Formula 1 has headed straight from Sochi to Suzuka for one of the standout events of the season – the Japanese Grand Prix. Motorsport Week previews the event and provides the key statistics.
History
Japan joined the Formula 1 calendar in 1976 at Fuji Speedway but was discontinued after the series’ next visit the following year.
It would be a decade before the championship returned to the island nation and it did so at the figure-of-eight Suzuka circuit, which had hosted the inaugural Japanese Grand Prix in 1963, which was held to sportscar regulations.
Suzuka’s placement towards the end of the season means it has acted as a title decider on 12 occasions – with some iconic incidents having taken place at the track.
Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna collided at the chicane in 1989, settling the title in the former’s favour, and a year later they came to blows into Turn 1 on the opening lap.
Japan’s Grand Prix briefly returned to the Toyota-owned Fuji for 2007/08 but Suzuka re-established itself as the host from 2009, where it has remained since.
Earlier this year it was confirmed that Suzuka’s contract with Formula 1 had been extended through 2021 – to the delight of pretty much everyone in the sport.
Circuit
The circuit is one of the favourites among drivers for its fast and flowing nature, testing both man and machine to the limit, with restricted run-off adding to the challenge.
A downhill pit straight plunges into the tightening Turn 1, which opens into The Esses, a sequence of swooping corners that lead into the uphill long-radius left-hander of Dunlop.
The right-hand high-speed Degner 1 kink is immediately followed by the sharper Degner 2, the exit of which brings drivers beneath the crossover – Suzuka being unique among F1 circuits for its figure-of-eight nature.
An underappreciated right-hand kink (just ask Daniil Kvyat) brings drivers into the cambered hairpin, after which is long right-hander that culminates in Spoon Curve, a medium-speed double left-hander.
An exit from Spoon Curve is vital for the blast along the back straight and 130r, previously one of the most fearsome turns on the calendar, but now merely a flick of the steering wheel in dry conditions.
The slow-speed right-left Casio Triangle chicane invites drivers to utilise the substantial kerbing, with a brief acceleration zone thereafter acting as the conclusion to a breathless lap.
“Turns 1 and 2 are very high speed on entry,” says Haas’ Romain Grosjean.
“They’re long corners with a tricky exit. Sector one has a flow of corners where you really want to keep the perfect line all the way through, with the tricky one being turn seven and eight going up the hill on traction.
“Then you have a double right-hand corner, very high-speed one, very tricky exit curb in between. Then you go underneath the bridge with big braking into the hairpin. Traction is always important in going to Spoon corners.
“Same stuff here as Turn 1– very high-speed entry, going down to the second part with a very important exit which then leads to the big back straight. Then it’s 130R flat out followed by big braking for the last chicane with a very tricky throttle application
What happened in 2017?
Lewis Hamilton converted pole position into victory but had to do so in the face of sustained pressure from Max Verstappen, the pair crossing the line split by just over a second.
Hamilton’s victory all but sealed his fourth world title as nearest rival Sebastian Vettel suffered a spark plug failure early on that cost him top-end speed and resulted in his retirement soon after.
Daniel Ricciardo fended off Valtteri Bottas for the final spot on the podium, the Mercedes driver having qualified on the front row but been relegated five places due to a gearbox change.
It marked Hamilton’s fourth Japanese Grand Prix victory, following on from his 2007 success at Fuji and previous wins at Suzuka in 2014 and 2015.
It drew Hamilton level with title rival Vettel on four Japan wins, though all of the Ferrari driver’s successes in the country came at Suzuka, while racing for Red Bull.
The pair still trail all-time record-holder Michael Schumacher, who took six Japanese Grand Prix wins between 1995 and 2004.
Fernando Alonso took wins with Renault in 2006 (Suzuka) and 2008 (Fuji) while Kimi Raikkonen memorably rose from 17th on the grid to triumph in 2005.
Vettel leads Hamilton in the Japan pole stakes 4-3, with the Briton’s first Suzuka pole only coming last year, for his other two came at Fuji.
Both are comfortably shaded by Schumacher, who topped qualifying eight times at Suzuka in his career.
Other details
Hamilton heads to Japan 50 points clear of Vettel in the standings, in the wake of his victory in Russia, instigated by Mercedes swapping its cars around, while Vettel was third.
If Hamilton were to out-score Vettel this weekend then it would leave him with a chance of clinching the crown at the following event in Austin.
In the Constructors’ battle Mercedes holds a 53-point advantage over Ferrari, after the two teams placed 1-2 and 3-4 respectively last Sunday.
Tyre supplier Pirelli has nominated the Supersoft (red), Soft (yellow) and Medium (white) compounds for a race that typically causes high loads in the tyres.
Either the Soft or Medium tyres must be run for one stint of the 53-lap Grand Prix, assuming dry conditions prevail.
There will be one DRS zone, located along the pit straight, with its detection point placed in the braking zone for the Casio Triangle.
2019 McLaren F1 racer Lando Norris will be in action in FP1.
Weather forecast:
Friday: Rain showers, 24°c
Saturday: Rain showers, 26°c
Sunday: Sunny, 27°c
Timetable: (GMT+2)
Friday 5 October
FP1: 10:00 – 11:30
FP2: 14:00 – 15:30
Saturday 6 October
FP3: 12:00 – 13:00
Qualifying: 15:00 – 16:00
Sunday 7 October
Race: 14:10 (53 laps or two hours)
What next?
The Circuit of the Americas will host the 18th round of the season, the United States Grand Prix, from October 19 to 21
