2013 Japanese Grand Prix weekend in Tweets

Get a glimpse behind the scenes of the Japanese Grand Prix with @AnthonyFrench’s round-up of the best Tweets from the race weekend.

Thursday

It may only have been the media day at the circuit but even so the stands were packed – some fans had even arrived to watch set-up the day before.

Ah, #suzukafans – where you can dress as a McLaren – complete with tinfoil airbox hat! pic.twitter.com/Q0VSmXEqi8

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 10, 2013

An example of how much effort goes into a Japanese fan's race wkend. Got to love them #f1 #JAPGP #redbull #bestfans pic.twitter.com/kAPkUSkFqg

— Dom (@DrawnbyDom) October 10, 2013

Caravaning Japanese style #F1 pic.twitter.com/n1jkZjDvbY

— David coggin (@dave_coggin) October 10, 2013

Bearing in mind it's Thursday..!! pic.twitter.com/crOCQiZYhx

— James Calado (@JamesCalado) October 10, 2013

Did the trackwalk today on the best track in the world. Looking forward to drive it tomorrow! #Suzuka pic.twitter.com/ZFndZ6rjgy

— Valtteri Bottas (@ValtteriBottas) October 10, 2013

French journo: "Have you seen Rush?" Kimi: "No, still not (sighs…) F**k, you're asking every weekend the same question…"

— Adam Cooper (@adamcooperf1) October 10, 2013

Friday

As the second practice session drew to a close the paddock was stunned by news from Spain that former Marussia test driver Maria de Villota had passed away. Many of the teams and drivers paid their respects to De Villota on Twitter.

On the track Mercedes and Red Bull took turns at the top of the times sheets while several drivers were caught out by the punishing Suzuka track.

There is a bride – in full dress – going around the circuit in a yellow Honda NSX…I'm not sure what is going on here in Japan

— Ben Hunt (@benjhunt) October 11, 2013

@CroftyF1 NO!!

— James Calado (@JamesCalado) October 11, 2013

Okay, who let the two sumo wrestlers into the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes garage!?! #F1 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/p6BNKxPLyX

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 11, 2013

Jules out in Japan – Suzuka #F1 #f1xfox pic.twitter.com/cYanjC9gxF

— Jennie Gow (@JennieGow) October 11, 2013

That chassis hasn't had much luck in FP1 lately after Gonzalez shunted it last week

— Adam Cooper (@adamcooperf1) October 11, 2013

I was testing different downforce configuration, clearly showed us it was not optimum! Let's see now if it's better in fp2 #F1

— Giedo van der Garde (@GvanderGarde) October 11, 2013

Suzuka timesheet designed by Noah: two Mercedes, two Red Bull, two Ferrari, two Lotus, two McLaren

— Bob Constanduros (@BobConstanduros) October 11, 2013

Maldonado is in the barrier at Degner 2 – the third driver off there already today. #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 11, 2013

Perez lost control of the McLaren on the way in, skidded sideways across the tarmac and thumped the barrier. "I'm OK." #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 11, 2013

Suzuka punishes mistakes. As it should be at the highest level of motor sport #F1

— Maurice Hamilton (@MauriceHamilton) October 11, 2013

Massa: "Come on!" Smedley: "OK i don't make the yellow flag. Anyway first sector was good then Alonso spun in front." #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 11, 2013

Pastor back in his room now watching the rest of the session-says he had no grip and lost the back end #FP2

— Williams F1 Team (@WilliamsF1Team) October 11, 2013

An enthusiastic Franz Tost talking to Sky from the pit wall, sounds like he's been drinking the sponsor's product

— Adam Cooper (@adamcooperf1) October 11, 2013

Vettel: "Obviously it was not the best way to let Mark past." Rocquelin: "That's OK. Mixture 11." #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 11, 2013

Raikkonen is the latest driver to spin off and it looks like he's stuck in the gravel at Dunlop. #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 11, 2013

Unusual for Kimi to pop it in the gravel pic.twitter.com/lPXBqukSOz

— David Coulthard (@therealdcf1) October 11, 2013

This is the green light which tells the marshals it's ok to approach Raikkonen's dusty and stranded Lotus pic.twitter.com/yZhU4tMeGz

— Martin Brundle (@MBrundleF1) October 11, 2013

Helped my team @Marussia_F1Team earlier today to prepare my car for tomorrow #TeamSpirit #HardWork #F1 #Suzuka http://t.co/K4NGusHqOe

— Jules_Bianchi (@Jules_Bianchi) October 11, 2013

Good day at Suzuka. Love this circuit. Can't wait for qualifying round here tomorrow. Gonna be fun!

— Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo) October 11, 2013

Saturday

The infamous Spoon and Degner corners continued to reap a harvest of the unwary and unfortunate, but Red Bull steered clear of trouble to lock out the front row. But for the first time this year Mark Webber was ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

Spotted: #MartinWhitmarsh in earnest conversation with Spanish @InsideFerrari driver! #JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/t60ND9ij49

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 12, 2013

Everyone relax – the Trackside FLIRT Kit has been located! #JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/V1hJXjNARe

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 12, 2013

Radios in an air conditioned room – we have over 100 radios&intercoms to communicate each race #WilliamPaddockTour pic.twitter.com/u2sRW9Tyh8

— Williams F1 Team (@WilliamsF1Team) October 12, 2013

From the intercom in Frank's UK office he can press 1 button & could talk to our drivers while out on track at any time #WilliamsPaddockTour

— Williams F1 Team (@WilliamsF1Team) October 12, 2013

Sutil: "Pretty good balance but the braking is really, really bad. Lot of rear locking into the corner. It's really unstable." #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 12, 2013

Vettel's lock-up happened after he "lost KERS". #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 12, 2013

Radio confusion at McLaren. Button: "I didn't hear anything, just sounded like a foghorn." Robson: "Yep Jenson we heard the same." #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 12, 2013

Both our boys reporting a battle with changing wind direction this morning; doesn't seem to be slowing them down too much… #F1 #FP3

— Lotus F1 Team (@Lotus_F1Team) October 12, 2013

Pull the fire alarm we are not quite sure what exactly @takiinoue and @AlmaKimiya are up to here @suzuka_event pic.twitter.com/X0Ms0fWW1E

— Sauber F1 Team (@OfficialSF1Team) October 12, 2013

Fire on Gutierrezs car in the Sauber garage! #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 12, 2013

#JAPGP Red flag!! Bandiera rossa…

— Scuderia Ferrari (@InsideFerrari) October 12, 2013

Jean-Eric Vergne does have a point when he complains about the amount of bad luck he has had this year…

— Edd Straw (@eddstrawF1) October 12, 2013

@alex_wurz commentary boxes are close together! pic.twitter.com/iSeQPeogrM

— David Coulthard (@therealdcf1) October 12, 2013

Pole position time slightly slower than last year: 2013 Webber 1'30.915, 2012 Vettel 1'30.839. Course record 1'28.954 (Schumacher 2006). #F1

— F1 Fanatic (@f1fanatic_co_uk) October 12, 2013

We got em! Very happy after such a hectic qualifying on a seriously challenging circuit which was new for me Great job @Marussia_F1Team ????

— Max Chilton (@maxchilton) October 12, 2013

#RIPMariadeVillota @JensonButton wears a tribute to Maria de Villota on his crash helmet at the #JapaneseGP. pic.twitter.com/mXrJotqDza

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 12, 2013

Nice pole @AussieGrit

— James Rossiter (@Rossiterracing) October 12, 2013

That's the kind of black cat I have in my car at the moment http://t.co/JvOUggqZ8u

— Jean-Eric Vergne (@JeanEricVergne) October 12, 2013

ROS and HAM chatting privately before press conf about partying – Before realizing that our recorders were already under their noses!

— Adam Cooper (@adamcooperf1) October 12, 2013

Sunday

A poor start by the Red Bull duo let Romain Grosjean seize an early lead for Lotus. Vettel played his strategic cards to perfection to get ahead of the both, passing Grosjean in the final stint for his ninth win of 2013.

Fernando Alonso’s place ensured the drivers’ championship would not be won for at least one more race.

Este es el homenaje de Esteban Guti?�?�rrez a Mar?�?�a de Villota, la estrella en el casco que usar?�?� en el #GPJap?�??n: pic.twitter.com/1vq1kfJ0WW

— Escuder?�?�a Telmex (@escuderiatelmex) October 13, 2013

1 hour to go and I can't wait! Japanese GP pic.twitter.com/6rKLn7NBEH

— Max Chilton (@maxchilton) October 13, 2013

A lovely mark of respect from the Japanese marshals to Mark Robinson, who lost his life at the Canadian Grand Prix.

— Will Buxton (@willbuxton) October 13, 2013

Sunday morning pit stop practice. Just warming up for the race @suzuka_event #pushpush #SauberIsBack pic.twitter.com/iIsKy6jXHU

— Sauber F1 Team (@OfficialSF1Team) October 13, 2013

Our "Good Lack" cookie. Don't worry, we don't take it personally… #JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/v3bHYoUEZs

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 13, 2013

Just bumped into #Vettel in a corridor @ #JapaneseGP Singing, grinning, happy as a 4x #F1 world champ! #Ominous @redbullracing

— Darren Heath (@F1Photographer) October 13, 2013

Rookies! pic.twitter.com/D9jQ8b7NvC

— Nicola Pohl (@NicolaBILD) October 13, 2013

Herzlichen Gl?�??ckwunsch zum 70. Geburtstag #PeterSauber Happy Birthday from #Japan pic.twitter.com/kxGEHZn0nz

— Sauber F1 Team (@OfficialSF1Team) October 13, 2013

Massa unhappy with his car, saying "we need to fix the throttle". #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 13, 2013

Last lap for @LewisHamilton in 1:41.202. Suffering with damage to the car from the puncture #SublimeSuzuka

— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) October 13, 2013

Massa told "multi-function strategy A now please". What's that code for… #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 13, 2013

Box and retire for @LewisHamilton with data showing abnormal readings and high rear brake temps

— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) October 13, 2013

yes. brave move #Hulk!!! he passed RIC. well done. now push, push!!! #SuzukaHulk

— Sauber F1 Team (@OfficialSF1Team) October 13, 2013

Button: "Really struggling. Got a bit more front end in the car but no rear. Still lots of understeer." #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 13, 2013

I am ok guys, was a hard impact in T1 Unfortunately.. Nowhere to go, was stuck between the 2 marussias! On to India

— Giedo van der Garde (@GvanderGarde) October 13, 2013

Slade: "Massa has a drive-through penalty." Raikkonen: "Why do I have a drive-through penalty?" Slade: "Massa! Massa has a drive-through."

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 13, 2013

Damn and blast… #F1 #JapaneseGP

— Lotus F1 Team (@Lotus_F1Team) October 13, 2013

what a race of our boys. what a result. great show on top. we are #HAPPY. P6 for #Hulk and P7 for #Guti. WOW!!!! #Suzuka

— Sauber F1 Team (@OfficialSF1Team) October 13, 2013

Ricciardo: "Before I go off and kill somebody was [the penalty] for the move in turn 15?" Matassa: "Yes." Ricciardo: "Unbelievable." #F1

— F1 Fanatic Live (@f1fanaticlive) October 13, 2013

Someone has just asked a question that's gone on for 20 minutes. Is a Director's Cut of it available on DVD? #pressconference

— Stuart Codling (@CoddersF1) October 13, 2013

Long and tricky race today, it was a close ending. Thanks to @Marussia_F1Team for giving me a good car on a difficult weekend for the team.

— Max Chilton (@maxchilton) October 13, 2013

Bye Bye japan. I just want a good old normal race weekend again. Without any bad luck and/or other issues. Hopefully next race!

— Nico Rosberg (@nico_rosberg) October 13, 2013

Well that was not ideal! Manic pit stops again, got to be some luck coming our way surely! #F1 #JapaneseGP

— Marc Cox (@MarcCox) October 13, 2013

No boos 2day, just thirty thousand people on a grand stand waiting till late 4 this… #AmazingF1Fans @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/GCzqzLUfHJ

— Vladimir Rys (@vladimirrys) October 13, 2013

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2013 Japanese Grand Prix

• Grosjean voted Driver of the Weekend for first time
• Webber still has doubts over Japanese GP strategy
• Japanese Grand Prix gets average rating for 2013
• 2013 Japanese Grand Prix team radio transcript
• 2013 Japanese Grand Prix fans’ video gallery

Browse all 2013 Japanese Grand Prix articles