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As one of Formula 1’s most memorable circuits, Suzuka once again delivered a classic Japanese Grand Prix.

2010 driver and constructor championship point standings continued to stay close and tight as Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso finished 1-2-3. As they took and held their places at the front of the grid, wasn’t it refreshing to see the FIA cameras capturing more of the mid-field action and battles during the race?

What are your thoughts about the winners, finishers, mishaps and overall coverage yesterday? Was the penalty on Petrov fair?

From post-race interviews, do you believe that Ferrari backs Massa for strong finishes in the final three races of the season? What do you predict for him next year?

What did you think of Kamui Kobayashi and his show for the home crowd? Do you agree with those who saw glimpses of “the” Michael Schumacher as he battled Nico Rosberg and had one of his best finishes of the season?

Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton had their struggles. Have McLaren and their drivers lost their edge? Will they be contenders or have they started to fade?

Your wishes for a dream season in 2011. What circuits would you add to the calendar? Which would you eliminate? Would you restructure teams? If so, how?

Finally, there’s Korea. A brand new circuit and brand new asphalt. Virgin territory. (No pun intended.) Your predictions? Advantage anyone?

Join us for our weekly #F1Chat on Twitter this evening at 4:00 p.m. Eastern US/Canada, 5 p.m. Brazil, 9 p.m. UK. Follow and participate in the chat by including the hashtag #F1Chat in your tweets. If you are not on Twitter you are invited to share your comments and opinions below and follow the feed here.

During the Japanese Grand Prix, two first lap incidents came under investigation by the stewards after the race.  Vitaly Petrov went sharply right in the middle of the field on the straight as the race got underway, slicing into Nico Hulkenberg and landing in the Armco.  Felipe Massa tired a daring move to the inside of Tonio Liuzzi on the first turn that worked for neither of them, as Massa hit the Italian and ended both races.  The stewards let Massa off, according to an Autosport article, calling it a racing incident.  They were not so lenient on Petrov, handing him a five-place grid penalty for the Korean Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.  What do you think?  Should either, both, or neither of the drivers have been penalized?

Valentino Rossi gave a masterclass on winning from well behind for the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix, going from eleventh on the first lap to the win, but it was third-place finisher Jorge Lorenzo who would get all the glory for winning his first MotoGP world championship. Andrea Dovizioso finished second after a spirited battle with both Fiat Yamaha teammates while Ben Spies and Alvaro Bautista completed the top five. Near pole-winner Nicky Hayden dropped back, but finished sixth.

Lorenzo fought off a late charge from Hayden to secure pole in Saturday qualifying for the race likely to win him the 2010 MotoGP World Championship. The American had pole in the final minute, but lost it by a tenth to the Spaniard. Dovizioso, Spies, and Stoner rounded out the top five starters for the Malaysian Grand Prix, with Rossi just edged out in sixth at the end by Stoner. Dani Pedrosa neither qualified nor raced after his Japanese accident left him revocering in Spain from surgery to a broken collarbone.

It was a scorching hot, humid, and overcast late afternoon as the race got underway with Lorenzo leading Dovizioso, Hayden, Spies, Somoncelli, Edwards, Capirossi, Melandri, Rossi, and Bautista as the top ten at the end of the first lap. Dovizioso was not allowing Lorenzo to get too far away, though the Spaniard needed only to finish ninth to clinch the championship. Rossi got a bad start and worse first lap, dropping briefly to eleventh before moving back up to ninth. Stoner, who was well out-qualified by teammate Hayden fell off on the first lap. Hayden himself had fallen behind the charging Lorenzo and Dovizioso, nearly a second and a half behind by the end of the second lap, though he had a gap of three tenths to Simondelli, gaining time as he fought with Spies for fourth. The next lap, though, was all about Rossi, who charged up to fourth, passing Spies and Hayden after Simoncelli picked them off. Lorenzo still had only about a tenth on Dovizioso, but the rest of the race involved some serious fighting, with Rossi next overtaking Simoncelli for the final podium position. He was two seconds behind Lorenzo and Dovizioso after the pass, though.

One quarter of the way through the race, Lorenzo led by nearly four tenths over Dovizioso, and the top ten of Rossi, Simoncelli, Hayden, Spies, Melandri, Edwards, Bautista, and de Puniet were covered by seven seconds. Capirossi had also fallen, but appeared to be uninjured. The close racing was not to last, however, as gaps appeared by the end of the sixth lap, particularly as Hayden had fallen more than two seconds behind Simoncelli, though he remained fifth and two tenths ahead of Spies. Espargaro was out on L7, moving Bautista up to seventh. The conditions were so hot that a Moto2 rider had been unable to complete the race, requiring help to get off the bike when he returned to the garage. Dovizioso was certainly not letting Lorenzo escape at the front, as Rossi posted the race fast lap on L7, hunting down the leaders from third. The gap was down to six hundreths from Dovizioso to Lorenzo in front, but Rossi was catching them, only nine tenths behind Dovi by the end of the eighth lap. Spies had taken fifth from Hayden, who seemed to be losing his (admittedly surprising) pace from qualifying.

Dovizioso charged past Lorenzo on the next lap, leaving him to Rossi’s devices as Edwards was out of the race with what looked like a mechanical issue. At the halfway point of the twenty lap race, Lorenzo and Rossi were separated by nothing, as Rossi took second from his teammate and rival, though without the histrionics of the final laps of the previous race. Rossi was soon three tenths ahead of Lorenzo. Simoncelli, Spies, Bautista, Aoyama, Hayden, de Puniet, and Melandri rounded out the top ten of the twelve riders still racing. By the end of L11, Rossi had charged past Dovizioso for the lead, with a nearly two tenths gap. It was seven tenths by L12, with Lorenzo another three tenths behind Dovizioso. The gap remained about the same for the top three, though Simoncelli was another seven-plus seconds behind Lorenzo, with Spies just two tenths behind him. Hayden seemed stuck in eighth, three tenths behind Aoyama and lapping faster than everyone in front of him but the top three.

Dovizioso had clawed back some time from Rossi with five laps to go as Edwards returned to the race to score points. The margin between first and second was just one tenth at the end of L15, overtaking the reigning world champion for the lead on L16, though he lost it by the end of the lap as Rossi fought back to win on the day he had to give up his crown. Lorenzo was just a few tenths behind and ready to pounce should the close racing take out both or either Italian. Meanwhile, Spies had overtaken Simoncelli for fourth, before he took Rossi’s position at Fiat Yamaha for the 2011 season. The gap between first and second was back up to a half second with three laps to go as the fighting continued for fifth through eighth, all covered by less than a second. With just two laps left, Rossi still led Dovizioso, with Lorenzo and Spies seemingly content in third and fourth, Bautista fifth (while scrapping with Simoncelli who was sixth), Hayden, Melandri, de Puniet, Kallio, and Barbera the running order. Simoncelli and Aoyama contniued their 25- class rivalry by coming together. They remained upright despite taking a very small off track excursion, giving Hayden their positions but remaining ahead of Melandri. Rossi kept the lead and the win, but the man with the most reason to celebrate was the 2010 MotoGP champion, Lorenzo. He did get the Spanish flag stuck in his chain on the victory lap and attempted to pack in the first position spot in parc ferme, but seemed overjoyed with his first win.

Final Positions for the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix:
1. Rossi
2. Dovizioso +.224
3. Lorenzo +6.035
4. Spies +13.676
5. Bautista +15.402
6. Hayden +18.826
7. Aoyama +20.218
8. Simoncelli +23.547
9. Melandri +23.964
10. de Puniet +31.850
11. Barbera +38.579
12. Kallio +38.849
Edwards
Espargaro
Capirossi
Stoner

*[due to lack of American SPEED channel live coverage of the Malaysian Grand Prix, this race report was written from live timing and scoring and Twitter reports. Please excuse the occasional lack of detail to which you have become accustomed and know it will return next race]

After an hour and a half of going through the motions, qualifying for the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix was postponed until Sunday morning, likely at 10am local time, 9pm EST, due to a continued downpour.  Only Jaime Alguersuari and Timo Glock set times during the final, Saturday morning, practice session.  Alguersuari was faster, by over eleven seconds with a 1:55.902, while Glock posted a 2:07.497.  No one else risked a set lap time in the pouring and standing rain.  The most racing action at the circuit on Saturday was the boat (made from bits and bobbles about the garage) races down pit lane.  Qualifying coverage will be delayed on SPEED for American viewers until midnight, directly before the race coverage will begin at 1:30am EST.

Part of the problem with being an early adopter is that the accessory options are limited or simply not existent. Such was the case, no pun intended, with the iPhone 4. It may not have been a big issue if the iPhone 4 wasn’t, as it turns out, reliant on a case to cure the “death grip” issue some experienced. The need for a case in a market that had no cases was intolerable.

So here we sat, waiting on a plethora of cases to come out way. Apple didn’t release any case dimension or details the case manufacturers ahead of time so they could coordinate their product releases. No, Apple chose to just leave their new iPhone 4 in bars for technology blogs to steal and release photo’s prematurely. Odd world that technology.

I have good news! As you may know, I like to review the odd technology at F1B because that’s my day job…technology. As it is, I am an iPhone owner. I have the new iPhone 4 and like many, I loathed that clear plastic piece of crap that Best Buy had a week after the phone was released. It was miserable. I waited for my go-to case company to release a leather iPhone 4 case and guess what? They have!

Sena Cases have been a long-time favorite of mine for years and I am happy to say that my wife and I have had several as our phones have changed over time. With each new phone, came a new Sena Case. With each new Sena Case, came serious punishment from us. The Sena case handled everything we threw at it and never allowed a phone to break.

I wanted to share this new iPhone 4 case because decent cases for the new phone are hard to find. I contacted other phone case manufacturers and many never returned the emails inquiring about their phones. Sena cases have always been very excited about working with F1B and their customer service has been terrific.

The case I have is the Sarach hand-sewn case in black leather. It fits nicely in the hand, is durable and allows access to all of the buttons, ports and speakers. It doesn’t cover buttons with some goofy plastic nubs that are depressed on top of your buttons.

I was expecting the leather Sarach to make the phone quite a bit bigger but was surprised at how little profile the leather added to the iPhone 4. It is made from very high-quality leather and the hand-sewn stitch in gray is very nice looking.

I have used it for a week now and had many compliments. In fact, several folks at the office have purchased one as well. Don’t get me wrong, iPhone’s are not the only case they make. They have a complete line as well as iPad cases. Check out the full line here at Senacases.com

I can also report that the Leather Sena case does not affect any signal strength and does fit the bill for the “death grip” issue some have reported with the iPhone 4. They also make a version that has a small wallet on the back that is really nice for business cards etc.

If you’re a female iPhone 4 owner, I can also recommend the wallet book version that is my wife’s favorite…in pink of course. We haven’t got one for her yet but I am certain, based upon the one we had for her old 3GS, that it is as durable and convenient as all the Sena cases.

No matter what your preference, Senna cases make a style for you. Some don’t want leather and prefer a plastic touch to the iPhone and I can appreciate that but I have found the the leather cases are more durable, less susceptible to oils, lotions and UV rays that the plastic ones. I also have found that the leather cases are better protection than some of the plastic “skins” that some people prefer. It is a preference issue, there is little doubt, but Sena has always been a terrific case for me.

Yes, I know it’s an F1 blog but there are a large number of people that visit F1B via their iPhones and the reviews I did last year were met with several nice emails regarding the public service of our review. F1 fans usually have nice phones and decent technology or at least appreciate it and for that reason, I occasionally like to highlight a product such as Sena.

Th other reason? IT”S SENA for crying out loud. Yes, it’s not spelled like the legendary driver Ayrton Senna but it’s close enough for me. Check them out and I know you won’t be disappointed.

Local officials in Texas still seem to have plenty of concerns about the plans for a track outside Austin, set to play host to the United States Grand Prix in 2012.

The Austin American-Statesman has the news:

In a four-page memo sent to Full Throttle, the planners peppered the promoter with questions about the 900-acre project. The breadth of the queries suggests the plan to bring the international race to Austin in two years is still some distance from satisfying the government bureaucrats who will need to sign off on it before any concrete is poured — an assessment confirmed by Joe Gieselman, executive director of the Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources Department.

“They’re getting there,” he said. “But they still have a way to go.”

[snip]

Papers filed with the City of Austin indicate the company is also starting to get into some real expenses: Initial grading and the construction of a road through the site are estimated to cost $16 million. That’s still only a fraction of the estimated $200 million cost to complete the track and surrounding buildings.

The issues recently raised by the planning committee range from the picky — “If RV parking is anticipated, will utility hook-ups be provided?” — to the rubber-meets-the-road variety: “Has the applicant set aside funding and a schedule for improving off-site roadways?”

[snip]

The multi-million-dollar question, of course, is who will wind up paying for the necessary upgrades. Gieselman said some possibilities are: Full Throttle alone; Full Throttle and the county and/or state together; or a special taxing district that might, say, levy a small tariff on admission tickets.

[snip]

In the memo, government planners also had questions about the environment, ranging from ground-level concerns about underground gas lines and sediment control during construction, to more hypothetical what-ifs because of the site’s location in a floodplain:

“We have heard that there may be a significant amount of parking and camping in the floodplain during events held at the track. This area is prone to flash flooding … What type of evacuation plans have you prepared to ensure the safety of the campers?”

There’s more over at the Statesman.

Again, all of this is pretty typical of local development projects. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t represent significant hurdles for organizers to leap — and I don’t think anyone can honestly say that Full Throttle has proven it will be able to get past each and every one.

But that’s just me, being hysterical.

We may be too late to halt the inevitable, but I’m still looking for your help:

Should Lotus retain Jarno Trulli in 2011? (And, as a side question, if so, should they also keep Heikki Kovalainen?)

Jarno seems to think both drivers will be back, as he told Autosport, and he’s also enthusiastic about the team’s progress:

“I should be here like Heikki, and it should be confirmed soon,” he told AUTOSPORT. “The team is currently looking after some other stuff – but the announcement should be soon.”

With Lotus having signed a deal for a supply of Red Bull Racing gearboxes and transmissions for 2011 to complement its expected Renault engine, Trulli believes that everything is falling in to place for the team to begin fighting for regular points.

“I can say things are shaping up very well,” said Trulli. “Definitely compared to last year, it is shaping up in a much better way.

“I can really see we are heading in the right direction. When I joined the team I always said that I knew it was going to be a terrible first season, because I am realistic, and we have had a difficult season as expected.

“So it has been hard, but my mind was always towards 2011 – going through 2010 as quick as possible, getting all the information and preparing everything to have a competitive car, realistically, to fight for the points.

“Eventually we will see, but if we put everything together with the effort, the gearbox and engine, and if we can get a reasonable good aero development, then I think we can fight for the points which will be a great achievement for a very young team. This is my focus at the moment and everybody’s topic.”

So what’s the fight? It’s between Grace and me. I don’t see why the team would keep Jarno. What’s he done lately other than the second place at last year’s Japanese Grand Prix? Who cares about him? What fan base does he excite?

Grace — who I think agrees with me that Jarno ain’t all that — counters that as a new team Lotus shouldn’t be messing with its line-up. No reason to add to the troubles that come with being new to the grid.

I get that, but isn’t one driver who has been with the team and can continue to help with development enough? Especially if you could get a driver who might help build the Lotus fan base?

Now, admittedly, I think there may only be one driver out there who fits that bill. It isn’t Nick Heidfeld. It isn’t Pedro de la Rosa.

Yeah, it’s Kimi Raikkonen. And he might not touch Lotus with a 10-foot-pole.

But if Lotus dug a bit deeper, couldn’t they find a driver that would rally a fan base? I know I’ll get laughed off the Internet here, but Karun Chandhok could help build an Indian fan base, right? What if Force India doesn’t make the move on Paul di Resta?

So, would you look to another, new driver if you were at Lotus? Who might it be? And which of your two drivers would you dump?

Sauber’s big news this week concerning their new 2011 driver and sponsor had many wondering what happened with Nick Heidfeld? The German took over driving duties from Pedro de la Rosa for the final five races and many assumed he would be the de facto driver for 2011. This, unfortunately for Heidfeld, isn’t the case.

Heidfeld has been a staple item at Sauber for many years and has a rich history with the Swiss-based team in Hinwill. But that familial relationship wasn’t enough to secure a ride for 2011. That opportunity had a price tag and Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim had the cash and Mexican driver for the seat.

One could forgive Heidfeld for feeling cast out or thrown to the wolves but he has taken a completely different approach to the news:

“I didn’t know about it before I signed,” the German said.

“Obviously I knew there were things going on in the background… actually I didn’t complain, quite the opposite I congratulated him (team boss Peter Sauber) because it’s great news for the team, Formula One and especially the guys in Hinwil.

“I am very happy for them that they continue with a big Mexican partner, hopefully it secures the future and gives them the possibility to move further up (the standings) again.

“It’s not so good for me, obviously,” added Heidfeld.

“It’s one place less but it’s not a place that I took for granted. Some people might look at it, at least from what I’ve seen in the news, like I just came back and now have been kicked out again but that’s not how it feels for me.”

With no opportunity at Sauber, what lies ahead for the veteran of 171 F1 races?

“I think it will happen but until it is signed you can never be sure,” he said.

“We are doing our best and it is looking positive, definitely… Obviously there is one seat less now but I think I am in a good position with the other teams remaining which still have a seat to offer.”

There are new teams such as Virgin Racing, HRT and Lotus as well as the much rumored seat at Renault that could be an option for the German. As a Heidfeld fan, I’d like to see him in the seat but there aren’t many teams left that can afford to pay and I suggest that Nick would be paying for a drive or driving for free in F1. Perhaps Le Mans or ALMS would be a better fit?

No, it isn’t Rubens!

Buried deep in the Formula 1 official site’s transcript of today’s press conference with drivers, one of the journalists gets around to asking this:

Michael, with your experience, if you were having a bet where would your money go on the championship, among the five contenders now?
MS: If you want to lose money, you bet on one of those guys because none can be right and can be correct. If you look at this year, I think it has been a very exceptional year: for the reason to have so many drivers still in the championship and for the fact that there have been so many up and down happenings, retirements and so on, that I don’t think you could have expected, so I wouldn’t bet any money on anybody. I cross fingers for one that I’m good friends with, but that’s about it.

Drum roll, please. And who is that “one that I’m good friends with”?

MS: I’m good friends with Sebastian (Vettel), so my fingers are crossed for him.

Quick, fire up the “Michael and Ross’ three-year plan for Mercedes is to get Michael a winning car that then, in year four, can be turned over to Vettel” rumor.

Speaking of that plan, Michael was asked about it, as well:

It’s a question for Michael. Before, you talked about a longer period project for Mercedes and you mentioned Benetton and Ferrari. In those days, you were in your mid-twenties and then in your mid-thirties. Now you are a little bit older. Is there any risk that time will run out before you find the target and is there any risk that you can work and somebody else can reap the fruits of your work, like Nico (Rosberg) for example?
MS: That’s why, right from the beginning, we talked about a three-year situation. I hope that within this time I can collect the fruits of it. Certainly we are on the right path. If I see modifications and mistakes and the learning curve – all what has been done to improve next year makes me very confident and comfortable and again, the target is to reduce what used to take four to five years to reduce it in time, so that I take the benefit from it.

[Media critic note: It's never good when your question is as long, or longer, than the answer.]

That answer, actually, probably satisfies my lingering… shall we say interest in Schumacher’s comeback. I can accept that it would take him some time to get back, I can accept the car doesn’t fit his style and I know he took some time to gel everything at Ferrari (along with a lot of other people working on that, of course). I still would have liked to see him a little closer to Nico Rosberg, though.

After the night race of Singapore, Formula One is in Suzuka this weekend for the Japanese Grand Prix. It’s one of the world’s greatest circuits, and the drivers love racing there, and the fans love it too. With just four races remaining, this weekend’s race could be make or break time for the five drivers in the hunt for the title, and with wet weather on the horizon, it could be a very intense race for the teams and the fans as well… This is the F101 Japanese Preview…

The 53 lap, 3.6 mile (5.8km) circuit, is a real challenge for the drivers, but they all enjoy racing there. The first six or seven corners, incorporating the Esses, are tricky and a simple error can hurt your lap time, while the flat-out corner of 130R is breathtaking, following the long straight down from Spoon, at turns 13 and 14.

Turn one is the best overtaking spot, as the start/ finish straight is fairly long. The Esses follow shortly after through turns three to six, and it’s important to get the right line, as well as enough speed through this section to ensure it doesn’t hurt the drivers’ lap times. Turn seven sweeps round and down to turn eight, Degner, where last year, many drivers had problems and ended up in the gravel. Following turn nine, the track goes under the bridge, which is the part of the track that heads down to turn 15. Turn 11 is slow, and is a first gear corner, while turn 12 is nearly flat out in seventh gear. Turn 13, the entry to Spoon, is a potential overtaking spot, but is a tricky corner to get right, while turn 14, the exit of Spoon, is a mid-speed corner, which opens out onto the long run down to turn 15, 130R, which the drivers take flat out at around 190mph. Good speed through turn 15 can potentially open up the opportunity of passing into the chicane of turns 16 and 17, however the corner can catch the drivers out, and last year, Jaime Alguersuari, crashed out on the exit of 130R.

A fair few of the drivers were caught out in Suzuka last year, and Timo Glock’s season ended early after he crashed out in qualifying at the final corner. There are few run-off areas in Suzuka, and small errors proved costly for the drivers, not just in the race, but in qualifying as well.

Heavy rain is predicted for qualifying on Saturday, with light rain and temperatures up to 25 degrees predicted for race day, so it could make for an interesting race for the five drivers in the hunt for the title. At such a vital stage in the championship, they will all be hoping they stay out of trouble and on the track if it rains, and not end up in the gravel traps after a minor error.

Bridgestone will be bringing the soft and hard compound tyres to the circuit, but it is more than possible that both sets won’t have to be used during the race if the weather has its say.

Sebastian Vettel won last year’s Japanese Grand Prix after starting from pole, while Kimi Raikkonen holds the lap record for the circuit, having lapped it in 1:31.540 in 2005, when he won on the last lap.

But who will be winning this year, and what will it mean for the championship battle? If you live in the UK like me, set your alarms nice and early, and if you live in the US, make yourself a cup of strong coffee to make sure you’re up to find out!