After a tense race in Singapore threw the 2014 world championship fight wide open, the teams and drivers head to Japan and one of the most celebrated and iconic circuits on the calendar - Suzuka. Those involved in the 2014 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix discuss their prospects…
Lotus
Romain Grosjean
2013 Qualifying - 4th, 2013 Race - 3rd
“Suzuka is probably my favourite track in the world and for many, many reasons. Of course last year holds a great memory as I led the race for a while. Also, my engineer (Ayao Komatsu) is Japanese, so it is nice for him to be in his home country. But mainly I love it so much because the track is a massive challenge and also the spectators are so passionate about F1. There is not a single corner on the track that is not a big challenge. When you finish a lap at Suzuka you really appreciate it because you know both the car and you have been really tested. You can be proud if you have got the maximum from everything.
“It is the kind of track that you find time and improvements, however small, all of the time. It is a very special race track in this respect. Sector one is unbelievable and after you have finished it you can breathe a little bit…but not for long. There is no margin for error with very little run-off area and the track is quite narrow, especially at the top of the hill. I love it. Every metre of the Suzuka track is special and every metre a challenge. The Spoon Curve is especially fantastic, a real thrill to drive in an F1 car.
“There are a few good areas [for overtaking] like the first corner, but only if you get a good exit from the last chicane. But probably the best one is in to the chicane itself, after the long back straight and 130R. If you get a tow here you can get inside under braking. There is also a small chance at the hairpin and maybe in to Spoon Curve too, but you have to be brave and usually rely on the guy in front to co-operate. Suzuka is quite a narrow track so it is not that easy to overtake, but it is a great challenge and very satisfying when you manage to execute one.”
Pastor Maldonado
2013 Qualifying - 15th, 2013 Race - 16th
“It is always nice to know you are going to be challenged by a circuit. If everything gets hooked-up then Suzuka is a pleasure. I really hope we can have a good weekend because at Suzuka it makes it even more of a pleasure to get it right. I think that for a driver it is at least comparable with Spa, maybe even better on some corners. I just love racing at Suzuka and indeed in Japan as a whole.
“The start of the lap is incredible with the sweeps up the hill, right-left-right-left. It is really fast and you need a very good and nimble car to change direction quickly. They are really challenging corners where you need maximum concentration and bravery. The run-off is quite small, so it is really satisfying to get them right. When I first drove this track in 2011 it was a big deal for me because I knew that I could find a lot more time in the car. The corners are like this because you never get them 100 percent right the first time, you learn and learn which is what a great race track should be like I think. Then you have the Spoon Curve which is magnificent and 130R which is still challenging despite being flat-out now. All in all a great, great circuit and with some really steep gradients too. Almost a perfect track!”
Federico Gastaldi, Lotus deputy team principal
“There is a huge appetite for motorsport in Japan. This is both in the sporting and technical context. Everyone knows that the fans in Japan are among the most special in terms of their knowledge and devotion to the sport. So it is very important for us to be racing here and also to have a good weekend on the track. The whole nation of Japan gets tuned in to the F1 groove and it is good for the country and for F1. Suzuka is also a great challenge for the drivers and they will be hungry to deliver. Like Spa, Monaco and Silverstone, I don’t think anyone dislikes going to Suzuka. It has everything that makes F1 great; an incredible track, great fans and somewhere that the drivers and engineers really learn a lot about the car.”
Nick Chester, Lotus technical director
“The challenges are the high speed corners. You can’t run maximum downforce in Suzuka - as you will end up a little too slow on the straights - so you need to give the driver sufficient downforce to give confidence in the fast twisty bits whilst not clipping their wings down the straights. This is part of the reason why Suzuka is such a driver favourite, as drivers can be absolutely on the limit without the car totally stuck to the ground through maximum downforce. It’s not just having sufficient downforce, it’s ensuring that this is delivered in a balanced nature. Getting the suspension set-up spot on is essential here too. You need to extract all the grip that’s possible from the car. Looking at the E22, we think that it should be reasonably matched to all of these challenges especially as we’re generally quite good in high speed turns.”
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel
2013 Qualifying - 2nd, 2013 Race - 1st
"Suzuka has been a very positive place for me in the past, I've won the race three times and I also won the World Championship there in 2011 which was a fantastic experience. Suzuka as a whole is a fantastic circuit, probably the only circuit you can compare it to on the calendar is Spa. It is a very challenging circuit, especially the first sector where there is a lot of high speed corners. I really enjoy those, but later on you also have the spoon corner, which is very technical and a big challenge, as well as 130R. The fans are very special and the atmosphere is incredible, the crowds really appreciate what people in F1 do, so it is great to see that."
Daniel Ricciardo
2013 Qualifying - 16th, 2013 Race - 13th"Suzuka is all good, but for me the first sector is just a delight. It's a dream. You have those fast changes of directions through the Esses, hard around the Dunlop Curve and then, arguably the best bit, turns Eight and Nine: Degner. Through Eight you're hanging on, it's so narrow and there's no room for error but you want to push as hard as you can. Then just as you straighten up the car, you're on the brakes, throwing it into this cambered right-hander and hoping you've got it right because if you haven't then it's all over. Getting to do that 53 times in a row is a pretty good way to earn a living. What you maybe don't see on TV is that it's a real rollercoaster, dropping into valleys and climbing up again, so that you're rarely on a level surface."
Lotus
 |
| Ramain Grosjean |
2013 Qualifying - 4th, 2013 Race - 3rd
“Suzuka is probably my favourite track in the world and for many, many reasons. Of course last year holds a great memory as I led the race for a while. Also, my engineer (Ayao Komatsu) is Japanese, so it is nice for him to be in his home country. But mainly I love it so much because the track is a massive challenge and also the spectators are so passionate about F1. There is not a single corner on the track that is not a big challenge. When you finish a lap at Suzuka you really appreciate it because you know both the car and you have been really tested. You can be proud if you have got the maximum from everything.
“It is the kind of track that you find time and improvements, however small, all of the time. It is a very special race track in this respect. Sector one is unbelievable and after you have finished it you can breathe a little bit…but not for long. There is no margin for error with very little run-off area and the track is quite narrow, especially at the top of the hill. I love it. Every metre of the Suzuka track is special and every metre a challenge. The Spoon Curve is especially fantastic, a real thrill to drive in an F1 car.
“There are a few good areas [for overtaking] like the first corner, but only if you get a good exit from the last chicane. But probably the best one is in to the chicane itself, after the long back straight and 130R. If you get a tow here you can get inside under braking. There is also a small chance at the hairpin and maybe in to Spoon Curve too, but you have to be brave and usually rely on the guy in front to co-operate. Suzuka is quite a narrow track so it is not that easy to overtake, but it is a great challenge and very satisfying when you manage to execute one.”
Pastor Maldonado
2013 Qualifying - 15th, 2013 Race - 16th
“It is always nice to know you are going to be challenged by a circuit. If everything gets hooked-up then Suzuka is a pleasure. I really hope we can have a good weekend because at Suzuka it makes it even more of a pleasure to get it right. I think that for a driver it is at least comparable with Spa, maybe even better on some corners. I just love racing at Suzuka and indeed in Japan as a whole.
“The start of the lap is incredible with the sweeps up the hill, right-left-right-left. It is really fast and you need a very good and nimble car to change direction quickly. They are really challenging corners where you need maximum concentration and bravery. The run-off is quite small, so it is really satisfying to get them right. When I first drove this track in 2011 it was a big deal for me because I knew that I could find a lot more time in the car. The corners are like this because you never get them 100 percent right the first time, you learn and learn which is what a great race track should be like I think. Then you have the Spoon Curve which is magnificent and 130R which is still challenging despite being flat-out now. All in all a great, great circuit and with some really steep gradients too. Almost a perfect track!”
Federico Gastaldi, Lotus deputy team principal
“There is a huge appetite for motorsport in Japan. This is both in the sporting and technical context. Everyone knows that the fans in Japan are among the most special in terms of their knowledge and devotion to the sport. So it is very important for us to be racing here and also to have a good weekend on the track. The whole nation of Japan gets tuned in to the F1 groove and it is good for the country and for F1. Suzuka is also a great challenge for the drivers and they will be hungry to deliver. Like Spa, Monaco and Silverstone, I don’t think anyone dislikes going to Suzuka. It has everything that makes F1 great; an incredible track, great fans and somewhere that the drivers and engineers really learn a lot about the car.”
Nick Chester, Lotus technical director
“The challenges are the high speed corners. You can’t run maximum downforce in Suzuka - as you will end up a little too slow on the straights - so you need to give the driver sufficient downforce to give confidence in the fast twisty bits whilst not clipping their wings down the straights. This is part of the reason why Suzuka is such a driver favourite, as drivers can be absolutely on the limit without the car totally stuck to the ground through maximum downforce. It’s not just having sufficient downforce, it’s ensuring that this is delivered in a balanced nature. Getting the suspension set-up spot on is essential here too. You need to extract all the grip that’s possible from the car. Looking at the E22, we think that it should be reasonably matched to all of these challenges especially as we’re generally quite good in high speed turns.”
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel
2013 Qualifying - 2nd, 2013 Race - 1st
"Suzuka has been a very positive place for me in the past, I've won the race three times and I also won the World Championship there in 2011 which was a fantastic experience. Suzuka as a whole is a fantastic circuit, probably the only circuit you can compare it to on the calendar is Spa. It is a very challenging circuit, especially the first sector where there is a lot of high speed corners. I really enjoy those, but later on you also have the spoon corner, which is very technical and a big challenge, as well as 130R. The fans are very special and the atmosphere is incredible, the crowds really appreciate what people in F1 do, so it is great to see that."
Daniel Ricciardo
2013 Qualifying - 16th, 2013 Race - 13th"Suzuka is all good, but for me the first sector is just a delight. It's a dream. You have those fast changes of directions through the Esses, hard around the Dunlop Curve and then, arguably the best bit, turns Eight and Nine: Degner. Through Eight you're hanging on, it's so narrow and there's no room for error but you want to push as hard as you can. Then just as you straighten up the car, you're on the brakes, throwing it into this cambered right-hander and hoping you've got it right because if you haven't then it's all over. Getting to do that 53 times in a row is a pretty good way to earn a living. What you maybe don't see on TV is that it's a real rollercoaster, dropping into valleys and climbing up again, so that you're rarely on a level surface."
