Lewis Hamilton Heidfeld, the largest margin of victory recorded since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix. Earlier in his career, Hamilton was criticised for being hot-headed at times, as demonstrated when he was disqualified in Imola in the GP2 Series for overtaking the safety car, something he would go on to repeat four years later in Formula One at the 2010 European Grand Prix in Valencia. Later in his career, however, Hamilton demonstrated greater maturity, while maintaining his ruthlessness and aggression. He divided public and former drivers' opinions in the final race of the season, where from the lead, he defied team-orders and
2009 Japanese Grand Prix 6th in the Drivers' Championship; Ferrari led on both counts. Fernando Alonso won the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix for Renault, which was held at Fuji Speedway. Alonso also won the last race at Suzuka, in 2006. Other former winners lining up include Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen and World Champion Lewis Hamilton. It was the first time since 1991 that a Schumacher (Michael or Ralf) was not on the grid at Suzuka. Eight of the drivers had not raced at Suzuka in Formula One before, owing to the Fuji Speedway having hosted the Japanese Grand Prix in 2007