Vettel and Wurz on top of Mount Fuji

While the Formula One paddock was sleeping off an eventful Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji on Sunday, Alex Wurz climbed into his Honda Civic car and drove past Lake Yamanaka to the foot of Mount Fuji. His plan was to reach the summit of the 4,000-metre volcano before sunrise.

Joining the Honda Racing F1 Team’s third driver for the climb was Sebastian Vettel of Toro Rosso, who’d just finished sixth in the Japanese Grand Prix. Both men were tired and could have done without 48 sleepless hours, but this was a challenge that neither could resist.

They attached head torches and began their ascent at 03:00. It was a clear night – cold and cloudless – and they marched relentlessly upwards without stopping. Dawn came and went, and temperatures plummeted: it wasn’t a trip for the faint-hearted.

But they made it; as alarm clocks belonging to other members of the F1 fraternity went off on Monday morning, Alex and Sebastian were on their second slice of toast, their dream achieved.