[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by Andrew Benson, BBC Sport

"Suzuka. Like Spa or Monaco, the name alone is enough. It conjures up images of racing perfection, of a track from the gods, laid down to test the mortals to the limit and beyond.

"Suzuka is 3.6 miles of sweeps and switchbacks, a succession of long, high-speed corners in a combination that many would argue is unmatched anywhere in the world. "What separates Suzuka even from Spa is the element of risk and jeopardy. While elements of Belgium's showpiece have been neutered in the interests of safety, Suzuka remains properly old school.

"The walls are close - there simply isn't the land available in this crowded nation for them to be anything else. Get it wrong around here, and a driver will pay a heavy price. "All this and a unique atmosphere created by stands packed with dedicated fans who sit for hours even when there is nothing happening on the track, happy simply to soak up the atmosphere.

"A Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka is a unique experience, an event to be treasured for all time."

Massa' 2006 Ferrari looks so good.


Circuit Layout

The iconic circuit, which crosses over itself in a figure-of-eight design, is a good old-fashioned racing challenge which excites both drivers and engineers. The sequence of fast corners, including the 200mph 130R turn, is a favourite among drivers and provides a tough test for both tyres and aerodynamic performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luVZduAcP8A

The first sector of lap, dominated by the series of switch-back corners through the Esses and Dunlop Curve, is said by drivers to be the most demanding section of track in the world.


A car-themed amusement park, in which a huge Ferris wheel looms over the track, is at the centre of Suzuka, a venue which attracts some of the most fanatical F1 fans in the world.



Weather Forecast
Being coastal, Suzuka is always likely to get sudden rain showers, sometimes heavy. Strong winds can also be a factor sometimes. Temperatures can vary widely. It is important to bear in mind that if it is warm the tyre degradation will be more severe.

There is a typhoon called Phanfone, on a pathway, which could take it close to Suzuka on Sunday or Monday. It looks quite a serious typhoon, so it is being monitored. Heavy rain will precede its arrival.

Likely tyre performance
Tyre choice for Suzuka: Medium (white markings) and hard (orange markings). This combination was most recently used at Silverstone
As with the race at Silverstone, the main interest will revolve around whether some teams can race with two stints on the mediums and one on the hard tyres to take advantage of the better pace of the mediums. If they can make the mediums last, this will be a competitive strategy. Last year most runners stuck with the hards. At Silverstone Daniel Ricciardo managed to take a set of mediums to 37 laps.

Like Silverstone, Suzuka presents a great challenge for the tyres, with loadings in excess of 800 kilos on the tyre through some of the corners.
With the first sector of the lap featuring a series of high energy corners putting lateral load into the tyres, warm up is never a problem at Suzuka.

Number and likely timing of pit stops
Last year with hard and medium tyres, simulations showed that two stops would be faster than three stops by around 5 seconds. Most people did two stops. A classic two stop is to pit for the first time around Lap 14 and then a second time around Lap 35. We may see drivers trying the undercut, trying to push rivals into running a longer final stint than they would ideally wish to do.

Thermal degradation will be the limiting factor, particularly on the front tyres and that will dictate strategy. Teams will react to degradation once it kicks in and make stops. We have seen a few times at Suzuka that a safety car can make a big difference for teams that are marginal on the tyres. Suzuka has an unusual pit lane and it is easy to lose time in the pit stops. It is downhill, so easy for the driver to overshoot his pit box and there is a rain gulley which sometimes affects the exit from the pit box. The result is that there is generally more variability in the pit stop times than normal.

Chance of a Safety Car
The chance of a Safety Car at Suzuka is quite high: 0.6 Safety Cars per race. As accidents at Suzuka tend to be at high speed there is often wreckage to be cleared away. There has been at least one Safety Car in five of the last seven races at Suzuka.

Race Strategy Briefing



Big news for the weekend
1) Suzuka is owned by Honda and rumors are running amok in the paddock that Alonso movement to McLaren Honda will come to light this weekend.
2) Max Verstappen, all of 17 years will be driving Vergne’ Toro Rosso in FP1, he will be the youngest ever participant in a GP weekend.


Courtesy: JAonF1, F1Fanatic

[zenren]

Channels: Star Sports 4/HD2

TV Timings:

FP 1 - 06:30 AM 3rd Oct
FP 2 - 10:30 AM 3rd Oct
FP 3 - 07:30 AM 4th Oct
Qual - 10:30 AM 4th Oct
Race - 11:30 AM 5th Oct

[GTO]

Damn, I hate Sunday morning races, but the season is so exciting....what the hell.

This is a great track, highly technical in nature. High chance of rain too . Should make things all the more interesting.

The driver's championship is alive & how! As is the case with most enthusiasts, looking forward to a healthy battle between Hamilton & Rosberg. Merely 3 points separate them entering Japan.

Merc could grab the constructors cup this weekend if they finish in a 1-2 (highly probable IMHO).

[zenren]

Originally Posted by GTO

Merc could grab the constructors cup this weekend if they finish in a 1-2 (highly probable IMHO).

I'm not too sure about that. Since it is most likely going to be a wet race, other teams would be much more closer to Mercedes. I can see Vettel and Alonso eyeing for their first win this season if it is a fully wet race. They do stand a strong chance in that case, same as Ricciardo for win #4. Other rain experts like Button would also be strong contenders to the Mercs. It is not going to be an easy 1-2 if there is rain during the race.

Typhoon Phanfone seems to be a big enough threat with a chance of race cancellation due to bad weather. May be the hangover from watching Rush but I'm hoping for another torrential Japanese GP that I can watch live without knowing how final results would be

[zenren]

I just did the math and the possibility of Mercedes clinching the constructors title in Japan is a very remote possibility, irrespective of the rain. For this to happen, Mercedes need to finish 1-2 and Red Bull should not get more than 2 points.

In all likelihood, it would be settled in Russia where the requirements for RBR to stay alive in championship battle would be something like a RBR 1-2 and no Merc above P8 or so.

[deetjohn]

Max Verstappen had a good day yesterday barring his retirement due to a broken exhaust valve.

He did 22 laps and was 12th overall and only 0.443 seconds slower than Kvyat. Impressive considering Suzuka is a very hard track and the torque that cars make this year.

In FP3, Nico topped as Lewis crashed. Lewis carried too much speed into Turn 1, ran wide and crashed into the tyre barrier.

[zenren]

Q1 complete:
Lotus, Marussia and Caterham out.

Q2:
Looks like Sauber, Toro Rosso and Force India seem to be in the danger zone. If any of these drivers make it to Q3, Kudos.

[Hatari]

Surprised to see Red bull struggle here and Williams do well. Would have imagined the opposite. Let's hope there's enough rain to spice things up

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by Hatari

Let's hope there's enough rain to spice things up

Looks like its going to be more than enough rain. FIA’ official weather forecaster UBIMET is warning of a “massive threat” to the race from the storm.

The rain will largely be persistent - possibly with an occasional drier interlude - but also it will become heavy at times, this more likely after midday. Thus, a wet race seems to be a likely scenario.

They say even the logistics for Sochi will be affected.

http://www.ubimet.com/en_INT/company/press/

[ecenandu]

I really hope Jules is OK. Fingers crossed.
Don't know what happened there. Red flagged now, Hamilton is the winner.

EDIT: Jules is unconscious, taken to hospital by road. His car hit the recovery vehicle taking out the Sutil's car.

EDIT 2 :

Marussia driver Jules Bianchi has been taken to hospital unconscious following a late crash in today’s Japanese Grand Prix.

In wet conditions at Suzuka, Sauber’s Adrian Sutil spun off at 130R with a few laps remaining, prompting a recovery vehicle to come and try to remove the car.

Bianchi, pictured taking part in practice on Friday at Suzuka, reportedly spun off at the crash site, hitting the digger that was being used to recover Sutil’s car. He did not respond to a radio call from Marussia at the time.

Speaking on behalf of the FIA, media delegate Matteo Bonciani said the following:

“The driver is unconscious. He has been sent to hospital by ambulance because the helicopter cannot go in these conditions. Further updates will follow. For the moment, we cannot say nothing. I will keep you updated as fast as I can.”

http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com...llowing-crash/

[thetinywanderer]

Yeah, so much chaos on the track now. Took some time to even know what happened.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by ecenandu

I really hope Jules is OK. Fingers crossed.
Don't know what happened there. Red flagged now, Hamilton is the winner.

Yes, no replays of the incident as well. Was it a separate incident from the one which involved sutil?

[Biraj]

Really hope and pray that Bianchi is fine. The latest update that he was unconscious while being taken to hospital is quite depressing. Hope he fights through this...

[thetinywanderer]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Yes, no replays of the incident as well. Was it a separate incident from the one which involved sutil?

Yes, it was a different incident around the same time.

[sudev]

Same place slightly later Bianchi lost control while recovery vehicle and marshals were taking out Sutils car. Surprising initially marshal was showing only yellow and not double yellow.