With the Japanese Grand Prix taking place just a week after Malaysia, time is of the essence for the Formula One teams. For McLaren, they caught a charter flight from Kuala Lumpur to Nagoya on the Monday between the two races and then travelled from Nagoya to the hotel in Suzuka by coach
Despite some solid results in Malaysia, the Woking based squad knows that Suzuka won't be the easiest track on which to shine, but every team up and down the paddock loves it for its formidable twists and turns, and its unique set of challenges that make it all the more rewarding to get right.
They are all aware of its characteristically power-dependent nature, but there are technical sections, such as the flow of corners in Sector One, where the McLaren package should be better able to show it strengths, and it'll be good to see just how fast these 2017 cars go on this track.
“Suzuka is definitely one of my favourite tracks on the calendar, and along with a lot of the other drivers I always look forward to racing in Japan every year. It's one of the classics and its configuration is completely unique. It has a bit of everything – it's demanding, fast, and a big challenge for a driver and for the engineers, so it's the perfect racer's circuit,” said Fernando Alonso.
“It's an important race for us given our connections with Japan, and for me personally it's a special place. I've always found Japanese culture fascinating and the incredible support from the fans make this race weekend one of the most exciting and crazy of the season. I always try to make the most of our time there, make a couple of trips to the must-see places in Tokyo and really get a feel for this incredible location.”
“I've had a couple of difficult races recently, so I'm looking forward to getting back on track and working with my engineers to turn our fortunes around. I feel that we've definitely had the pace there in the car – and Stoffel has been able to demonstrate what we're capable of – but bad luck and struggles in traffic have meant we haven't been able to score the points we'd hoped for on my side. Both of us will be pushing hard for the Japanese contingent of our team, our partners and of course our fans, and I hope we can finally show the progress we're making with our car.”
