Not Quite a Classic Race in Suzuka, 2013

I do love Suzuka, it’s one of my favourite races of the year and it rarely disappoints. Yet again, there was no disappointment this year but it has to be said, it wasn’t the most exciting race ever – a pattern that has been consistent throughout this season. We were teased with the possibility of a winner other than Sebastian Vettel, which was nice while it lasted.

The right, or wrong, strategy

A lot of talk has been about Red Bull’s strategy, and once again the conspiracy theorists have come out of hiding and said the team sabotaged Mark Webber’s race so that Vettel could win. That’s rubbish.

At the point of the first stops, it wasn’t clear if Vettel could beat both Webber and Romain Grosjean, and to get past the Lotus driver, Red Bull pitted early, forcing Grosjean to respond. Ultimately, this would allow Vettel to take the lead and win but he’s good with tyres and can manage his race well. It was excellent driving and if Webber had gotten past Grosjean quicker, it might have been different. Besides, Mark is leaving this year, if he really thought something was going on, don’t you think he’d say so? He’s normally very honest, anyway.

Stand out drivers

Throughout the last couple of races there have been some great drivers, most notably Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg.

Like most people, I wasn’t sure Grosjean would be around this year, and quite rightly so. He was a danger to himself and other drivers and that carried on, albeit to a lesser degree, this year. The latter half of the season has seen someone completely new arrive and it couldn’t have happened at a better time, as he can prove himself to be a lead driver.

Hulkenberg has had flashes of brilliance before, but the last two races have shown a step up for Sauber and himself. If this continues for the rest of the season, it’s hard to imagine him not finding a better drive – although I don’t see why he’d move back to Force India at this stage, as some believe.

The Williams fall out

The last lap incident with Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas was a very interesting one. Maldonado reminds me a lot of Puan Pablo Montoya, quick racing driver but ruthless in his driving style. This works well but there should still be a level of respect between drivers – especially teammates.

How the stewards viewed it as a racing incident is beyond me, but they do have more information and views than me, so it’s hard to argue. From every view I saw, there was nowhere else for Bottas to go, and was essentially run off the road. If that had been Monaco, it would have been nasty – and let’s not forget, we’ve seen Maldonado do this before. Like a lot of rumours, I don’t believe he’ll be at the Williams team next year.

The driver market

This leaves a few questions about where some drivers will be next year. Felipe Massa, Hulkenberg, Paul Di Resta, Maldonado and even Fernando Alonso are all rumoured to want to, and potentially are, moving. There’s even talk about Rubens Barrichello returning – which would be fantastic but not very likely.

I hope Hulkenberg gets a seat at a top team, like Lotus. He’s done wonders in a car that isn’t up to scratch and would do very well, I think. He’s proven it before and will do so again. I’d like Di Resta to get a better drive, as I think he has a lot of talent but he needs to stop complaining about the team every time something goes wrong. It’s not good for morale and won’t make him an attractive prospect. As for Alonso going to McLaren, I can see it, but not until next year so he can see if they improve.

Summary

Not a bad race overall, with some interesting talking points but it does seem Vettel will get his fourth title next time out in India. Hats off to him, he does deserve it but as a fan, I want more variety. Well done to Max Chilton for being the only driver so far to finish every race this season, as it was announced at the weekend!

Results

1 – S. Vettel (Red Bull)

2 – M. Webber (Red Bull)

3 – R. Grosjean (Lotus)

4 – F. Alonso (Ferrari)

5 – K. Raikonnen (Lotus)

6 – N. Hulkenberg (Sauber)

7 – E. Gutierrez (Sauber)

8 – N. Rosberg (Mercedes)

9 – J. Button (McLaren)

10 – F. Massa (Ferrari)

11 – P. Di Resta (Force India)

12 – J. E. Vergne (Toro Rosso)

13 – D. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso)

14 – A. Sutil (Force India)

15 – S. Perez (McLaren)

16 – P. Maldonado (Williams)

17 – V. Bottas (Williams)

18 – C. Pic (Caterham)

19 – M. Chilton (Marussia)

20 – L. Hamilton (Mercedes) – DNF

21 – G. van der Garde (Caterham) – DNF

22 – J. Bianchi (Marussia) – DNF