Qualifying Q1 Race 1

Practice 1 Results

Sebastian Vettel won a close tactical battle with team-mate Mark Webber to land his ninth victory of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix. The result edged the German ever closer to his fourth title as chief championship rival Fernando Alonso finished fourth behind Romain Grosjean.

Mark Webber powered to his first pole position of the season at Suzuka, finishing ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel, whose session was compromised by a KERS issue.

Championship leader Vettel’s problems began in FP3 when he missed the final, option tyre runs of the session due to a problem with his car’s energy recovery system.

The problem seemed to have been cured as Vettel then sailed through the opening segments of qualifying with ease, ending Q2 at the top of timesheet just over two tenths ahead of Webber.

Mark Webber finished at the top of the timesheet in final practice ahead of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix as team-mate Sebastian Vettel encountered problems at Suzuka.

Red Bull Racing reasserted its late-season dominance on Friday afternoon at Suzuka, with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber taking the top two positions on the timesheet in FP2. As had been the case in the morning, the session was punctuated by a number of drivers being caught out by the circuit’s demands.

A short trip and a few days after the Korean Grand Prix, Formula One returned to action at Suzuka. Despite the Japanese track offering a very different challenge to that faced at the KIC, it was once again Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton who went fastest in FP1, as the first eight places were taken two-by-two by the top four teams.