I AM SUPER excited while writing this piece. Firstly, it is my debut on the SportzPower and secondly, I get to talk about the Japanese Grand Prix – one of my favourites!
Thankfully the Japanese Grand Prix is back at Suzuka. After alternating with the Fuji Motor Speedway for a few years, Suzuka is back to being the permanent venue for the Japanese Grand Prix.
One might wonder what is so special about Suzuka, but its layout, characteristics and not to forget history is what makes this circuit oh-so-special for drivers and fans alike.
Suzuka has been on the F1 calendar for 21 years and has hosted the title deciding race at least 9 times. For the history lovers, my favourite races were back in 1998 and 2000. Both the years saw Michael Schumacher needing a victory to not only win the race, but also seal the F1 Driver’s Championship. However in 1998, Schumacher stalled while he was on pole and started last, thereby marring his chances of victory. He ultimately finished 3rd, but lost the championship to Mclaren’s Mika Hakkinen. (It must be told that Schumacher stalled because the start-line in Suzuka is actually a slope pointing upwards, which means that drivers have to be on the brakes to ensure that their cars don’t roll back!)
In 2000, Schumacher was yet again battling the championship leader Mika Hakkinen. However, this time he got the better of his rival after beating him in the round of pit stops and going on to claim his 3rd Driver’s title. And these are only 2 of the 9 times we’ve seen an F1 world championship being decided in Japan.
In the current F1 season, it is impossible that any of the top 5 titles contenders will lose their championship chances in Japan, but a DNF here will surely make their title bid 25% tougher! (Do the math!!)
Drivers love this circuit and here’s why they do. Suzuka is a classic design and a traditional F1 circuit. It was originally built to test Honda’s automobiles and bikes and comprises some of the most challenging corners in Formula1. Suzuka demands a high downforce setup on the car to clock a quick laptime!
The ‘S’ curves (also called ‘Esses’) in the first sector of the track have often been described as roller coaster ride by drivers with cars literally being thrown from one end of the track to the other. The Esses are nearly taken at 200kmph and hence require great amount of skill, guts and of course downforce!
The second sector of Suzuka has two classic corners – one being a hairpin bend, where cars slow down to as little as 60kmph followed by the fast and bending Spoon Curve, where cars accelerate out of corners at over 180kmph.
The third and the last section have the famous 130R and the Casio Triangle. Both these corners have enough of history written around them and are the fastest and the slowest part of the circuit. The 130R deserves special mention for two reasons. Firstly, it is taken flat out (usually in 7th gear over 300kmph) and secondly because of its design. The 130R means radius of 130 metres (fans usually mistake the 130 as the speed at which cars corner here) and it is the radius alone that allows F1 cars to corner at such high speeds.
The Casio Triangle is a chicane with an innovative name. It first goes right, followed by an immediate left and somewhere just after the middle of the corner is the entry to the super-long pitlane. The Casio Triangle will offer the best overtaking opportunities in the race. Braking into the Triangle is ever-so-tricky that it also becomes the most accident prone corners in Suzuka. (Imagine a car with 150kgs of fuel approaching the corner at over 300kmph and braking down to 80 odd kmph!)
So while that sums up the circuit layout, the one thing I ought to mention is that Suzuka’s layout resembles a figure of 8 circuit. This doesn’t mean that the circuit actually intersects with itself, but the back straight passes over the front section using an overpass.
The circuit is very demanding from the car as well as the drivers. The Esses followed by the Spoon Curve and the 130R will subject the drivers to nearly 3Gs of gravitational forces. While the drivers are sure to have their fitness regime laid out, let’s quickly predict the top performing teams this weekend.
