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Maranello, 12 October 2009

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Race Results
01 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:28:20.443
02 J. Trulli Toyota + 4.877
03 L. Hamilton McLaren + 6.472
04 K. Räikkönen Ferrari + 7.940
05 N. Rosberg Williams + 8.793
06 N. Heidfeld BMW + 9.509
07 R. Barrichello Brawn GP + 10.641
08 J. Button Brawn GP + 11.474
09 R. Kubica BMW + 11.777
10 F. Alonso Renault + 13.065
11 H. Kovalainen McLaren + 13.735
12 G. Fisichella Ferrari + 14.596
13 A. Sutil Force India F1 + 14.959
14 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 + 15.734
15 K. Nakajima Williams + 18.973
16 R. Grosjean Renault + 1 lap(s)
17 M. Webber Red Bull + 2 lap(s)
Did not finish
18 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso + 10 lap(s)
19 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 42 lap(s)

Fastest Lap Times
01 M Webber Red Bull 1:32.569
02 S Vettel Red Bull 1:32.572
03 K Raikkonen Ferrari 1:32.999
04 J Trulli Toyota 1:33.152
05 J Button Brawn 1:33.251
06 L Hamilton McLaren 1:33.259
07 R Kubica BMW 1:33.334
08 G Fisichella Ferrari 1:33.479
09 N Rosberg Williams 1:33.595
10 N Heidfeld BMW 1:33.600
11 A Sutil Force India 1:33.668
12 H Kovalainen McLaren 1:33.801
13 R Barrichello Brawn 1:33.910
14 F Alonso Renault 1:33.946
15 J Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1:34.049
16 T Liuzzi Force India 1:34.294
17 R Grosjean Renault 1:34.643
18 K Nakajima Williams 1:34.783
19 S Buemi Toro Rosso 1:35.392

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Giancarlo Fisichella - 12th: “I had a better feel for the car this weekend and I think the effect from that could be seen, although maybe not in terms of the results. Today, I could run at a good pace, especially in the middle part of the race. It’s a shame I lost a place in my battle with Kovalainen. We managed to get ahead of him in the pit stop, but then he swerved across to the inside at the only point where I left the door slightly open and he leaned on me, managing to get by.

“Towards the end, I had to fight off Sutil who was very quick and was on the soft tyre, while I was on the hard: at this point the KERS came in handy. Now I am looking forward to Interlagos in a more confident mood: it will be important to get a slightly better start position to try and finally make it into the points.”

Kimi Raikkonen - 4th: “Today the car wasn’t bad, but it was not quick enough to fight for the podium. This fourth place is useful in terms of keeping the team in third place in the Constructors’ Championship, but it will be hard to hang onto it over the final two races. I will definitely do everything I can though.

“I was unable to make up places at the start, especially as the first corner is not that far from the start line and so I was unable to make the most of the KERS. In the first stint, when I was on hard tyres, the situation was a bit difficult, but then, once on the softs, things improved considerably. I managed to close on Heidfeld and pass him at the pit stop, even though, coming away from my stop, I found myself in traffic behind Button. Then there was not much to fight for to the end of the race.”

Stefano Domenicali: “All things considered, this is a positive result: I don’t think we could have done any more than this fourth place. We got the most out of the F60 as it stands today and, thanks to yet another great drive from Kimi, we also managed to stay third in the Constructors’ classification. Giancarlo also drove a good race, driving competitively in terms of pace and performance, as can be seen from the fact he set the eighth best lap time. In the middle stint, on the soft tyre, both our drivers were very quick, their lap times matching those of the best. The team worked well and we must continue to do so for the final two races left to run in this strange season, fighting tooth and nail to reach the target we set ourselves from the mid-season onwards.”

Chris Dyer: “After the disappointment of Singapore, it’s nice to see Kimi again finish a race in a good position. With hindsight, there’s some disappointment with a result that could have been even better: we opted to start on the hard tyres on Kimi’s car, because we weren’t entirely sure about how the soft ones would work over a distance. In fact, their performance stayed consistent, as we saw in the second part of the race, when both our drivers were very competitive. On top of that, we failed to make up places at the start, which is what we usually manage.

“We played about a bit with the stops to try and pass Heidfeld and we managed it. In the final stint, it seemed at one point that Hamilton had a problem and then the Safety Car closed everyone up. Kimi tried to see if there was room to attack him at the re-start but there was not. Giancarlo drove a good race and it was important for him and for the team to see him fighting with Kovalainen and Alonso for a place just outside the points. It’s a shame that, coming out of pit lane after his second stop, he lost a place in his battle with the McLaren driver.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) used a hard – hard – soft tyre strategy to score his third race win of the season after a dominant performance in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Vettel finished over four seconds ahead of Panasonic Toyota Racing driver Jarno Trulli, who used the same tyre strategy, whilst Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton used soft – hard – soft to finish third.

Shoshi Arakawa - Bridgestone Chairman of the Board, President and CEO, says
“Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel for his victory here at the Suzuka Circuit. The Japanese Grand Prix was held at Suzuka in beautiful weather today after a two year interval, and I believe the spectators thoroughly enjoyed the world’s top class battles of Formula One. We are proud that our tyres have helped to provide an impressive and exciting race. Bridgestone, as the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship, will continue to support all of the teams and drivers with our full efforts for the season’s remaining two races.”

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says
“Well done to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing for keeping the drivers’ championship alive with a thrilling win. Congratulations to Jarno Trulli for scoring Toyota’s second podium finish in as many races and also to the reigning champion Lewis Hamilton for his third place for McLaren. We were privileged to have many Bridgestone guests, staff and board members here to enjoy fantastic racing.”

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says
“From the beginning of the race the soft tyre worked well, however in the second two thirds of the race it really came alive and we saw very good race performance from this tyre. The high track temperature meant that the hard compound could be used at the start which would not be as advisable on a colder track due to longer warm-up requirements. This was a safe strategy for those concerned by any degradation from the soft, however those who did opt to use the soft at the start saw good performance.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Qualifying Times
01 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:32.160
02 J. Trulli Toyota 1:32.220
03 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:32.395
04 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:32.466
05 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:32.660
06 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:32.945
07 J. Button Brawn GP 1:32.962
08 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:32.980
09 H. Kovalainen McLaren no time
10 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso no time
11 N. Rosberg Williams 1:31.103
12 F. Alonso Renault 1:31.638
13 R. Kubica BMW 1:32.341
14 T. Glock Toyota no time
15 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso no time
16 G. Fisichella Ferrari 1:31.704
17 K. Nakajima Williams 1:31.718
18 R. Grosjean Renault 1:32.073
19 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 1:32.087

Revised grid & declared weights

1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 658.5kg
2. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 655.5
3. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 656
4. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 660
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 661
6. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, 660.5
7. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 684.5
8. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 650
9. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 686
10. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 658.5
11. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 675
12. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 682.5
13. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 665.4
14. Giancarlo Fisichella, Ferrari, 661.5
15. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 695.7
16. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 689.5
17. Romain Grosjean, Renault, 691.8
18. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India, 682.5
19. Mark Webber, Red Bull, n/a

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Giancarlo Fisichella - 16th: “I am very disappointed not to have made it through to Q2. We only had this morning’s free practice to prepare the car in the dry, but I think all the same, I improved my performance level, growing ever more confident in the F60. On my final timed lap, I made a mistake which probably cost me the time I needed to get into the next part. Tomorrow, the aim is to get into the points: I know it will be very difficult, starting from the eighth row, but with a good strategy, maybe I can do it.”

Kimi Raikkonen - 8th: “I don’t think we could have expected much more today. We know what our potential is and we have to accept that. Here, the situation is definitely better than in Singapore, but we continue to struggle, especially with a lack of aerodynamic downforce, which makes itself felt especially in the first sector. Overall, the car is working well and it’s nice to drive on such a demanding track as this, where the slightest error is heavily punished, as we saw today. It’s a shame I didn’t have new soft tyres for Q3, but we had to use them earlier to avoid being knocked out: all in all it was a good qualifying. Tomorrow, we will try and have a good race: it will be difficult to fight for the top spots, but we will try and we can count on having a good strategy.”

Chris Dyer: “A really close fought qualifying. Another great performance from Kimi, at every stage of the session. It’s a shame that, for just a few hundredths in Q3, he could have got a better grid position. We were the only ones to get to the final part without any new soft tyres, as we didn’t want to take any risks in Q1, but we are happy with how things went all the same, partly because we have a lot of fuel on board and think we have a good strategy for tomorrow’s race. It’s a bit disappointing for Giancarlo who missed out on Q2 by a whisker: he is improving day by day and we are sure that tomorrow, he will make another step forward and therefore have a good race.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Free Practice 1 Times
01 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:40.356 24 laps
02 K. Nakajima Williams 1:40.648 18 laps
03 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:40.806 14 laps
04 G. Fisichella Ferrari 1:40.985 27 laps
05 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:41.421 26 laps
06 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:41.443 15 laps
07 F. Alonso Renault 1:41.532 22 laps
08 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:41.577 25 laps
09 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:41.821 19 laps
10 N. Rosberg Williams 1:42.188 20 laps
11 M. Webber Red Bull 1:42.332 10 laps
12 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 1:42.475 15 laps
13 J. Trulli Toyota 1:42.657 13 laps
14 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:42.667 27 laps
15 R. Kubica BMW 1:42.833 17 laps
16 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:42.977 14 laps
17 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:43.218 11 laps
18 J. Button Brawn GP 1:43.318 17 laps
19 K. Kobayashi Toyota 1:43.407 16 laps
20 R. Grosjean Renault 1:43.572 22 laps

Free Practice 2 Times
01 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:47.261 5 laps
02 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:47.923 6 laps
03 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 1:47.931 5 laps
04 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:47.983 5 laps
05 K. Nakajima Williams 1:48.058 8 laps
06 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:48.691 9 laps
07 F. Alonso Renault 1:48.693 5 laps
08 J. Trulli Toyota 1:48.737 7 laps
09 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:48.802 11 laps
10 R. Kubica BMW 1:48.861 6 laps
11 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:48.886 5 laps
12 K. Kobayashi Toyota 1:49.054 7 laps
13 M. Webber Red Bull 1:49.382 7 laps
14 R. Grosjean Renault 1:49.405 6 laps
15 G. Fisichella Ferrari 1:49.553 5 laps
16 N. Rosberg Williams 1:49.872 8 laps
17 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:50.179 10 laps
18 H. Kovalainen McLaren no time
19 J. Button Brawn GP no time
20 R. Barrichello Brawn GP no time

All Timing Unofficial

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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