Vettel's joker for the race in Japan

S ebastian Vettel keeps reminding you that mistakes can happen. And that he only deserves the second title when he has got the missing point. As if he had known. While he was being celebrated by the media even before his second title win, he made a mistake in the first practice session for the Japanese GP, slipped off the track and damaged the front wing and nose of his Red Bull.

Vettel missed the best time

'This morning it wasn't quite optimal,' explains Vettel. 'I touched the wall lightly and that caused a little damage. That cost us something in the afternoon.' In addition to the slip in the race in Canada and the departure during training in Istanbul, it was Vettel's only slip. And without these dropouts, his driving skills would also be a little scary. 'Something like that happens,' says Vettel. 'It was an unnecessary mistake. But it was also a wake-up call that you have to concentrate every moment.'

In the second practice session in the afternoon, the Heppenheimer couldn't fight for the fastest time either. When he took to the track with his new soft compound tires, a yellow phase thwarted his plans. Vettel's conclusion: 'We still have a lot of homework to do and have to add a shovel for tomorrow. It looks really tight between Ferrari, McLaren and us.'

Red Bull with a strong long run

The main thing in the race will be tire wear. Suzuka is known for using its tires to the limit. If you take a closer look at the long runs, you will notice how strong Red Bull really is in this discipline. Vettel turned several laps in a row in the range of 1.37 minutes. Button was faster on a single lap with both mixes, but limped significantly behind with times of 1.39 minutes over a long distance.