough ask for equalling Ascari’s record as I see it, no doubt the mighty Schumacher couldn’t touch it

      2. Does that mean my calculations are all out by one point @david-a? :(

        1. By my count, they need (25+18) x 3 which is 129 points to win, with their current lead at (445 – 297) 148 points, so Ferrari need to outscore them by (148-129) 19 points + 1 for countback (as they can’t win more than 9 races) so 20 points more than RBR @david-a :)

        2. @vettel1 I made a mistake and said the gap was 149, not 148. So Ferrari have to close the gap by 20 points (not 21 as I said earlier), getting it down to 128 points to keep it “alive”.

          1. Actually disregard the bit about “128 points” in my post, RBR have wore wins anyway :P

          2. Just checking I hadn’t screwed up somewhere @david-a haha! :D

  7. Is there a particular reason you never put the winner’s finishing time down as part of the results? Seems a very odd (and annoying to us stattos) thing to do.

  8. Jules is missing from the listing.

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