Running Away With It
And…it’s over.
The remaining three races on the 2011 Formula 1 season calendar suddenly became a battle for silver after Sebastian Vettel clinched his second consecutive World Champion title at the 2011 Japan Grand Prix.
Congrats to Vettel and all that for becoming the youngest double world champion in F1 history, but I sincerely hope my Formula 1 race reports will be more interesting next year. If there was anything unique about this particular race, it was the fact that Vettel didn’t win, that achievement going to his primary rival for the title, Jenson Button. It was at least a competitive race, with several lead changes, McLaren’s pit strategy and discipline vaulting Button past Alonso’s second-place Ferrari and Vettel’s Red Bull car, which finished third. Early in the race the German driver complained that his car’s rear tires were wearing abnormally fast, not an unusual declaration at a circuit known to be particularly hard on tires. Still, it did influence Vettel’s pit stop sequence and allowed Button to take the lead and the win. Truth be told, at the rate Vettel was setting fastest laps early in the race, had he chosen to let the red mist descend and go into attack mode, he could have made a stronger play for the win; however, he chose to drive more conservatively, aware that a finish anywhere in the points would allow him to claim the season title.
So the 2011 F1 season marches on, having already crowned a victor. Given the Red Bull’s and McLaren’s dominance this season, I’ll be rooting for underdogs Alonso and Schumacher to finish the season in good form.