Yet again, the Grand Prix circus arrives in Japan at a crucial point in the championship. As with last season, Jacques Villeneuve is one of the two combatants, but unlike last year he is the one with the advantage.

A lap of Suzuka

The Suzuka Circuit in Japan currently stands out as a high point in a world populated by bland and dreary Grand Prix tracks. Designed by the man responsible for the challenging Zandvoort circuit, Suzuka is unusual in that it crosses over itself in a figure-of-eight. The track is twisty, but fast, and some sixty percent of the lap is spent at full throttle - more than Hockenheim. Expect to see the cars running medium levels of downforce as the teams cope with the need for high cornering speeds and extra oomph on the straights. With such a long lap, as well as the inclement weather at this time of year, rain can be expected - although the atrocious conditions that dominated the 1994 race should be unlikely. High points of the lap are the many long and tightening corners: First Curve; Degner and Spoon. With the correct racing line being particularly critical around these, expect the time spent racing in Formula Nippon to be of particular value to Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Eddie Irvine and Mika Salo. The only sore point on the circuit is the ridiculously tight Casio Chicane, as well as the lack of sufficient run-off at some of the faster corners. All said and done, though, Suzuka is one of the few remaining challenges in Formula One and well deserves it's place on the calendar.

Circuit Length: 3.66 miles/5.86 km Race length: 53 laps (194.12 miles/310.590 km)

What happened last time?

The Field

Arrows-Yamaha
Suzuka will hold fond memories for Damon Hill after clinching the 1996 World Championship there, but quite how well he will do will be down to Bridgestone. The Arrows chassis is fairly good and the Yamaha not as bad as it was but neither are in the class of any of the teams above them. What will give the Arrows driver their shot at success is the Japanese tyres that they are using. Rumours still abound that Bridgestone have a "super-tyre" for their home Grand Prix that will wipe the floor with the Goodyear rubber. Even if this isn't true, they have so much experience here that they are sure to produce something better than the Akron concern. Damon Hill should (I hesitiate to use the word "will" these days) beat Pedro Diniz in every session but a points finish is not impossible for both of them.

Rothmans Williams-Renault
The Constructors' championship is still open and Frank Williams will be concentrating on getting the maximum points haul from Japan. Jacques Villeneuve only needs to finish ahead of Michael Schumacher (in the points) to win the 1998 Drivers' title. In qualifying the gloves will be off and both drivers will fight tooth and nail to gain pole position. In the race, however, I would expect Heinz-Harald Frentzen to take a supporting role to help Jacques win the title. If anything, Heinz-Harald will probably be the faster of the two, being sure of his 1998 seat and having no title hopes to keep track of.

Marlboro Scuderia Ferrari
A third bad race in a row more than likely sounded the end of the road for Ferrari's title hopes at the Nurburgring. Michael Schumacher out at the first corner and Eddie Irvine lasting 22 laps in his "brick" before retiring. Michael Schumacher started the season as a rank outsider, but came good to become favourite for the title over the midseason. Sadly, the departure of John Barnard signalled a decline that has not been halted and it is unlikely the team will regain the form it enjoyed before. Michael will surely beat Eddie, but can only realistically expect a podium finish.

Mild Seven Benetton-Renault
David Richards has now taken over the reins of Benetton from Flavio Briatore and while it is too late to change anything, the attitude of the team should now improve. Flavio, whilst charismatic, was never one to coddle his drivers (Michael Schumacher was an exception to this) and was hard on the current pilots, Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi. Both drivers are fairly evenly matched and will usually get a car to the finish with a minimum of fuss. Recent form (with the new Renault) would suggest that they will not be at the front in qualifying, but will be right there in the race. A more focused Alesi should be top dog, but Berger is still looking for a seat and may well be out to impress.

West McLaren-Mercedes
Last race I asked "What will it take to get Mika Hakkinen to win a race?" and I hold by that again. Mika qualified on pole in "Luxembourg" and once again retired through no fault of his own. David Coulthard is also suffering from this malady and Ron Dennis must be sick to death of seeing his cars pull off track with damaged engines. Ilmor (Mercedes engine builders) have said that they are mystified as to what is causing the engine failures and as such, it is reasonable to expect more of the same at Suzuka. Mika will beat David, of that there is little doubt, but whether both will finish is down to Mercedes. However, if they do finish, expect podiums or even a maiden win for Hakkinen.

Benson and Hedges Total Jordan-Peugeot
After another Jordan-punts-Jordan accident at the 'Ring, Eddie Jordan will be expecting a great deal from the two young drivers piloting his cars. Giancarlo Fisichella is still the more impressive of the pairing and Ralf Schumacher now seems to be overdriving to compensate for this. Regardless of the personalities, both drivers are capable of qualifying in the top 8 on the grid and both are capable of finishing in the points without needing retirements to do so. Giancarlo will again have the upper hand, but it will be interesting to see if the chat with his elder brother has calmed Ralf down at all.

Gauloises Blondes Prost-Mugen Honda
Olivier Panis came back at the Nurburgring and if anything was a step backwards for the team after the performance of Jarno Trulli. Whether this was a fitness issue or just because he was out of practice is unknown, but it will be Bridgestone rather than Panis that offer the best chance this weekend. Shinji Nakano was around 1 second a lap slower than Olivier at all stages of the last race weekend but some of this will be his unfamiliarity with the track. At Suzuka however, he has the advantage and should be a lot closer to his experienced team mate. This said, Panis should beat Nakano easily, and if Bridgestone do get it right, points are well within reach.

Red Bull Sauber-Petronas
Sauber are suffering a slump at the moment. Luxembourg marked the first aerodynamic changes to the C16 all season and to be honest, the performance drop shows this. Johnny Hebert does his best with the car and can be counted on to drive solidly to the end of the race, getting points whenever possible. Gianni Morbidelli is a lot closer to Herbert than he was, but will still be the slower of the two come qualifying and the race. Points are possible, but only if people drop out and Herbert starts well.

Tyrrell-Ford
Toranosuke Takagi has now officially signed for Tyrrell and Jos Verstappen looks sure to resign, so 1998 preparations are now well underway. Sadly, 1997 is not going that well and Suzuka looks to be no different. With all the other backmarkers using Bridgestone rubber, the Japanese Grand Prix should prove difficult for Tyrrell. Mika Salo and Jos will try their best, but you can't turn a donkey into a race horse after all...

Minardi-Hart
Minardi yet again will be struggling along at the back. With Ukyo Katayama in one of the cars, the team are assured a lot of attention from the Japanese media but this will not be because of results. Tarso Marques has come good of late, but Ukyo knows Suzuka very well and will be keen to do well at home. Ukyo should dominate, but it will be interesting to see if the Bridgestone rubber will get them ahead of Tyrrell.

Stewart-Ford
Stewart could be surprise victors in Japan. Works Ford power and Bridgestone rubber, combined with Rubens Barrichello and the now on-form Jan Magnussen could provide the team with the result they have been working for. Rubens has been caught up by Jan (less than 0.2 seconds between them in the last qualifying session) so now both drivers are capable of scoring podium finishes. The main problem is their reliability, both drivers dropping out well before half distance in the last race, but if this can be fixed, expect good results.

Enjoy the race...