The Japanese GP saw plenty of rain over the weekend. The third practice session was lost due to the rain while the race started off behind the safety car. Thank goodness for that because I missed five minutes of the start. It was pouring so hard that the drivers were behind the safety car for almost a dozen laps. It was so boring I wondered if they will stay behind the safety car until the two hours is up.
The race resumed (or rather started) after the safety car dived into the pits. Despite the horrible weather condition, only a few minor incidents involving cars tripping over each other happened. It is hard to imagine how a person can drive in those conditions with the amount of water the Formula 1 cars kick up into the air. They are probably doing 300km/h on the straights while not being able to see 10m of what is happening in front of them.
There were some interesting overtakings in the race. Despite the 10 seconds stop-and-go penalty for Massa, he managed to get himself up to third position after the final restart behind the safety car. Strangely, the team called him in for a pit stop at the end when Raikkonen was right behind him. Team tactics perhaps. Anyway, it was a race where the Ferrari team seems to have got it all wrong. They started the race with the wrong tires when the rest of the field was on full wets forcing them to pit behind the safety car for a tire change.
Anyway, Hamilton went on for the win while Alonso crashed out. This victory puts Hamilton 12 points clear in the lead with only two races to go. Has the rookie done enough to book himself a championship this season? There are two more races to go with the next one in China seven days from now. I know I will be glued on the TV screen for that.
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