- Formula1.com
VIVA – The 2022 Japanese Grand Prix is a Formula One scheduled to be held on October 9, 2022, at the Suzuka International Racing Course, Japan.
The event is due to be held across the weekend of October 7 to 9, 2022. It will be the eighteenth round of the 2022 Formula One World Championship and the first time the event had been held since 2019, with the 2020 and 2021 races canceled because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Well, here’s a summary of the statistics and interesting facts about the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit, as reported by the FIA's official website.
Suzuka International Circuit
Track length: 5,807km
Fastest lap record: 1:30,983 (Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2019)
Total race distance: 307,471km (53 laps)
2019 Winner: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
2019 Podium: #1 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), #2 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), #3 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Pole position 2019: Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1:27,064
Sirkuit Suzuka
- Suzuka Circuit
Suzuka Circuit is said to be one of the most dangerous circuits in the world because it has a narrow circuit and many blind spots of erratic corners. Many accidents often occur on this circuit.
Pirelli will bring three of the toughest tire compounds to Suzuka, as the figure-eight circuit puts a lot of weight on the tires. Then, Max Verstappen has a chance to seal the world title at Suzuka while only Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc are still in contention for the title.
Verstappen needs to score eight more points than Leclerc in Japan or six more than Perez to bring back the world crown. In other words, if Verstappen wins and one point from the fastest lap, no matter what position his rivals finish in, then he is entitled to claim the second world title in his career.
In the constructors' standings, Ferrari took home more points than Red Bull in Singapore for the first time since the Austrian GP to keep the title race alive.
The Italians have 439 points, 66 points ahead of Mercedes, while Red Bull is at the top with 576 points.
This weekend, race lovers will witness the 36th Japanese Grand Prix in Formula 1 since the race debuted at Fuji in 1976 and returned to the calendar in 1977. The Japanese Grand Prix was held again at Suzuka in 1987 and regularly every year since except in 2020 and 2021 is hampered by a pandemic.
Suzuka has hosted the Japanese Grand Prix since 1987 before the race was moved to Fuji for two years in 2007 and 2008.
Michael Schumacher became the most successful driver at Suzuka with six wins: for Benneton in 1995, followed by five for Ferrari in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004.
Lewis Hamilton could match Schumacher's achievements at the Japanese GP this weekend after winning races there for McLaren in 2007, and for Mercedes in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018.
With nine wins, McLaren is the most successful team in Japan, seven of which came at Suzuka which equaled Ferrari's.
Besides Hamilton, three other riders have won at the Japanese GP. They are Fernando Alonso, who won for Renault in 2006 and 2008; Sebastian Vettel who won in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013 for Red Bull, and Valtteri Bottas with a 2019 victory for Mercedes.
As many as 26 of the 31 races at Suzuka were won by the rider who started from the front row. The Pole position is not very decisive, because it only helped in 15 races, compared to the other 11 that were won by drivers starting from P2.
The racer’s world title has been locked in Japan 12 times, the most recent being the 2011 world title won by Vettel.
