Vettel world champposted in F109 | 10 | 2011
McLAREN'S JENSON BUTTON won the Japanese Grand Prix, but the happiest man on the podium was Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. The 24-year-old's third place was enough to seal his second successive world championship.
And while Bathgate's Paul di Resta had to satisfy himself with a slightly frustrating 12th place (full report), after his Force India's race strategy was ruined by the safety car, Vettel was understandably delighted.
"It is difficult to know where to start," Vettel, now F1's youngest double world champ, said. "Obviously it is such a long year and we had a fantastic year, and the best thing is it is not over yet.
"A strong result again today; to win the championship here, it's fantastic. There are so many things you want to say in this moment but it's hard to remember all of them, so I am just so thankful to everyone in the team.
"We have so many people here at the track and at Milton Keynes, day in and day out, not only Friday, but also Saturday and Sunday and Monday to Friday, every day pushing hard, fighting hard for points and fighting for the championship.
"We find ourselves in a very strong position and it is great to achieve the goal we set ourselves already now."
And Vettel admitted winning back-to-back titles was a very hard thing to achieve, even with his experience of winning his first title last year.
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"The hardest thing is winning after winning last year," he continued. "We won the championship, it was so close and we were so excited, even knowing how to do it doesn't allow you to forget all these steps. I could not have done this all alone. It is as confusing as the first one I must say. It is hard to find the right words."
Vettel started from pole position but was unable to keep Button and Fernando Alonso, who eventually finished second for Ferrari, at bay as he had a hard time with the softer tyres.
Button finished just 1.1 seconds ahead of the Spaniard at Suzuka, with Vettel a further 0.8s behind.
"This win gives us, as a team, a lot of motivation," Button, whose win was his first in the dry for McLaren, said. "It is good to see three different cars within three seconds, it shows how competitive F1 is at the moment.
"I need to say a big thanks to the team for the improvements we had over the last few races and today they were impeccable.
"This circuit is very special to all of us," he said. "We love this place so to get a victory here in front of such an amazing Japanese crowd really does mean a lot, and we put a good show on for the fans.
"The fans are so supportive, we tried to do a bit to help them and plant a little memory in their minds."
Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka, Japan — Result (Provisional):
1. Button, McLaren-Mercedes 1h30:53.427;
2. Alonso, Ferrari +1.160s;
3. Vettel, Red Bull-Renault +2.006;
4. Webber, Red Bull-Renault +8.071;
5. Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes +24.268;
6. Schumacher, Mercedes +27.120;
7. Massa, Ferrari +28.240;
8. Perez, Sauber-Ferrari +39.377;
9. Petrov, Renault +42.607;
10. Rosberg, Mercedes +44.322;
11. Sutil, Force India-Mercedes +54.447;
12. Di Resta, Force India-Mercedes +1:02.326;
13. Kobayashi, Sauber-Ferrari +1:03.705;
14. Alguersuari, Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1:04.194;
15. Maldonado, Williams-Cosworth +1:06.623;
16. Senna, Renault +1:12.628;
17. Barrichello, Williams-Cosworth +1:14.191;
18. Kovalainen, Lotus-Renault +1:27.824;
19. Trulli, Lotus-Renault +1:36.140;
20. Glock, Virgin-Cosworth +2 laps;
21. D'Ambrosio, Virgin-Cosworth +2 laps;
22. Ricciardo, HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps;
23. Liuzzi, HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps.
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Jim McGill