Vettel wins Japanese GP to boost F1 hopes

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel led from start to finish to win Formula One's Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, reviving his championship hopes.
Vettel finished ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

Driver's championship leader Jenson Button of Brawn GP was eighth, a place below teammate Rubens Barrichello.
Brawn GP all but sealed the constructors' championship. Only a one-two finish by Red Bull in both the remaining races and Brawn finishing pointless can prevent a Brawn championship in its first season.
A post-race stewards hearing had the potential to seal the constructors' title, but fifth-place finisher Nico Rosberg was cleared of charges that he did not slow when yellow flags were waved after a late crash. Had he been demoted or disqualified, the Brawn GP cars would have had enough points for the title.
In the drivers' championship, Button's lead over Barrichello was cut by one point to 14, with Vettel just two points further back.
"It can still be done and its looking much better now," Vettel said of his chances in the championship. "Shame there's only two races to go, but that's life. Anything is still possible and it can change quickly."
It was Vettel's third win of the season, and first since the British Grand Prix in June. The German started from pole position and got a strong start to keep the KERS-power boost cars behind him.
He had built a 12.5-second buffer over Trulli before the late emergence of the safety car following a spectacular crash by Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari, who crashed through a trackside advertising board into a tire wall.
Even with the running order compacted, Vettel emerged strongly when the safety car was removed, and his victory was not threatened.
Trulli started second but was overtaken into the first corner by Hamilton, with the aid of the KERS-power boost in his McLaren.
However Trulli stuck behind Hamilton and after his second pitstop, emerged in front of the McLaren, which had lost a malfunctioning KERS system shortly beforehand.
Toyota has finished second in successive races, but still has not broken through for its first F1 win, meaning Trulli was less than exuberant when he climbed from the car, even as Japanese fans reveled in Toyota's strong showing.
"I am happy to be on the podium, but I have had many podiums," Trulli said. "What we are missing at the moment is a win."

Button's eighth place came under threat in the four-lap dash to the finish after the safety car went in, but he defended well to hold off BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica.
Button has not won in eight races, but has collected points in each and still remains in a strong position to clinch the drivers' title in either Brazil or the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Still, the Briton will be mindful that compatriot Hamilton led by 17 points with two races to go in 2007 and still did not take the title � something Vettel reminded him of post-race.
"Everyone said to Lewis it would not be a problem, sitting in one of the most competitive cars, just get a couple of points," Vettel said. "But as we can see, sometimes things don't go your way."
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen finished in fourth place, ahead of Rosberg and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld.

All the F1 action in Spain was off the track

It was perhaps inevitable that the European Grand Prix weekend in Valencia, Spain, was going to be a little flat. Michael Schumacher was there all right, and wearing Ferrari clothing--but not the driver�s suit virtually everyone hoped he would. Michael smiled a lot, and kept wishing Ferrari stand-in Luca Badoer well, but that didn�t really help. And as he stared at the timing screens, it was impossible to disguise his frustration at Badoer�s, er, modest pace.
During Friday practice, the hapless Badoer set a record by exceeding the pit lane speed limit on four different occasions-�as the paddock�s razor-tongued observers noted, somewhat cruelly, that no one could accuse him of excessive speed on the race track. In qualifying, the No. 3 Ferrari was dead last; 12 months ago, driven by Felipe Massa, it dominated the weekend.
You had to have some sympathy for Badoer, however, as he had not raced an F1 car since 1999, and though he is Ferrari�s official test driver, has virtually no experience of the F60 now that in-season testing is banned.
Some wondered why Ferrari did not draft a guy such as Sebastien Bourdais, whom Scuderia Toro Rosso fired recently. Bourdais may not have set F1 on fire, but he is at least very much race-fit, and fully conversant with both the Ferrari engine and Bridgestone slicks.
Though Ferrari will not make the announcement before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next month, Fernando Alonso is to drive for the team in 2010, with Massa--assuming he recovers fully from his injuries suffered in Hungary--returning to partner him.
The suggestion in Valencia was that Ferrari reached an agreement with Kimi Raikkonen to end his contract a year early. During three years with the team, Raikkonen, despite nicking the world championship two years ago, has rarely looked anything like the driver he was at McLaren-Mercedes, and it is not known whether he will stay in F1--Renault has been mentioned--or perhaps turn his hand to rallying. During the recent summer break, Kimi took part in Rally Finland--he rolled his car--but not before impressing onlookers with his raw speed.
Given that it is now accepted that Alonso will join Ferrari, the driver market has come very much to life, and of course BMW�s forthcoming withdrawal has contributed to that: Robert Kubica, who has the measure of anyone in terms of natural talent, is unexpectedly available.
Kubica has been linked with three teams--McLaren, Renault and Williams--but the belief at the moment is that current Williams driver Nico Rosberg will join his old karting teammate Lewis Hamilton at McLaren. Renault, soon to lose Alonso, is believed to be keen to sign Kubica, but Robert himself is believed to have more enthusiasm for Williams, a team very much on the up at the moment.
Williams� problem for 2010 could be engines, for it is known that Toyota, which has supplied the team for the last three years, is profoundly displeased by Williams� stance in the recent FIA-FOTA battle, and may well terminate the contract. Rumors abound that Red Bull Racing will use Mercedes engines next year; if that happens, Williams and Renault could very well renew the highly successful partnership last seen in the mid-�90s.
Quite evident in Valencia qualifying was that McLaren is emphatically back on its game. Hamilton won in Hungary, but perhaps his car wasn�t the out-and-out quickest: at Valencia, though, Lewis won the pole, with teammate Heikki Kovalainen alongside him.
Only McLaren and Ferrari still use kinetic energy recovery systems, and as the teams improve their once lamentable cars, KERS can make a difference: An extra 80 hp for six seconds a lap can come in quite handy. Imagine the advantage it might provide in the next race, at Spa, up the long hill from Eau Rouge to Les Combes. Indeed, Hamilton will not retain his title this year, but he may well have a say in who takes it.

By NIGEL ROEBUCK

Panasonic Toyota - Australian GP Preview

Australian Grand Prix - Preview

Panasonic Toyota Racing heads Down Under this weekend for the Australian Grand Prix on the street circuit at Albert Park; the first round of the 2009 Formula 1 season. The new TF109 car has completed 21 test days and around 10,000km kilometres since its first official test on 19 January, including a four-day test with the Australian Grand Prix aerodynamic package in Barcelona earlier this month. These tests produced very promising results so the team makes the 16,000km journey from Germany to Australia full of optimism. Jarno Trulli made his Formula 1 debut at Albert Park in 1997 while Timo Glock's first race with Toyota was in Melbourne last year, the fifth Grand Prix of his career.In 2008 neither Jarno nor Timo finished the Australian Grand Prix so a significant improvement is expected this time around.

Jarno Trulli - Car 9

"Melbourne is a great place to visit and the Australian Grand Prix is always good fun. As a Formula 1 driver you really want to race so I am pleased the season is starting and we can get on with the competition. I am totally fired up for this season and I am feeling very positive about our chances. The TF109 is the best Toyota I have driven in pre-season testing; it feels stable and gives the driver confidence but more importantly it seems to be pretty quick, even though it's hard to make too many judgements based on testing. We made a big step last year, proving we can fight for podiums and finish regularly in the top six so I am hoping for another step forward this year. We have more experience now and the team has worked really hard for a long time on the TF109 - we are ready for the season and I am raring to go."

Timo Glock - Car 10

"It's very exciting to be going to the first race this year because the big changes to the technical regulations for 2009 give Toyota a good opportunity to fight at the front. It's really hard to predict because you don't know what other teams are working on in testing but I know our programme and the results we have seen are very encouraging. Testing has gone really well and I have a good feeling for the new car. It's a different emotion to be starting my second year with Toyota compared to 2008 because now I am much more familiar with the team and I feel I can really start the season strongly. Last year it took a few races to find the right direction for me in terms of set-up but I don't expect that to be a problem this season. Australia is anyway one of my favourite places to visit so I can't wait to get to Melbourne and get the season started."

TOYOTA F1 Mail Magazine

New languages live soon! Buenos dias and bonjour,

The new Formula 1 season is nearly upon us and Panasonic Toyota Racing is delighted to be able to share the excitement in Spanish and French on our official website, www.toyota-f1.com.
A new season brings new anticipation and new drivers, with Jarno Trulli joined by Timo Glock and Kamui Kobayashi, and French or Spanish-speaking fans of Panasonic Toyota Racing can get all the latest official news soon. With 32 nationalities working under one roof at our factory in Cologne, Germany, Panasonic Toyota Racing is truly a United Nations of Formula 1 and www.toyota-f1.com is becoming ever more international.
This latest upgrade means fans can now stay up to date with all the latest press releases hot off the press from the track or the factory, as well as our regular behind the scenes features, in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. Apart from those regular updates, our multilingual website also has all the information you need about our team, including profiles of our drivers and top management and details of the TF108, the car which carries our team�s hopes for the new season.
If you would like to receive your regular Panasonic Toyota Racing newsletter in another language, please visit www.toyota-f1.com and click on the 'Newsletter' link.
Firstly, cancel your current English newsletter by clicking on 'unsubscribe' and entering your email address. Then, click the 'subscribe' box, select your preferred language and enter your email address. From the next newsletter onwards you will then receive the newsletter in your chosen language.