GET READY FOR THE 2022 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX

October 7, 2022

Sorry for the late posts this week. This weekend continues our Asian double header in Japan! With some of the most passionate F1 fans in the world, an iconic track, and decades of history, the Japanese Grand Prix never disappoints. Here is everything you need to know for the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix:

Weekend Schedule (in EST):

Since the race is taking place in Japan during the day, the sessions will take place in the middle of the night for the US.

FP1 and FP2 have already happened.

Practice 3: Friday 10/07, 11:00 PM-12:00 AM

Qualifying: Saturday 10/08, 2:00-3:00 AM

Race: Sunday 10/09: 1:00 AM 

Suzuka International Racing Course is regarded as an iconic track on the F1 calendar, but due to COVID, it hasn’t held a race since 2019. Japan’s highly anticipated return will be even more exciting as the high-speed, technical track will push this year’s new cars to their limit. Suzuka is the only track on the calendar with a figure eight layout. The 18 high-speed corners keep drivers at full throttle for about 65% of the lap and don’t allow time to breathe. Drivers can’t afford to lose concentration because there are gravel traps, grass runoff areas, and barriers that will punish mistakes.  

Suzuka has seen a lot of iconic title-deciding moments in F1 because of its traditional placement at the end of the season. F1 legends like Aryton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Mika Häkkinen, and Sebastian Vettel have all won championships in Japan, and now Max Verstappen could add himself to that list. Verstappen is currently 104 points ahead of his championship rival Charles Leclerc and just 106 points ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez, who is in third. If Verstappen ends the weekend with a 112 point lead, meaning he outscores Lelerc by at least eight points and Perez by at least six points, he will win the championship. In Singapore, Verstappen had a disappointing weekend and finished in P7. If he doesn’t make it to the top six again, his title celebrations will be put off for a couple of races. 

Mika Häkkinen when he won the 1998 title in Japan

Unlike Verstappen, McLaren had an amazing weekend in Singapore with a P4 and P5 finish. The team is now fourth in the championship, and just four points ahead of their title rivals at Alpine. Alpine have shown strong and consistent pace all season, but in the last few races their performance has dropped off. McLaren took advantage of Alpine’s mistakes and got themselves back up in the championship. While we have mainly focused on Alpine vs. McLaren this season, Aston Martin have really turned themselves around and unassumingly climbed the rungs of the championship to get to seventh. They have consistently scored points in the last few races, and it has really helped their standings. 

AlphaTauri had a solid weekend in Singapore. The team showed their pace and even if Yuki Tsunoda had a DNF, Pierre Gasly managed to score some good points. While the team felt they could have done better, I think this is a good turnaround from the beginning of the season. The Japanese Grand Prix will be Tsunoda’s first ever home race as a F1 driver, and the team will be getting extra support because of their ties to the Japanese company, Honda. Other than trying to improve their results, I think the only goal for Yuki and AlphaTauri will be to eat Japanese food all week. And honestly, I couldn’t ask them to do anything more.

Sebastian Vettel is getting ready to retire from F1 at the end of the 2022 season and he is in a sentimental mood as he completes the final races of his career. Suzuka has been one of his most successful and meaningful tracks as he has claimed five pole positions, four wins, and his second championship here. Aside from mastering the track, he simply just loves the feel of it and the energy Japan brings to F1. This weekend will be special for him as he celebrates his final trip to Suzuka. However, Seb has said that he’d come out of retirement solely for Suzuka and then retire again. I wouldn’t mind this compromise at all.

Last week had me writing a whole novel about the driver market. We still don’t know much, but the chances of de Vries going to AlphaTauri to replace Pierre Gasly have increased. More people are predicting this move and for Gasly to go to Alpine. If this happens, it’s likely that Logan Sargeant could be thrown into the world of F1 at Williams next season. Daniel Ricciardo’s future is also unknown. I think he has resolved to be a reserve driver for the 2023 season and try to find a place where can drive a competitive car and fight for wins in the future. 

In Singapore, the rumor mill was turning as certain teams were said to have allegedly broken the 2021 budget cap. This past Wednesday, the FIA was supposed to issue certificates of compliance to show which teams abided by the budget, but we will now have to wait for next week because of unknown delays. The verdict of this investigation could change the way we look at the 2021 season, because Red Bull is one of the teams being investigated and they could face major repercussions if they won the driver’s championship with a car that broke budget rules. For now though, let’s keep an open mind and just enjoy watching Verstappen win his second championship.

Honorable Mentions:

• The Japanese F1 fans are some of the biggest F1 fans in the world. They go all out, dressing up as drivers and wearing cool car themed hats! It’ll be really cool to see them back at the track, enjoying their motorsport. 

This is a hat honoring Suzuka

Here are some Ferrari fans who are smiling through the pain we have endured this season

This is one of my personal favorites, Rear Wing Hats. I want one.

• During Austria 2022, I wrote about how I love the writers at McLaren. I am here to say that I love them even more now. They are very creative and do such a good job at keeping their press releases interesting. The McLaren writers are very cool. 

That’s all for now! I’m excited to see if Verstappen will win the championship this weekend or if we’ll have to way longer. At this point, it’s not a matter of who will win, but when Verstappen will win. We should hopefully see Tsunoda do well in front of his home crowd and my McLarens stay ahead of Alpine in the constructor’s championship.

I will be back after the race!

Happy Race Weekend!

- Divya

Where I got these

from:

• http://formula1.com/en/latest/article.verstappens-title-charge-and-suzukas-return-5-storylines-were-excited-about.nkIqnbNjrcstyuWc6API9.html

• https://scuderia.alphatauri.com/en/f1-tracks/suzuka-circuit/

• https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.vettel-says-hed-seriously-consider-one-off-f1-return-at-favourite-track.3uJ68xZJR1dh8U7tBALldO.html

• https://scuderia.alphatauri.com/en/2022-japanese-grand-prixview/

• https://www.haasf1team.com/news/japanese-grand-prix-preview

• https://www.mclaren.com/racing/2022/japanese-grand-prix/everything-you-need-know-japan/

Pictures:

• https://www.grandprix247.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Suzuka-aerial.jpg 

• https://www.formula1.com/content/dam/fom-website/2018-redesign-assets/Circuit%20maps%2016x9/Japan_Circuit.png.transform/9col/image.png 

• https://f1i.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/1998-JapaneseGP-PotD.jpg 

• https://images.cdn.circlesix.co/image/1/700/0/uploads/posts/2016/10/badc358638c871d5e8a1a3be69344959.JPG 

• https://www.thef1spectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/japanese-grand-prix-guide-image.jpg 

• https://3legs4wheels.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/japanese-grand-prix-fans-2019.jpg