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Formula 1 Japanese GP

2009 Japanese Grand Prix Race day at Suzuka

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Lap 37: The battle for seventh is hotting up even more ahead of the second round of pitstops:

• Rosberg - 1m34.465s
• Button - 1m34.401s
• Kubica - 1m34.352s.

1.5 seconds covers the three of them.
Lap 37: That will dent Raikkonen's charge after Heidfled while also holding up Kubica's attack on Button.
Lap 37: That's bad news for Kimi though as he feeds out in between Button and Kubica.
Lap 36: He does indeed take soft rubber and is out on a charge to leap Heidfeld.
Lap 36: Kimi Raikkonen pits from fourth for his final stop.
Lap 36: Mark Webber comes into the pits for his fourth stop of the day. Thankfully, it's a clean stop this time, and the big Aussie rejoins the race, still in 18th place.
Lap 36: Kubica has the gap to Button down to under one second as Rosberg comes into range for both of them.
Lap 35: But Button is also catching Nico Rosberg ahead. Rosberg is seventh, then Button less than one second back, then Kubica 10th, 1.4s behind the Brawn.
Lap 35: Raikkonen is told on the radio that Heidfeld is running longer but Kimi will take more of the soft rubber that is working well for him at the moment.
Lap 34: Kimi Raikkonen sets the fastest lap as the Finn finds good pace on the softer tyres. He is closing rapidly on Heidfled.
Lap 34: Jenson Button is maintaining eighth place at the moment and is in line for one point today. Robert Kubica in ninth is catching the Briton at the rate of four-tenths of a second per lap.
Lap 34: Lewis Hamilton, in second, is now 3.4 seconds clear of Trulli.
Lap 33: Kazuki Nakajima rejoined in 15th place after his one and only stop, and has immediately come under attack from Tonio Liuzzi.

The Italian almost clips the rear of the Williams as he moves out from the slipstream, but he makes the move up the inside at Turn 1 and takes over 15th place.
Lap 33: Raikkonen is lapping quickly at the moment and is looking to leap Heidfled at the final stops.
Lap 33: Rubens Barrichello has fallen way off the back of Kimi Raikkonen and is now just five seconds ahead of team-mate Button.
Lap 32: That stop promotes Jenson Button to eighth and back into the points and lapping quickly at the moment.
Lap 32: Jenson Button is now eighth and told on the radio by race engineer Andrew Shovelin that if the race bunches up in front of him then he has an excellent opportunity (of catching Barrichello), as his pace was excellent during those laps in clear air.
Lap 32: It is soft tyres and fuel to the finish for Alonso as he resumes behind compatriot Alguersuari.
Lap 31: Alonso finally makes his stop.
Lap 31: Vettel sets the fastest lap at 1m33.052s as he pulls out to 6.1 seconds in the lead.
Lap 31: Grosjean takes on soft tyres and fuel. His stop was 9.6 seconds. He rejoins in 17th place.
Lap 30: Up front, Vettel has a comfortable 5.5 second lead over Hamilton, who is slowly starting to build the gap he needs over Trulli - currently 2.6 seconds.
Lap 30: The gap between Barrichello in sixth and Button in ninth is just five seconds, as Grosjean now pits the Renault from 15th.
Lap 30: Romain Grosjean is pushing hard with a light car before his one and only stop, but he gets Spoon Curve all wrong and loses all the ground he'd fought to make up.
Lap 30: Fernando Alonso is still to stop after a lengthy first stint. He's eighth but due in shortly.
Lap 29: Nakajima pits from ninth place in the Williams. Alonso is now eighth and yet to stop, with Button ninth, Kubica 10th, Kovalainen 11th and Fisichella 12th.
Lap 28: Kubica was behind Button during the first stint of the race anyway and was battling with Fisichella. Kubica maintains track position over the Ferrari and in fact jumps Kovalainen. Good work there from BMW.
Lap 28: Kubica will be forced to make a late stop for a change to the softer tyres.
Lap 27: The BMW takes more of the harder tyres as he resumes behind Button.
Lap 27: Robert Kubica pits at the half-way point.
Lap 27: Kovalainen has lost a lot of places with his first stop. The one-stop train and Button all passed him. Kovalainen is now 13th with Button 12th.
Lap 27: Vettel has checked out to a five second lead as Jarno Trulli continues to pressure Hamilton's second place.
Lap 27: Jenson Button is still down behind the one-stoppers in 13th place. He has closed that 5.7s gap to Alonso now to 2.7s. Liuzzi pits from 10th promoting Button up to 12th.
Lap 26: Kovalainen resumes as team-mate Hamilton is told on the radio to build a gap to Jarno Trulli of 3 seconds to defend from the Toyota at the second stops.
Lap 25: Kovalainen indeed pits.
Lap 25: So Rosberg runs out of the points in ninth as he chases Barrichello. Nakajima, Liuzzi and Alonso in 12th are all nose to tail behind the Williams.
Lap 25: Yet to stop Kovalainen and Kubica are up to fifth and sixth, with the former's stop due very soon.
Lap 24: After Rosberg's stop, Vettel leads by 4.3s over Lewis Hamilton.
Lap 24: Rosberg has resumed behind Barrichello but ahead of team-mate Nakajima, having not run as long as expected after burning off some fuel before the race.
Lap 23: Jaime Alguersuari pits from 12th place and he takes on soft tyres. That is one place up now for Button.

By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton

Published: