Japan Grand Prix - The Suzuka Circuit

Racing the Suzuka Circuit

It's downhill on the way into Turn 1, which is incredibly fast and taken flat out. You've then got to brake briefly into Turn 2 - shifting down to third gear, or maybe fourth in these new cars, using all of the track on exit. Next it's the legendary 'S' Curves. It's really important to hit every apex just right through here to carry the momentum. You actually run quite wide out of Turn 5 and then really hug the apex through Turn 6 - bringing you out to the right-hand side of the track for a good line through Turn 7. You have to get the car hooked up through here to hit full throttle as early as possible for the flat-out run up the hill.  

Next, you're into the Degner curves, which always seem to catch people out. You don't want to brake too late into the first part, Turn 8, or you'll find yourself straight into gravel. Then, for the second part at Turn 9, the car can get really out of shape at the apex and it's so easy to make a mistake. There's no room for error through this section as there's very little run-off area. 

After a short, slightly curved straight it's into the Turn 10 hairpin, which is really difficult to attack. There's so little grip through here - partly because the circuit is so dependent on high-speed performance that your setup is not as optimised for low-speed corners as you'd like. It's important to get a good exit here, as you're flat-out all the way through Turn 12 on the long run down to Turn 13. The Spoon Curve, made up of Turns 13 and 14, is really tricky to get right. It's very fast on the way in and, once you're there, it's all about keeping the minimum speed up all the way through the corner. You really do have to use all of the circuit on exit and get on the throttle as early as you can for the back straight. 

Turn 15, the spectacular 130R, is so fast. Today, we easily take it flat-out but it must have been so tough years ago. After a short run down to the final chicane, Casio Triangle at Turns 17 and 18, you're braking hard for the crucial finale to the lap. You use all of the kerbs through here and, once again, hitting full throttle early is key as the following start / finish straight provides one of the best overtaking opportunities around the lap. 

Weather

Suzuka regularly sees significant shifts in weather patterns - not necessarily across a race weekend, but certainly from year to year. While ambient temperatures tend to remain between 23-25 degrees, track temperatures have historically varied from 25-38 degrees. This is due to the ever-changing cloud cover above the circuit. Rain is not uncommon, with the muggy conditions regularly leading to quite intense thunderstorms overnight and often into the following day. When it rains in Suzuka, it really rains - demonstrated by the infamous pit lane boat races, as last seen in 2010.

Tyre Strategy

Suzuka sits towards the upper end of the scale in terms of tyre energy. There is a lot of high-speed content around the lap, starting with the 'S' curves - which stand as one of the most historic sequences of corners in the world, similar in style to Eau Rouge. Each corner builds on the other through here, putting a lot of energy through the tyres. As per 2013, it is for this reason that the hard and medium compounds are nominated for this race. These compounds have proven to be very predictable this season and, as such, a similar trend in pit stops can be expected. In 2013, a mixture of two and three stop strategies came into play, with the majority of the front-runners opting for the former.


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