Driver of the race - Japan

[Robinho]

For once i'll start this one - I have to say Button, squeezed out to 3rd at the start, and took it back on pace, beating a complete set of Red Bulls, Ferraris and Hamilton in a straight dry race. Great drive.

Alonso was exceptional, and Vettel taking the championship rounds it out for me.

Mention for MS getting in amongst it and being the oldest leader of a race since Jack Brahbam in 1970

[F1boat]

Great race for Button and Alonso, solid for Seb and very good for MS :-)

[ioan]

Alonso. He had no business being 2nd with that car.
Special mention to MS for staying so close to the top cars, but then again this is one of his favorite races.

[Ranger]

Alonso and Button, great drives.

[Knock-on]

Has to be Button for me. Great racing and car management.

[i_max2k2]

Button great racing all around, Alonso doing well to be 2nd, and MSC for being a close 6th.

[Dave B]

Button for being sensible at the start then taking advantage of RBR's tyre wear to secure a close-fought victory at one of the most demanding tracks. Alonso for never giving up, and the old boy for a solid result in the fourth best car - even leading a lap or two for the first time in 5 years!

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Jenson was Head and Shoulders above the rest today!

http://www.ocado.com/content/images/2043Images/2043a3.jpg

[Knock-on]

How long have you been waiting to use that one Jon :laugh:

[steveaki13]

Jenson was Head and Shoulders above the rest today!

http://www.ocado.com/content/images/2043Images/2043a3.jpg

Fantastic

Well Done :up:

[DexDexter]

Button drove a great race, so did Sergio Perez.

[steveaki13]

Driver of the Race: Jenson Button for me, a great drive

Other mentions
Alonso: A fine race in a not the fastest Ferrari.
Vettel: Not his best race but sensible drive to win a Championship
Schumacher: He drove well and again was able to mix it in the top 6 cars. Albeit with the help of a SC.
Perez: I thought the young Mexican did a great job today different strategy again and 4 good points.
Kovalainen and Trulli. The 2 Lotus cars were on the lead lap so a solid effort. Albeit again with the SC help

[jens]

Button and Alonso were indeed impressive, as well as Schumacher.

Perez is maturing well as a driver. And a good comeback especially after he seemed to be lost in the pack after qualifying issues and the start of the race. The Mexican has managed to improve his consistently recently, having been a factor in the fight for points in every recent race, thus starting to put Kobayashi in a shade a bit.

[steveaki13]

Button without a shadow of a doubt. I found myself cheering after so long. A good race. :)

I thought you were recording it and sleeping on. :D

[wedge]

Top 3 all deserved it.

I'd say this was Button's best ever race because this was in the dry and he's made a name for himself in wet/dry conditions;

Alonso with his never-say-die attitude;

Vettel answered his critics that he is a racer by wanting to beat Alonso.

[truefan72]

button and Alonso

[N. Jones]

Jenson for me. I remember his detractors in 2006 saying he would never win another race.

I wonder, where are they now?? :devil:

[Aikidoka]

Jenson for me. I remember his detractors in 2006 saying he would never win another race.

I wonder, where are they now?? :devil:

I'm here, and standing well and truly corrected.

In my defence, I've always rated Jenson as a driver, but always feared that he would end up being the next Jean Alesi. Great, solid driver and a popular personality but always F1's "Nearly Man". 2009 was a revelation, showing what Jenson can do in a competitive car and 2010/11, he's proven me wrong again and again walking into "Lewis' Team" and putting some brilliant drives in, while his team mate under performs.

Definitely JB for driver of the race, would have loved to see more of Perez, but understandably the Japanese TV coverage was focusing more on his teammate.

[Robinho]

Jenson for me. I remember his detractors in 2006 saying he would never win another race.

I wonder, where are they now?? :devil:

It was said in 2006, and again 2009, he would also never win a championship and when he moved to McLaren he was definately never going to win another race nor ever beat Lewis.

I think most detractors probably realise they were wrong or at least a bit harsh, equally I don't think many of us fans think he's the second coming, or even over a single lap, a match for Lewis or Vettel, but he is proving that he really can compete with all of the top guys on an equal footing and has developed into a top line driver. Sunday was proof positive of that, when the car fits inside his window he is a match for anyone. McLaren have done a great job of providing a car where that window is wide enough, when the car is not to his liking Lewis will invariabley drive away as he is far better at driving around an issue or outdriving a less impressive car. When its working as intended the gap between them is negligible

[DexDexter]

It was said in 2006, and again 2009, he would also never win a championship and when he moved to McLaren he was definately never going to win another race nor ever beat Lewis.

I think most detractors probably realise they were wrong or at least a bit harsh, equally I don't think many of us fans think he's the second coming, or even over a single lap, a match for Lewis or Vettel, but he is proving that he really can compete with all of the top guys on an equal footing and has developed into a top line driver. Sunday was proof positive of that, when the car fits inside his window he is a match for anyone. McLaren have done a great job of providing a car where that window is wide enough, when the car is not to his liking Lewis will invariabley drive away as he is far better at driving around an issue or outdriving a less impressive car. When its working as intended the gap between them is negligible

I never thought he'd be this good but he really is. I based my thoughts on the fact that in the past he was slower than some of his teammates and therefore was not a top driver but circumstances seem to play such a big part in how good drivers do against their teammates that the comparison between teammates alone isn't a reliable indication of a driver's ability. Heikki Kovalainen is a good example of that, I guess most people feel he is doing really well for Lotus and is quite a decent driver and yet at Mclaren, he was totally at sea against Hamilton. Was Heikki really that bad or was it a combination of many factors?

[The Black Knight]

I never thought he'd be this good but he really is. I based my thoughts on the fact that in the past he was slower than some of his teammates and therefore was not a top driver but circumstances seem to play such a big part in how good drivers do against their teammates that the comparison between teammates alone isn't a reliable indication of a driver's ability. Heikki Kovalainen is a good example of that, I guess most people feel he is doing really well for Lotus and is quite a decent driver and yet at Mclaren, he was totally at sea against Hamilton. Was Heikki really that bad or was it a combination of many factors?
There are many factors that make a driver look good and bad. We saw how hard Schumacher found it last year to adapt to a car that was designed for Jenson Button. Both drivers styles are worlds apart.
Jenson has impressed me massively and his stock has risen throughout this year in particular. Do I think he has the raw natural talent that Lewis has? No, I don't because he can't adapt to a cars balance shift as quickly as Lewis can. But I do believe that when given the machinery, as he is being given now, that he is pretty much level with Lewis on his best day.

While we are rating Jenson we also need to take into account that Lewis is going through the worst patch of his career which is probably making Jenson look a bit better than he is. On raw pace Lewis still has it to me.
The Pirelli tyres reward a driver with a smooth driving style though there have been races this year where Button struggled with tyre wear and Lewis didn't. Personally, I don't like this. While I'm all for tyre conservation playing a little part in F1 races, I do believe it is playing too big a part nowadays.
Overall, the rules this year couldn't have suited a driver like Jenson any better and this is the main reason he is closer to Lewis. Jenson's ability to keep a calmer head in races has also played into his hands this year.
So there is a lot of work for Lewis to do and I believe that he will come out on top in the end. He has to start to rebuild himself and I think that process has started already. He was unlucky again in Japan last weekend.
But let us take nothing away from Jenson. He is a fantastic driver that is impressing everyone more and more every weekend and he is also a very nice chap indeed.