Tag Archives: Suzuka

2024 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Results & aftermath

Verstappen & Red Bull return to winning ways with easy win at Suzuka, Perez P2; Sainz prevails over teammate Leclerc, P3 to P4, in strong performances for Ferrari

Two weeks after a shocking mechanical DNF in Australia, Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team were back in top form for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix. Verstappen led the race from pole twice, the second time after a Lap 2 Red Flag, and gapped his game teammate Sergio Perez each time, steadily putting enough in the bank to come across the finish line of this 53-lap contest over twelve and a half seconds ahead of P2 Perez. For the Red Bull team, it was back to their usual recent supremacy at this highly technical circuit that really seems to suit their cars, making it three out of the last four Japanese GP that they’ve finished 1-2 at the figure eight Suzuka Circuit. For good measure, Verstappen also ended up setting the race’s fastest lap for the bonus point and a maximum of 26 on the day. It was still an encouraging day for Perez, who had to make several solid overtakes against other contenders after his two pit stops in order to secure that valuable second place and hopefully bodes well for the Mexican veteran’s renewed sense of confidence in the RB20.

Once it became clear that Red Bull were simply the class of the field again, the more intriguing  part of the race came down to who would score the last podium position and how the rest of the top ten would shake out. Ferrari once again looked like the closest thing to competition that Red Bull may have this season and the Scuderia braintrust effectively split their strategies between their drivers, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. With Sainz, the last race winner in Melbourne, qualifying P4 but Leclerc mired down in P8 after a subpar quali effort on Saturday, the team went with a conventional tire strategy for Sainz and a roll of the dice for Leclerc. Sainz ran the standard two-stopper, going Medium Pirellis to Medium to Hard to finish the race, while Leclerc ran a long first stint on Mediums all the way to Lap 27 and then took his only set of Hards to the end. This not only allowed Sainz to better his starting position by one and get the Spaniard on the podium with a P3 finish but vaulted Leclerc, who drove superbly to hold onto that initial set of Mediums, all the way up to an eventual P4 finish. While Leclerc couldn’t hold off his teammate for that last podium spot late in the race, the Monegasque still prevailed over both McLarens on the day, the team that is really Ferrari’s true rival in race pace. So, the brass at Maranello should be well pleased by a rather excellent two race stretch, with Sainz and Lecerlc one-two in Australia and now three-four in Japan.

For McLaren, it ended up being more of a salvage what you can kind of day rather than competing for the podium, as the team have more recently come to expect. The race pace of the cars was definitely not as strong as the Prancing Horses here and Norris was easy meat for Sainz when the Spaniard passed him for third place on Lap 46, with Norris having locked up the prior lap. Similarly, McLaren teammate Oliver Pisatri also suffered with long run handling when he ran wide on the final lap heading into Turn 16, which enabled Mercedes’ George Russell to steal P7 from the young Aussie. While not a disaster by any means, with Norris finishing P4 and Piastri P8, team McLaren will be looking to improve when they unload in China in two weeks, such are the higher expectations they now have with their MCL38’s usual solid performance and their two young pilots’ excellent pace.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso tried to keep Piastri in position to defend himself from Russell’s ambitions, the wily Spanish veteran keeping the McLaren within DRS range and using Piastri as a blocker. In the end, Russell ran out of laps to make any headway on Alonso and the two-time champ scored Aston’s only points on the day with a fine P6 finish. With Russell locked in at P7 and Silver Arrows teammate Lewis Hamilton only able to take P9 when the checkers flew, there had to be some debate about the Mercedes pit wall’s decision to attempt a one-stopper after both switched to Hards from the Mediums under the Red Flag conditions. In the end, it probably wasn’t decisive either way even though the team was forced to bail on that strategy, with Russell getting rid of his aged Hards on Lap 38 in favor of Mediums to end the race and Hamilton following suit two laps later. Mercedes simply lack the pace of Ferrari, McLaren and certainly Red Bull so, Russell making that late race pass on Piastri was actually bettering expectations. There remains a lot of work to do for the once mighty Silver Arrows if they are going to get back to challenging for podiums let alone wins.

RB Honda’s Yuki Tsunoda took the last point in P10 at his home race to the delight of his countrymen in the stands, a fine result for any Japanese driver and another indication that the talented Tsunoda is showing his improving skills on a weekly basis, even in a less than elite car. He was also aided in that eventual good result by a cracking pit stop by his mechanics on his final tire change, the RB beating out four other runners who had also stopped at the exact same time, netting him crucial track position that Tsunoda then converted into that valuable P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Japanese Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 53 1:54:23.566 26
2 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 53 +12.535s 18
3 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 53 +20.866s 15
4 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 53 +26.522s 12
5 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 53 +29.700s 10
6 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 53 +44.272s 8
7 63 George Russell MERCEDES 53 +45.951s 6
8 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 53 +47.525s 4
9 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 53 +48.626s 2
10 22 Yuki Tsunoda RB HONDA RBPT 52 +1 lap 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two weeks’ time — the return of the Chinese Grand Prix form the Shanghai International Circuit for the first time since 2019. Will this circuit be any less conducive to the seemingly unstoppable force that is Red Bull-Verstappen? Hope to see you then to find out!

2024 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Qualifying results

Red Bull lock out front row at Suzuka as Verstappen barely pips game Perez; McLaren’s Norris gets the better of Ferrari’s Sainz for P3

Two weeks removed from his shocking early race mechanical DNF in Melbourne, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen seemed determined to reimpose his usual air of inevitability during Saturday Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix. Making an unusually early appearance on the F1 calendar and amidst cool and cloudy conditions at the fabled Suzuka International Racing Course, the Red Bulls were clearly the class of the field throughout practice and then further hammered home that fact once quali began in earnest. And this time, Verstappen’s teammate Sergo Perez also came to play, putting pressure on Max to up his game in order to earn the pole. In the end, the flying Dutchman succeeded, but only by beating out Perez by a scant .006 seconds, one of their closest qualifying duals since they’ve been Red Bull stablemates. With the RB20s race pace dominance readily apparent so far in 2024, fans will be hoping that Perez can hound Verstappen in tomorrow’s race with just as much elan as the veteran Mexican displayed today in qualifying.

Below those top two standouts, it was a fascinating battle for positions three through ten on the grid, featuring large gaps between teammates in ostensibly identical equipment. This often happens at the highly technical, figure-eight Suzuka Circuit, where hooking up a constant lap through all three sectors is highly demanding even to talented Formula 1 drivers. Excelling the best in a car not named Red Bull was McLaren’s Lando Norris, who bettered last race’s winner, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, P3 to P4. Still flying high from his amazing Aussie GP victory a fortnight ago, Sainz did take it to his Scuderia teammate, Charles Leclerc, who was forced to burn an extra set of Soft Pirellis to secure his transfer out of Q1. Leclerc was thereby disadvantaged by a lack of extra fresh sets in Q3 and could only run one hot lap, which netted him a lowly P8 starting position when all the other times were counted in the final session. Norris’s McLaren teammate and birthday boy Oscar Piastri faced no such tire disadvantage but was only able to qualify P6 after running his full Q3 program.

Fernando Alonso was the lone Aston Martin in the top ten, wringing the neck of his car to will himself all the way up to P5. This put the veteran two-time champ not only ahead of Piastri but also both Mercedes. After a disastrous zero points outing in Melbourne a fortnight ago, the Silver Arrows are still chasing pace, with Lewis Hamilton only able to mange a P7 time but still well ahead of his bewildered teammate, George Russell, who ended up mired down in P9. RB Honda’s Yuki Tsunoda delighted his countrymen in the stands by slotting in at P10 for his home race.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Japanese GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:28.866 1:28.740 1:28.197 12
2 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:29.303 1:28.752 1:28.263 12
3 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:29.536 1:28.940 1:28.489 13
4 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:29.513 1:29.099 1:28.682 12
5 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:29.254 1:29.082 1:28.686 12
6 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:29.425 1:29.148 1:28.760 12
7 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:29.661 1:28.887 1:28.766 15
8 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:29.338 1:29.196 1:28.786 12
9 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:29.799 1:29.140 1:29.008 15
10 22 Yuki Tsunoda RB HONDA RBPT 1:29.775 1:29.417 1:29.413 18

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 1AM Eastern Sunday morning here in the States. With Suzuka looking uniquely suited to this year’s iteration of Red Bull, it should come down to an intra-team battle at Red Bull for the win. Can Perez finally make his mark on the 2024 campaign and get back to challenging Verstappen’s supremacy? Look forward to seeing you then to find out!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Qualifying results

Verstappen and Red Bull back on form at Suzuka with dominant pole; Piastri impresses with P2, McLaren teammate Norris P3

After their uncharacteristically modest performance at a rare bogey track in Singapore a week ago, Red Bull and their peerless ace Max Verstappen retuned to their dominating form during Saturday Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix. The uniquely twisty and flowing figure-eight Suzuka circuit allowed the RB15 to stretch its legs again after the cramped confines of Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit and Verstappen blistered the field with the fastest Q3 lap, well over half second ahead of the P2 McLaren of Oscar Piastri. It was the biggest quali margin at Suzuka since way back in 2004 when the great Michael Schumacher set the pace that day. The result bodes well for Verstappen to get back to his winning ways after that anomalous hiccup a week ago, as well as for the team to clinch the Constructors’ title quite early if everything goes just right on Sunday. Conversely, it was an ominous portent for the rest of the competitive teams, Ferrari in particular, if they were hoping that Red Bull’s Singapore slump would somehow continue when they unloaded in Japan.

The rookie Piastri has been have a very fine second half of the season, as the team’s upgrades have really kicked in and the young Aussie seems to improve a little bit more every week. He bettered his more experienced teammate Lando Norris by a mere four-one hundredths and the papaya-clad duo really did seem to be the only ones within even sniffing distance of Verstappen in one-lap performance. That included the second Red Bull of teammate Sergio Perez, who found himself in P5 nearly eight-tenths down on Max. Perez also ended up in a Ferrari sandwich, with Charles Leclerc a bit quicker than him and taking P4 on the grid for tomorrow and last week’s race winner, Carlos Sainz, just behind of Perez in P6 but across from him come race day Those three are likely to be going at it hammer and tongs in tomorrow’s Grand Prix, which could hamper any of them from getting up to the McLarens and trying to climb onto the podium. Look for differing tire strategies to be a key part in just how the race unfolds among the top contenders.

Further down the order, Lewis Hamilton out-qualified Mercedes teammate George Russell for the first time since Belgium, P7 to P8. Rounding out the top ten qualifiers for tomorrow’s race, Yuki Tsunoda did himself proud in front of his countrymen and women by getting his AlphaTauri into Q3 and a final time good enough for ninth on the grid, while Fernando Alonso barely survived Q2 and couldn’t improve in Q3 either, settling for P10 in what seems to be a rapidly fading Aston Martin.

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:29.878 1:29.964 1:28.877 12
2 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:30.439 1:30.122 1:29.458 14
3 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:30.063 1:30.296 1:29.493 12
4 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:30.393 1:29.940 1:29.542 14
5 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:30.652 1:29.965 1:29.650 18
6 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:30.651 1:30.067 1:29.850 14
7 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:30.811 1:30.040 1:29.908 18
8 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:30.811 1:30.268 1:30.219 15
9 22 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT 1:30.733 1:30.204 1:30.303 18
10 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:30.971 1:30.465 1:30.560 15

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at the ungodly hour of 1AM Eastern here in the States  So set that VCR or brew an especially strong pot of coffee to find out if Verstappen can get back to his usual winning ways and help team Red Bull clinch the Constructors’ title after only 16 races run!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Results & aftermath

Verstappen clinches second consecutive title at sodden Suzuka with win and last lap penalty to Leclerc in rain-shortened race; Perez promoted to P2 to aid Red Bull team & teammate’s cause

On a day where the rains returned in force to the Suzuka International Circuit and prompted an epically long Red Flag delay awaiting raceable weather, Red Bull’s peerless Max Verstappen still found a way to prevail when Sunday’s eventful Japanese Grand Prix resumed. With the entire field restarting on full Wet weather Pirelli tires, Verstappen and team Red Bull changed for Intermediates a few laps after the restart with approximately 30-minutes remaining along with all the main contenders. But once that switch had been made, Max was simply superior in getting his tires to work on the drenched circuit to greater effect than his few mathematical championship rivals, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and his own teammate Sergio Perez. By the time the checkers flew to end this rain shortened 28-lap contest Verstappen’s lead had ballooned to over 26-seconds to the P2 Prancing Horse of Leclerc, earning him the full 25 Championship points since the race had exceeded the halfway mark of the originally scheduled 53-laps. Better still for the Dutch Master, his teammate Perez hounded Leclerc to the bitter end, forcing the Monegasque into an error on the final lap that saw the P2 Ferrari go off track and then rejoin in front of Perez awkwardly. While Leclerc crossed the line in P2 he was docked five-seconds by the stewards for gaining an advantage and when the points were all recalculated that made Verstappen the winner of the 2022 F1 title, his second in succession. This season, unlike last year’s controversial last race nail-biter, was essentially a runaway, Ferrari’s and Leclerc’s early competitiveness giving way to unforced errors by the Scuderia team and drover and, frankly, the sheer superiority of the Red Bull RB 18 in Verstappen’s masterful hands. While Red Bull as a team will have to wait at least one more race to clinch the all-important Constructors’ title, that, too, is certainly a fait accompli. There may be four more rounds remaining in this year’s F1 season but it’s now all over but the shouting.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Outside that consequential top three, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was able to skillfully fend off the multiple-lap charge of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, besting the seven-time champ to the line, P4 to P5. Likewise, the second Alpine of Fernando Alonso pitted late for a fresh set of Inters and was then able to pip Hamilton’s teammate George Russell for P7. Splitting that two-team quartet was the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel, who was one of the first to switch to Inters off of full Wets and road that brave decision to finish P6 in a brilliant drive at his final Japanese GP. Williams’ Nicholas Latifi did well to keep his car intact and come home P9, while McLaren’s Lando Norris took the last point in P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Japanese GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 28 3:01:44.004 25
2 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 28 +27.066s 18
3 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 28 +31.763s 15
4 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 28 +39.685s 12
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 28 +40.326s 10
6 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 28 +46.358s 8
7 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 28 +46.369s 6
8 63 George Russell MERCEDES 28 +47.661s 4
9 6 Nicholas Latifi WILLIAMS MERCEDES 28 +70.143s 2
10 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 28 +70.782s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two weeks time and halfway round the globe — the always enjoyable United States Grand Prix from the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. We’ll hope for drier conditions and you can be sure the newly crowned two time King Max will still be gunning for victory in the Lone Star State. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Qualifying results

Verstappen survives stewards after contretemps with Norris to keep pole at Suzuka; Leclerc P2 & Sainz P3 for Ferrari

Inching ever closer to his second consecutive Formula 1 World Championship, Red Bull’s Dutch master Max Verstappen set the fastest lap during Saturday qualifying for the return of the Japanese Grand Prix after a two year hiatus. Verstappen held off not only the hard charging Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz but also survived a stewards inquiry into his leisurely weaving through 130R during Q3, forcing McLaren’s Lando Norris to take evasive action at full chat to avoid the out of shape Red Bull. While Verstappen received a reprimand, he was not penalized and so will start from pole for tomorrow’s race, where he will have the best possible chance of clinching the title with both a win and the bonus point for fastest lap no matter where his rivals finish. Ferrari’s Leclerc, starting alongside Max on the front row in P2, and Sainz in P3, as well as his Red Bull teammate and last race’s winner in Singapore, Sergio Perez, lining up in P4, will all surely give their best efforts to deny the Dutchman that most coveted motorsport prize, if only for one more race.

Outside that elite top four, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon out-qualified his more heralded teammate, Fernando Alonso, P5 to P7 respectively, while Lewis Hamilton got the better of his Mercedes teammate George Russell, P6 to P8. Sebastian Vettel willed his Aston Martin into Q3 and P9 on the grid in the last F1 qualifying effort of his illustrious career at his favorite Suzuka Circuit. And Norris could do no better than P10, perhaps due to the limitations of his McLaren chassis and perhaps as a result of being thrown off rhythm from his earlier hairy encounter with Verstappen.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Japanese GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:30.224 1:30.346 1:29.304 13
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:30.402 1:30.486 1:29.314 13
3 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:30.336 1:30.444 1:29.361 13
4 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:30.622 1:29.925 1:29.709 15
5 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:30.696 1:30.357 1:30.165 18
6 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:30.906 1:30.443 1:30.261 20
7 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:30.603 1:30.343 1:30.322 15
8 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:30.865 1:30.465 1:30.389 19
9 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:31.256 1:30.656 1:30.554 15
10 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:30.881 1:30.473 1:31.003 18

Complete qualifying results available via Fomrula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 1AM Estern here in the States. So set your DVR or brew that extra pot of coffee to find out of Verstappen can clinch the title in Japan or if Leclerc, Sainz or Perez can spoil his day!

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Results & aftermath

Bottas cruises to victory in Japan after Vettel fumbles start; Hamilton P3 as Mercedes lock up 6th consecutive Constructors’ title

After being bested by Ferrari in a rare, Typhoon-necessiated Sunday morning Qualifying that saw the Prancing Horses of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc start the Japanese Grand Prix 1-2, Mercedes proved once again that when the points are really on the line they are still the team to beat in Formula 1. Vettel bogged down as the lights went out to start the race Sunday afternoon at the Suzuka Circuit, nearly but not quite jumping the start, and the Silver Arrow of Valtteri Bottas, quicker than his teammate Lewis Hamilton all weekend, pounced. The Finn launched beautifully to easily pass not just Vettel but also the P2 Leclerc, who quickly found himself wheel banging with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen going into turn one. As Bottas sailed away, the Monegasque Ferrari man lost adhesion trying to defend while turning and smashed into Verstappen’s side pods, sending the Red Bull off track and causing damage that would eventually force the Dutchman to retire on Lap 15. That kerfuffle, which led to Leclerc being penalized and demoted after the race, also held up Hamilton, who had to brake to avoid the incident and was nearly side-swiped himself by the oncoming McLaren of Carlos Sainz. Those crucial delays back in the lead pack left Bottas free to fly with Vettel recovering enough to plant himself in a not very threatening P2, and the front-running Merc quickly built up a healthy lead that he would never really relinquish.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix.com

Meanwhile Leclerc was circulating with a damaged wing after the coming together with Verstsappen and spewing carbon fiber all over the track, as well as onto the pursuing Hamilton’s helmet and visor. Leclerc inexplicably defied calls to pit for a new wing until Lap 4, an impetuous decision that earned him yet another time penalty after the race. Meanwhile, when Vettel pitted at the end of Lap 16 for a second set of Soft Pirellis it became obvious that Ferrari would be running a 2-stop strategy for him. Bottas pitted a lap later for Medium tires, fulfilling the requirement to use at least two compounds, but the team also told him he would be running a 2-stopper eventually to match Ferrari’s lead man, while they would try to split strategy and run Hamilton on a one-stopper. That gave the intra-team advantage to Bottas, as the Suzuka circuit proved to be very tough on tires. So while Hamilton stayed out nominally leading the race until Lap 21 he was unable to gain any advantage whatsoever with his degraded rubber and in fact lost bucketloads of time relative to Bottas and Vettel on their fresh tires. The English points leader came out P3, well behind Vettel, and could be heard second-guessing his team as to why they hadn’t just put him on the Hard tires to try to make it to the end on a one-stop after all. But apparently the performance disadvantage of the Hards was just too great for Mercedes to take that gamble whatever their potential longevity advantage.

In the end Bottas came home for a relatively easy victory. A disappointed Vettel was able to hold off the furious late-race charge of Hamilton on fresh Soft tires by a mere four-tenths for P2. But while Hamilton was intensely frustrated by his third place finish and how the day played out to his teammate’s advantage, big picture-wise everyone at Mercedes had to be ecstatic with the double podium at Suzuka. That massive points haul secured the team’s unprecedented sixth consecutive Constructors’ Championship. Hamilton will have to wait a race or two to potentially clinch his own remarkable sixth Drivers’ title but Mighty Mercedes had done it again despite an increasingly effective second half challenge from Ferrari that simply came too late in the season.

The surviving Red Bull of Alexander Albon had a brilliant run to come home P4 and somewhat salvage the day for the team after Verstappen’s disappointing DNF.

Continue reading →

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Qualifying results

Ferrari lockout front row at Suzuka; Bottas qualifies P3, Hamilton fourth fastest

Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix was moved from the traditional Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning local time due to the threat of typhoon close to the Suzuka Circuit. Ferrari were able to lock out the first row with Sebastian Vettel grabbing pole and teammate Charles Leclerc lining up alongside him in P2 on the grid. The Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton weren’t able to match the outright pace of the Prancing Horses and will line up behind them in P3 and P4 respectively. The Red Bulls of Max Vertsappen and Alexander Albon start behind them in P5 & P6 respectively.

Today’s race begins overnight at 1:05 AM Eastern time and will be broadcast live on ESPN with encores anytime available after that via streaming at ESPN.com/watch.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Japanese GP below:

POSNODRIVERCARQ1Q2Q3LAPS
15Sebastian VettelFERRARI1:28.9881:28.1741:27.06416
216Charles LeclercFERRARI1:28.4051:28.1791:27.25316
377Valtteri BottasMERCEDES1:28.8961:27.6881:27.29321
444Lewis HamiltonMERCEDES1:28.7351:27.8261:27.30220
533Max VerstappenRED BULL RACING HONDA1:28.7541:28.4991:27.85116
623Alexander AlbonRED BULL RACING HONDA1:29.3511:28.1561:27.85119
755Carlos SainzMCLAREN RENAULT1:29.0181:28.5771:28.30421
84Lando NorrisMCLAREN RENAULT1:28.8731:28.5711:28.46421
910Pierre GaslySCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA1:29.4111:28.7791:28.83621
108Romain GrosjeanHAAS FERRARI1:29.5721:29.1441:29.34115

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Results & aftermath

Hamilton cruises to victory in Japan putting Championship within reach; Bottas a hard fought P2 over Verstappen’s incident-filled P3 run; error-prone Vettel sinks to P6

It was a tale of two championships going in dramatically different directions at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. For points leader and Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton the weekend culminated in a flawless run from the 80th pole of his career, pure domination for the entire race and a relatively easy victory at the tricky figure-8 Suzuka circuit. It was Hamilton’s fourth win on the trot, sixth out of the last seven contests and his remarkable fifth career win in Japan.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

For his nearest pursuer, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, the team’s recent missteps, highlighted by Saturday’s inexplicable decision to go out on wet tires in the decisive qualifying session on a drying track, seemed to result in the German 4-time World Champion trying far too hard far too early instead of biding his time to maximize his result and his points. Vettel was in the unenviable position of starting in P9 on the grid after his team’s tire miscalculation and drove well and with the proper amount of aggression at the start of the race to pass a passel of slower cars in quick order. By Lap 3 he was already up to P4, having gotten by his teammate Kimi Raikkonen. That put him directly behind the third place Red Bull of Max Verstappen when a Safety Car came out caused by Haas’s Kevin Magnussen’s prolonged puncture spewing copious debris all over on the track. In his typically aggressive fashion, Verstappen had already had a scrap with Raikkonen, going off the track and rejoining in an unsafe manner while trying to hold off the Finn’s Ferrari. And during the Safety Car period Verstappen was handed a 5-second time penalty by the stewards for that infraction.

But whether Vettel did not get that information from his team or chose to ignore it the Ferrari man decided to battle Verstappen for the position on track in a seemingly desperate attempt to get closer to the two front running Mercedes rather than be patient, stay close to the Dutchman and let the eventual penalty take care of the overtake for him. Continue reading →

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Qualifying results

Mercedes guess right to help Hamilton seize pole at soggy Suzuka, Bottas P2 for Silver Arrows lockout; Ferrari miscalculate badly leading to Vettel starting P9; Red Bull’s Verstappen qualifies P3

Lewis Hamilton scored his remarkable 80th pole position at soggy Suzuka during Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix. The Mercedes ace continued his strong run down the stretch of this 2018 season, having won a dominating five out of the last six races. The English points leader was also helped immensely by his team’s correct take on the damp weather that so often proves decisive at this fabled circuit. Running ahead of but close to Ferrari going into Q3 and with the previous two quali sessions rain-affected to some degree, Mercedes decided to keep their men on slicks for the final session. Meanwhile Ferrari gambled and lost with the weather forecast, sending their duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen out on Intermediate wet Pirellis for a track that stubbornly refused to stay rainy enough to utilize. Instead Ferrari quickly realized their error and called their men back to the pits, a crucial loss of time in the short final 12-minute session. So while Hamilton and his teammate Valtteri Bottas were already setting fast banker laps in case more rain might be on the way, the Prancing Horses found themselves seriously behind the 8 ball.

And as so often happens when an all-or-nothing wager goes south, Vettel was unable to hook up a clean lap when the track was at its best, had to come in to top up on fuel and rejoined at the very moment that the skies decided open up again. Facing an uphill fight for the Championship with only 5 more races to go and Hamilton leading him by 50 points, Vettel’s car could find no grid and he could do no better than the P9 lap that his untidy earlier run earned him. Coming at a circuit where passing is extraordinarily difficult and the race is won from pole about 50% of the time, Vettel faces a long day in the saddle trying to do damage control and keep his title hopes alive. In starting from pole, on the other hand, Hamilton is firmly in the catbird seat. His teammate Bottas will start in P2 for yet another Silver Arrows front row lockout, while Vettel’s wingman Kimi Raikkonen will try to keep in touch with the leaders from P4 and hope that Sebastian can meet up with him somewhere down the road.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third quickest and will line up alongside Raikkonen in P3. But he may also be worried about the reliability of his mount after seeing his teammate Daniel Riccardo’s car suffer some sort of engine failure in Q1. Haas’s Romain Grosjean scored an opportunistic P5 spot on the grid amid Vettel’s and Riccardo’s respective misfortunes. Toro Rosso also had a good day with Brendan Hartley getting a much needed confidence boost by out-qualifying his teammate Pierre Gasly, P6 to P7. The Force Indias of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10 in P8 and P10 respectively. But Ocon will be docked three grid positions for failing to slow adequately during a red flag period during Free Practice 3.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Japanese GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:28.702 1:28.017 1:27.760 11
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:29.297 1:27.987 1:28.059 12
3 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:29.480 1:28.849 1:29.057 10
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:29.631 1:28.595 1:29.521 13
5 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:29.724 1:29.678 1:29.761 17
6 28 Brendon Hartley SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA 1:30.248 1:29.848 1:30.023 15
7 10 Pierre Gasly SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA 1:30.137 1:29.810 1:30.093 15
8 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:29.899 1:29.538 1:30.126 13
9 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:29.049 1:28.279 1:32.192 13
10 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:30.247 1:29.567 1:37.229 16

Complete qualifying results available via Formula.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live starting at 1AM Eastern on ESPN2 here in the States. With rain just as likely to throw more strategic curveballs as it did today I hope you’ll join me then — or at least set the DVR for this overnighter — to find out how this Far East battle shakes out!

2017 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Results & aftermath

Hamilton holds off Verstappen for win at Suzuka consolidating championship lead; Ricciardo P3 but Vettel out early with engine problems

Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton had an essentially prefect race weekend in Japan. The English points leader shattered the track record at Suzuka on Saturday en route to his first pole at this fabled track. Then on Sunday he was not only the fastest car and driver on the circuit but his main rival for the Drivers’ Championship was out early and did not finish. Capping off a nightmare three-race run for Scuderia Ferrari, their title aspirant, 4-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel, suffered another engine problem apparently due to a faulty spark plug of all things that saw him down on woefully power and forced the retirement of his car on Lap 5. After the team’s crash-induced double DNF in Singapore, persistent engine woes in Malaysia that saw Vettel forced to start from last and Kimi Raikkonen not make the race start at all and then this disaster for Vettel in Japan, Ferrari’s once-promising season appears to have completely unraveled. In the face of this year’s all but bulletproof Mercedes F1 W08 chassis the legendary team from Maranello are now too far behind in the Constructors’ chase to have a realistic shot and Vettel saw his deficit to Hamilton balloon to 59 points after Sunday’s latest non-scoring DNF. That leaves the victorious Hamilton on the brink of his fourth world title and he could conceivably wrap it up as soon as the US Grand Prix two weeks hence in Austin. So all-in-all it was another superb day for Hamilton and the Silver Arrows and another unmitigated disaster for Ferrari.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Red Bull’s wunderkind Max Verstappen tried his best to spoil Hamilton’s party. After being elevated to P4 on the grid due to penalties against Valtteri Bottas, Verstappen was even quicker in race trim, besting his teammate Daniel Ricciardo early and then taking advantage of Vettel’s misfortune to firmly secure second position for the majority of the race. Even though the Red Bull lacks a bit of horsepower when stacked up against Mercedes, Verstappen wrung every ounce of performance he could from his lithe RB13 chassis, almost having enough to close down Hamilton after a late Virtual Safety Car period precipitated by Lance Stroll’s off. But lapped traffic got in the way, particularly an obstinate Fernando Alonso, and the laps ran out on the Dutchman. The Malaysian GP winner had to be content with a very stout P2 podium result just 1.2 seconds behind Hamilton’s winning time. Ricciardo was a little bit further up the road and finished P3 for the second consecutive GP. That also makes it 4 podiums in the last 5 races for the smiling Aussie.

The second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas wasn’t able to keep pace with the frontrunners but played a valuable role for the team by allowing Hamilton by him mid-race and then stacking up the pursuing Verstappen, costing the Red Bull some valuable laps in its quest for a possible victory. Bottas would come home off the podium in P4 but surely earned a lot of credit with the team and Hamilton as a valuable wingman with that unselfish effort. Vettel’s teammate Raikkonen also drove well to fight his way back from a penalty-effected P10 start, as well as getting pushed off track by Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and falling even further back through the order on Lap 1. Raikkonen regrouped to will the lone surviving Ferrari up to a P5 finish. It was a strong drive by the Iceman but in the end small consolation on another terrible day for Ferrari.

The Force Indias ran well yet again, with Esteban Ocon besting his nemesis Sergio Perez, P6 to P7. Despite their mutual loathing and season-long on track skirmishes the Force India duo have nonetheless performed well enough to essentially guarantee the team fourth place in the Constructor’s Championship, a massively lucrative result for the little team from Silverstone. Both Haas cars also got good points in Japan with Kevin Magnussen staying ahead of his teammate long enough to make a forceful pass on the Williams of Felipe Massa late in the race for P8 and Romain Grosjean following close behind to finish ninth despite starting from P16 after a big shunt knocked him out of qualifying early on Saturday. Massa was able to hold on against the charging McLaren of Fernando Alonso to take the last points paying position for Williams in P10. After the race Alonso was given a 2-point penalty on his Super License for not obeying blue flags and letting Vertstappen by as the Red Bull man was making his late-race charge.

Top 10 finishers of the Japanese Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 53 1:27:31.194 25
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 53 +1.211s 18
3 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 53 +9.679s 15
4 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 53 +10.580s 12
5 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 53 +32.622s 10
6 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 53 +67.788s 8
7 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 53 +71.424s 6
8 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 53 +88.953s 4
9 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 53 +89.883s 2
10 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 52 +1 lap 1

Complete race results alive via Formula1.com.

In other news, Carlos Sainz, who wiped out his Toro Rosso on Lap 1, will make the switch to Renault for the last remaining races of 2017, bouncing the star-crossed Jolyon Palmer from his seat and presumably from Forumla 1 entirely. The erratic Russian Daniil Kvyat will return to his Toro Rosso ride but his partner for Austin may or may not be Pierre Gasly, as the rookie sensation still has an opportunity to win the Super Formula title that weekend. And whether Toro Rosso keep on Kvyat in 2018 also remains an open question.

The next race is in two weeks time, the United States Grand Prix from the always fun Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Will Hamilton be able to wrap up the title there or can Ferrari get back on the beam and put up a fight? Hope to see you then to find out!