The Official 2009 Japanese Grand Prix Thread ***SPOILERS***

British 3
German 6
Hungarian 10
European 1
Belgian 7
Italian 1
Singapore 6
Japanese 7

that's 36 points, or 150% of Button's score during the same period

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By my calculations, Rubens has scored 36 points and two wins since Turkey . Meanwhile Vettel has scored 40. Button should win the title if they keep on scoring points at that rate.

The perfect result in Brazil (for the championship) would be Vettel first with Barichello 2nd (although Id love to see Rubens win at home) and Button scoring no points.

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Circuit Thermalito

Liverpool Waterfront Circuit (WIP)

Jenson has surely done enough to win it now, since it's easily out of the hands of his two rivals. They need him to have two weekends like the one Webber has just had, and that won't be happening.

I can't see Jenson raising his game particularly to get over the winning line, I think he'll only have a couple more low-scoring points finishes in the last two races. But then again, that's all he needs.

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Kirk what was lucky about Singapore?

Everyone had brake issues it seemed.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

He was losing 4 seconds a lap to Barrichello et al behind him and said that he only had half a lap worth of brakes left when interviewed.

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Whats lucky about that then? He managed his car so it would finish? Before he slowed down he was catching Vettel pretty swift.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

there are barrichello's results :
silverstone --->3 rd= 6 points
nurburgring---->6 th= 3 points
hungary-------->10th= 0 points
valencia------->1 st= 10 points
spa ----------> 7 th= 2 points
monza --------> 1 st= 10 points
singapore-----> 6 th= 3 points
suzuka--------> 7 th = 2 points

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overall = 36 points vs 24 points to button


but rubens has lost many points to himself alone with starting problem at spa, bad strategy at nurburgring and so on
i just think jenson is pushing as hard as he feels he needs to , which is sad, when you look back and see what drivers damon hill and nigel mansell and hamilton as well were/ are
however this is enough to ensure jenson gets it ... and i am really confident unless something very bad happens , that jenson will win it................ but" something bad " is usually the case for Rubens at Interlagos so.................. :P

Well yes, he managed it well, but you still need the luck that the race finished when it did. Half a lap contingency with Barrichello right behind you isnt a good way to cross the line, you can do all the management you want, it was damn close!

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also , dont forget that AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLL the british WC in the past 20 years have lost it in the end in their first big attempt !!!

1) 1986 and mansell needed just one 4-th place with probably the fastest car on the field...HE FAILED

2) 1994 and damon had it all almost done but couldnt go clear ahead of the schumi... he also lost it

3) hamilton in 2007 (and almost in 2008 ) ... no need to comment on that .. so lets se

Yeah, but that's not necessarily an omen.
And if Jenson did manage to lose this now, it would have to go down as one of the most epic of Championship failures ever.

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totally agree my friend ...

but think about it ... rubens has almoost everytime been soo fast at interlagos and he just seemed to have incredibly bad luck there. i think that this year this will be th eplace where his championchip hopes go into nothing . (simply beacause i believe, that there is tradiotion in this sport)...
will be innteresting to see it thow, and dont get me wrong, i really want rubens to win , but his interlagos jink, has never left him

97kirkc Wrote:
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> Well yes, he managed it well, but you still need
> the luck that the race finished when it did. Half
> a lap contingency with Barrichello right behind
> you isnt a good way to cross the line, you can do
> all the management you want, it was damn close!

Uhmmmm, Rubens was already ahead of him, as he finished 7th. Button finished 8th.

Buttons race pace is ok, the problem is quali.

How many people move forward in races? not many but he does.

I just wonder if he would have got passed Rubens had the safety car not come out.

Had it not been half points at Sepang it would be over now, and tbh I wish it was over as it just seems to be taking for ever.

I do think he will win it at Brazil, he only needs 5th place no matter what the rest do. But saying that 5th seems hard to come by at the moment.

Anyway the race was not very good, I liked the move Kovy done on Fissi out the pits but the crash with Sutil was stupid and I am a bit shocked he got no penalty. He was right to defend but that was always going to end in a crash and I was waiting a number of laps for it to happen.

Ho3n3r Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 97kirkc Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Well yes, he managed it well, but you still
> need
> > the luck that the race finished when it did.
> Half
> > a lap contingency with Barrichello right behind
> > you isnt a good way to cross the line, you can
> do
> > all the management you want, it was damn close!
>
> Uhmmmm, Rubens was already ahead of him, as he
> finished 7th. Button finished 8th.

We were refering to the Singapore GP problems, Button finished ahead of Rubens in 5th.

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marcl Wrote:
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> I just wonder if he would have got passed Rubens
> had the safety car not come out.

He'd only passed 1 car all race, and that was a heavy BMW with a weak engine which was hitting the limiter in 7th.

97kirkc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well yes, he managed it well, but you still need
> the luck that the race finished when it did. Half
> a lap contingency with Barrichello right behind
> you isnt a good way to cross the line, you can do
> all the management you want, it was damn close!


But thats not what matters? The car crossed the line ahead of Rubens.

He has had his luck in Suzuka, but in Singapore the saftey was very much unlucky for him and ruined any chance of scoring pretty well. The saftey car in Suzuka also was not much a help for him. He has had his luck, but at the same time there ahve been factors which have not gone his way.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

don't know if its been mentioned but i think on buttons radio (when he was behind kov and sutil) his man said something like "would it be easier if someone in front wasn't there" and not long after kov and sutil tangled and let button through.
aren't they all mercedes powered?

Yes I heard that as well, but Sutil was due in the pits so thats what I thought that was about.

People are having a go at Button for the way he is creeping to the championship, yet people did not think Lewis was clever going for wins when he did not need them.

I prefer the Lewis way even if it means you lose out to the Button way. But the result is the same and thats what matters.

People are having a go at Button for the way he is creeping to the championship, yet people did not think Lewis was clever going for wins when he did not need them.

Your memory is pretty bad if you think people didn't have a go at Lewis during his title fights.

And people aren't having a go at Button for "creeping" to the championship. Button doesn't have a "way" of going for the title. He isn't driving conservatively and collecting points. He is screwing up race weekends and getting random amount of points depending on what happens. That isn't a technique and he does deserve to be criticised for it.

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"People are having a go at Button for the way he is creeping to the championship, yet people did not think Lewis was clever going for wins when he did not need them."

Dave By what I worte I was also saying people had a go at Lewis for going for wins when he did not need them.

If Button was to start racing people really hard and crashing people would say he should be taking it easy with a 14 point lead.

I agree with you with you though regarding Buttons race weekends.