Grand Prix 2022 Japanese Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

this weekend is the return to 1 of the great circuits & countries on the F1 calendar. Suzuka so many iconic corners & most of the drivers favourite place on the calendar, should be no surprise with corners like the S Curves, the Degner's, Spoon curve, 130R, & Casio triangle. although Sky F1 were bit optimistic, doing the usual line before previewing the next race
"remember what happened last time"
no actually it was 2019, alot has happened since, Hulkenberg was Riccardio's teammate at Renault last time we raced here

intrestingly the Origins of the Suzuka circuit, have their starts at the isle of man TT. Soichiro Honda primary objective was to observe the Isle of Man TT Races with his own eyes he discussed this when going over to the UK "It was when I first went to see the Isle of Man TT Races in 1954. What amazed me was seeing machines running with about three times greater power than we had been considering. From Italy, Germany and England, they all came together to the Isle of Man and I watched them shoot off like arrows. Not only were these machines unlike any we'd ever seen before, we'd never even dreamed of such a sight. When I went and saw that, my first reaction was a shock of disappointment. I had gone there after spreading talk all over Japan about how Honda would enter the TT Races, so this was a terrible shock to me." he would enter in 1958 for the 1st time & he would take a minor victory in 1959

Soichiro Honda, made a speech in later on in 1959 in a push to keep his success during a meeting to propose the construction of Japan's 1st full-scale road racing circuit "I want to have a venue for motor racing. Automobiles cannot be improved if they are not put through their paces on the racing circuit." The layout for suzuka had featured 2 hairpin turns & 3 multilevel crossings was originally completed in August 1960, but due to rising construction expenses & other setbacks, layout had to be revised to the 1 we see today. A ceremony commemorating the completion of Suzuka was held on September 1962.

the opening event for the newly finished Suzuka Circuit, All-Japan Road Racing Championships took place 2 months later, an event that still take place to this day. they had expected 100,000 spectators on each of the 2 days. Instead, according to reports 270,000 people came out to witness the 1st event of this kind in Japan. but the weather gods weren't kind to them as the 1st day had a torrential rainstorm, according to Honda historians, men & women in suits & dresses were covered in mud & the local shops completely sold out of socks & underwear. the racing went ahead regardless the most historic thing that happened that day was a certain Ernst Degner who was the 1st person to crash at the new Suzuka circuit, when he fell at Turn 8. otherwise now known as the Degners


but back to the present day, this is the week when we are all expecting that Verstappen becomes a 2 time world champion, to say he would deserve it, is an understatement because he hung in at the start of the year took advantage when ferrari where the better team with great consistency. & Then was in a league of his own after the summer break with some outstanding drives

also on personal view its great i cant watch this race live for the 1st time but getting up at 5.30am before my most busiest day of the week. i may regret by 2pm LOL

 
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Can anyone explain why FP2 ran for 90 minutes? I thought that the FIA had changed the rules so that all FP sessions ran for 60 minutes...

i was confused, as well but seemingly this was designated a tyre testing session. but as its wet it was called off but they strangely kept the 90 min duration. instead we are going to be doing this in austin & mexico

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it was dangerous & potentially very serious. because Verstappen couldve had the entire corner of his car off. & Norris in big shunt in the barrier. Verstappen says he was aware that Norris was behind him, but decided to try & accelerate at the same time Norris went to try and past him. & claimed that due to a lack of tyre temperature in his rear tyres, the car snapped & caused him to lose control

but it feels half of 1 & 6 of the other. Verstappen should have let him past if he was aware of Norris, but it doesnt feel like it was deliberate & i understand why Lando went for the gap. but i think both outlaps has big bearing on this, if it was fast lap it wouldve been a 5 place drop no doubt. but as it stood no harm no foul & you cant punish seriously someone for what couldve happened & at least theyve been consistent it would have been a reprimand for anyone else. as we know 1 more & he's on the verge of a 10 place grid drop

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Mercedes were back to being quite poor, 1 & 1.1 seconds off it does seem to be jekell & hyde its either fighting the ferrari or back in the midfield. apparantly back to the big problem that they say that their straight line speed is there biggest weakness now losing 6 to 8 tenths on the straights. if thats the case, i dont see how they win another race because they are going to stuggle in USA & Abu Dhabi. most probably in Mexico & Interlagos depending on how altitude affects the car

poor Riccardio in Q2 i was quite impressed, theyve finally got the driver 2 years after being signed. beat norris in Q1, 5th in Q2 3 tenths up on Norris. & Then the 2022 Riccardo we are used to turned up & he didnt improve when everyone else did. dropped from 5th to 11th
 
If I was Ferrari I,d tell Sainz to really go for it on the inside.

Verstappen 's reprimand it was still not a clever thing to do but I think a 3 place grid drop should have been implied given because it could have bern nasty if he did veer violently.... why was he doing it at that part of the circuit?
 
Il_leone i think he was just trying to warm his tyres up
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just what you want to see before a grand prix, with the current FIA who bring Full Wet tyres for 6 years but stop teams from racing in full wet conditions, according to 1 forecast you could see 2 days of rain hit in 3 hours from 3pm
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my love hate relationship with Japanese GP love suzuka but i also love sleep LOL ☕

could this be the 1st start in full wet conditions since brazil 2016, as normally FIA have waited until its almost dried up
 
yeah absolutely useless. if they were bringing out the tractor the red flag is needed but they cant have tractor on the track until all cars in the pits or all cars have past that part of the track on the way to the pits

fair play to FIA a great leadership so far. Red Flag to Clear it up & then restart it as quick as possible
i spoke too soon
 
its becoming extremely clear Europeans have woke up early for nothing.

serious F1 questions needed to be asked as lack of visitabilty isnt a modern thing Adelaide 91 Suzuka 94 Spa 98 Fuji 07 & Silverstone 2008 to mention a few. but it is a modern problem, we never had these wet conditions issues under Bridgestone
 
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