F101: Beginners guide to F1 ~ Japanese GP preview
After the night race of Singapore, Formula One is in Suzuka this weekend for the Japanese Grand Prix. It’s one of the world’s greatest circuits, and the drivers love racing there, and the fans love it too. With just four races remaining, this weekend’s race could be make or break time for the five drivers in the hunt for the title, and with wet weather on the horizon, it could be a very intense race for the teams and the fans as well… This is the F101 Japanese Preview…
The 53 lap, 3.6 mile (5.8km) circuit, is a real challenge for the drivers, but they all enjoy racing there. The first six or seven corners, incorporating the Esses, are tricky and a simple error can hurt your lap time, while the flat-out corner of 130R is breathtaking, following the long straight down from Spoon, at turns 13 and 14.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Turn one is the best overtaking spot, as the start/ finish straight is fairly long. The Esses follow shortly after through turns three to six, and it’s important to get the right line, as well as enough speed through this section to ensure it doesn’t hurt the drivers’ lap times. Turn seven sweeps round and down to turn eight, Degner, where last year, many drivers had problems and ended up in the gravel. Following turn nine, the track goes under the bridge, which is the part of the track that heads down to turn 15. Turn 11 is slow, and is a first gear corner, while turn 12 is nearly flat out in seventh gear. Turn 13, the entry to Spoon, is a potential overtaking spot, but is a tricky corner to get right, while turn 14, the exit of Spoon, is a mid-speed corner, which opens out onto the long run down to turn 15, 130R, which the drivers take flat out at around 190mph. Good speed through turn 15 can potentially open up the opportunity of passing into the chicane of turns 16 and 17, however the corner can catch the drivers out, and last year, Jaime Alguersuari, crashed out on the exit of 130R.
A fair few of the drivers were caught out in Suzuka last year, and Timo Glock’s season ended early after he crashed out in qualifying at the final corner. There are few run-off areas in Suzuka, and small errors proved costly for the drivers, not just in the race, but in qualifying as well.
Heavy rain is predicted for qualifying on Saturday, with light rain and temperatures up to 25 degrees predicted for race day, so it could make for an interesting race for the five drivers in the hunt for the title. At such a vital stage in the championship, they will all be hoping they stay out of trouble and on the track if it rains, and not end up in the gravel traps after a minor error.
Bridgestone will be bringing the soft and hard compound tyres to the circuit, but it is more than possible that both sets won’t have to be used during the race if the weather has its say.
Sebastian Vettel won last year’s Japanese Grand Prix after starting from pole, while Kimi Raikkonen holds the lap record for the circuit, having lapped it in 1:31.540 in 2005, when he won on the last lap.
But who will be winning this year, and what will it mean for the championship battle? If you live in the UK like me, set your alarms nice and early, and if you live in the US, make yourself a cup of strong coffee to make sure you’re up to find out!
