JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-26A-04
- Started: 2nd
- Finished: 1st
- Fastest lap: 1m36.568s (1st)
- Pitstops: Three: laps 10, 20 and 36 (Op-Op-Op-Pr)
- 2011 points: 210 (2nd)

“This was a hard race – the last five or six laps were extremely tough, I had to really look after the tyres and try to save a bit of fuel to get the car home, but it was an amazing victory.


“Sebastian [Vettel] came across at me on the start – he kept coming and didn’t stop, so I got on the grass and had to back out of the throttle, otherwise there would’ve been an almighty shunt into Turn One. He said he didn’t see me until he saw me backing out, so that lost me a place.

“But fighting back was so, so satisfying: the performance has been in the car all weekend. It’s such an emotional victory for me: there’s so much history at this circuit, and the crowd here has been amazing, this is second only to a home victory for me.

“I want to thank every single person here in Japan who’s supported us – hopefully we’ve planted a happy memory in their minds, because a lot of Japan has been through difficult times this year. We did our best and we put on a fantastic show.

“Seb has done a great job all season and he deserved the title. He was given the equipment and just got on and did what was required of him. But, for us, there’s still more that we can achieve this year: I’d love to go out and fight to win the next few races, and I think we have the car and the team to go and do that. We’ll keep pushing and hope to get some more wins this year, but we’re also in a very good place right now – and I think that’s key to success in 2012.”

LEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-26A-03
- Started: 3rd
- Finished: 5th
- Fastest lap: 1m37.645s (+1.077s, 9th)
- Pitstops: Three: laps 8, 21 and 35 (Op-Op-Op-Pr)
- 2011 points: 178 (5th)

“This was a disappointing race for me, but it was a great day for Jenson and the whole team. Jenson did a remarkable job today – he really deserved this victory, but it wasn’t a great one for me. Still, I’m going to keep my head up and look ahead to the next race where I’ll hopefully have another chance.

“Clearly, our car has the pace to win, but I wasn’t able to compete today so I’ll go away and look at the data to work out how I can come back and be competitive in Korea next weekend.

“In the race, I don’t really know what happened with Felipe – the car’s mirrors vibrate at high-speed, so I couldn’t see him pulling alongside me. I want to apologise for our cars’ touching, but fortunately nothing happened to either of us. There was no bad intention towards Felipe; I’ve got the utmost respect for him, he’s a fantastic driver and he was extremely quick today.

“Finally, big congratulations to Sebastian for winning the title. We all knew it was going to happen, but his season has really been flawless. It’s a fantastic achievement for him.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Today we witnessed a great drive from Jenson. It was a fast and tough race from the very start, and Jenson, Fernando [Alonso] and Sebastian all did a fantastic job today.

“Obviously, those last few laps were extremely tense. We’ve been in the position of hunting for victory, but it’s even more nerve-wracking when you’re the car in front! It was a very tense but fantastic spectacle and Jenson didn’t put a foot wrong. He drove with extraordinary calm, so today’s victory is incredibly well deserved.

“Lewis had a more difficult afternoon. We weren’t immediately aware that Lewis appeared to suffer a slow puncture to the right-rear in the first stint. That created a growing pressure differential across the rear axle, and potentially led us to add too much front wing to compensate for the lack of balance at the rear.

“In hindsight, that may have led to Lewis fighting to find a satisfactory balance for the next two stints as we attempted to restore the set-up he’d enjoyed during the previous two days. It was a challenging afternoon for Lewis, but he never gave up, kept pushing and scored some strong points for the team. He had the pace this weekend, so I’m sure he’ll be as tough as ever in Korea next weekend.

“Finally, I would like to pass on congratulations to Sebastian from myself and the whole of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. He has driven a consistent and error-free season, and I only wish we could have delayed tonight’s party for a little while longer! But big congratulations to him nonetheless.

“For all of us at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, our ambition is undimmed: we’ll be aiming to win all the remaining races, starting with Korea next weekend.”

JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-26A-04
- P3 programme: 1st, 1m31.255s, 13 laps
- Qualifying:
- Q1: 6th, 1m32.947s (on Primes)
- Q2: 3rd, 1m31.434s (on Options)
- Q3: 2nd overall, 1m30.475s (on Options)

“This is the closest I’ve been to pole position all season, but it’s still not pole: tomorrow’s grid will still be the same distance from first to second place.


“But I’m satisfied, because I didn’t leave anything out on the track today – I feel like I got everything I could from the car; there was nothing left.

“I think the whole team feels encouraged because we didn’t come to this race with any significant upgrades, we just got the car working well all weekend. We have a more efficient rear wing, particularly with DRS, but we’ve just made this car very quick on high-speed circuits. We were quick at Spa, and we’re quick here too, so it’s no surprise.

“Our Friday long-runs on high-fuel were less than ideal, but we’ve seen the form vary significantly between Friday and Sunday, so tomorrow should be very different.

“Sunday’s the important day: we start second, but it’s so, so close. I really hope we can take the fight to Red Bull tomorrow.”

LEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-26A-03
- P3 programme: 2nd, 1m31.762s (+0.507s), 16 laps
- Qualifying:
- Q1: 4th, 1m32.843s (on Primes)
- Q2: 1st, 1m31.139s (on Primes)
- Q3: 3rd overall, 1m30.617s (on Options)

“I’m happy to be third – I’ll be starting from the cleaner side of the grid, and we can have a good race from there.

“And I’m pleased that we’ve been extremely competitive all weekend. We’ve definitely shown an improvement: to be so close at a high-speed circuit like this means we’re doing well. It’s very encouraging, because if we’d had this car at the beginning of the season, I think the championship could have been a different story.

“In Q3, my final attempt at a lap was compromised when I entered the final corner on my out-lap and, from out of nowhere, Mark [Webber] shot up the inside of me. Then Michael [Schumacher] came past on my outside and went across the grass. Those incidents delayed me, so I couldn’t reach the startline to begin my lap – it was an interesting situation but we were all up against it to get across the line.

“I might be starting third, but I know I’m as quick as the two guys in front of me. It’s not been a fantastic weekend for me so far, so hopefully that’ll change tomorrow.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“The whole qualifying session was extremely tight today. In terms of pace, we’re encouraged by our performance – it’s the closest we’ve been to the Red Bulls for some time, and, with one driver starting second and the other third, we’re in good shape for the race tomorrow.

“Jenson did a great job in qualifying. In fact, he’s been driving brilliantly all weekend – to miss out on pole by 9/1000ths of a second, which equates to a mere 68cm when travelling across the start/finish line at around 280km/h, is extremely unfortunate. But he’s on the front row and in a very strong position for the race.

“Lewis did a great job, too, particularly with an incredibly quick lap in Q2 and on his first run of Q3. It was a little tight on time as we left the garage for his final run – we knew we couldn’t afford to let any other cars past – but he lost time on his out-lap and didn’t quite make it to the finish line in time to start his final run.

“With the benefit of hindsight, we perhaps didn’t make it clear enough to Lewis about what he needed to achieve on his out-lap.

“Nonetheless, our car has a good balance, both drivers are feeling confident and I’m sure we can have an exciting race tomorrow.”