Suzuka is one of F1's classics and exactly 30 years ago, it hosted its first Grand Prix. On that occasion, the race was won by Gerhard Berger in a Ferrari F1/87, the Austrian having started from pole position. From then on, apart from a couple of years when the race returned to Fuji, Formula One has always raced at this track in the Mie prefecture.
The track is pretty much universally liked by the drivers, even if no one can forget the 2014 tragedy that befell Jules Bianchi, a rising star for motor racing and for the Prancing Horse.
Technically, it's an “old style” circuit, narrow, with minimal run-off areas, corners with only one clear line and an interesting range of turns. The best known of these is undoubtedly the double uphill “esses” after the first corner, a place where Michael Schumacher was particularly adept at making a difference and there was almost a sense of destiny in the fact that, twice, he clinched the Drivers' title here with Ferrari, in 2000 and 2003.
The key to Suzuka, in terms of driving, is to find a rhythm, so that getting the flow right through the turns is the key to success. With the 2017 cars and their very high aerodynamic downforce levels, a tricky corner such as the famous 130R, named after the original radius of its turn, could almost become a straight. But that won't make the Japanese track and it's unusual setting within an amusement park, any less of a challenge.
The goal here for Ferrari this weekend is to keep the battle for the championship alive after the difficulties experienced in the last two Grands Prix.
“I believe we still have a chance” Sebastian says “and I want to be sure we're going to use it. We've been looking at the issues we had in our cars and I think we have a pretty good understanding of them. But the process is still ongoing in order to get the big picture of what happened. At least it's nice to hear that the gearbox should be OK after the accident on the slow-down lap at Sepang.”
“As for this weekend in Japan, in the last two years we have not been competitive enough here, but this year it may be different; I am fairly open minded, but I'm convinced that we have a strong package. There are five races to go in the championship and we are behind in the points standings: the final outcome will also depend on what our competitors do”.
