2007 Japanese Grand Prix

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2007 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 15 of 17 in the 2007 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Fuji Speedway
Race details
Date	September 30, 2007
Official name	2007 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
Location	Sunto District, Shizuoka, Japan
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.563 km (2.835 miles)
Distance	67 laps, 305.416 km (189.777 miles)
Weather	Very heavy rain
Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:25.368
Fastest lap
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:28.193 on lap 27
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 2007 Japanese Grand Prix (officially the 2007 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix)

As with the 2006 race, the event was filmed and broadcast in high-definition by Fuji Television for the domestic Japanese audience.

Although the weather had dried out by the time qualifying began, the track was still wet and all the drivers went out on wet tyres.

Qualifying one saw the two

Qualifying two saw the elimination of the two

Due to torrential rainfall, the race was started behind the safety car, which led the field for the first 19 laps.^[2] The Ferraris of Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa were forced to pit during the first few laps after starting on standard wet tyres, as opposed to "extreme wet" tyres, which were better-suited to the treacherously wet conditions. Ferrari boss Jean Todt later stated that the team were not informed about the requirements prior to the race, although all other teams were.^[3] During the initial safety car period, the FIA instructed the lapped driver Vitantonio Liuzzi to pass the field and catch up to the back of the queue as quickly as he safely could, as a way of gauging whether the track was ready for the race to begin in earnest.

The Ferraris dropped back to 20th and 21st positions respectively following the pit stops, and Massa pitted again on lap 15. When the safety car finally left the circuit, the two McLarens began the race proper at the head of the field, in front of the quick-starting Sebastian Vettel. The Toro Rosso driver had taken third place from Nick Heidfeld, after the latter and Jenson Button's Honda collided. Mark Webber was in fourth by the first racing lap as a result of the collision,^[3] despite still suffering from the after-effects of food poisoning, having earlier vomited into his helmet during the first safety car period.^[4] A first-corner spin caused Alexander Wurz to collide heavily with Felipe Massa's Ferrari. Wurz's car sustained heavy damage and he retired on the spot.

Later in the race, Fernando Alonso crashed out, later blaming aquaplaning for the accident, which once again brought out the safety car. It was the first time that a McLaren car had failed to finish during the 2007 season. During this safety car period on lap 45, third-placed Sebastian Vettel crashed into the rear of second-placed Webber in the wet conditions, Webber retiring immediately and Vettel returning to the pits to retire. Vettel had earlier became the

On the final lap, Felipe Massa prevailed in his battle with BMW driver Robert Kubica. The Pole had previously served a drive through penalty for colliding with Hamilton. Massa finished sixth, and Kubica seventh, behind Giancarlo Fisichella's Renault. Vitantonio Liuzzi finished in eighth, scoring the first 2007 championship points for Toro Rosso.^[3] However, these points were later removed when Liuzzi was penalised for overtaking Adrian Sutil under waved yellow flags. This promoted Sutil to eighth, giving him and the Spyker team their first and only F1 points.

Following the race,

The event was afflicted by poor transportation, poor facilities (including some reserved seats without a view), a lack of organization, and expensive meals that meant a simple lunch-box was sold for 10,000 yen (US$87) at the circuit.^[8][9]

The free practice session on Saturday was abandoned after repeated delays due to fog, which grounded the medical helicopter.^[10][11] Only three drivers set a time in four minutes: Alexander Wurz (Williams-Toyota), Nico Rosberg (Williams-Toyota) and Jarno Trulli (Toyota).^[12]

Before the race, there were suggestions that the plan of carrying all of the 100,000 or more spectators only by shuttle bus would be impossible. To relieve people's doubts, the circuit announced that there was complete preparation for the race.^[13] These doubts were realised when, after the qualifying session on Saturday, the shuttle buses could not leave because the road on the east gate of the circuit sank around 16:00. As a result, approximately 20,000 spectators were forced to stay for four hours or more until 21:00.^[14][15][16] For the race on Sunday, only the shuttle bus was admitted for spectators as transport.^[17]

On Sunday morning, the circuit announced that they would refund spectators who had bought seats in the reserved seat area on 'C' stand, near the first corner. This was due to the low visibility which meant that the cars on the racing line were not seen at all.^[18] The cost of the tickets, 50,000 yen (US$435), was scheduled to be reimbursed to 7,000 people who were in the stand. The total cost of the refund was expected to be around 350 million yen (US$3 million).^[19][20][21] After the race on Sunday, the circuit held a press conference to apologise for problems and announced that they would refund another 85 spectators who did not arrive at the circuit until after the start of the race due to the delay of the shuttle bus. The circuit said that they would reimburse them for all the costs caused by watching the race: the transportation expenses, the hotel charges and the cost of the tickets.^[19][22]

Fuji Speedway prohibited spectators from setting up flags and banners supporting teams and drivers,

...Although I have worked in Formula One for thirty years, this is the first time I have seen a Grand Prix race without seeing fans wave the flag of Ferrari. I think this is inexcusable. What I heard was Fuji Speedway prohibited flags and banners of F1 teams, but I saw a Toyota F1 flag in the stands of the Toyota-owned circuit.
The track later said the flags were not prohibited, but there was a miscommunication between the race organisers and the staff of the circuit. However, many fans familiar with Formula One noticed the strangeness of the circuit without the team banners. Why was this not solved on initial notice?^[27]

However, the event was well received by visitors in the paddock.

...I would like to say congratulations to Fuji Speedway for hosting this race for the first time in 30 years. The facilities here are excellent and the race was well organised.[30]

In 2009, the Japanese Grand Prix was held again at Suzuka, with the plan to alternate between the two circuits in subsequent years. It was suggested that this could help to prevent future shows of such flagrant parochialism.^[31] However, Toyota later announced that the Japanese Grand Prix would not be held at Fuji Speedway any more, and the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix was the last held at the circuit.^[32]

On 16 June 2008, 109 spectators went to Tokyo District Court and took an action against the circuit to claim total 32 million yen (US$295,500) in compensation for bad health and missing the race due to the problems with the shuttle buses.^{[33][34][needs update]}

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Q3	Grid
1	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:25.489	1:24.753	1:25.368	1
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Mercedes	1:25.379	1:24.806	1:25.438	2
3	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:25.390	1:24.988	1:25.516	3
4	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:25.359	1:25.049	1:25.765	4
5	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:25.971	1:25.248	1:26.505	5
6	16	Nico Rosberg	Toyota	1:26.579	1:25.816	1:26.728	152
7	7	Jenson Button	Honda	1:26.614	1:25.454	1:26.913	6
8	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1:25.970	1:25.535	1:26.914	7
9	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1:26.025	1:25.909	1:26.973	8
10	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:26.300	1:25.530	1:27.225	9
11	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1:26.909	1:26.033		10
12	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	1:27.223	1:26.232		11
13	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	1:26.904	1:26.247		12
14	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:26.711	1:26.253		13
15	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1:27.234	1:26.948		PL3
16	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	1:27.191	no time		141
17	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:27.323			16
18	17	Alexander Wurz	Toyota	1:27.454			17
19	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri-Honda	1:27.564			18
20	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker-Ferrari	1:28.628			19
21	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri-Honda	1:28.762			20
22	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker-Ferrari	1:29.668			21
Source:[35]

Notes

• ^1 – Ralf Schumacher had no car during the second session of qualifying as he crashed into the back of Sakon Yamamoto at the end of the first session.
• Williams decided to change Nico Rosberg's engine, giving him a 10-place grid penalty for the race.^[36]
• ^3 – Vitantonio Liuzzi started from the pit lane after opting for a dry weather setup.^[37]

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	67	2:00:34.579	1	10
2	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	67	+8.377	11	8
3	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	67	+9.478	3	6
4	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	67	+20.297	12	5
5	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	67	+38.864	10	4
6	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	67	+49.042	4	3
7	10	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	67	+49.285	9	2
8	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker-Ferrari	67	+1:00.129	19	1
91	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	67	+1:20.622	PL
10	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	67	+1:28.342	16
11	7	Jenson Button	Honda	66	Suspension	6
12	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker-Ferrari	66	+1 lap	21
13	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	66	+1 lap	13
14	9	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	65	Technical	5
15	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri-Honda	65	Collision	20
Ret	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	55	Puncture	14
Ret	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri-Honda	54	Throttle	18
Ret	16	Nico Rosberg	Toyota	49	Electronics	15
Ret	19	Sebastian Vettel	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	46	Collision damage	8
Ret	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	45	Collision	7
Ret	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Mercedes	41	Accident	2
Ret	17	Alexander Wurz	Toyota	19	Collision	17
Source:[38]

Notes

• ^1 – Vitantonio Liuzzi was handed a 25 second penalty after overtaking under yellow-flags.^[39]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings +/– Pos. Driver Points 1 Lewis Hamilton* 107 2 Fernando Alonso* 95 3 Kimi Räikkönen* 90 4 Felipe Massa 80 5 Nick Heidfeld 56 Source:[40]

Constructors' Championship standings +/– Pos. Constructor Points 1 Ferrari* 170 2 BMW Sauber 92 3 Renault 51 4 Toyota 28 5 Red Bull-Renault 23 Source:[40]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
• Bold text and an asterisk indicates competitors who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

References

• SA Sports Illustrated. "The 2-Minute Guide to... The Japanese Grand Prix." October 2008: 32-33.

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2007 Japanese Grand Prix.

Wikinews has related news:

• Lewis Hamilton wins 2007 Japanese Grand Prix

• Detailed Japanese Grand Prix results

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