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As we approach the final stages of the 2022 Formula 1 season, both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships are all but sown up for Max Verstappen and Red Bull, however, this doesn’t mean the excitement is over.
Max Verstappen missed out on his first opportunity to seal his second World Drivers’ Championship in Singapore last weekend in an exciting race where despite spinning off the track, he still managed to come 7th. His Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, picked up his second win of the season with an impressive drive in difficult, wet conditions that only saw fifteen finishers from the starting grid of twenty. Max’s next chance to secure his championship comes this weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix. The Suzuka Circuit returns to the calendar after a two-year COVID-imposed hiatus, and we could not be more excited to see it back! Mercedes have dominated the circuit in recent history, winning the last 6 iterations and may look at this as their last chance to make sure they don’t finish the 2022 season without a win for the first time since 2011.
It will be extra special for Red Bull if they do manage to clinch the championships in Japan, the team has had a longstanding partnership with Honda whose founder Soichiro Honda built the Suzuka Circuit in 1962. The locals will certainly be hoping that Red Bull and their Honda powertrain clinch the World Drivers Championship on home turf. The locals will also be on the lookout for a good performance from home talent Yuki Tsunoda as he becomes the first Japanese driver to compete at Suzuka since Kamui Kobayashi retired in 2014. He’ll be looking to shake off his poor race at Singapore which saw him crash out on lap 36 in his first race since Alpha Tauri announced he would be returning to the grid next season.
F1 season so far
The 2022 F1 season has been in sharp contrast to the nail-biting, last-lap conclusion of the 2021 season. It has been defined by the dominant performance of Max Verstappen who has been in a league of his own, harnessing an untouchable level of skill and newfound maturity in his hunt for a second consecutive World Drivers’ Championship.
At the beginning of the season, nobody could have predicted that Red Bull would run away with both championships so decisively, as Ferrari started incredibly strongly and Mercedes struggled to cope with the new technical regulations. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won two of the first three races and looked dominant. However, a slew of strategy errors, combined with Max finding his groove flipped the championship on its head from the fourth race at Emilia Romagna onwards.
Red Bull won the next six races, with Verstappen taking five of these, to cement a commanding championship lead. Despite Ferrari taking a couple more wins in the mid-season with dramatic victories at Silverstone and Austria any sliver of hope was quickly dashed as Max won another five races on the bounce, once more asserting his dominance and putting Red Bull out of sight.
Last time around
There was so much excitement at the last Japanese Grand Prix! Last time out at The Suzuka Circuit the race started with a dramatic clash between this year’s title rivals with Charles LeClerc and Max Verstappen coming together at turn two on the first lap. Verstappen careered off the track sideways before pulling off an amazing recovery to re-join the track. The Dutchman remained in the race for a few more laps before the damage forced him to retire on lap 15. LeClerc eventually recovered to finish sixth.
Bottas took the win for Mercedes and in the process secured their 6th consecutive constructor’s championship.
The Track
The Suzuka circuit is a white-knuckled, full-throttle racing driver’s dream. Set up to produce high-speed racing and provide an intense technical challenge its sweeping high-speed corners are equal parts terrifying and exhilarating.
The track is many F1 drivers’ favourite. Sebastian Vettel once remarked “I think Suzuka Circuit is totally fantastic. It must certainly have been designed by God.”
Despite having notoriously few overtaking opportunities, the Suzuka circuit has provided some thrilling moments over the years. The track is one of the narrowest on the F1 calendar, but this didn’t stop Kimi Raikkonen when he won the Grand Prix in 2005. Starting from 17th on the grid in a mesmerising drive which kept the excitement coming right to the last lap.
Turns 1 and 2
Turns 1 and 2 provide a great opportunity for wheel-to-wheel action. Raikkonen’s dramatic last lap overtake on Giancarla Fisichella in 2005 showcased why this is one of the best places to overtake at Suzuka.
The chaos heading into turn one lap one has caused many a drama this season including Zhou Guanyu’s miraculous escape at Silverstone and Ferrari teammates Leclerc and Sainz going wheel-to-wheel in the Austrian GP sprint race. Will we get some lap one drama this weekend at turns 1 and 2?
130R
Perhaps the most spectacular overtaking spot in Formula One is Suzuka Circuits ‘130R’. The corner is named for its radius and taken flat out, at speeds up to 200mph, is one of the boldest places to launch an attack on the entire F1 calendar.
Fortune favours the brave but exit the corner too wide and the run-off may not be long enough.
In that exciting 2005 race, Fernando Alonso executed an audacious overtake at 130R on the previous year’s champion Michael Schumacher. The manoeuvre by the Spaniard typified the changing of the guard that season, as he had replaced Schumacher as World Drivers Champion just one race earlier in Brazil.
Final Thoughts
With the titles all but in the bag for Red Bull, you could be forgiven for thinking this season will fizzle out, but that couldn’t be further from the case. There is still plenty to fight for in the 2022 F1 season.
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes will be desperate to capitalise on their recent form and ensure they don’t finish the season without a win. Despite making a terrible start to the season and being well off the pace, they have rallied and even looked competitive with Red Bull and Ferrari at points.
Ferrari needs to draw a line under the strategy and mechanical failures that have plagued them this season and build momentum to restart a title challenge for next year
Verstappen, currently with 11 wins this season and 5 races remaining, will surely have an eye on Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in a single season.
And not just satisfied with winning, Red Bull will be determined to continue to establish their dominance, hoping to rival Mercedes’ incredible eight consecutive constructors and seven world drivers’ championships in the last decade.
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