2022 Formula One Japanese Grand Prix

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guenther steiner at the japanese grand prix.jpg

Will Max Verstappen become World Champion this weekend?

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One of the most exciting circuits on the F1 calendar will host the racing action this weekend as the field battles for late season points in Japan.

Suzuka’s complex layout has given F1 fans exciting races for decades, and this weekend’s grand prix looks to be no exception. The 2022 cars have allowed for longer and closer battles compared to recent years, and we can expect mid-pack scrapping in Japan this Sunday.

This is the first trip Formula 1 has made to Japan since 2019. Last time out, Sebastian Vettel was the winner, and Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest lap. Neither of these facts is likely to repeat based on the 2022 results to date. Vettel has struggled for consistency and pace this season, and Hamilton has been unable to reach the championship form we’ve come to expect from him.

Just five races remain in the 2022 season. After Japan, the teams will face off in the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. Behind the dominant Red Bull and Max Verstappen, rankings of cars and teams from P2 downward should see some reordering before the end of the season. Teams will be putting their best cars forward, and drivers will be trying to extract the most from them to score late season points.

The most recent F1 race, last weekend in Singapore, produced interesting results and saw Sergio Perez maintain a lead throughout nearly the entire race despite frequent safety cars and virtual safety cars in drying conditions.

The cars winding through the legendary S-curves and ripping through 130R flat out should provide exciting racing action this weekend. What are your predictions for the results? Let us know in the comments below.

Image via: Haas F1​
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About author
Mike Smith
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

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Comments

S
Scottt said:
While I don’t think it makes F1 a joke, I do think its odd that they have full wet tires but pretty much never race in any weather that requires them. I doubt any team has run more than 20 laps in the last 10 years with full wets.
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Yup. THis has just started the past, I don't know, 5 - 10 years? It's a joke.

This is what a wet race is supposed to look like:


F1, you've become absolutely pathetic.

EDIT: Wow, can't even post videos without them getting blocked by F1 even if it's a 2 minute, low-quality clip uploaded by a random user named Axel Schemmerling.

F1, you are beyond pathetic.
 
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Pete Conway
Premium
Spinelli said:
Yup. THis has just started the past, I don't know, 5 - 10 years? It's a joke.

This is what a wet race is supposed to look like:


F1, you've become absolutely pathetic.

EDIT: Wow, can't even post videos without them getting blocked by F1 even if it's a 2 minute, low-quality clip uploaded by a random user named Axel Schemmerling.

F1, you are beyond pathetic.
Click to expand...
Can I smell suggestions of 'Alternative series' in the air of descension?

I agree the the wet weather decisions are spoiling the fun but the FIA in all their wisdom want cars to conform to a set of rules that will please Mr money, Mr Safety, and Mr Casual fan*

* casual fans know and care little about F1 or Motor racing as a whole, but they will latch onto a team or personality for a period... often hanging on every word posted on the twotter and faceache accounts.
 
LeSunTzu
I suspect "casual fans" are as disgusted as "other fans" when the race is curtailed or postponed beyond reason because of rain.
 
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Pete Conway
Premium
LeSunTzu said:
I suspect "casual fans" are as disgusted as "other fans" when the race is curtailed or postponed beyond reason because of rain.
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I guess it's a matter of who wins because of rule interpretation, ardent fans* love the sport not the politics, but the casual fan is a fickle beast.

But don't get me wrong, I feel that the casual fan is the one who rolls in the Dollarrrrs

* those with Castrol R running through their veins.
 
LeSunTzu
It's just guesswork, but I would bet guys with Castrol in their veins are much more into politics. Every time they have an opportunity to say something about evil Balestre, evil Prost, evil Schumacher, gas scandal, 84 Monaco scandal, crashgate, oil in gas-gate, Masi-gate, Uk-biased media, and so on they do it. Actual casual fans are ignorant of that stuff, they just want to see overtakes, bad-boy defending and crashes.
 
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Pete Conway
Premium
LeSunTzu said:
It's just guesswork, but I would bet guys with Castrol in their veins are much more into politics. Every time they have an opportunity to say something about evil Balestre, evil Prost, evil Schumacher, gas scandal, 84 Monaco scandal, crashgate, oil in gas-gate, Masi-gate, Uk-biased media, and so on they do it. Actual casual fans are ignorant of that stuff, they just want to see overtakes, bad-boy defending and crashes.
Click to expand...

I've no doubt some do, however many more tune in to watch the Goodwood MM and Revival and knew who King Gerry was before Senna even came to the UK... and long before the Red Tops had 'Gate' childishly attached to every F1 controversy.
 
P
Scottt said:
While I don’t think it makes F1 a joke, I do think its odd that they have full wet tires but pretty much never race in any weather that requires them. I doubt any team has run more than 20 laps in the last 10 years with full wets.
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The problem is two fold

Wet weather tyres are only faster than Intermediates on an abaolutely soaked track where lots of standing water need to be cleared.

And they don't race in those conditions because the tyres kick so much water behind that it creates a wall of spray. Lando Norris said that the grip at the start was fine, but visibility was awful, and had he went one meter wider at 270R, he would have crashed into Sainz at full throttle.

IMHO, F1 on one hand needs more systems to tell drivers about those hazards, so they don't have to rely solely on eyesight (case in point, Gasly and the recovery truck). But also, they need some wet weather bodywork that is able to deflect spray on a different pattern that makes the spray less dense, and maybe couple it with a different rear light technology that is able to carve through mist more effectively.


The technology for doing all things mentioned is available, it's a matter of FIA actually wanting to solve this, because F1 cars nowadays are too fast for their own good.
 
D
A previous poster noted that the tires were not kicking up extreme amounts of water spray, but the diffuser/aero was the cause.
 
P
davehenrie said:
A previous poster noted that the tires were not kicking up extreme amounts of water spray, but the diffuser/aero was the cause.
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Both are the cause, wet weather tyres causing visibility issues has been a constant since Pirelli came onboard.

And both can be tackled with extra bodywork.
 
muzikant
Jos Verstappen said on Dutch television that the blue rain tires do not have the quality of the Britstones and Michelin from his race time. the green tire seems to feel better... a little less plastic-like

in short, it is a difficult feeling for the drivers, which according to Jos gives a plastic feeling instead of rubber
 
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Richard Wilks
pai said:
Both are the cause, wet weather tyres causing visibility issues has been a constant since Pirelli came onboard.

And both can be tackled with extra bodywork.
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They might be aliviated a bit, but spray and visibility issues will always be there:


Start-1-REBELLION-RACING-_...-1200x800.jpg


F1 drivers need to get that racing in the rain will never be the same as racing in the dry. If you have to back off because you dont see well, you have to back off. If you don't and crash its your fault.
 
paracletus
Oh good gracious me, RB exceeded the cap by up to $7.25million in 2021 then (so far only <%5 has been revealed).
What an absolute farce - that's the equivalent of 73 good engineers for one year!
Makes a complete mockery of the "budget cap" that the teams were told that they must follow, and i'd say the same if my home team Mclaren did this.
Completely worthless championship.
 
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muzikant
paracletus said:
Oh good gracious me, RB exceeded the cap by up to $7.25million in 2021 then (so far only <%5 has been revealed).
What an absolute farce - that's the equivalent of 73 good engineers for one year!
Makes a complete mockery of the "budget cap" that the teams were told that they must follow, and i'd say the same if my home team Mclaren did this.
Completely worthless championship.
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you may also wonder where it comes from...it has nothing to do with a lady who worked for mercedes and now works for the FIA :roflmao: :sleep: . I have to laugh about it bad losers there! the FIA has been giving the world titles to Merc for years with no rule change, flexi wings...party mode Das system...they damage Max's car at Silverstone and Hungary...that must have been the cost of the minimum budget violation. cry me a river
 
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Pete Conway
Premium
paracletus said:
Oh good gracious me, RB exceeded the cap by up to $7.25million in 2021 then (so far only <%5 has been revealed).
What an absolute farce - that's the equivalent of 73 good engineers for one year!
Makes a complete mockery of the "budget cap" that the teams were told that they must follow, and i'd say the same if my home team Mclaren did this.
Completely worthless championship.
Click to expand...

It's always best not to make judgements until you know all the ins and outs, while in the worst case scenario it could be $7.25 million it could also be 50p (that is also less than 5%) and exactly where it was spent is as yet unknown, perhaps a legacy element on the staff coffee machine, or a new ball point pen.
 
Gevatter
Premium
muzikant said:
Jos Verstappen said on Dutch television that the blue rain tires do not have the quality of the Britstones and Michelin from his race time. the green tire seems to feel better... a little less plastic-like
Click to expand...
Both Nico Hülkenberg (who co-commentates half of the F1 races on Austrian TV) and Alex Wurz (who co-commentated the other half) have said the same thing, that in their time the Bridgestone tires were way better in the wet and that Pirelli needs to get their game together and fix their wet tire issues that are known for 10+ years now. Hülkenberg wasn't a fan of the Suzuka delays at all.

Richard Wilks said:
F1 drivers need to get that racing in the rain will never be the same as racing in the dry. If you have to back off because you dont see well, you have to back off. If you don't and crash its your fault.
Click to expand...
On one hand I agree, baack off or don't follow the car in front directly in line to avoid spray. On the other if you back off, the leader just runs away because he has no visibility issues, but I guess that's the reward for leading.
 
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D
I'm frankly astonished that Merc hasn't exceeded the cost cap. The number of updates they brought to nearly EVERY round surely must have cost a pretty penny.
 
B
LeSunTzu said:
It's just guesswork, but I would bet guys with Castrol in their veins are much more into politics. Every time they have an opportunity to say something about evil Balestre, evil Prost, evil Schumacher, gas scandal, 84 Monaco scandal, crashgate, oil in gas-gate, Masi-gate, Uk-biased media, and so on they do it. Actual casual fans are ignorant of that stuff, they just want to see overtakes, bad-boy defending and crashes.
Click to expand...
haha nice one. Long term fan of about 30 years, the odd intrigue in the sport is good but for me the last few seasons is too much.

Eg. Tyres too durable for 2 stop races that are better entertainment. Not using Wet Tyres - Even use up 3 or 4 or 5 laps behind safety car to see how conditions update instead of just waiting another hour? Track Limits. Inconsistent stewarding and race direction. Porpoising. etc
 
B
pai said:
IMHO, F1 on one hand needs more systems to tell drivers about those hazards, so they don't have to rely solely on eyesight (case in point, Gasly and the recovery truck). But also, they need some wet weather bodywork that is able to deflect spray on a different pattern that makes the spray less dense, and maybe couple it with a different rear light technology that is able to carve through mist more effectively.


The technology for doing all things mentioned is available, it's a matter of FIA actually wanting to solve this, because F1 cars nowadays are too fast for their own good.
Click to expand...
Yes, FIA seem to delay every making changes then set things in stone for 5 seasons.. I think just be braver with changes and also making more corrective changes when needed - not recommending flip flopping but also don't wait half a season before reacting to an issue.

I think narrower tyres and less down force would make the cars slower but the racing would be better - in this situation surely narrower tyres and less aero would make less spray, and narrower tyres are less likely to aquaplane?
 
S
paracletus said:
Oh good gracious me, RB exceeded the cap by up to $7.25million in 2021 then (so far only <%5 has been revealed).
What an absolute farce - that's the equivalent of 73 good engineers for one year!
Makes a complete mockery of the "budget cap" that the teams were told that they must follow, and i'd say the same if my home team Mclaren did this.
Completely worthless championship.
Click to expand...
FWIW, you can't get 73 bad engineers for one year $7.25M, let alone good engineers.
 

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