With the Drivers’ Championship within his reach, Jenson Button wasn’t able to close the deal at one of his best tracks. Likewise, Brawn GP fumbled their chance to lock up the Constructors Title in Japan. Despite having a pretty difficult weekend between their two teams, Red Bull was able to score a win with Sebastian Vettel taking the checkered flag from pole. Meanwhile, silly season is starting to pick up with Ferrari finally confirming their 2010 driver lineup.

Sebastian Vettel didn’t just win the Japanese Grand Prix’s return to the Suzuka Circuit. He absolutely dominated the race. He started on pole, won the race, and every lap of the race. He had the fastest lap of the race until about three laps to go when his teammate, Mark Webber, put up a lap that was three-thousandths of a second faster. Interestingly, if Vettel had set the fast lap of the race, it would have been the first “Grand Slam” (pole, win, fastest lap, and every lap led) in Formula One since Michael Schumacher last achieved the feat in 2004. In fact, the only time that Vettel seemed in danger of losing the race was at the start until turn one. Even the safety car didn’t provide much of a threat because Vettel had a lapped car between him and second place.

That second place finisher was Jarno Trulli. He started second but immediately fell behind the KERS-powered KERS-powered “>McLaren of Lewis Hamilton. That was the order they proceeded in until the second round of pit stops. Trulli ran longer and Hamilton’s KERS failed meaning he was carrying dead weight costing him at least three-tenths of a second. Technically, I suppose you could say that Trulli actually passed a car. I wouldn’t call it an overtake, though. It was only through strategy and fortunate circumstances that he was able to advance his position. Like every other “pass” in his F1 career.

Anyway, Vettel’s win also kept him alive in the championship hunt. His championship rivals were hurt by penalties for ignoring yellow flags during qualifying which forced them to start back in the field. Barrichello started 6th (having lost only one place on the grid due to the way the FIA handled the penalties) and finished 7th. Button started 10th, fell back to 11th, passed Kubica clean, then had Sutil and Kovalainen when they collided and coasted to 8th. Heading to Brazil, Button leads by 14 points over Barrichello and by 16 over Vettel. It seems unlikely that Button will be overtaken by the championship but I don’t think anyone would have thought that he could cough up his massive lead from the first seven rounds. If you recall the 2007 title hunt, Raikkonen came from 17 points down with two races to go to win the Drivers’ Championship by a single point. We might think it’s over but history has taught us that the championship race can go right down to the final corner of the season.

•••

Ferrari may be getting a competitive driver in their #3 for the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi. The Brazilian press is reporting that Felipe Massa is targeting the final race of the season to make his return to F1. The FIA will reportedly allow Massa to test a 2008 Ferrari to see if he is ready to make his F1 return. Massa is going to be in Maranello this week to drive the simulator before he hits the track. He’s already driven a kart in Brazil last week so he’s already ready to get back on the racing wagon.

•••

I was originally planning on complaining that all of Bernie’s concerns about making sure that the races are on at a good time for European TV ignores the potential for growth in North America. After all, staying up until 3:00 AM is harder than getting up at 6:00 AM. However, I realized that there is one place in the world that would have it worse when it comes to trying to follow Formula One.

The normal F1 race starts at just after 2:00 PM European time. In North America, that’s 8:00 AM. That’s manageable though you could be dragging for the rest of the day and maybe the next one. However, race fans in Eastern Australia don’t have a hope in hell. Your average F1 race starts at 11:00 PM Sunday night. The Brazilian GP, which was the title decider the last years, which starts at 12:00 Noon Eastern Time wouldn’t be on until 3:00 AM in Australia. No wonder why Bernie doesn’t care about race fans in Australia. They can’t watch many races unless they’re willing to drag their ass for the next day or two so races aren’t likely to get many live viewers. I know you can’t find a time that will accommodate everyone considering the global appeal of F1 but I think everyone has to feel for the plight of the Aussie F1 fan.

•••

 The most interesting day of this weekend was probably Saturday. Not that it was a challenge this weekend. Friday was a wash out due to rain and Sunday’s race was a parade. In morning practice, Mark Webber wrecked the car which couldn’t be fixed in time for Q1 so he had to start from pit road.

The qualifying session ended up quite disjointed as it had three red flags. First, Jaime Alguersuari found the barrier at the Degner Curves in Q1. Later in the session, Timo Glock ran wide in the last turn and ran into the tire barrier. He had to be helped from the car and was taken to hospital with back pain and a cut on his leg. At the end of Q2, Sebastien Buemi ran wide at the Spoon Curve and left part of his front wing on the track. He nursed his car to the pits but was penalized for driving a damaged car back to the pits. The yellow flag caused by Buemi’s slow car and debris which caught out Button, Barrichello, Sutil, and Alonso who all got grid penalties. In Q3, Heikki Kovalainen lost it at the Degner Curves which left everyone with only about three flying laps to have a crack at pole.

I would try going through all the penalties and the effects that had on the grid but trying to explain the FIA’s rules on the application of penalties would leave us here for several hours.

•••

The biggest secret in Formula One driver news was finally confirmed last week. Fernando Alonso will be driving for Ferrari starting in 2010. That leaves Kimi Raikkonen as the odd man out at the Scuderia. His most likely destination is McLaren but Williams is also interested in signing The Iceman. Robert Kubica is also rumoured to be going to Williams but Renault is tipped to be closest to acquiring his services while Toyota remains a possibility. Nico Rosberg is likely to end up at Brawn where neither driver is signed for next year. Not surprisingly, Williams is looking at both Button and Barrichello.

Williams also made waves outside the driver market over the last week. They were linked to getting an engine deal for the likely-to-be underpowered and thirsty Cosworth.

And ex-F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr. will be trying his hand at NASCAR. He has a test next week with Red Horse Racing which runs in the Camping World Truck Series.

•••

The next round of the season brings us to the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the penultimate round of the 2009 Formula One World Championship. While the Suzuka Circuit has a very smooth surface, Interlagos will put a premium on mechanical grip and the suspension because it is a very bumpy circuit. I’m surprised the drivers don’t wear hockey-style mouth guards so they don’t pulverize their teeth.

Interlagos is a high-speed circuit but the two sets of slower corners makes this more of an intermediate downforce track. It’s also the highest track in terms of altitude on the calendar so normal downforce and power levels are reduced. This track would have to favour the McLarens and Brawns over the field. However, Ferrari has a track record of success in Brazil so they should be strong contenders for the win. Red Bull will likely be at a big disadvantage because the car thrives on fast, lower downforce tracks. There is some carryover from Suzuka so the Red Bull might be fast but I can’t see it handling the bumpy surface as well as the McLaren which will really deflate Vettel’s chances.