Rate the race: 2013 Japanese Grand Prix

2013 Japanese Grand Prix

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What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the Japanese Grand Prix.

F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought of every race during the season.

Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (6%)
  • 9 (14%)
  • 8 (32%)
  • 7 (29%)
  • 6 (9%)
  • 5 (6%)
  • 4 (2%)
  • 3 (0%)
  • 2 (0%)
  • 1 (2%)

Total Voters: 690

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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See the results for past seasons here:

2013 Japanese Grand Prix

Browse all 2013 Japanese Grand Prix articles

Image © Force India

Author information

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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200 comments on “Rate the race: 2013 Japanese Grand Prix”

  1. Bob (@bobthevulcan)
    13th October 2013, 8:31

    An excellent strategic race, and a welcome change of scenery from seeing Vettel just streak off into the distance from the race start. In addition to actual contention for the lead for once, there was lots of drama to follow in the midfield, especially from the Saubers and Ferraris in the Ricciardo train, impressive overtakes down 130R, not to mention the gaggle around Perez in the final laps. Although the end was a tad anti-climactic, I gave it an 8.

    1. @bobthevulcan Well said – although, with WEB and GRO battling in traffic, the ending was pretty exciting.

      1. @Pandaslap Completely agree with you! Was on the edge of my seat yelling and patiently waiting for WEB to overtake GRO on the straight.

    2. At least we had a proper strategic and on track fight for the lead after a long time. If only there was a different winner…
      7

      1. So you rate a race not on the actual racing, but on who’s the winner? Very sportsman-like.

        1. Isn’t having a winner is part of the racing…?

          I’m sure @dujedcv took other parts of the race into consideration, but the fact that Vet won for the 5th race in a row made it a little less enjoyable. If Grosjean won for example, I personally would of enjoyed that a lot more.

          1. So your enjoyment depends on who wins. Mine depends on the racing. I also salute excellence, you clearly don’t. You prefer losers.

        2. @lheela
          I have rated the race objectively regardless of the winner. If the winner was someone else, I would still give it the same rating because it was too good to be 6 and not that good to be 8 or higher.
          All in all, a textbook example of a good average race.
          And I have just said that it would be better if someone else had won it only because it was Vettel’s 5th in a row, although this time it was not a getaway win like others, he actually had to fight.

  2. Some good battles and varied strategies but had it’s dull periods.

    Well done Gutierez

  3. Grosjean saved this race from being a total snoozefest. 7/10

    1. It was obvious that Grosjean will not win after first several laps. After 1 pit stops it was obvious that Vettel will win. Boring race.

      1. @slava how exactly was it obvious? Vettel’s pace was actually relatively poor after the first stops.

        1. @vettel1 He was told by his engineer to stay 2 seconds back.

          1. Again, how do you the reason that the result “was beyond doubt” given that he was told to hold station, due to degredation fears?

          2. @vettel1
            Max, the fact that they had to tell him to hold station, just goes to show that he could´ve gone past both of them much earlier! If he would´ve been cut loose a bit earlier, it would have been a snooze fest!
            I also gave the race a 7. The battles in the midfield made up for a boring race!

          3. @karter22 actually, that only tells me their strategy was compromised. If Vettel had tried to overtake right away he might’ve wrecked his tyres and had to three stop (perhaps without ever succeeding in overtaking Grosjean), which may well have handed the win to Romain.

          4. @karter22 I think that’s really really unlikely. If Vettel had a decent chance to get past, they would have him do it. Webber couldn’t do it, and they made the decision to get their drivers to back off and save the tyres.

      2. If you rate this race as boring, I’m afraid you should consider stop watch F1 from now on.

        1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
          13th October 2013, 9:02

          +1

          I feel that people have become a bit spoiled.

          It’s as if they’re expecting ‘Brazil 2012’ every grand prix.

          That was a thoroughly entertaining race.

          1. It depends how you rate ‘boring’. I am all for a ‘less is more’ style when it comes to entertainment. I still think 2010 was better than 2011-2013. Sure each race individually wasn’t as exciting as some of the Pirelli ones but at least in 2010 we had 3 teams with good cars. That was what made it exciting and tense. Now, it’s one team usually who has a clear advantage; and that is boring… massively boring.

          2. Chris (@tophercheese21)
            13th October 2013, 9:13

            @nick-uk

            It’s called “Rate the Race”, not “Rate the Championship”.

            Yes, obviously when a team runs away with the championship then the overall picture isn’t as exciting, but it doesn’t mean the racing can’t be. There were some cracking battles!

            Vettel won, and he drove very well and earned it. Nothing wrong with that.

          3. To be fair, this is what i’m asking people to consider.

            If Brazil is a 10/10, why on earth would this race be a 10/10? That’s something i’ve never, ever understood..

            I know it’s down to opinion and that, but shouldn’t that make Brazil 2012 a 14/10 by default?

            I think it’s worth bearing in mind..

          4. @tophercheese21 absolutely: I’ve only ever made one exception to that rule, and it was the 2012 Brazilian GP, as the championship situation there provided an absolutely mesmerising level of extra depth to an utterly fabulous race regardless!

        2. I have, I switched off after 7 laps today and won’t be watching anymore. I have watched almost every race for the last 30 years and I detest the fact that drivers are being told not to race, but look after the tyres instead (especially less than 10 laps in). That together with the push button overtaking that drs has brought to the sport. Where is the excitement of overtaking a sitting duck?

          I for one want to be on the edge of my seat, scared to blink in case I missed anything and watching the drivers fight it out to the very last lap. Not these procession like races, where you can go make a cup of tea and not miss a thing. Unfortunately ‘in the name of entertainment’ the very essence of formula 1 seems to have been forgotten and I can no longer bear to watch this shambles.

        3. Paul Crich (@)
          13th October 2013, 13:18

          I have, I switched off after 7 laps today and won’t be watching anymore. I have watched almost every race for the last 30 years and I detest the fact that drivers are being told not to race, but look after the tyres instead (especially less than 10 laps in). That together with the push button overtaking that drs has brought to the sport. Where is the excitement of overtaking a sitting duck?

          I for one want to be on the edge of my seat, scared to blink in case I missed anything and watching the drivers fight it out to the very last lap. Not these procession like races, where you can go make a cup of tea and not miss a thing. Unfortunately ‘in the name of entertainment’ the very essence of formula 1 seems to have been forgotten and I can no longer bear to watch this shambles.

          1. maarten.f1 (@)
            13th October 2013, 16:36

            @paulcrich I must’ve watched a different race then. I saw lots of battles today! Battles that went on until the very last lap, different strategies, things that didn’t go as plan. A very good race in my opinion.

          2. @maarten-f1

            I agree, of all the criticisms you can make of modern F1, calling it processional surely isn’t one of them.

            (The only exception being Vettel haha) -.-

        4. I agree with you. These days, “boring” has become a mantra for most people if Vettel wins, no matter how. On a different forum, a particularly intense anti-Vettel fan mentioned that the Hungarian GP was by far the most interesting so far. No prizes for guessing why!

        5. Actually, I was a bit spoiled for choice this weekend with MotoGP as well as the Bathurst 1000KM V8 Supercar races as well as F1, in fact the 1000Km of nose to tale racing on the Mount Panorama circuit was far more exciting than the F1 tyre wear contest, and the motorcycles put on an excellent show as well.

    2. I did actually fall asleep after around lap 30 only to wake up on 51 to see Vettel 7 seconds ahead with Webber coming passed. Can someone tell me how Vettel got ahead?

      It was okay. I gave it a 7, which maybe was a bit generous but seeing Romain and Hulkenberg having great races again made up some entertainment. Lotus would be foolish not to hire the Hulk alongside Romain after this latest performance from them both.

      One thing that has been bothering me about the Hulk situation is why doesn’t he have much backing? Why is it that a driver who is clearly skilled hasn’t got sponsorhip? Does his performance not draw support and added sponsorship over time, if the answer is no, then the following question is why is his management unable to find him backing? I just can’t fathom why good drivers seem to carry less funding than others. They’ve a safer driver to back over people like Maldonado and Chilton. If I was looking to invest in sponsorship I’d want to back a driver I trusted to deliver and get my brand increased exposure via media interest, generated by solid results and talent.

      1. @nick-uk Because sponsorship has nothing to do with performance, Companies look for someone that can help them carry their brand in their respective markets. I loooove the Hulk, he is a great driver and cool guy, but I wonder what is his marketability. If a German brand wants to sponsor a German guy….well, they will probably pick Vettel.

        Don’t get me wrong, some smaller German firm could use his image for sure. But been under the shadow of Vettel and maybe even Rosberg as the most marketable German driver is not doing any wonders for his career.

      2. Nick admit it you fell asleep when Ham retired(closet Ham fan lol). Ha ha im only kidding im not going to lie i nearly turned off when he had punture he is my fav driver, and im not going to lie i was a lil happy when Ros got pen? Is that wrong to be happy? I just want Ham to inish ahead he deserves it he just been unlucky lately. What happend with Jb today he was not onit really was he even SP was quicker which i thought was odd. Im not gonna lie i thnk it should be JB going because their is surely potential in him, is JB going to get better? Surely not so why they dont give Perez and Hulk the seat i dont know. Not that i think JB should be out of F1 he is easily a top 10 driver(and is better than Perez as of now). I just think its no raw pace that lets him down, great dude though keeps it real.

        6 for me race was not great.

        1. @danclapp – Ok mate, I get it, you’re not going to lie :)

        2. JB was quick when he had to be to make a three stopper work. The car was never going to get higher than 9th with just Hamilton out.

    3. grosjean actually made this race boring towards the end. he stopped webber from catching vettel

      1. I would have liked to see that, sure. But as much as I like Webber, he’s a wet tea towel trying to dry a dinner plate that’s just been washed up. He couldn’t beat Vettel on his best day. I say this as a relatively vocal Vettel hater.

      2. @sato113 Blame it on Webber for failing to do a job as good as his team mate when there were at least three reasons why his overtake should have been easier than Vettel’s. Grosjean’s defensive driving was extremely good.

        1. Don’t have to do anything defensive, when they guy behind you keeps on slotting you in the slowest corner just to give you traction edge, instead of trying an alternative line. Webber was very inpatient and boring with his attempts on Romain.

          Vettel way smarter driver. Romain is another Webber type driver – it makes more sence with all the crashing Webber had in him fast younger days :)

          1. Trenthamfolk (@)
            13th October 2013, 17:40

            Vettel has wiped out more than his fair share of title contenders… Even dubbed the crash kid by whitmarsh I think. People have short memories…

      3. maarten.f1 (@)
        13th October 2013, 16:40

        @sato113 How did he make it boring? I saw a very exciting battle for 2nd. I don’t get why a race is boring if the win isn’t contested.

    4. I was hoping that Romain and Lewis could make good starts and take advantage of the bulls because Webber was P1 and he usually has poor starts, too bad Lewis had a flat tyre, but Romain did a great job. I’m yet to understand why Webber went for a 3 stopper…

  4. Great race! A bit if a dull mid part of the race as both bulls were told to hold station and I would’ve liked to have seen Webber challenge Vettel towards the end (but then again, Webber didn’t get the move done quickly enough) but great drives again throughout the field!

    Solid 8.

  5. There were 2 races.
    Pre-Vettel it was a easy 9 out of 10
    and Post-Vettel
    barely a 7.

    so…i’ll give it an 8.

    1. I can tell you are a real F1 fan!! retarded standards!

  6. What a race ! an exciting battle everywhere ! strategically up front, and scraps outside the top 3.

    Sad about Mark not winning, but they all did brilliant. That mid-race scrap behind Ricciardo was absolutely glorious ! and everything interesting happened outside DRS… a device that’s sucking my hopes, my thrills, my emotions more and more and more every single race weekend…

    What’s interesting, tho, is that for the first time EVER (this should be written in Wikipedia or something), I’ve almost nailed the prediction. I had VET, WEB, GRO, ROS, RAI… that’s shocking…!

    1. @fer-no65 I think I win then :P

      1. @vettel1 again, yeah… My luck, huh? I don’t even win that “let’s see who’s more rubbish” game :( !

  7. I’ve seen Grand Prix racing for every position today, great strategies, and great moves…. Best race of the year!

  8. I really enjoyed that. Very entertaining race with lots going on all the way through.

    Shame though that after all the early promise, Vettel ended up winning yet again. Would’ve been nice to see a different or even a new GP winner for a change.

    7/10

  9. 9/10 – Joint best race this year, along with Germany. Great tactical battle between the top three. Fantastic wheel to wheel racing down the field, especially when Ricciardo held up a bunch of cars. Feel for Grosjean though, it would have been great for him to get a maiden win, or at least hold on for 2nd, behind Vettel, who got the job done as soon as the chance arose.

  10. Excellent race, best so far of the season. 10/10.
    -Too bad Webber didn’t pass Grosjean in his first attempt. If he did, then we might have seen a RED BULL SHOWDOWN. haha.
    -Grosjean, driver of the weekend for me, Perfect start, lead half of the race and even though *Grosjean get out of the way so we can have a race at the front*, he was superb this weekend.
    -Too bad for Lewis, Lewis had his best start of the year, and gets hit. Although, no one is at fault there because it was super tight for Vettel to move.

    1. 10/10? You’d consider that as one of the greatest F1 races of all time?

      1. @magnificent-geoffrey Each to their own. What did you think? Maybe I should disagree with that, whatever it is.

        1. See, this is the issue I have here sometimes.

          And I know i’ll get jumped on, but… I just don’t see how anyone could consider that a ‘perfect’ F1 race. I always ask the question:

          Out of interest, how long have you been a fan for? How many races have you seen?

          Because if that’s a perfect race, my God, you want to check out some other races!

          1. @ecwdanselby @magnificent-Geoffrey

            10/10 for the season. Not of all time, I rate the race “inside the season” excluding the all time races. If it was all time, then I would give this 7-8 not a 10.

          2. @krichelle if you’re rating the race as a comparison to the other races this season, then you’re doing it wrong and skewing the results.
            How did you rate the Aus GP???

          3. Suzuka 2005 was a 10/10 race, this was a 9/10 ^^

          4. @paeschl
            @sato113
            I based rankings based on the races in the season not of all time. I said that if this was with all time, this would be a 7-8 not a 10. I am a Lewis fan and even though he was out, which I didn’t like, it was still entertaining. Yes, 2005 Suzuka was a superb race, decided to the wire. But, I realize that most people here now, are giving races wherein Raikkonen won, which makes me think that *you know what*.

          5. He has every right to rate the race the way he wants. If you’re going to question the ‘validity’ of votes you can start with the people that dock 1-3 points just because Vettel is “leading” or won the race. There is already quite a few of these around.

      2. @magnificent-Geoffrey

        Not of all time!!! LOL. But definitely the best of the season without “safety cars”. It was a nice race and Red Bull’s strategy made the race result very anxious. We wanted variability, we had variability by Red Bull giving Mark the green light to challenge, only problem was: He didn’t get pass by Grosjean in his first attempt. Not passing Grosjean decided the race.
        There was a lot of action at the end of the race, we saw that Grosjean and Webber caught up to a train of cars. haha

        1. @krichelle I definitely understand your reasoning and agree that it was an enjoyable race, I just don’t quite think it was 10/10 worthy myself! :P

        2. That’s fair.

          Would be good to hear more people’s justification for some of their high/low scores.

          Because judging races by seasons or overall is a huge, huge difference!

          I think most seem to vote based on their last one or two races at times lol

          I think it might be cool if Keith perhaps outlined what the 10 point scoring system is based on: for the season, or overall (however long you’ve been watching).

          Because they’re both extremely different.

          1. @ecwdanselby @magnificent-Geoffrey

            In real, this was a very good race. I wonder if fans, based the race on their “favorite drivers” because even though Lewis was out of the race, which he is my favorite driver, it was still a very good and entertaining race. What made this race entertaining, was Red Bull’s split strategy because I imagine if Webber got passed Romain on his first attempt, we might have had a dramatic finish to the race. And it didn’t occur, which decided the outcome of the race.

        3. I think that two-stop strategy was faster, so going for three stops was what actually decided the race for Webber.

          1. Yeah, but could he have pulled it off, that’s the question @maroonjack, as not that many drivers could today (GRO didn’t but maybe if Lotus had kept eye on VET he should have, not sure).

            Anyway, I quite agree with
            the reasoning of @krichelle for why this was a good race. And with @magnificent-geoffrey that it wasn’t a 10/10. In the end I decided on 8/10 – maybe a bit higher than deserved, but it was nice to have a more traditionally ‘good on strategy’ F1 race. Great driving all through the top 10 really too.

      3. 10/10 even with misgivings. sigh.

        1. Not me, I gave it 5, average entertainment value for an F1 race.

  11. Great race, I would have liked anyone else to win but it’s a 9. That Red Bull tactic was a downer but well Vettel does treat the tyres better but Red Bull didn’t entrust Webber to win.

  12. 7-Good race overall, after a long time we had a battle for P1.

  13. Yet more ridiculous tyre management.
    I want to see them racing hard & not maintaining 2 second gaps to nurse the stupidly fragile tyres.

    Roll on 2014 & the proper racing tyres!

    1. I’m with you Peter G , been watching f1 since the 60s but if they are not going to let these guys race then it’s time to give it up, even the drivers say they can’t race anymore !

    2. YES! Thank god there is someone with common sense here! “nurse the tyres!” “maintain the gap” “back off a little bit” “look after the rears” I don’t need to hear that! Give me some more “Go get him” “push harder” “try to pass him” “we are racing!!”

      7/10 for rate the race
      0/10 for “keep a distance” tyre management

      1. Maybe i am wrong but didn’t we used to get the same messages during the Bridgestone era. Drivers would back off for a certain time and then try to overtake during pitstop.

        1. @subbu

          :D Ha, don’t tell him that! It’ll ruin his angry.

      2. Agreed, but why blame the pit management for it? Look what happened to Hamilton. With htese sort of tyres, drivers have to be careful to avoid them going off. I fully agree that they should supply tyres that last and leave it to the drivers to race it out.

    3. Indeed Peter, how can it be exciting when for 3/4 race drivers are holding position 2 seconds back from the car in front. Chess is for tactics, F1 is for racing.

      1. But apparently you can please some of the people all of the time.

  14. 10/10 – best race of the year and a fight for every position including the win :)

  15. 8/10 – Almost all of that thanks to Grosjean, simply the only one to disrupt the 2-tier F1 we would otherwise have seen.

  16. Rated 9 – A pass to win finally for Seb. Saved the tyres when needed and pushed when told. Not the best exhibition of racing but still got the job done. Plenty of action throughout the race. Only notable absentee was Hamilton.

  17. Guttierez outdrove Hulkeburg today.

    1. I don’t know.. he finished 20 seconds after Hulk. But he did a good job defending from Rosberg.

  18. That was pretty good. Nice mix of strategies at the front, it was good to have a genuine battle for the lead involving different strategies and teams. Same result though, even Vettel’s strongest detractors have got to hand it to him, he is the best driver in the field at the moment.

      1. +2 for @geemac ‘s post

  19. A solid 8 in my opinion — VET as usual managed it perfectly. A little disappointed by WEB. He clearly couldn’t do what VET to GRO on older tyres. That ultimately deprived us of the final battle! #Shame

    1. @sankalp88 Congrats dude, your question on #askCrofty was telecasted on Sky F1, would be happy if you can share the tweet, looping in @keithcollantine for his info

      1. @noob

        I know right! I was so psyched right after Croft retweeted me. But I never for a moment thought he would actually go on and talk about it on TV haha!

        I don’t know if we can embed tweets in the comments section here. Can we?

        You can see it here otherwise: https://twitter.com/sankalp_88 (my tweets are not protected, so you can see them even if you don’t follow me!)

        1. @sankalp88 When I heard our name, it felt familiar, but I could not place you properly from among the F1 sites I follow, searched here and got you..

          1. @noob

            I appreciate it. I’m enjoying my 15 seconds of fame. Wait, I meant zero seconds actually. I gleefully posted the video clip on facebook and got precisely zero likes for it haha. No one knows what Formula 1 is in mid-western US :/

  20. Haven’t seen such a scruffy drive(bad start, lots of lock-ups in the chicane) from Vettel in a long time yet he still won. Someone should call George Lucas and tell him we need ‘A new hope’ for next year. :D

    1. @gicu hahaha, Alonso says : “Help me Obi-Wan Ke-newey! you are my only hope!”

      1. @jp1987 I might have seen Bernie as the emperor and maybe Vettel as Vader since many people see him as the bad guy, but I didn’t see Alonso as the Princess, lol.

      2. Fernando, have patience, follow my apprentice and with the rising sun you will be invincible.

    2. Everybody locked up. Webber and Grosjean, too.

    3. @gicu it’s rather amazing that was a scruffy race by his standards, isn’t it?

      1. @vettel1 There’s no denying he’s good. I just hope in the future we won’t need a lesser race from him just so we can see some battles for the lead.

        1. @gicu I have to agree with you there

  21. Paul Crich (@)
    13th October 2013, 8:46

    1 from me, switched off after lap 7 when the radio messages were asking them to pull back and save tyres. This is no longer formula 1 and I won’t watching any more. Been a fan for over 30 years, but enough is enough.

    1. @paulcrich Sorry to hear that – I hope you give it another shot in 2014, with better tyres.

    2. @paulcrich Sorry to hear that – I hope you give it another shot in 2014, with better tyres.

    3. @paulcrich I’m also sorry to hear that – I have followed and been a fan of F1 for 36 years, and while I don’t like the artificiality of DRS and deliberately degradable tyres, my passion for the sport is undiminished from when I first started following it. To me, F1 is (and always has been) all about incredibly fast cars, amazing technology, clever strategies and of course the world’s best drivers.

      Never in those 36 years have I switched off the TV, because there has always been either speed, technology, strategy or driver brilliance to marvel at.

      1. Paul Crich (@)
        14th October 2013, 7:57

        @pault I agree with everything you say and yes these are the fundamentals of F1. But what is the point of having the speed and the technology to build the perfect race car and then not be able to race it to its full potential? All in the name of ‘entertainment’

        I just want to see how well these cars can go, not restrict them to saving tyres and overtaking with help. I want to feel the adrenaline and the excitement of flat out nose to tail racing right up to the finish. This is what I loved about the sport, and sadly without that I think that modern day f1 is completely missing the plot.

  22. Grosjean’s defense against Webber made it anti-climactic but we can’t fault him, he was entitled to defend his position… besides if Vettel easily breezed past Grosjean why did Webber take several laps to do it? I gave it an 8/10 mostly because of Grosjean, he was the only driver capable of challenging the Red Bulls, which is very commendable given the ~30 second gap to Alonso in 4th and especially his own teammate, Raikkonen in 5th.

    1. Nothing to take away from his blistering start, apart from that he only lost positions after having enjoying the free air. While both Kimi and Fernando showed their worth.

      What I liked is how Alonso was quick to react to Raikkonen’s charge and step his pace up in order to overtake Hulkenberg before Kimi had a go on him.

      1. Given that the Red Bulls are over 30 seconds ahead of everyone else, it is pretty impressive for Grosjean to be able to challenge them at all in the first place. Besides, the benefit of clear air for Grosjean was only because he qualified much better than Raikkonen. Grosjean is outperforming the Lotus and/or Raikkonen is underperforming in qualifying, likewise for Alonso. Either way, it doesn’t look good on both Alonso and Raikkonen who need to step up their game in qualifying.

  23. The people who rated Korea 7 or 8 look pretty silly now. This was what an F1 race should be like. A decent battle for the win, some good racing up and down the field, and it wasn’t clear who would win until 5 or 6 laps from the end. A solid 7 from me.

    1. I actually thought Korea was better. Gave this a 6, Korea a 7, and don’t feel silly at all.

      That’s why I always base my scorings on ‘overall’ rather than this season or the last race or two.

      This race promised so much more after lap one, and for me, didn’t quite deliver it’s ultimate potential.

      Korea didn’t promise a lot, but came through as quite a good little race!

    2. @red-andy Korea was better , the scrap at the end was more engaging to watch than the strategy battle we had today . We had mayhem , safety cars , a lot . Today was a bit more boring as we knew all along that RBR were slightly quicker . Had the Lotus stopped one less time( I know it was not possible ) , it would have been EPIC . Lot of tyre conservation going around did not help either in the mid stage of the race . There was some action with the Mclarens and the Torro rosso , but still not sustained for more than 2-3 laps . One more problem is that the broadcasters did not show too much of the midfield action at all , with brundle having to check to make sure whom he was talking about as he wasn’t even aware previously of the many possible scraps .

  24. 7/10 It wasn’t a boring race, but if Kimi & Grosjean were higher, I would’ve given it a 8/10

  25. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    13th October 2013, 8:50

    7

    That was a really entertaining race. The best race since the mid term break.
    Great strategy, and great racing.

  26. 8/10 brilliant strategic race from vettel. watching Grosjean grow as a driver is a great sight indeed. A genuine three way battle for the lead…what more can I ask for

    1. +1! It’s almost as if we’re seeing a different driver from last season, where he was a Kamikaze weapon in the first lap.

  27. 6 for me.

    Didn’t really pan out quite as planned, did it? Was disappointed to see Grosjean’s pace slip in the later stages, which robbed us of a real battle for 1st. I atleast wanted to see Vettel have to fight (like Webber) for position, but full credit to him. He just did his fight when he was out on his own and put in some good times.

    Grosjean effectively killed any chance of a colossal Red Bull battle for the lead, another battle I was really interested in seeing.

    The racing this year definitely has some very dull sections. Not too keen on this anti-racing malarky when it comes to having to drop 2 seconds behind to conserve rubber. I know it all ends up unfolding, but it’s a shame that no one’s allowed to chase until the final ten or so laps.

  28. So Glad that Gutierrez got his first points and that we got a fight for the lead but were some dull parts to the race and also a bit of action in the midfield again but overall 8/10.

  29. It isn’t his fault, but my god I am so utterly sick and tired of Vettel winning. Bring on the hope of closer racing next year and consign this year to the doldrums like it and the others of its ilk (2001, 2002, 2004 and 2011) deserves.

  30. Mark Webber should have won this one. Or at least, if Mark could have made a faster job overtaking Romain we could have seen a real fight in the end. Well, even if the booee won at last the race improved immensely when it was not a foregone conclusion from turn 1. Well done also for Gutierrez, Hulkenberg and Alonso. Did RBR really need to screw up Mark’s strategy?

    1. They didn’t, Webber was having more problems with tyre management than Vettel and had to switch to a 3-stop. Even then, he could have still won but he couldn’t get past Grosjean as easily as Vettel and that effectively ended his hopes of winning.

      1. Mr win or lose
        13th October 2013, 11:13

        But what if Webber had done only two stops? He had a 15-second lead and it seemed that Vettel was not even a second per lap quicker. So I thought it was his best chance to win the race.

        1. Yes, do 2 stops and then your tyres fall apart and you lose about 3 seconds a lap… there’s a reason 3-stop strategies exist you know, especially for those who can’t manage their tyres as well.

        2. Then he would have dropped like a rock towards the end of the race.
          And what would a 2 stop strategy have done to help him, had he actually had the tyres to do it?
          With Grosjean ahead, a 2 stop strategy would have meant that he would have had to overtake Grosjean on similar tyres.
          Which is quite unlikely when it took him 7’ish laps to do it on new options, against Grosjean’s old primes.

  31. Good race. 7.
    But the result was predictable after Grosjean stoped.

  32. Good Race Good Strategy… Sad to see Lewis Drop out early in the race. Could have been a little spicy with him in between Roman and the Bulls…..

  33. Solid 7/10 for this race for me, had some good battles, but still far too much tyre management, a lot of it didn’t feel like proper racing, though occasionally the tyres did give some good train battles. They say you should take the good with the bad, but these tyres are more bad than good. One of the best strategy races though.

  34. Very good race. It was an interesting strategic battle between the top three, up until the last stop it was very difficult to predict who was going to win.
    The battle for P4 was awesome as well.

    I think that’s the kind of strategic race Pirelli was asked to do. Different strategies and some overtakings on track. Not a classic by any means, but still a solid race.

  35. 4/10 . It seems a bit harsh but it was too boring for me . Most of the passes were DRS passes and nothing exciting going around . There was a virtual battle for the lead , but once Vettel had fresher tyres , it was obvious that he was going to hunt Romain down . Seb drove a so-so race , but picked up the sticks very well after his start to maximize his car’s performance and finally overtake Grosjean . But , again , we were denied the most expected battle . As for the midfield , some good battles going on there , but no on-boards of them in the broadcast. Instead , we were seeing Mark webber closing in on the lotus . there was also a big gap between 3rd and 4th that actually dimmed the excitement out. I am surprised a majority of people gave it a 7 . The track is iconic , the cars are super fast , the drivers are fantastic , but the race , no , for me it was pedestrian .

    1. I actually thought the DRS was nearly spot on in this race, and i’m not a DRS fan, for sure.

      It created an opportunity, but drivers 80% of the time could seem to defend, at least. That’s all I ask for.

      1. +1.

        Maybe @hamilfan is a bit frustrated a certain driver was forced to retire from this one?! Objectively I can’t see how this race can be a 4, but to each their own.

        1. @roberto No I am not frustrated at all , it was a racing incident and no one is to blame . I did not factor that into my rate the race . There have been races in which Hamilton has retired which have been spectacular , say , for example Brazil 2012 . Besides , the thing that makes this race boring is the fact that RBR has a lot of pace in their bag to unleash whenever necessary . Not even a great defense by Grosjean was enough to thwart the Red Bulls. Agreed that there was a battle for the lead , but it was not as exciting as the midfield battle in the closing stages of Korea.

  36. 7/10 – Again I have to say, this was a good race… for 2013 standards. The battle for the lead was a charade: during the first stint, it was a matter of maintaining the gap and looking after the tyres. In the second stint, it became apparent how much better Red Bull was. Vettel just breezed past Grosjean, while Webber did the same, with a little bit more effort. It looked exciting, but it really wasn’t.

    There were a lot of passes, too bad most of them DRS-assisted, but thankfully there were others too: Raikkonen on Hulkenberg round the outside of the chicane was great, as were some into 130R.

    So a good race, but it felt more like a smoke screen than an actual race

    1. Have to agree. When will RBR really have a showdown between drivers?

      1. @nmsi When Webber is actually able to keep up with Vettel?

  37. 8/10

    good race. the red bulls are unbeatable. astonishing drive from grosjean. glad for gutierrez to finally score points.

    to those that say grosjean denied a battle for third; please be reasonable and think for a second! do you expect him to move out of the way so we can have a battle for the lead? he’s driving for himself and wants to fight for positions. you cannot expect ANY racing driver to move out of the way (if they’re fighting for position) to give the race some extra spice. grosjean has to perform like this, he has to prove his skills if he wants to stay in the sport.

  38. 9 out of 10 for me. Pretty gripping race. Would’ve been a 10 if Webber had given us a fight for the lead.

  39. 8/10. Simply because that’s where I think the race should be.

    It might not be remembered as an all-time classic, but the mere doubt that Vettel would have to work for the win was enough to keep the excitement. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Vettel fan, but his best races have been where he’s had to fight for it (Whether he’s won or lost) and he certainly had a challenge on his hands.

    However, I did feel DRS was a bit too strong in the race today. Very few overtakes happened outside the DRS zone, but maybe that’s the drivers who should be looking to attack elsewhere (I know a few had a go at 130R). Tyres might have been fragile as some have said, but if they were completely flat-out, then we wouldn’t have had Grosjean being anywhere near the Red Bulls, and Webber wouldn’t have been near Vettel either. Having to limit the tyres is the best way of keeping the pack together (And can also allow strategy to have drivers build gaps should it be needed e.g Vettel Singapore)

    Tight racing all down the field, a few surprising results in Grosjean and Gutierrez (Both of whom have long been deserving this) and some lovely tactical decisions resulting in a decent race

  40. 8/10 for me, great action everywhere in the field, Suzuka lives up to its reputation and provides some action in borefest that the second half of the season has become. This race had all sorts of overtakes DRS, non-DRS, KERS, slipstreaming up to 130R, ballsy overtakes into turn 1. I was really enjoying myself until Vettels strategy came to me and I realised he’d win easily ;-).

    However as much as I like this race I am now seriously starting to thinks about skipping the last races (I can’t believe that I’m considering this after a non-stop steak starting at Australia 2000) . Just because there is no doubt Vettel will blitz India, get revenge for net getting first dibs at Austin, Abu Dhabi is basically a walk in the park and in Brazil RB will give Webber another ‘golden’ gearbox treatment like in 2011. I would lie if I said I’m so done with this season.

    Yet there are some fights still left that could lure me into watching. Hulkenbergs revival is sure to have more action from him + his teammate finally seems fired up. Toro Rosso hoping they can hit back at Sauber. Grosjean desperately wanting that first win. The fight for second in the constructors between Ferrari, Mercedes and Lotus.

    Has 2013 anything left of worth…

  41. Solid Seven. If Webber had won I’d have given a 9, cuz Hamilton retiring takes all the fun out of a race.

  42. David not Coulthard (@)
    13th October 2013, 10:13

    Went for 6/10, which wasn’t a mistake at first, but I almost immediatly regretted not clicking on 7.

    While as a Vettel fan I’m happy about Weber being held up by Romain……..a battle of Red Bulls would’ve been fun.

  43. Again Sauber did very well, pity to have lost out the 4th position but everyone has seen how good Hulkenberg is and what a tremendous potential he has to drive top cars! Finally Gutierrez made it to the points, well done for Sauber again.
    Hulk should have gone to Ferrari, hope he can get a Lotus seat and beat Kimi next year! That would make him smile!

  44. 7 for me.

    Decent racing all down the field and we finally had a battle for the lead for the first time in a while. However I was a bit annoyed about the tyre saving the top 3 had to do and also how the DRS prevent drivers from overtaking at the chicane.

  45. Gave it a 8/10. A great strategic race at the front and some good battles mid-field as well. Only shame was it wan’t earlier in the season, so last bit was somewhat anti-climatic. But taken on its own a really good race on a great track. Just wish that like last year I was actually there. Maybe next year if I start saving my pennies…

  46. Very enjoyable. A good strategic race and a brave fight from Grosjean in an inferior car. There were some good battles and the nature of the track neutered DRS to the point where it was pretty much irrelevant.

    A solid 8, I was rarely bored.

  47. I enjoyed watching the strategies unfold. Webber’s tyre issues reflect his choice of a skinny rear wing setup. It will make him faster on a single lap but with less traction he was always on for more tyre wear. Grosjean was my Driver of the Day … he had a pack of Red Bulls after him and made it difficult for Mark to overtake. Being a Sauber fan I loved to see a good race for the Hulk and Gutz. I think they can catch Force India (McLaren are probably out of reach). Why are McLaren still thinking about Perez for next year? They need to get Alonso or the Hulk to campaign 2014?

  48. 5/10, a generous 5 at that. Plenty of action down the field, but the result was inevitable and predictable (the top 3 at least). Good results for Sauber and Grosjean, not a bad recovery from Nico but in all honesty – and it pains me to say this – I don’t know why I bothered getting up early this morning to watch this race.

    I’m lucky enough to watch the race on Sky and believe they have the better show, but I’m tending to agree with a couple of my mates (who don’t have Sky and are big fans of the sport) and may just start watching the highlights show of the races for the rest of the year.

    1. @jamesf1 agree with ya mate

  49. Had all the components for a great race, but at the end it didn’t materialize and Vettel won again, so I’ll go with 7.

    1. @kanil I think that says more about Vettel than anything else, if I’m honest.

      1. @vettel1 No No he is not undermining your driver . He is bored with the predictability of the race that’s all .

        1. @hamilfan I figured he was, but what I was saying is it speaks volumes ;)

          @kanil, well, Vettel got the move done. He passed on 8 lap newer tyres on his first try I’m pretty sure. Webber took 6, on 13 lap newer, faster compound tyres.

          So Vettel was the key element in making his strategy work over Webber I’d say!

          1. @vettel1 I don’t really find DRS’ing by a guy on older tyres to be that impressive, to be honest. It happens all the time in “modern” F1, and you knew Vettel was going to just sail on by Grosjean.

            What was impressive (for the wrong reasons!) was that Webber was unable to do the same.

          2. Interstsingly, he actually forgot to use DRS @kanil!

            Agreed an disagreed though. I don’t think DRS passes take much skill. But then, Suzuka is a very difficult track to overtake on and DRS isn’t actually that effective. I think it’s rather good in Japan, considering the aero effect of the cars on this, very much an aero dominated track.

      2. @vettel1 I think it says more about Grosjean and Webber (or their teams.) If Grosjean hadn’t thrown his strategy out the window, or if Webber could… y’know… pass a car, then we probably would have had a much more exciting race than we did.

        There were two separate chances for an interesting fight to the finish, and both fell apart.

  50. 8/10 good racing at the front for a change, with 3 drivers battling for the win. Good drives up the field by Alonso and Kimi, Kimi’s overtake on Hulk was magic. Hulk again put in a great performance. Also there were lots of drive through penalties which always mean more overtaking as drivers are ‘out of position’ relative to their car’s pace.

    1. good racing at the front for a change, with 3 drivers battling for the win.

      just a shame it was a strategy battle with them nowhere near one another on the track for 95% of the race as they went into ‘tyre management’ mode.

      was as bad as a refueling era race, all strategy & very little close racing between the cars battling.

  51. Not a fan of these “strategy battles” as the laps always run out just as it’s getting good.

    A proper race on a proper track though. Hats off to Vettel for making it look easy to pass Grosjean, and well done to Romain for his mega start and Stevie Gut for his armful of points. But if Alonso & Raikkonen are cruising round in 5th place like that next year, heads will roll…

  52. Vettel’s pass for the lead showed why DRS should be banned.
    He slip-streamed alongside Grosjean without using DRS & that would have been a thrilling side by side fight into turn 1, However he then remembered he had DRS & was then driven clean past really easily.

    DRS made what could have been a thrilling fight into turn 1 somewhat less thrilling :(

    Also saw a couple times where the DRS detection point before the chicane made people back out of trying overtakes into the chicane which always looks really lame.

    All the real & exciting stuff happened well outside the DRS zone as usual, Just shows how utterly boring & unexciting DRS makes ‘passing’.

    About all DRS has been doing is killing my love of F1 more & more.
    I don’t even watch every session anymore & have not watched a few races live this year for the 1st time since we got live races in the UK. If DRS continues been the artificial gimmick it is in 2014 I may just stop watching races & eventually just turn F1 off for good :(

  53. A good race,gave it a 7.
    I was hoping that Webber would have won today but was not to be.He was hamstrung by the excellent start from Grosjean and i think that Vettel was having a bit of a day off as well.
    Very interesting strategy wise regarding Webber and a fair bit going on up and down the field.

  54. Voted an 8, but on
    re-reflecting I think it should’ve been a 9.

  55. 7 out of 10 for me. Great battles mid field and for once Vettel had to wait to lead the race and win it. Hugely impressed with what Romain Grosjean did today, driver of the GP for me. Heart broken with Lewis’s bad luck .

  56. What an awful race.

    Actually, I don’t even know why I am calling it a race, it was all strategy.

    1. Couldn’t agree more. The corporate kart racing at my local circuit is more entertaining than this overpriced, overhyped snoozefest. Maybe it was just poor TV coverage, but for a lengthy period in the middle of the race every car they showed was out on its own with not a single other car in shot. Contrast to a WSBK superstock race I saw a few weeks back with 12-15 riders going flat out together on track for the win and F1 seems more like masochism than entertainment.

  57. A “good strategic race”??? All the strategy was based on tyres that stop the drivers performing to their maximum. At least Grosjean had the opportunity to confirm his early career promise — and Coulthard’s rather ambiguous comment that narrower front wings next year will save some tyres ;={

    When will we get back to drivers actually racing for 53 laps on one of the best tracks in the world? 5/10.

  58. I always enjoy watching races at Suzuka, one of the 3 best tracks along with Spa and Interlagos. Superb track, great atmosphere and challenging driving conditions. Today’s race was excellent from s strategic point of view and a well-deserved win for Vettel. He showed precisely why Webber is unable to match him despite having the same kit (nonsensical conspiracy theories ignored). While Vettel overcame a relatively poor start to make the best of the situation, Webber failed to take advantage of his pole position. As usual, his tyre management was not as good as Vettel’s and unlike his teammate, Webber repeatedly put his car in an unfavourable position while trying to pass Grosjean on the DRS straight.

    Some interesting battles at the back as well. Gutierrez seems to be a young man to watch; he certainly has talent.

  59. When are we going to have a wet race, full of surprises!

  60. Gave it a 5. Ricciardo took everyone but the front 3 out of the race early on.
    Then after that it was just a case of watching the podium finishers drive to a delta until they fell in to their natural position.

    I called the finishing positions correctly after 12 lap

    Anyway, think thats me done for the season. Well done Vettel for winning the championship next race. Hopefully when I tune in for Melbourne 2014 it will actually be Formula 1 again instead of Formula Pirelli.

  61. GUTIERREZ !

  62. I gave it a 7. There was plenty of action through the field but I found as the race went on, and it looked less and less likely Grosjean was going to perform a surprise victory that my excitement waned. Great battle with Webber at the end though.

  63. I have always defended Massa, but now I must say, him and Webber can’t retire soon enough. They are pathetic. Webber perhaps doesn’t appear that pathetic since he is in the best car that is also much easier to drive than Ferrari, but he actually is. He has less podiums than Vettel has wins! Not to mention that he hasn’t won a single race, compared to Vettel’s nine!
    Massa on the other hand is now not only slower, but completely useless and even damaging to Ferrari, now that he is “driving for himself”. I mean, last season, he didn’t do any better than this, but at least he didn’t hinder Alonso in scoring some points for the team.
    Today, he was just a road block for Alonso, which ensured that their WCC rival Rosberg opened a gap and than made it possible for Hulkenberg to catch them both and jump them in the pits. Then, when Alonso finally passed him, and when he couldn’t do more harm but slowing down Alonso, he made sure he threw away as many points as possible by stuffing his race and coming 10th!
    It’s almost unbelievable that Massa was asked every year since his return to pick up his pace, and yet, he was actually worse and worse every year! I mean, even 2010 wasn’t up the Ferrari standards and yet he managed to get progressively worse every subsequent year.
    Massa and Webber really need to go. I have liked both drivers but lately they’ve been moaning so much about their teams, and yet, they did nothing to actually deserve their places in their respective teams any more in the first place.

  64. 9. Tires and DRS not ridiculous, different strategies, fights for all positions. No safety car so no random losers and winners. Gap between 3rd and 4th was a bit large so podium was decided very early.

  65. I see I gave it a 9, but I think my sausage fingers slipped on my mobile screen. Meant to give it an 8.

    It was interesting to follow all race long; either because there was racing going on, or because there were strategic battles to keep up with. It’s been a long time since a race kept my attention throughout, although I had to admit my interest took a nosedive when Vettel came out in front of Grosjean and when Webber overtook him. Nothing but respect for Vettel, Webber and Red Bull today, but I’ve been rooting for Grosjean ever since he debuted in the middle of 2009 and managed to find his way back to F1 after showing his worth in GP2 (again) and really thought this could be it. Race itself didn’t suffer from it, though.

    Glad to see Gutierrez grab some points as well, he looks as if he’s an entirely different driver to where he was before the summer break. Force India ought to look worried.

  66. Some great mid field action, a brilliant battle for the lead with mixed 2 vs. 3 stop strategies and all around a classic GP track. I would have loved to see either Webber or Grosjean win, but still a very entertaining afternoon of racing. 9/10

  67. 6/10 A great start from Grosjean and even though Lewis retired so quickly it did look as though we had the chance of a real contest for the race win.But as the race unfolded the inevitable came to pass in more ways than one. Once again tyre conservation and the effect of aero-turbulance were the deciding factors. The total confidence of the message to Vettel about hunting down Grosjean said it all.

  68. 8/10
    Really enjoyed the race, would have given it an 8.5 were it available. Different strategies, various battles and unexpected results, although a Grosjean win would have boosted the rating. I thought it was obvious from after the first dozen laps that Grosejan wasn’t going to win but it was probably just an idea, as he defended very well and at one point I thought he was going to keep Webber behind. Gutierrez and Hulkenberg made it even more bizarre even though the latter eventually fell behind Alonso and Raikkonen, only just missing out on a repeat of his great performance of Korea. Very eventful race which kept its level of interest from the start to the finish and not, like previous races, only for half of it.

  69. What Vettel makes look easy (passing Grosjean with a new set of hard tyres), Webber struggles to do (with a new set of medium tyres!).
    We should stop being bored by how easy it looks, and start to admire exactly that. This is a grown Vettel from his 2010 days, where he was fast, but not as neat.

  70. Not sure how other people rate races, but from the looks of it some are far more generous in their ratings than me. I have been a Formula 1 fan since the 60s and maybe my standards are different due to that.

    My ratings are as such:

    10 – The absolute best race ever seen. Probably a one off occurrence in a lifetime.
    9 – Next to the best race ever, an extremely rare occurrence, maybe several in a lifetime.
    8 – Still one of the best races ever. Maybe once every several seasons, not common.
    7 – A superb race with great racing taking place throughout a race and at least one or more uncommon epic occurrences, challenges, battles.
    6 – A very good race with good action levels or at at least one consistent and important racing story line.
    5 – An average race, not great, not terrible.
    4 – Less than average race without a great amount of action or racing story lines to hold our interest.
    3 – A boring race, perhaps processional with very little action, a snooze-fest.
    2 – Worse than a snooze-fest, a real clinker that makes you wonder why you bothered.
    1 – The single absolute worst race ever. I might possibly rate a race with a senseless tragedy of some kind this low, God forbid. Hopefully only a once in a lifetime occurrence. A race with no redeeming value whatsoever.

    For what it’s worth, take it or leave it.

  71. 7/10

    I liked the race for the most part. I think this really what Pirelli have always been aiming for: races where teams and drivers can pick a strategy and make it work, but switch to another strategy with ease and make it work just as well. So even when the drivers weren’t pushing at 100%, it was nice knowing that they had that little extra that they could get to make a strategy work.

    I did, however, take two points off. Firstly, I was massively disappointed for Romain Grosjean. He’s had a total turn-around in form, losing his impetuousness without giving up on speed, and he’s been out-performing Raikkonen and making it look easy. After his race start, I felt he really deserved to win.

    Secondly, I was left with a really sour taste in my mouth when Vettel requested team orders. He’s shown a refusal to observe them in the past, and the key defence of this is that he is a racing driver and cannot ignore an opportunity. So to ask for team orders was a bit of a slap in the face. And since he didn’t need them – not because Webber got caught behind Grosjean, but because he has total control over the championship and second place in the race would not jeopardise his position at all – was a slap across the other cheek. If people want to know why the fans don’t respect Vettel, this is a perfect example of why.

    1. @prisoner-monkeys Vettel didn’t request team orders. It was directed at Whiting about Sergio Perez.

      1. what team orders? you just totally made that up

  72. @keithcollantine with all the stats and data you are amassing I am wondering if there if any correlation about what makes for high ratings. E.g. Number if overtakes etc. have you ever taken a look?

    1. @anonymouscoward – My approach to rating each race is a more organic experience than analytical. I just know it when I see it. For example, the 2013 Grand Prix of Japan I rated about 6.5. I rounded up to 7 based on the fact that there were many good racing stories during the race and fairly consistent action throughout. It is hard to quantify statistically. One reason I put up the post with my rating system (if you can call it that) was the inspiration of so many people rating the race as a 10. It was about 7% when I posted. It was a decent race. Certainly not the best race I’ve ever seen or ever hope to see.

      1. @bullmello I hear you but there must be something in what you are seeing and wondered if Keith had enough data to work out what the consensus of what makes it good. He could also then sell this to Bernie for meeeelllllions and we get more of what we want. Not exploding tyres and push to pass…..

        1. We can always hope. I’m shocked that at this time 9% of voters rating this race have voted it a 10. That is 54 out of 601 people voting. 54 people have essentially said this is the best race they will ever see. Wow.

          1. @bullmello while personally I mostly agree with with your scale another way of looking at it perhaps might be…”10- had everything in the race I need to keep getting my bum out of bed at 5 am in the morning after a night out on the sauce to watch some men go round and round a piece of road”

  73. I’ll take a punt that the same people who are complaining about Vettle winning every race are the same people who were complaining about having 6 different winners in 6 races at the beginning of last year (or was it 7- you get the drift anyway). I recall the comments of how mixed up and perverse it was that someone wasn’t leading the field. I like Vettle even though he’s thrashing my man Mark. Good race yesterday, really enjoyed it.

  74. The last 30 laps of Bathurst were more exciting than all of Suzuka, imo

  75. Great race… easily my favourite track of all time.

  76. Another cracking race from the Hulk; held 4th for so long but ultimately lost out. I like how he pulled the 130R overtake on RIC but when RIC later tried that move on Sutil, he dropped it almost into the wall! Sad that RBR took that joker for their second driver seat, but it helps to have a whipping boy behind vettel, I guess.

  77. Suzuka was RBR’s best shot at giving Webber, at minimum, a fighting chance… Instead, they chose to run him on a slower strategy when they could have just let him win it. The fact that Vettel openly and without consideration said “keep him away from me” tells me that they have an open dialogue of race fixing. I’m going to struggle to actually give a damn about F1 next year if this sort of stuff continues.

    1. @pinkandsons

      1) Webber lost the race himself by not being able to pass Grosjean fast enough.

      2) The “keep him away from me” was directed at Charlie Whiting about Sergio Perez.

      It doesn’t hurt to think carefully before making accusations or “I don’t give a damn”-drama.

    2. @pinkandsons

      “this sort of stuff” has been going on as long as their has been team mates and drivers that will do anything to win. Seb’s is just filling the boots of Mr Schumacher in the appropriate way.

      Team Orders/No1 Driver status has always been part of F1 in some way shape or form. Seb uses tactics like “keep him away from me” and Mark chooses to ignore team orders so I don’t really see the problem.

      Schumacher would have never won 7 WDC and 91GP if he didn’t employ these tactics and bully his team mate into a support role ready to hand over the win to him if he wasn’t leading the race.

      I have not seen this at RedBull and when they did the front wing switch-a-roo in Silverstone a few years back Mark went on to win the race.

      So you might as well just give up on F1 now and save yourself from getting disappointed next season when Seb is calling for Daniel to stay away from his chance to dominate

  78. @keithcollantine Hi Keith, Any chance that when you do the stats at the end of the season, you could see if the Sky/BBC deal has any effect on the rating. I’ve noticed that ratings are higher when shown live on BBC, but don’t have any raw data to support this! Cheers, keep up the good work!

  79. “If there is anything I learned from F1 in the last two decades.. it’s the German national anthem !” – BadLadAdds (EuroSports)

  80. I gave it a 7, it wasn’t a classic but was better than I expected it would be.

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