Going into the weekend, Mercedes are hoping that their performance deficit in Singapore was a one-off and not the other teams catching up. Neither driver is confident,however, as the team are still unable to work out what went wrong last weekend. Ferrari driver Vettel expects that Mercedes will be back to their winning performance in Japan, but we will only really find out on Friday…
The weekend will be a tough one for everyone in Formula One as last year Jules Bianchi crashed in the race and died of his injuries earlier this year. The start time for the race this year is one hour earlier and currently looks to be a dry race, although we may see rain on Friday and Saturday.
High speed corners and high G-forces means that tyre temperatures at Suzuka is high. Pirelli will be bringing the hard and medium compounds to the race.
Mercedes
After an incredibly disappointing weekend in Singapore, Mercedes will be hoping to be back at the front this weekend. However, with the team still unable to provide answers to the troubles they had, their drivers are worried about their weekend.
“I’m not confident, because my engineers have not yet been able to give me any information on why we were struggling,” said Hamilton. “The car felt balanced, but it lacked grip and we don’t yet know why, and there’s not a lot of time left before we race again this coming weekend. Maybe it was that our car didn’t get slower but that others upgraded theirs.”
Ferrari
A brilliant weekend at Singapore, saw Ferrari get both drivers on the podium for the first time this season. Although they predict Mercedes will be stronger this weekend, they will go into this weekend optimistic of their chances for a podium. With his win last weekend, Vettel has caught Rosberg up in the championship and is just 8 points behind the second-placed driver.
Williams
Surprised by their car in Singapore, Williams were more competitive than they had initially expected and Bottas finished in 5th. Last year, they were strong at Suzuka and will be hoping for another good performance this weekend. Hopefully, they will be able to pick up some good points this weekend.
Red Bull
Despite a strong weekend in Singapore, Red Bull expect to struggle more here in Japan. With a power deficit due to the Renault engine, they are likely to be slower at Suzuka. However, both drivers love the fast, flowing Japanese circuit and are looking forward to the weekend.
Toro Rosso
Both drivers performed exceptionally in Singapore, pulling off some amazing overtaking manoeuvres. Although Sainz has never driven here before, he is looking forward to the fast, challenging circuit. For Verstappen, this is the circuit were he first drove an F1 car on a real F1 circuit. He really enjoys this track and it should suit his aggressive driving style.
Force India
After a crash last race, Hulkenberg will have a grid penalty this weekend. But he is confident he can make up for that with a good drive on Sunday and still finish in the points. Currently 5th in the standings, the team will be hoping for a good weekend to keep ahead of Lotus in 6th.
Sauber
After scoring just a single point in Singapore, Sauber will be hoping for a stronger result this weekend. Continuing to update their car, Sauber hope to be able to compete in the top ten.
Lotus
Still in continued financial troubles, Lotus are hoping to make up for it with a good result this weekend. After a hugely disappointing race in Singapore, they will be hoping to score some good points to take Force India in the championship for fifth.
McLaren
Likely to be a tough race for the team this weekend, McLaren will be hoping to see both drivers finish but points are unlikely. Japan is the home of Honda, so will be hoping for a good result in front of the fans.
Manor
This weekend will be very tough for the team after Bianchi’s accident last year. Graeme Lowdon said:
“It’s going to be very difficult for everybody in the team, but we will do the best we can to cope, and to get a strong result. Jules was a racer and he would want us to do that, and we want to do well to honour his memory.”