In the year Among the many races that Formula 1 has had to abandon since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka has been one of the most missed.
This weekend, Japanese fans finally got their long-awaited chance to enjoy an F1 Grand Prix in their home country – and with a Japanese driver to cheer for them too.
Here are the Japanese Grand Prix talking points.
Cost limit disputes
Last season, the FIA introduced its financial regulations to govern F1 for the first time. The maximum team budget of $145 million for the whole of 2021 was the first big step towards a new F1 vision to generate greater equity and reward engineering ingenuity and skill, rather than simply letting teams have their way. The title.
But discussions around the budget cap are likely to dominate talks as the FIA is expected to announce that all 10 teams breached the rules last year. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff last week described the situation in the paddock as an “open secret”.
With speculation over the FIA’s procedures at an all-time high, the governing body will issue a statement stating that it will continue to follow procedures and will announce violations this week. According to reports, Red Bull and Aston Martin are the two teams that broke the law.
This marks an important time for F1 and the FIA. The FIA’s panel of judges will not only be concerned about the penalties they can hand out to teams found guilty of infringements, but also how they may affect the teams for this and the next season, as any penalty could be fatal to the helmet’s integrity. They are considered very gentle.
Although the potential infringements in question occurred last year, the scope of any benefit is not necessarily limited to 2021 as the teams were working on their cars at the time. The timing of the FIA’s findings is particularly unfortunate as it could coincide with the results of the World Championship.
In the year When F1 last raced at Suzuka in 2019, both Renault cars – driven by Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg – were disqualified from the final result after brake bias was deemed to have breached the technical regulations. Last weekend, Alfa Romeo team principal Frédéric Vasseur pointed out that FIA drivers failed inspection tests by millimeters and other fine margins. Expect heated discussions in the Suzuka paddock if any of the teams are deemed lenient for spending cap breaches.
Take two for Verstappen
Not only did Max Verstappen’s first chance to lift his second world championship last weekend fail, but it was a rare ‘down’ for the Red Bull driver in 2022. He finished a lowly seventh place, while team-mate Sergio Perez took his second win. of the year.
But while Verstappen’s chances of winning the championship in Singapore were always slim, relying on poor results from Perez and Charles Leclerc, Verstappen’s fate rests in his own hands this weekend. If he can secure victory and the bonus point for fastest lap, he will be a two-time world champion when he takes the Suzuka podium. A victory for Verstappen is not the only way to reach the title, but it is the most likely scenario so far.
Verstappen, who had his five-race winning streak halted by his team-mate, will be eager to bounce back with a strong result this weekend. If he takes the title on Sunday, there will be a special symmetry – Suzuka was the circuit where Verstappen competed in an official F1 session in 2014, aged just 17.
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Honda coming home
Last December, at the end of seven tumultuous, often painful seasons with their F1 power unit program, Honda finally achieved their self-imposed goal when they joined F1 as a new manufacturer for the V6 turbo era. Championship title.
And in typical Honda fashion, just when they seemed to have finally hit the big time, the Japanese manufacturer immediately stepped up to the sport as a first-party power unit supplier, handing over their engines to partners Red Bull and their new Red Bull Power Trans unit.
Although their brand is not as prominent at Red Bull as it once was, Honda still plays a major role in the Red Bull and AlphaTauri programs and will continue to do so until 2025. Verstappen’s bid for a second world championship will be a huge source. Pride, especially if he has it in their backyard.
Singapore winner Perez admitted he felt better suited to take the crown at Suzuka for his team-mate thanks to the Honda he still owns today. While the history books will recognize Red Bull as having achieved both world championships by producing their own power units, expect the team to give their partners more than that this weekend.
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Sunoda’s home race
After Kamui Kobayashi’s first race with Caterham at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, a Japanese driver will compete at his home Grand Prix this weekend: Alfatauri Yuki Shunoda.
In the year Confirmed in the team for a third season in 2023, the thousands of passionate motorsport fans who flock to Suzuka’s world-renowned turns know it won’t be their only chance to see the young driver flying the Japanese flag.
However, they will be hoping for a good performance from the 22-year-old, who has had some difficult times in his second year in F1, including crashing out of Sunday’s race in Singapore.
It will be only the fourth time Tsunoda has raced around Japan’s most famous circuit – all three previous occasions came in Japan’s Formula 4 between 2016 and 2018. Series track record around the circuit. But when he returns there this weekend, he will run around half a minute over that 2’06.779 lap.
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Developers Championship heats up
This year’s constructors’ championship looks as secure for Red Bull as the drivers’ championship does for Verstappen. However, last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix changed the dynamics of the midfield slightly.
While Alpine suffered two power unit failures that cost both their drivers, McLaren claimed fourth and fifth for Lado Norris and Daniel Ricciardo to move the team back to fourth ahead of Alpine for the first time since Austria. Further down the table, Aston Martin jumped from ninth to seventh, with a double points finish for Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel.
Aston Martin has managed to finish with five points in the last six races between Stroll and Vettel. With Haas and AlphaTauri now tied on points, both just three behind Aston Martin, every minor points finish will be crucial for the final stages in the final five rounds.
Likewise, if Aston Martin continues its good points haul, sixth-placed Alfa Romeo may start to worry about the 15-point gap between them and Aston Martin. The Italian side have only picked up one point in their last eight rounds so it could be a tense and exciting final few rounds in midfield.
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2022 Japanese Grand Prix
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