2011 Japanese Grand Prix

Championship standings

Vettel leads on 309 points, 124 ahead of Button with only 125 points still available. Alonso and Webber are both within three points of Button — on 184 and 182 respectively — and remain in mathematical contention for the runner-up position. Hamilton is fifth on 168. Red Bull has already clinched the Constructors’ Championship.

Championship permutations

Sebastian Vettel needs either a points finish or for Jenson Button to fail to win, to be crowned the sport’s youngest double World Champion.

Previous race

Vettel won the Singapore Grand Prix from pole for his ninth victory of the season, running largely unchallenged throughout. Button challenged late but was held up in traffic in the final laps. Button’s podium kept the championship mathematically open, while Alonso and Webber were eliminated from the title fight. Hamilton received a drive-through penalty — his sixth of the season — after making contact with Massa at the start. A safety car deployed following a collision between Schumacher and Pérez helped Hamilton recover to fifth.

Between-race developments

Button has signed a new multi-year contract with McLaren following recent speculation about his future with the team.

Button wears a special helmet designed in the style of the Japanese flag; he will auction it after the race to raise funds for those affected by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami earlier this year. Several teams paid tribute to the disaster on their cars at the season opener in Melbourne.

Tyre choices

Pirelli brings the white-banded medium compound as the prime and the yellow-banded soft as the option.

Practice

FP1 was run in clear skies with track temperature at 30 °C. Button topped the session ahead of Hamilton, with Vettel third after crashing at Degner while trying to improve his time. Webber finished fifth behind Alonso. Maldonado skidded off early, rejoined, then parked in an escape road. Hülkenberg substituted for Sutil at Force India; Chandhok drove for Kovalainen at Lotus.

Button led FP2 again, ahead of Alonso and Vettel. Senna and Kobayashi both spun but rejoined. Barrichello crashed at the first Degner curve, having run wide on entry. Maldonado’s car ground to a halt, also at Degner. After the session, Hamilton, Schumacher, Buemi, Kovalainen and Senna were called before the stewards for ignoring yellow flags; no penalties were issued.

Button was fastest in FP3 by half a second ahead of Hamilton and by almost nine-tenths from third-placed Vettel. Senna crashed on the exit of Spoon Curve, causing a brief red flag period. Alonso, Webber and Massa were separated by a tenth and a half in fourth through sixth.