System One groups and drivers accomplished a long-haul flight from Australia to Japan for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, Spherical 4 of the 2024 F1 season. F1Technical’s senior author Balázs Szabó delivers stats, info and trivia forward of the Suzuka race.
Lengthy lap – The 5.807km Suzuka Worldwide Racing Course is among the longest tracks on the present calendar. Drivers have to finish 53 laps through the race, overlaying a complete of 307.471km. The beginning and the end line aren’t similar, there may be an offset of 300m between them.
One of many favorite programs – Tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix would be the thirty eighth System One race within the Land of the Rising Solar. The race initially ran on the Fuji Speedway in 1976-1977. After a decade off the calendar, it reappeared at Suzuka in 1987 and ran there till 2006. It briefly returned to Fuji for the 2007 and 2008 seasons, after which switched again to Suzuka in 2009, the place it has remained.
The British racer – Lewis Hamilton holds the report for the quickest race lap in Suzuka. The seven-time world champion recorded a 1m30.983s within the 2019 Suzuka race. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the race was not held within the following two years with the game having returned two years in the past.
Exhausting tyres – To deal with the excessive hundreds imparted by the high-speed adjustments of route, Pirelli introduced its compounds of the more durable finish of its 2024 tyre vary. The selection sees drivers use the C1 (Exhausting), C2 (Medium) and the C3 (Comfortable) compounds.
Necessary beginning place – Pole place isn’t essential key, however crucial for achievement across the difficult Suzuka circuit. Of the 33 races so far, the race winner has began on pole at Suzuka 17 occasions.
5 outfits – Within the historical past of System One, 5 totally different Japanese groups participated within the sport. The primary one was the Maki outfit which entered eight grands prix, however the small workforce based by Kenji Mimura did not qualify on every event. The Kojima workforce was the following outfit from Japan to enter the game. Their efforts have been met with higher success as they began each of the 2 races they entered.
As a constructor, Honda joined F1 in 1964 and left it on the finish of 1968. After a protracted hiatus, the now Tokyo-based workforce rejoined the head of the motorsport in 2006, however this second spell solely lasted three years. Toyota entered the game in 2002 and after finishing a complete of 139 races, the Cologne-based workforce ended its F1 presence on the finish of 2009 on account of financial causes. The small Tremendous Aguri outfit participated between 2006 and 2008.
Japanese heros– A complete of 21 Japanese drivers managed to get into the head of motorsport. Nonetheless, solely 18 of them managed to qualify for races whereas the three others solely entered the race weekend, however failed to begin races. The record of those profitable drivers from the Land of the Rising Solar contains Hiroshi Fushida, Masahiro Hasemi, Satoru Nakajima, Aguri Suzuki, Toshio Suzuki, Toranosuke Takagi, Takuma Sato, Yuji Ide, Sakon Yamamoto, Kazuki Nakajima, Kamui Kobayashi and Yuki Tsunoda.
Solely three – Whereas Japanese powered F1 vehicles have taken greater than 75 wins, drivers from Japan have fared much less nicely. Solely three have managed to face on the rostrum. The primary of these was Aguri Suzuki who scored his podium end on house soil in 1990. The second Japanese driver to have snatched a podium end was Takuma Sato who scored a 3rd place through the 2004 USA Grand Prix. Finishing this record, Kamui Kobayashi managed to face on the rostrum with the Sauber F1 Staff on house soil in 2012.
Modifications – New particles fences have been put in on the right-hand aspect of Turns 7, 9, 11 and 15. The tyre barrier on the left on the exit of Flip 12 has been renewed. The strip of synthetic grass on the left between Turns 16 and 17 has been eliminated.
A single one – There will likely be only one DRS zone at Suzuka, positioned on the principle straight. The detection level is 50m earlier than Flip 16 and the activation level is 100m earlier than the management line.
The German driver – Michael Schumacher holds the report for many wins within the historical past of the Japanese Grand Prix. The German scored a complete of six victories, one for Benetton and 5 extra for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton has received 5 time, adopted by Sebastian Vettel, who has taken 4 victories. The opposite repeat winners are Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, Ayrton Senna, Damon Hill, Mika Hakkinen and Gerhard Berger.
The power from Woking – Among the many groups, McLaren is the reigning power in Japan. The Woking-based outfit has scored victories 9 occasions. Ferrari is the second most profitable workforce with seven triumphs adopted by Mercedes with 5 wins.
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