SAID CROWNED CHAMPION IN SUZUKA

Labonte and Aslan now fought for the lead, ahead of Bublewicz; the five-stopping Kowalska; Alonso; Piquet; Li and Dupont. Said was not in the DRS train, but despite this, his pace was exceptional, lapping faster than everybody in the train despite not having DRS use, this allowed him to stay in touch as the final round of stops approached. 

 

Renault, fearing a loss of pace at the end of the stint, chose to leave Alonso out a lap longer than originally planned. This meant he pitted on the same lap as all his competitors, and as a result was stuck in 5th place, with Said at worst a net 7th, due to his KERS advantage. As a result, Alonso’s title hopes - which had looked very good just 20 laps from the finish, were falling apart. A second issue that occurred was fuel usage, with all the teams except 5395 struggling for fuel - a repeat of Mexico was on.

 

Carlin did their best to help Alonso, by waving him through, but this was not enough, as Said powered past as well. Labonte led onto the final lap, ahead of the ailing Bublewicz, and Said - who had used his KERS early to gain track position; Dupont was 4th, ahead of Piquet and Alonso. Bublewicz ran out first, and fell away, followed by Dupont. Alonso’s KERS got him back up to second, with Aslan coming through to third and putting the championship back in the Spaniard’s hands. However, both Renault’s ran out, allowing Said back into 2nd at the final corner, and to compound Alonso’s misery, former team-mate Piquet slipped past him on the line for 3rd.

 

The result crowned Said champion in the most dramatic of circumstances ahead of Alonso and Labonte. Subaru were unable to do enough to pass Woldi for 3rd in the Constructors’ Championship, while Carlin’s strong result allowed them a solid 5th place in the standings. Immediately after the race, Alonso announced he would take a sabbatical, as he did not feel he was performing at his best. However, the return of Marcin Stepien keeps four champions on the grid.