The Japanese Grand Prix is a race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Grand Prix has been the venue for many title-deciding races, with 13 World Champions being crowned over the 30 World Championship Japanese Grands Prix that have been hosted.

The first two Japanese Grands Prix in 1976 and 1977 were held at the Fuji Speedway, before Japan was taken off the calendar. It returned in 1987 at Suzuka, which hosted the Grand Prix exclusively for 20 years and gained a reputation as one of the most challenging F1 circuits.

In 1994 and 1995, Japan also hosted the Pacific Grand Prix at the TI Circuit, making Japan one of only seven countries to host more than one Grand Prix in the same season (the others being Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the USA).

In 2007 the Grand Prix moved back to the newly redesigned Fuji Speedway. After a second race at Fuji in 2008, the race returned to Suzuka in 2009, as part of an alternating agreement between the owners of Fuji Speedway and Suzuka Circuit, perennial rivals Toyota and Honda.

However, in July 2009, Toyota announced it would not host the race at Fuji Speedway in 2010 and beyond due to a downturn in the global economy, and so the Japanese Grand Prix was held at Suzuka instead. Suzuka has hosted the Japanese Grand Prix every year since 2009.

Japanese Grand Prix, Round 16 of the 2017 Formula 1 season

Circuit Name: Suzuka Circuit

Race Laps: 53

Circuit Length: 5.807 km (3.608 mi)

Race Length: 307.573 km (191.117 mi)

Number of corners: 18 (10 Right. 8 Left)

DRS Zone: One zones between turn 18 and 1 at the Start/Finish Line.

Circuit Direction: Clockwise

Pole Position 2016: Nico Rosberg – Mercedes 1:30.647

Distance from pole to T1 Apex: 405 m

Pole position side: Left

Pit lane length under speed limit control: 392.2 m

Drive-through time at 80 km/h: 17.649 s

Lap time at full throttle: 64%

Lap distance at full throttle: 73%

Gear changes per lap: 78

Braking events (>2G): 6

Heavy braking events (<0.4s @ >4G): 2

Fuel consumption: Medium

Maximum lateral G-Force: 5.0 G (T1)

Maximum speed: 320.3 km/h

Track evolution (P1 – Qualifying): Medium

Key overtaking opportunities: T1

Race lap record: 1:31.540 (RAI, 2005)

Absolute lap record: 1:28.954 (MSC, Q2, 2006)

Suzuka International Circuit

Pirelli used compounds

Tyres that must be available (one of them to be used) at some point in the race:

One set of P Zero White Medium

One set of P Zero Yellow soft

Tyres assigned for Q3 in qualifying:                     

One set of P Zero Red Super-Soft

Teams/Drivers compounds choice

Driver	Medium	Soft	Super-Soft
Lewis Hamilton	1	5	7
Valtteri Bottas	2	4	7
Daniel Ricciardo	1	3	9
Max Verstappen	1	3	9
Sebastian Vettel	1	5	7
Kimi Raikkonen	2	4	7
Sergio Perez	3	3	7
Esteban Ocon	3	3	7
Lance Stroll	1	4	8
Felipe Massa	1	4	8
Stoffel Vandoorne	1	2	10
Fernando Alonso	1	2	10
Daniil Kvyat	1	3	9
Carlos Sainz	1	3	9
Romain Grosjean	2	4	7
Kevin Magnussen	1	5	7
Nico Hulkenberg	1	3	9
Jolyon Palmer	1	3	9
Marcus Ericsson	1	3	9
Pascal Wehrlein	1	3	9

 

THE CIRCUIT FROM A TYRE POINT OF VIEW:

✪ Lateral forces through corners are the main feature, rather than traction and braking.

✪ Weather, and therefore track temperatures, are quite unpredictable at this time of year.

✪ Generally, there are high levels of wear anddegradation: two stops was the winning

strategy last year, with varied tactics.

✪ Teams normally run high downforce: pushing down on the tyres to help cornering.

✪ Track is quite narrow, making overtaking tricky, so strategy can make the difference.

✪ Track evolution is often hard to predict and safety cars can provide another variable.

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING

“The Japanese Grand Prix continues the trend we’ve seen so far this year of bringing softer, and therefore faster, tyres to several grands prix compared to last season. In the case of Suzuka, this is particularly pertinent as it’s one of the most challenging tracks for tyres of the entire year, with a very big emphasis on lateral loads that can cause thermal degradation if the tyres are not properly managed. This is also one of the reasons why the drivers enjoy Suzuka so much; with the cars travelling a lot faster through the corners this year under the new regulations with wider tyres, it’s very possible that we will see another lap record fall and some truly impressive maximum g-force loadings”.

SUZUKA MINIMUM STARTING PRESSURES (SLICKS)

22.5 psi (front) | 20.5 psi (rear)

EOS CAMBER LIMIT

-3.00° (front) | -1.75° (rear)

 

Japanese Grand Prix Winners 1976 – 2016

Year	Driver	Constructor	Location
2016	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	Suzuka
2015	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
2014	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
2013	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
2012	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
2011	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes
2010	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
2009	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
2008	Fernando Alonso	Renault	Fuji
2007	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
2006	Fernando Alonso	Renault	Suzuka
2005	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes
2004	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
2003	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari
2002	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
2001	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
2000	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
1999	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes
1998	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes
1997	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
1996	Damon Hill	Williams-Renault
1995	Michael Schumacher	Benetton-Renault
1994	Damon Hill	Williams-Renault
1993	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Ford
1992	Riccardo Patrese	Williams-Renault
1991	Gerhard Berger	McLaren-Honda
1990	Nelson Piquet	Benetton-Ford
1989	Alessandro Nannini	Benetton-Ford
1988	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Honda
1987	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari
1986	Not held
–
1978
1977	James Hunt	McLaren-Ford	Fuji
1976	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford

  

Multiple Winners (Drivers)

# of wins	Driver	Years
6	Michael Schumacher	1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004
4	Sebastian Vettel	2009, 2010, 2012, 2013
3	Lewis Hamilton	2007, 2014, 2015
2	Gerhard Berger	1987, 1991
	Ayrton Senna	1988, 1993
	Damon Hill	1994, 1996
	Mika Häkkinen	1998, 1999
	Fernando Alonso	2006, 2008

 

Multiple Winners (Constructors)

# of wins	Constructor	Years won
9	McLaren	1977, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2011
7	Ferrari	1987, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
4	Red Bull	2009, 2010, 2012, 2013
3	Benetton	1989, 1990, 1995
	Williams	1992, 1994, 1996
	Mercedes	2014, 2015, 2016
2	Renault	2006, 2008

 

Numbers and Facts

Most wins (driver) 6, Michael Schumacher 1995 – 97 – 2000 – 01 – 02 – 04

Most wins (constructor) 9, McLaren 1977 – 88 – 91 – 93 – 98 – 99 – 2005 – 07 – 11

Wins from pole position 15, (13 times at Suzuka)

Lowest grid for past winner 17, Kimi Raikkonen 2005

Most recent 1-2 finish 2015, Mercedes (Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg)

Most emphatic win (here) 20.639, 2012 Sebastian Vettel-Felipe Massa (Mario Andretti won 1976 race at Fuji by 1 lap)

Closest winning margin 0.344, 1991 – Gerhard Berger-Ayrton Senna

Rain-affected races 7, 1976 – 1988 – 1993 – 1994 – 1995 – 2007 – 2014

Safety Car-affected races 8, 1994 – 2005 – 2007 – 2009 – 2010 – 2011 – 2012 – 2014

Red Flag (and result declared) races 1, 2014

Most podiums (driver) 9, Michael Schumacher (recent 2004)

Most podiums (constructor) 25, McLaren (recent 2011)

Most pole positions (driver) 8 Michael Schumacher – 1994 – 95 – 98 – 99 – 2000 – 2001 – 2002 – 2004

Most pole positions (constructor) 9 Ferrari 1987 – 98 – 99 – 2000 – 01 – 02 – 03 – 04 – 06

What Happened last race here?

Nico Rosberg started the race from pole position and won the race, extending his championship lead to thirty-three points as Hamilton finished third behind Max Verstappen.

Before the race, Mercedes held a 194-point lead over Red Bull Racing in the World Constructors' Championship, and with forty points for first and third places, secured their third consecutive title.

In the Drivers' Championship, the field of title contenders has narrowed to just two (Rosberg and Hamilton) after the race.

2016 Race Classification

Pos	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Grid
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:26:43.333	1
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	+4.978	3
3	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+5.776	2
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+20.269	6
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+28.37	8
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	+33.941	4
7	Sergio Pérez	Force India-Mercedes	+57.495	5
8	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	+59.177	9
9	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	+1:37.763	12
10	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	+1:38.323	11
11	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari	+1:39.254	7
12	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	+1 Lap	16
13	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	+1 Lap	13
14	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	+1 Lap	17
15	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber-Ferrari	+1 Lap	18
16	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Honda	+1 Lap	15
17	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	+1 Lap	14
18	Jenson Button	McLaren-Honda	+1 Lap	22
19	Felipe Nasr	Sauber-Ferrari	+1 Lap	19
20	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas-Ferrari	+1 Lap	10
21	Esteban Ocon	MRT-Mercedes	+1 Lap	20
22	Pascal Wehrlein	MRT-Mercedes	+1 Lap	21

 

Did you know?

DRIVERS

✪ Since Lewis Hamilton has been at Mercedes he has taken pole 44 times already, nearly 50% of all races he’s started for the team (44/ 90 = 48.9%).

✪ All but 1 of Hamilton’s 7 wins this season have come from a pole position start. His most recent win, in Singapore came from a P5 grid start

✪ Hamilton has yet to take pole at Suzuka. He has taken pole twice for the Japanese Grand Prix but both came at Fuji in 2007 and again in 2008

✪ Hamilton’s win to starts percentage is now almost identical to that of Michael Schumacher’s (29.6% compared to 29.7%)

✪ Hamilton has won 29.6% of all GP he’s started (60 wins from 203 starts) and is in the top 10 drivers races to win ratio of all-time. Here’s how he compares:-  Fangio 47.0%, 2. Ascari 40.6%, 3. Clark 34.7%, 4. M. Schumacher 29.7%, 5. Hamilton 29.6%, 6. Ja. Stewart 27.2%, 7. Prost 25.6%, 8. A. Senna 25.5%, Moss 24.2% 10. Vettel 23.8% (46/193)

✪ Hamilton is the only driver to have finished in the points in all races so far this season. Hamilton and Esteban Ocon are the only drivers to have finished all races in 2017

✪ Sebastian Vettel has not won back-to-back Grand Prix since he won the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix. That race ended a 9-race run of victories that started in Belgium, (BEL, ITA, SIN, KOR, JAP, IND, ABU, USA, BRA)

✪ Vettel’s next pole will be his 50th in F1

✪ Vettel needs to lead ‘only’ 59 more race laps to equal Ayrton Senna’s career total of 2,987. The all-time most F1 race laps led is 5,111 by Michael Schumacher

✪ Kimi Raikkonen’s next win if ever it comes will be the 21st of his F1 career and will also be the most by a Finnish driver in F1. Currently he shares the record of 20 wins by a Finn with Mika Hakkinen. Another career stat he shares is 37 F1 front row appearances with Fernando Alonso

✪ Raikkonen’s next front row will be the 40th of his F1 career and will beat Mika Hakkinen’s record for the most front row grid positions by a Finnish driver in F1

✪ Max Verstappen in Malaysia led 51 race laps. It equalled exactly the number of F1 race laps he had led in his previous 54 Grand Prix

✪ Sergio Perez needs just 1 more podium to become the Mexican driver with the most F1 podiums (currently = with Pedro Rodriguez on 7)

✪ Felipe Massa’s next F1 podium should it come will be the 42nd of his F1 career and would equal the F1 career totals of both Damon Hill and Mark Webber

✪ Kevin Magnussen will celebrate his 25th birthday on Friday 5th October, Free Practice day

✪ Fernando Alonso has now competed in100 F1 qualifying sessions since he took pole position (Germany 2012)

CONSTRUCTORS

✪ Mercedes in Japan will be aiming to lockout the front row for the 50th time. The all-time record is 62 and is jointly held by McLaren and Williams.

✪ Mercedes as a constructor has set 1 more race fastest laps in F1 World Championship GP (54) than Red Bull

✪ Ferrari has still not scored consecutive pole positions since Fernando Alonso took pole for the Scuderia at the 2012 British and German Grand Prix and has still not scored a consecutive front row lock-out since Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa lock-out the front row for the 2006 US and French Grand Prix

✪ Ferrari last season was the only team to score championship points at all 21 events

✪ Red Bull has achieved a podium result for at least one of their drivers in 110 different F1 Grand Prix

✪ The current Williams team traces its origins back to 1977. The team began by running a March for Belgian Patrick Neve who sadly died earlier is year and later in 1978, became a constructor running a single FW06 car for Alan Jones. In 1979 the team expanded to 2 cars with Clay Regazzoni joining Jones. Regazzoni won Williams’s first Grand Prix, at Silversone in 1979 while Jones claimed Williams’s first driver’s and first constructor’s titles in 1980. Frank Williams had made his first forays into F1 in 1969, running a Brabham for Piers Courage. Campaigns with De Tomaso, private March’s, with his own cars and Heskeths latterly in conjunction with Canadian-Austrian entrepreneur Walter Wolf followed but it wasn’t until Williams teamed up with Head in 1977 and started all over again that Williams’s F1 fortunes really took off

✪ McLaren has not led a F1 race lap since Jenson Button led lap 14 of the Hungarian GP in 2014. The team has started 62 GP since

✪ Pirelli won their 176th F1 World Championship Grand Prix in Singapore to beat Bridgestone’s F1 career total. Only Goodyear has won more races (368)

JAPANESE GRAND PRIX

✪ Last year was the first in 4 years in which the pole position car had finished the Japanese Grand Prix 2nd while the car sharing the front row and starting P2 had won the race

✪ For the past 2 years there have been no race retirements in the Japanese Grand Prix (Felipe Nasr stopped with 4 laps to go in 2015 with a steering issue but was still officially classified as a race finisher)

✪ Mercedes will be looking for a 4th Japanese Grand Prix victory in a row. Only Ferrari has previously won the race more than 3 times consecutively. Ferrari won 5 in-a-row between 2000 and 2004 inclusive

✪ Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa are the only drivers in this year’s race entry to have previously taken pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka

✪ This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first Japanese Grand Prix to be held at Suzuka. The 2 previous editions of the race had both been at Fuji

Driver’s Championship standing

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Lewis Hamilton	281
2	Sebastian Vettel	247
3	Valtteri Bottas	222
4	Daniel Ricciardo	177
5	Kimi Raikkonen	138
6	Max Verstappen	93
7	Sergio Perez	76
8	Esteban Ocon	57
9	Carlos Sainz	48
10	Nico Hulkenberg	34
11	Felipe Massa	33
12	Lance Stroll	32
13	Romain Grosjean	26
14	Stoffel Vandoorne	13
15	Kevin Magnussen	11
16	Fernando Alonso	10
17	Jolyon Palmer	8
18	Pascal Wehrlein	5
19	Daniil Kvyat	4
20	Marcus Ericsson	0
21	Antonio Giovinazzi	0

 

Constructor’s Championship standing

Pos	Team	Points
1	Mercedes	503
2	Ferrari	385
3	Red Bull Racing-Tag Heuer	270
4	Force India-Mercedes	133
5	Williams-Mercedes	65
6	Toro Rosso-Renault	52
7	Renault	42
8	Haas-Ferrari	37
9	Mclaren-Honda	23
10	Sauber-Ferrari	5

 

Driver’s penalty points:

Driver	Penalty points
Daniil Kvyat	10
Kevin Magnussen	7
Jolyon Palmer	6
Sebastian Vettel	5
Carlos Sainz	5
Stoffel Vandoorne	5
Felipe Massa	5
Nico Hulkenberg	4
Sergio Perez	3
Romain Grosjean	3
Max Verstappen	3
Kimi Raikkonen	3
Esteban Ocon	2
Pascal Wehrlein	2
Lewis Hamilton	2
Jenson Button	2