Red Bull's rivals hope long-run pace is misleading
Red Bull's long-run pace is the key to the destiny of the Japanese Grand Prix, says Mark Hughes. The question is was the pace genuine, or clouded by lighter fuel loads? Red Bull's rivals are hoping it's the latter
"Well, we're sort of hoping they weren't on the same fuel loads as us," said McLaren's Paddy Lowe when asked about the Red Bulls' apparent advantage on the long runs of Friday afternoon at Suzuka. It's a hope that most of the rest of the paddock is sharing - because if not, no-one else will see the RB7s on Sunday.
Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were each able to lap in the mid-high 1m37s consistently, this around 1.2s better than Jenson Button in the faster of the McLarens.
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