2012 Japanese Grand Prix

Championship standings

Alonso leads the championship on 194 points after Singapore. Vettel is second on 165, Räikkönen third on 149, Hamilton fourth on 142, and Webber fifth on 132. With five rounds remaining and 125 points still available, Vettel remains within reach of the title.

Previous race

Vettel won in Singapore from Button and Alonso — Red Bull’s first win since Webber’s victory at Silverstone, and Vettel’s first since Bahrain. The result trimmed Alonso’s lead from 37 to 29 points.

Between-race developments

Lewis Hamilton has confirmed he will leave McLaren at the end of the season and join Mercedes on a three-year contract. Sergio Pérez, who has finished on the podium three times in 2012, has been named as Hamilton’s replacement from 2013.

Michael Schumacher announced on Thursday that he will retire from Formula One for a second time at the end of the season.

Penalties

Schumacher carries a ten-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable collision with Vergne at the Singapore Grand Prix. Button and Hülkenberg each have five-place penalties for unscheduled gearbox changes.

Tyre choices

Pirelli brings the silver-banded hard compound as the prime and yellow-banded soft as the option — a different specification from 2011, when the medium compound served as the prime.

Practice

FP1: Button was fastest for McLaren, with Hamilton second and Webber third. Vettel finished seventeenth. Grosjean ran wide at Spoon Curve; Glock crossed the gravel at Degner.

FP2: Schumacher and di Resta both crashed at Spoon Curve. Schumacher also ran across the gravel at Degner.

Weather

Fine and dry — 23°C air temperature, 32°C track.