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Race Name: Japanese Grand Prix
Circuit Name: Suzuka
Circuit Length: 3.636 miles
Race Length: 53 laps
Lap Record: M. Schumacher Ferrari F2002 (1'36"125)

Ralf Schumacher's View

"I am not sure if I have a favorite track in the Formula One calendar, but Suzuka is one of my preferred venues. The S-corner and the very fast 130R are probably the most demanding combinations of track that Formula One offers, making them a real challenge for car and driver alike.

I am due out in Toyko one week before the race due to a BMW marketing commitment. I enjoy staying in Japan after my experience of racing Formula Nippon in 1996."

Jarno Trulli's View

"Approaching Turn 1, I will be at the maximum speed that we generally see at this circuit although it is slightly dependent on wind: this is typically 320 kph. Turn 1 is very fast and I just drop to 5th gear, braking quite lightly to take the corner at 250 kph.

Turn 2 requires much heavier braking as I must go down to 3rd and 150 kph. Exiting Turn 2 leads me into the very tricky section behind the pits which consists of a number of continuous left-right corners which require a very smooth style and a finely balanced car.

The first of these, Turn 3, is approached with very light braking as I take it in 4th gear at 225 kph. I am almost immediately turning right into Turn 4, again with a light touch on the brakes to slow to 185 kph, before holding 4th gear for Turn 5, which is taken at approximately 200 kph.

Turn 6 is a little trickier in that it is almost two corners, which I take at approximately 170 kph, this time in 3rd gear.

Turn 7, the final corner in this sequence, is approached at 230 kph and I can actually turn into this corner without braking, just slightly scrubbing speed to apex at 205 kph in 4th gear.

Approaching Turn 8, I will get up to 290 kph in top before having to brake very hard and change back down to 4th gear to take the corner at 210 kph.

Turn 9 is much tighter and I will take it in 2nd gear at approximately 130 kph. Passing under the bridge, I will approach the hairpin at 270 kph in 5th gear. Braking for this corner is quite difficult as I have to shed almost 200 kph but as I enter the braking zone, there is still a lot of lateral force on the car from the small kink that precedes the corner. The hairpin itself is taken in 1st gear at 70 kph.

Turn 12 is an extremely long corner but taken completely flat out. I will enter it at 180 kph in 3rd gear and exit at 295 kph in top The loads are high enough that the car tends to bog down through the corner, meaning the approach to Turn 13 will only see me at 300 kph.

Turn 13 is a 4th gear, 200 kph which has an important exit in order to get the right line for Turn 14, which I must take in 3rd gear at 150 kph.

Approaching Turn 15, I should reach 315 kph in top gear for this very fast, quite bumpy corner that I will take at approximately 290 kph. Leading up to the chicane, my speed will have built up again to 385 kph before braking hard for this complex, both parts of which are taken in 1st gear at 65 kph. I need to use the curbs here and therefore require good ride from the car.

The final corner is in fact flat and I accelerate through it, exiting at approximately 270 kph in 5th gear, crossing the line in top at around 310 kph."

The Track's F1 History

McLaren and Ferrari have a habit of having title showdowns in Japan. The first Japanese Grand Prix was held in 1976 at the Fuji circuit and was the scene of a terrific showdown between Niki Lauda (who had just returned to motor racing after his crash at the Nurbergring) in the Ferrari and James Hunt in the McLaren. Lauda retired in monsoon conditions and James Hunt just held on to become World Champion.

In 1989 Prost and Senna collided their McLarens at the last chicane to give Prost the title while in 1990 Senna's McLaren deliberately ran into Prost's Ferrari at the first corner to give Senna the title (Piquet won the race and Moreno came second in the Benettons).

The next time the World Championship was decided at Suzuka was in 1996 when Damon Hill sensationally won the race to beat Jacques Villeneuve (who retired) to the World Championship and in 1998 Hakkinen beat Schumacher in a similar way to claim the World Championship.

In 1999 Japan was the final round of the FIA championship where Irvine and Hakkinen were racing for the championship. Irvine was the hot favorite for the win due to his experience at Suzuka but an off during qualifying effectively wrecked his weekend. During the race Irvine ran a poor third while Schumacher ran behind Hakkinen. Schuey later admitted that he did not press Hakkinen quite as hard as he might, realizing that the Jaguar-headed Irvine would realize the goal which Schuey had tried for since his joining Ferrari in 1996.

In 2000 it was another title showdown even though Japan was the penultimate round of the season. Michael Schumacher won from Hakkinen sealing his third world championship and his first for Ferrari. Hakkinen got away better than Schuey in the early stages of the race but Schuey kept close in the greasy conditions and superior pitstop work got the German ahead after which Hakkinen's challenge seemed to dissolve handing Schuey the race win and the championship. One of the stranger aspects of the race was an earthquake hitting the circuit during a practice session!

In 2001 the championship was decided by the time the circus reached Japan and the race concentrated upon the constructor's championship than the driver's. Schuey and Montoya seemed to be the drivers to beat again as Ralf Schumacher's poor form continued. The race saw the signing off of Jean Alesi and Mika Hakkinen. Alesi's race was ended by a massive crash with Kimi Raikkonen in the Esses. Schuey went on to win from Montoya (just) with Coulthard behind them and Hakkinen and Barrichello also enjoying a race long scrap to finish 4th and 5th respectively while Ralf set fastest lap in the process of a recovery drive that saw him claim the last point. Two years ago Schuey finished the championship off with an easy win though Alan McNish's huge accident in qualifying overshadowed the race. There was huge local support for home driver Takuma Sato who got his first points of the season with an inspired drive to 5th place in Jordan's last race with Honda. Last year Rubens Barrichello ruled the roost in a championship showdown that was just a little too close for comfort. Schumacher needed just one point to secure the title from Kimi Raikkonen but the German trailed around at the back of the points and tripped over a number of drivers including the returning Takuma Sato (who replaced Jacques Villeneuve in an 11th hour deal at BAR) and his own brother. Luckily for Schumi Rubens drove superbly and rescued his team leader's bacon winning from Raikkonen with Coulthard finishing third while Button was fourth, Trulli fifth and Sato an excellent sixth. Past Winners: 1993 Senna, 1994 Hill, 1995 Schumacher, 1996 Hill, 1997 Schumacher, 1998 Hakkinen, 1999 Hakkinen, 2000 Schumacher, 2001 Schumacher, 2002 Schumacher, 2003 Barrichello.

The Track

The Japanese Grand Prix first took place at Fuji in 1976 and played host to the famous showdown between James Hunt and Niki Lauda that year. After a nearly a decade away from the F1 calendar the race returned at the Suzuka circuit which was built by Honda. The Japanese giant were disappointed in that inaugural race as Gerhard Berger won for Ferrari despite a strong Honda presence.

Suzuka has seen its fair share of controversy over the years due to its traditional place on the calendar as the season finale. Ayrton Senna was a legendary presence at the track at during the late Eighties and Early-Nineties. He took his first title at Suzuka in 1988, although he lost out a year later after the first of his famous clashes with Alain Prost. The Brazilian more than made up for this one year later when he collided with Prost at almost 160 mph to cement his second world title. He scored his third title a year later when he gifted victory to teammate Gerhard Berger after main rival Nigel Mansell crashed out.

Suzuka is regarded by the drivers as one of the great motor racing circuits in the world. The Spoon Curve and the 130R are two of the best corners in motor racing while a lot of time can be made through having a balanced car in the esses.

It is notable that many of the ideas in the design of the corners of the new Sepang circuit seem to mirror those found at Suzuka. Suzuka is also well known for it's figure of eight configuration in that it crosses over itself.

At this time of year it is not unknown for torrential rain to be a factor in the race (as it was in 1994).

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