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Category: F1

  • Splendid Verstappen takes French Grand Prix pole

    Splendid Verstappen takes French Grand Prix pole

    A sterling performance from Max Verstappen saw him dominantly beat the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas as he took his fifth career pole for this weekend’s French Grand prix.

    We did not need to wait long for the third disrupted qualifying session in as many Grand Prix weekends, as Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda found the barriers after spinning on the exit of turn one. Mercedes looked as though they were returning to their irresistible form as Hamilton and Bottas briefly topped the timesheets, before the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez pegged them back again. The end of the session saw an immensely frustrating moment for Lance Stroll and Kimi Raikkonen, as Mick Schumacher wrecked his Haas on the exit of Turn 13. He ironically secured his passage to Q2 as a result, costing the aforementioned duo their final Q1 laps. The Haas driver would however take no further part in qualifying; this was Schumacher’s second qualifying crash in the last three races.

    An otherwise impressive qualifying ended with Mick Schumacher in the wall for Haas – Courtesy of Haas Media

    A calmer second qualifying session saw Charles Leclerc narrowly scrape into the top ten, as Esteban Ocon, fresh off a new Alpine contract, was knocked out on the medium tyres. Fernando Alonso, who has not enjoyed the perfect return to the sport, will be glad of out-qualifying his home hero team mate this weekend. George Russell, who did ever so well to once again reach Q2, ended up fourteenth for Williams.

    Fernando Alonso out-qualified Esteban Ocon at his team mate’s home race – Courtesy of Renault Sport Media

    Max Verstappen’s first run in the final session was an immense four tenths quicker than second best Lewis Hamilton, as Mercedes contrived to return to the front, but not to the top of the timesheets. Verstappen’s final run was an improvement of another four tenths, as Sergio Perez’s front row seat was short-lived, as Bottas and Hamilton displaced the Mexican, but still failed to get anywhere near the flying Dutchman, who looked simply unstoppable.

    Verstappen’s pole position never looked in doubt in an exceptional performance – Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

    10 of the 16 races at the Circuit Paul Ricard have been won from pole, but the threat of rain tomorrow gives us a chance of a wide-open race, as Max Verstappen seeks to further press home his championship advantage.

  • Azerbaijan GP: Leclerc takes his 2nd pole of the season in Baku

    image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports

    It was Charles Leclerc of Ferrari who took pole in Baku on Saturday afternoon after a frantic qualifying session. The Monegasque driver received a nice little slipstream behind the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton in the first run of Q3 and was able to put a competitive time on board which was good enough for pole position.

    The second run of Q3 was brought to a halt after Yuki Tsunoda of Alpha Tauri  crashed into the barriers during his flying lap which was followed by Carlos Sainz of Ferrari locking up and losing his front wing in the same corner followed by a hard hit to the barriers. This meant that there was yet another red flag in the session and pole was decided. The Spaniard however managed a lap good enough for P5 in the first run but will not be too amused after the crash was severe on the back end of his car which might result in a gear box change.

    Mercedes finished the session with Lewis Hamilton qualifying at P2 and Bottas at P10, after the Finnish driver provided Hamilton a tow during the first run of Q3 but could not get his own lap in during the second run. The team will be satisfied that they could put at least one car on the front row but Bottas will rue his misfortune on a track that he is generally good at.

    Driver’s championship leader Max Verstappen drove a very good lap but only managed a P3 while his teammate Sergio Perez could only manage P7. One thing that Redbull can still be confident of is the fact that their race pace has looked promising in the season so far and crucially, the championship rival Hamilton is not so far up ahead.

    Pierre Gasly continued to impress after an excellent lap saw the French driver place his Alpha Tauri at P4 after an amazing lap while his teammate Tsunoda managed a P8. An excellent position for the team overall barring the carsh for Tsunoda later on means they will be hunting that double points finish right from the start.

    Lando Norris continued his good start to the season after qualifying at P6 but the English driver is under investigation for infringements after red flags in the first qualifying session. His teammate Daniel Ricciardo’s dismal season continued after the Australian driver crashed into the barriers towards the end of Q2 which ended his qualifying and put him on P13 on the grid for the race tomorrow.

    Fernando Alonso bounced back from his bad outing in qualifying at Monaco and qualified into Q3 this time around with a mega performance. Having termed Baku 2018 as the best race of his career, Alonso will be looking to make the most of the scenario as he is set to start from P9 on the grid and is in with a chance for some valuable points tomorrow. His teammate Esteban Ocon could not get out of Q2 and will be starting the race from P12.

    Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll brought on the first red flag of qualifying in Q1 after he crashed out towards the end of sector 2 on his first run in Q2 and will be starting at P19. His teammate Vettel narrowly missed out on Q3 by as less as three hundredths of a second after the red flag brought on by Ricciardo meant that he could not improve his lap time. The German driver will start at P11 but has an advantage of starting on tyres of his own choice.

    Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi was involved in the second red flag during Q1 after crashing into the same corner as Lance Stroll and the Italian driver will be starting last. His teammate Kimi Raikkonen will be starts P14 after his Q1 laps were good enough to get out of it. Both the Haas cars had clean Q1 laps and they will be starting with Schumacher at P17 and Mazepin at P18 respectively.

    George Russell in the Williams got out of Q1 yet again and will be starting the race at P15 but it was not certain before the start of the session. The English driver had to wait until the mechanics changed the entire power unit of his car after a water pipe leak meant he could not continue at the end of his last free practice. His teammate Latifi will line up at P16 after failing to get out of Q1.

    The race is set to get underway with championship rivals Hamilton and Verstappen all set to start at 2nd and 3rd while Ferrari slowly seem to be improving and mounting challenges. The race promises to be a cracker as is the usual setting in Baku when the five lights go out.

  • Mistakes maketh the man at Monaco

    Mistakes maketh the man at Monaco

    Formula One has always been a sport of fine margins. The difference between delight and disaster is often measured in milliseconds, and millions of pounds of prize money rest on split second decisions.

    Nowhere is more prevalent than Monaco, one of the most historic circuits in motor racing. Many drivers have fallen foul of the barriers around the twisting streets of the principality, and plenty of this year’s grid left the track with their cars (and egos) more battered than on arrival.

    Of course, no driver’s mistake was more costly than Charles Leclerc’s in qualifying. Yet to see the chequered flag at his home race, damage from Saturday’s shunt meant that he wasn’t even able to see the green flag on Sunday, with Ferrari’s first pole since Mexico 2019 proving to be for nothing. It looked like he had gotten away with it, as the gearbox was undamaged, but the left driveshaft was inexplicably left unchecked by the Italian team, with the problem only presenting itself on the lap to the grid. It’s hard to imagine that such an oversight would have happened in the days of Jean Todt and Ross Brawn.

    Leclerc’s exceptional pole position evaporated after a crash on his second run, damaging the driveshaft – Courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

    While F1 fans have got used to Ferrari making errors, one of the reasons Mercedes have been so dominant in the hybrid era is their fantastic ability to pull things together at key moments. Lewis Hamilton has become known for switching it on after the summer break, and the Brackley-based team never seem to be on the back foot for long – as they looked to be after pre-season testing in March.

    On paper, this was always going to be the biggest test so far this season for the reigning champions. Red Bull looked mighty in the final sector of Barcelona, a key benchmark for performance at Monaco. After Thursday practice, it looked like the Silver Arrows had ground to make up with the setup, with Hamilton and his engineers having different ideas on which way to go. What followed on Saturday was one of the worst qualifying performances in recent memory. Hamilton ended up four places behind Bottas, in seventh position.

    Sunday was a chance for redemption, and it looked like the trademark Mercedes undercut was going to work to great effect when Lewis came in on lap 29, in an attempt to jump Pierre Gasly. Not only did it fail to work, but Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez were able to eek extra life out of their softs to pull off the overcut, leaving a frustrated Hamilton down in seventh – his worst result since Monza last season.

    Lewis Hamilton endured an immensely frustrating weekend in Monaco, qualifying and finishing seventh – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media

    Although, at least Lewis came home with some consolation points for Mercedes. Valtteri Bottas was set for his best result of the season, until a stripped wheel nut cost him any chance of victory, and arguably any chance of a championship challenge. It’s a shame that there wasn’t a sledgehammer nearby to remove the wheel, as the Finn looked as though he needed to release some anger.

    A bad race for Mercedes (and Leclerc) meant it was the perfect opportunity for a man who has fallen victim to Monaco’s barriers before to take the victory. Max Verstappen crashed here in 2016 and 2018, with some even questioning his seat after the latter crash, but it was a fantastic performance here, giving him the lead of the championship for the first time in his career.

    A clean qualifying and race was exactly what he needed, after small errors cost him victory in Bahrain, and pole in Portimao. Mercedes will learn from this weekend, and will be looking to bounce back in Baku in two weeks time. Mistakes arguably cost Vettel in his fight against Hamilton in 2017 and 2018, and near-perfection will be required from Verstappen and Red Bull if they’re to stop Lewis making it a record braking eight titles this year.

    A splendid performance from Max Verstappen saw him score a dominant and potentially crucial victory – Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

    The biggest mistake of the weekend however, belonged to the TV director. On track action was once again at a premium at Monaco, and the one bit of wheel -to-wheel action outside of Lap 1 was thought to be far too exciting for the viewers, who were treated to a view of Lance Stroll skipping the swimming pool chicane. Thankfully, Baku will provide plenty more action for the fans, and probably its fair share of mistakes as well.

  • Monaco Grand Prix: Dominant Verstappen and heartbreak for Leclerc

    Monaco Grand Prix: Dominant Verstappen and heartbreak for Leclerc

    Before the race began, Leclerc had issues on his lap to the grid. Finally making it back to his garage, it was a race to discover and fix the problem before the pitlane closed. This, however, was not possible.

    After several messages between the FIA and Ferrari, the car was not able to start the race due to a failure of the left drive shaft. This was more heartbreak for the Monégasque, who has never finished a race in Monaco after getting DNFs in both 2018 and 2019 and in 2017 with Formula 2.

    Because of this there was some question over whether the grid would be shuffled up. The FIA quickly decided, though, to keep everyone in the grid positions they qualified in. This meant that, for the first time since David Coulthard in 2001, nobody would start in pole position at Monaco.

    Bottas then had a clean track on the inside to start with only Verstappen on the dirty side, leaving a potential for carnage at the start of the race.

    Lights out and Bottas had a better start, but this was shut down by Verstappen before Turn 1. The rest of the pack got away cleanly, which is unusual for Monaco.

    (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) – Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

    From there it was a relatively straight forward race before the pitstops. On lap 24, Hamilton was the first to pit in an attempt to undercut Gasly. However, it didn’t work on this occasion.

    Bottas pitted on the next lap and drama unfolded as the wheel nut on the front right was machined off and the wheel became stuck on the car. Initially it looked as if they may be able to get it off, but this was to be the end of his race.

    This created a huge opportunity for Red Bull and Verstappen. Some excellent team play by Red Bull meant that Perez had opened up a gap on Hamilton, Gasly and Vettel to be able to pit without losing too many positions. Bono had to break the news to an already very annoyed Hamilton that he had lost a further position to Perez as a result.

    With 20 laps to go, Lando Norris started to complain about his tyres as Perez began to catch him at nearly one second per lap. However, as is normal around Monaco, it is very difficult to overtake and Norris managed to hold off Perez for the final podium position.

    McLaren Media Centre

    Having accepted his position on the track, Hamilton pitted for soft tyres to fight for the fastest lap point. This was not as simple as it seemed, as he had to let Verstappen lap him before charging for fastest lap. He did eventually get the extra point, a consolation prize after a not-so-successful weekend. This point, whilst not important now, could become crucial in the last stages of the season.

    Finally, after a very dominant performance, Max Verstappen won the Monaco Grand Prox. He broke his Monaco ‘curse’ by making it onto the podium for the first time. Sainz followed in P2 with Norris in P3. This was one of the happiest podiums in Formula 1, with all drivers excited to be there. It also gave the fans a great Sainz and Norris reunion which everyone has been wanting since Sainz moved to Ferrari.

    Vettel got a well deserved driver of the day vote after a great performance, gaining two places in the race and making a great move on Gasly when he came out of the pits to secure him P5.

    Due to his win Verstappen now leads the driver championship, which is the first time since Australia 2013 that it has been led by someone other than a Mercedes driver or Vettel. This is also the first time Red Bull have led the constructor’s championship since 2013.

  • Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying: Leclerc crashes onto pole at home race

    Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying: Leclerc crashes onto pole at home race

    Charles Leclerc took pole in his home race at Monaco on Saturday afternoon after delivering a good lap on his first run in Q3. The qualifying session did not end in the best way for the rest of the drivers though, after the Monegasque driver lost control of his car coming out of the swimming pool section and ended up in the barriers and brought out the red flag.

    This bitter-sweet ending to his qualifying session meant that Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz, who were all setting decent times behind him, had to abort their laps.

    © Copyright: FIA Pool Image for Editorial Use Only – FOTO COLOMBO IMAGES SRL

    A frantic Q1 got underway under cloudy Monaco skies with cars all over the short layout track and drivers had to do multiple warm-up laps to get the tyres to running temperatures as the track was colder compared to previous sessions. Both the Haas cars saw their drivers go out in Q1, especially Mick Schumacher who had a huge crash coming out of the casino square in free practice even failed to make it onto the track in the session.

    A surprise knockout of Q1 was Fernando Alonso of Alpine who has had such a brilliant record at the track previously and this meant he would only be starting as high as P17 for tomorrow’s race. His teammate Ocon on the other hand qualified at a decent P11 giving himself a chance to score points. Highly talented Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda in the Alpha Tauri was another driver who had to exit Q1 after his hot lap could only manage to put him at P16. Latifi in the Williams could only manage a P18 while his teammate George Russell got out of Q1 yet again and will be starting at P15.

    Q2 saw the 2018 Monaco GP winner Daniel Ricciardo get knocked out after his lap was only good enough to be placed at P12 which shows that the Australian is still getting accustomed to the McLaren car. His teammate Lando Norris however had yet another good qualifying session at put his McLaren at P5. Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo were the rest of the drivers to be knocked out of Q2 and they are set to start from P13 and P14.

    Credit: McLaren Media Centre

    Q3 got off to a brilliant start as expected with Verstappen in the Redbull taking on the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc but it was Leclerc who came out on top after the first runs. Mercedes who were struggling all weekend will take some comfort from the fact that Valtteri Bottas atleast managed to put his car onto P3 at the grid after the end of the session. Concern will still be present around Lewis Hamilton’s starting position after the championship leader could only manage a lap good enough to put him at P7.

    Pierre Gasly put in another stellar performance even outqualifying Hamilton in the process and will be starting his race P6 alongside Norris in P5. Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin impressed yet again after qualifying for Q3 and he will lining up alongside an old rival in Lewis Hamilton at P8.

    The Monaco GP returning after a 1 year break is all set to alter the course of the championship standings should Verstappen finish where he is starting from. Fate could still intervene for Charles Leclerc at his home race as his pole position might be taken away from him if his gear box has suffered from the crash but for now, Ferrari have a real chance of making a statement after a horrible season of 2020.

     

  • Aston Martin’s struggles continue in Spain

    Both Aston Martin’s finished outside of the points in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday as the teams disappointing start to the season continues.

    Image courtesy of Aston Martin Cognizant F
    Formula 1team

    In an uncharacteristically eventful Spanish GP (at the front of the field at least) Aston Martin struggled to make ground throughout the Grand Prix and despite Lance Stoll making it into tenth; he couldn’t quite hold the Alpha Tauri of Pierre Gasly behind and went on to finish the Spanish Grand Prix in P11 ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel in P13.

    Lance Stroll was evidently fighting hard for a points finish in Barcelona, making a sensational pass, sweeping past Fernando Alonso on the 11th Lap; but the Aston Martin was a far cry away from the pace of their Racing Point in 2020 and the Alpine passed into the points later in the race. Stroll was stuck in the middle of a DRS train in the midfield for much of the race emphasising many of their race pace issues.

    Sebastian Vettel had a less eventful race after a slow pitstop cost him a couple of seconds but also struggling to find any meaningful pace to be able to challenge either the Alpines or the McLaren of
    Lando Norris.

    Image courtesy of Aston Martin F1 team

    After the race Sebastian Vettel said “It was a tricky one. We were not quick enough in terms of race pace to really progress so I need to have a look whether there was something we could have done better. Not a trouble free race but I think it’s still probably where we are at the moment”.

    Aston Martin have not made the start to the season they would have hoped for with only five championship points in the constructors championship and break fires in both cars on the way to the grid at Imola caused Aston Martin problems before the race even began; which
    resulted in Sebastian Vettel receiving a time penalty as the team failed to fit his tyres before the five-minute signal.

    Both owner Lawrence stroll and Team Principle Otmar Szafnauer  have blamed performance issues in the opening rounds of the season on the new aerodynamic regulations that made changes to the amount of modifications teams could make to the floor of the car. Which they said had unfairly disadvantaged their car. However, despite a new
    upgrade package in Portimoa, the team still don’t seem to have the car where they want it.

    Although Aston Martins start to the season has been less than what they expected the longer than usual race calendar this year will undoubtedly give the team hope that there is time to push themselves up the constructor’s championship standings as the season continues.

    However, with the new regulation changes coming up in 2022 the team will undoubtedly want to begin to focus more resources in the coming months on next year’s car.

  • Spanish GP: Hamilton takes win number 98

    image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports

    Lewis Hamilton took his 98th Formula 1 win on Sunday afternoon after delivering yet another stunning drive which was strategically very reminiscent of Hungary 2019. The English driver started from his 100th pole position and fell behind to his title rival Max Verstappen but thanks to an aggressive and well thought out strategy from the Mercedes team, he was able to come back into the race and take the lead towards the very end and went on to win.

    Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas was once again limited to playing the team game as he failed to match either of Hamilton or Verstappen. The Finnish driver did not quite back down after team orders were implemented which meant Hamilton had to overtake him losing some time in the process. It all ended well as the English driver was able to catch the leading Redbull and take a healthy lead in the driver’s championship. Sergio Perez in the other Redbull could only manage only a 5th place finish which brings into question, the ever present dilemma surrounding the Redbull second car.

    Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari drove an excellent race finishing 4th ahead of Sergio Perez in the Redbull which means it is good signs for the Ferrari after a season to forget last year. Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari also had a very good drive after his battles with the McLaren drivers saw him finish 7th. Daniel Ricciardo in the McLaren seems to have gotten over his shaky start to the season and drove an excellent race to finish P6 while his teammate Lando Norris just seems to have taken foot off the gas after a good start to the season and managed an 8th place finish only.

    Esteban Ocon started off the weekend in a brilliant fashion after qualifying P6 but could only manage P9 in the race while his teammate Alonso after being involved in the tussle for the final points position for a long time had to pit towards the end and ended up at a lowly P17. Alpha Tauri had a mixed weekend after Yuki Tsunoda’s car had an engine failure very early in the race but Pierre Gasly managed his race well after he had to overcome the challenge of Aston Martin drivers.

    Aston Martin had a very under the radar showing with both the drivers Stroll and Vettel finishing outside points and the team will be left to figure out how to better their fortunes in a fortnight’s time for the Monaco grandprix. It was a better outing for Kimi Raikkonen in the Alfa Romeo than last time as he finished the race this time around and finished well at P12. His teammate on the other hand had to sit through a sub 40 second pit stop and could only manage a P15.

    ‘Mr.Saturday’ George Russell had yet another mellow Sunday interms of the result but the whole team will definitely take heart from a performance where he was close to P10 for the most of the afternoon but failed to put the final fight in for it and finished P14. His teammate Latifi in the other Williams finished at P16.

    Haas cars had yet another slow outing during the race and Mick Schumacher managed an 18th placed finish despite a bright start from him and his teammate Nikita Mazepin only finished last of the lot while often being mentioned in the radio for not following the blue flags correctly.

    Redbull definitely seemed to have the pace going into the race but they were caught out by Mercedes’ aggressive strategy just like Hungary 2019 as Lewis Hamilton drove his heart out in Barcelona. Max Verstappen will have many more chances in the upcoming part of the season to take the challenge to Hamilton on track but for now the momentum is with the British driver.

  • FIA sign off on sprint events

    FIA sign off on sprint events

    The FIA has today signed off on plans to hold three sprint qualifying events at two European events and one non-European event in this year’s Formula One championship.

    The change is part of plans to make Formula One more entertaining and increase the racing spectacle this year. The format will see the top three drivers score points in Saturdays sprint race. The winner will score three point, second place will score two points, and the third-placed finisher will walk away from the race with a single point.

    The FIA are hoping the new sprint format will improve the show – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media

    Qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race will occur after a single Free Practice session, in which the teams will have at their disposal two sets of tyres. Qualifying will see each team given five sets of soft tyres only. The race will operate as normal.

    If the event is wet, the usual standard of three sets of wets and four sets of Intermediates will be provided.

    It is yet to be officially announced which venues will host these sprint events, as we also await the fate of this year’s Canadian Grand Prix.

  • Class of 92: Portuguese Grand Prix Preview

    Class of 92: Portuguese Grand Prix Preview

    Back we come then to the scene of Lewis Hamilton’s 92nd Grand Prix victory in Formula One, and the seven-time champion seeks to use the energy of what has become a historic venue in the sport after just one race.

    The theme of 2021 though, variably from Mercedes’ almost-unanswered dominance last year, has been the emergence of Max Verstappen as a genuine title contender.

    With one win a piece, Hamilton is locked in a battle with Red Bull’s enigmatic Dutchman. A tricky, technical yet powerful circuit will be a test of both their skill and, almost as intriguingly, a test of Honda’s ability to challenge Mercedes this year.

    Verstappen will also know that he has a team mate this year that can back him up. Sergio Perez out-qualified Verstappen by a slender margin last time out in Imola, but huge slices of misfortune in both of the opening two rounds have hindered the Mexican’s season thus far. There is no doubting, however, that he can be a huge help to Verstappen this weekend when strategies play out. Though in saying that, his hugely impressive pace will make him believe there are victories and title challenges on the cards for him behind the wheel of a Red Bull.

    Sergio Perez has thus far proven himself an extremely able performer for Red Bull – Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

    Part of the reason that strategies will be important is that it is difficult to overtake at Portimao; there are so many high-speed corners and few heavy braking zones – just ask Lance Stroll and Lando Norris how difficult it is to go side-by-side in Algarve.

    This difficulty means that Valtteri Bottas, if he is to prove himself a useful backup to Hamilton and mount any sort of championship bid of his own, needs a big performance. His one-lap pace will need to be strong, as well as his race pace to hold off what will be an uber-competitive leading pack.

    Bottas’ incident with Williams’ George Russell two weeks ago heated up what was already an intense rivalry for the Mercedes seat next season, although it is worth noting that Hamilton still does not have a contract beyond 2021.

    Bottas comes into this weekend needing a statement performance – Courtesy of Mercedes Media

    Largely disappointing so far have been Alpine and Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso crashed before the start in Imola, compounding the French team’s tricky beginning to 2021. Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll were both put on the back foot through brake trouble before the race start; they are hoping for a trouble-free weekend in Portugal to give them the platform to succeed here. They still maintain that the current regulations adversely affect low-rake teams.

    Title credentials are still to be established, rivalries are intensifying, and this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix is set to be a huge one.

  • Formula 1 announces multi-year extension with Suzuka until 2024

    Formula 1 announces multi-year extension with Suzuka until 2024

    Formula 1 announces a multi-year extension with the Japanese Grand Prix, ensuring that racing will remain at Suzuka Circuit for at least another three years. The multi-year extension between Formula 1 and race promoter Mobilityland will see the FIA Formula One World Championship continue to visit the historic circuit until 2024.

    A mainstay on the Formula 1 calendar since 1987, the circuit has hosted many iconic championship deciders as well as some of its most memorable moments. Its only breaks in 34 years came in 2007 and 2008 when Fuji Speedway took over, including when it was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Japanese Grand Prix’s contract had been due to expire after the 2021 season.

    Suzuka has struggled financially at times, not helped in part thanks to poor fan interest with no Japanese presence on the grid, the last being Kamui Kobayashi in 2014. The 2017 Japanese Grand Prix saw a 5.5% decline in attendance, the biggest percentage drop on the Formula 1 calendar at the time. Moreover, the Japanese Grand Prix only counted for 2.8% of TV audience in Japan, compared to 5.5% for European races.

    However, there has been a remarkable shift in Japanese participation and success in recent years. Honda became the sole supplier for Red Bull and Alpha Tauri, taking seven victories in little over two seasons. Additionally, highly-rated Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda has given the Japanese fans someone to support, hopefully for years to come.

    Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Image) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

    Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1:

    “I am truly delighted that Formula 1 will continue to race at Suzuka Circuit for another three years. Japan holds a special place in the hearts and minds of F1 fans all over the world, and Suzuka has played host to many of the sport’s most legendary moments, with 11 Drivers’ titles being decided there. The Japanese Grand Prix has always showcased gripping, edge-of-your-seat drama, and I am thrilled we can continue to bring the action and excitement that is Formula 1 to the passionate motorsport fans of Japan.

    “This extension is part of our long-term commitment to growing the sport in Asia, and we are pleased to be able to continue our successful relationship with Mobilityland. I’d like to personally thank Mr Tanaka and his team for their continued efforts in reaching this agreement, and we look forward to working with the promoter to increase the popularity and fanbase of Formula 1 there.”

    Kaoru Tanaka, President Representative Director of Mobilityland Corporation:

    “As a result of repeated negotiations with Formula 1, we have been able to conclude a contract on hosting the event from the year 2022 and onward. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Formula 1 members, including first of all Mr Stefano Domenicali, for the great understanding that was shown during the negotiations.

    “We are determined to continue to our efforts together with local residents of Mie Prefecture and Suzuka City so that Suzuka Circuit will continue to be loved by fans all over the world and contribute to the prosperity of the motorsports culture.

    “In 2022, Suzuka Circuit will celebrate its 60th anniversary. In addition to the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix that will be held from the year 2022 and onward, we will take on new challenges for the future while also cherishing the history and traditions of the sport so that we may provide fans with surprises, joys and emotional experiences. Please look forward to the events to come.”

    With the likes of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato in IndyCar, Le Mans winner Kazuki Nakajima and Yuki Tsunoda in Formula 1 – it has never been a better time to be a motorsport fan in Japan.

    The 2021 Japanese Grand Prix is set to be held on the 10th October providing no further postponements or cancellations.