In July 2009 , Toyota cited a global economic slump as the reason that the Japanese Grand Prix would not return to Fuji Speedway in 2010 and beyond . The speedway argued , according to the Associated Press , that " continuing to host F1 races could threaten the survival of the company " . As a result , the 2010 Grand Prix was held at Suzuka , at which point it had been announced that Suzuka and Fuji were share the hosting duties . Sebastian Vettel secured his second World Championship in the 2011 Grand Prix with a third-place finish , McLaren 's Jenson Button ( the only driver in the field who had a theoretical chance of beating Vettel to the title ) won the race wearing a special tribute helmet to the people affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami . The helmet featured a design in the style of the Japanese flag , and he auctioned the helmet off afterwards to raise money for those caught in unfortunate circumstances during the times of the tsunami earlier that year
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Japanese Grand Prix