Just one month on from the Spa-Francorchamps pile-up that led to his one-race ban, Romain Grosjean was an encouraging fifth on the grid for Formula 1’s 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.
With six grands prix to go, Mark Webber’s title hopes were dwindling. The Red Bull driver was just fifth in the standings, 62 points down on championship leader Fernando Alonso. At least he started the Japanese race from the front row, alongside his pole-setting team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
