Japanese Grand Prix: Track and Stats

The legendary circuit is located in the town of the same name in the prefecture of Mie. The track is configured in the shape of “eight” and designed by John Hugenholz for testing Honda road cars. Suzuka has all kinds of corners, through which you can evaluate the performance of road equipment, and for Formula 1 cars it will be a serious test.

The Suzuka circuit temporarily left the championship after the reconstruction and returned to the Fuji circuit calendar, after which the owners of the two circuits agreed to alternate races, but Fuji left the podium in July 2009 due to financial problems, and since then the Japanese Grand Prix is ​​again held in Suzuka. The podium was not held for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The European public has always been a little jealous of the Japanese – many of the events that have become Formula 1 classics and described in racing references took place in Suzuka.

In recent years, the car dream has been reconstructed – new asphalt has been laid, safety zones have been expanded, but the track configuration has remained almost unchanged.

In 2014, the rain race was completed ahead of schedule after Jules Bianchi’s terrible accident.

Track features

At Suzuka, balanced and efficient machines take precedence. Sebastian Vettel took four wins on the Japanese circuit at the wheel of Red Bull Racing, and since 2014, all wins have been won by Mercedes drivers.

When setting up a car in Suzuka, a compromise is important between handling in slow chicanes and speed in fast corners. Unpredictable and changeable weather can intervene over the weekend.

Heavy Pujolar, engineer: “Suzuka is loved by racers and engineers – this is one of the best tracks on the calendar. Hilly terrain, narrow path, fast turns – a real challenge for riders. The teams use different settings, experimenting with the level of downforce. In fast corners everyone would prefer more downforce, but in the last sector it is important to reach maximum speed, so the settings of the cars are different.

Due to the high average speed, the load on the tires is quite high, but the brakes are used relatively rarely, so in general everything is very similar to the situation at Silverstone, where there are also many fast corners and little braking. If we compare these two tracks, then Suzuka is more difficult – because of the relief and the smaller width. It can be said that Suzuka is one of the most difficult circuits on the calendar and that a small number of safety zones requires clear driving.

Weekend schedule

You can follow the progress of all Formula 1 sessions on our live streaming page. We have written instructions for watching live video broadcasts.

Tire sets given to teams for the weekend

Suzuka has a high tire load in corners, tire manufacturers have traditionally chosen the heaviest compounds for the Japanese Grand Prix, allowing drivers to attack as much as possible even if they choose a one pit stop strategy.

Performance of current riders in Japan

Charles Leclerc: “Japan is a good place to race, especially for Japanese fans. They support us passionately and emotionally – from this point of view the stage is unique.

The track is interesting and technically difficult, one of the best in aerobatics. The configuration combines fast straights with a variety of turns and a hairpin. According to its characteristics, the track is different from the one we recently performed on. ”