Japan qualifying notes
• Sebastian Vettel claimed his first pole in Japan, and his first since the British Grand Prix seven races ago
• Jarno Trulli started from the front row for the fourth time this season - the first time he has done so since 2005.
• Mark Webber started outside the top 10 for the first time in 10 races. It was only the third time this season that a Red Bull Racing car has qualified outside the top 10 - the others were Webber in Bahrain and Vettel in Malaysia.
• Robert Kubica started inside the top 10 in back-to-back races for the first time since Australia and Malaysia at the beginning of the season.
• Fernando Alonso started from his lowest grid position in four years. He started from the same spot in the 2005 Japanese GP after a wet qualifying session.
• Jamie Alguersuari improved his best qualifying performance from 16th in Singapore a week earlier to 12th in Japan.
Japan race notes
• Sebastian Vettel finished in the points for the fourth consecutive race - the first time he has achieved that feat this season. He also became just the second driver this season to lead a race from start to finish, following Jenson Button's dominant win in Australia.
• Red Bull won a race without taking a 1-2 finish for the first time.
• Jarno Trulli's second place was his best result and third podium of 2009.
• Toyota equalled its best ever podium haul for a season with its fifth.
• Rubens Barrichello passed the 600 points mark, moving on to 601 with seventh place.
• Heikki Kovalainen's run of six consecutive points finishes ended with 11th place.