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Suzuka: The Halloween Grand Prix |
| The Japanese Grand Prix Preview | by Ewan Tytler, USA |
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In the week following the disqualification of both Ferraris after the Malaysian Grand Prix, Formula One shot itself in the foot. Everybody involved looked bad; Ferrari were either careless or pushing their luck with the barge-boards on the F399. By blowing the whistle on Ferrari, McLaren looked like bad losers clutching at straws to explain their loss at Malaysia; first suggesting that the tyres were illegally worn then questioning the legality of the Ferrari barge-boards. The inadequacies of the FIA rules and scrutineering were exposed. Bernie Ecclestone, seeing Formula One's image circling the drain, called for less restrictive rules in Formula One. This was the right message from the wrong messenger. Ecclestone, as owner of Brabham, was famous for being creative with Formula One's technical rules. Stewart-Ford shot themselves in both feet. In an attempt to retain five bonus points in 1999, they supported the disqualification of Eddie Irvine (who will drive for them in 2000), a move that would stop him carrying the No. 1 plate to Jaguar! Only Jordan improved their image when their Chief Designer, Mike Gascoyne, criticised the disqualification even though it would have helped Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Sir Frank Williams didn't support the disqualification either, but his team stood to lose from the disqualification. Ron Dennis lamented that it was a "sad day for the sport;" he is right, but for the wrong reasons.
At 5.864 Km, Suzuka is the second longest circuit used in Formula One and it is the favourite circuit of many drivers. Although fast in sections, Suzuka is average in speed as there are a number of slow corners. Suzuka is unique in that it has a fly-over but it is best described as "funky," as it has a few idiosyncrasies and it is quite difficult to learn. The start is difficult as the grid is on a downhill slope, which means the drivers have to be careful not to accidentally jump the start or stall holding the car back. The 6th gear 130R corner is considered to be one of the most challenging corner in Formula One. Accident black-spots on the circuit are the 3rd gear Spoon curve, the 2nd gear Degner curve and the 2nd gear Casio chicane, which Ferrari's Eddie Irvine calls the "Silly chicane." Overtaking on Suzuka is not easy, often the following driver has to force the leading driver to make an error. Pat Symonds, Technical Director of Benetton, noted, "It is one of the few circuits where local knowledge can have a large influence on a driver's lap time and gives an advantage to those who have raced in the Japanese series earlier in their career."
Williams' Ralf Schumacher added a driver's perspective: "Setting the car up for Suzuka is difficult because you have to find the optimum compromise between aerodynamical downforce and mechanical grip. Suzuka places many demands on the cars and the drivers. Through the fast, sweeping 'S' curves mechanical grip is very important, then through the Degner and Spoon Curves the need shifts to aerodynamic grip from downforce. In the first Spoon, for example, you brake very late and deep into the corner, then in the second part the car always understeers, so you have to turn in a little early to balance things out. One of the most exciting corners is 130R, a very fast left hand corner, taken nearly flat in sixth gear." Ferrari's Eddie Irvine added, "The high speed corners and flowing layout makes it a challenge to drive. Except for the chicane before the pit straight, which is too tight, it's a track which has some great corners and you get a lot of satisfaction out of a quick lap." Pitstop and tyre strategies
There is limited opportunity for overtaking so qualifying and pit-stop strategy are very important. In last year's race, most teams used a two-stop strategy while Eddie Irvine opted for a three-stop strategy. On tyre choice, Bridgestone Motorsport's Technical Manager, Yoshihiko Ichikawa, stated, "The important characteristics of Suzuka are its interesting and difficult combination of medium- and high-speed corners, together with an abrasive surface. "These factors led us to offer the F1 teams a choice of our Soft and Medium compounds for Suzuka which, from our point of view, most closely resembles Barcelona and Silverstone. Not only has overtaking at Suzuka never been easy, but the layout includes some challenging ess-bends. On the Soft compound, although a lap will undoubtedly be quicker, we anticipate that the steering response will not be as good as on the Medium tyre. There is a tendency for the softer rubber in the tread to 'move'. "Nevertheless, the difficulty in overtaking puts an even great premium than usual on qualifying well, and it is inevitable that many teams will therefore choose the Soft compound. They will have to bear in mind, though, that the Soft can be expected to suffer high degradation which will almost certainly require those who choose it to probably make two pit stops."
The Teams Ferrari now leads the constructors' championship by four points. Ferrari needs to finish firstst, or finish second and third, to secure the constructors' title for the first time since 1983. Ferrari has won twice at Suzuka, in 1987 and 1997, and have scored 50 points at Suzuka. Ferrari may attempt to repeat the team tactics they used at Sepang, but their Technical Director, Ross Brawn, may come up with a new variation of this strategy for Suzuka. The World Championship leader, Eddie Irvine, has a four point lead over Mika Hakkinen. In his Formula One debut in 1993, he finished sixth for Jordan and was assaulted by Ayrton Senna after the race. Irvine finished fifth in 1994 and fourth in 1995 for Jordan. Irvine did not finish in 1996 but he finished third in 1997 and second in 1998 for Ferrari. His highest grid position was third in 1997. Irvine's thoughts prior to Sunday's race: "The car is good and we have the potential to win both titles, but anything can happen at a track like Suzuka. Having Michael back to support my chances is a big bonus. I have finished 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd in the past at Suzuka, so now I would like to fill the missing gap in the sequence."
Michael Schumacher has regained fifth position in the drivers' championship and seems to be relishing on his return to Formula One. Michael won the Japanese Grand Prix in 1995 for Benetton and in 1997 for Ferrari. He finished second in 1994 for Benetton and again in 1996 for Ferrari. Schumacher took pole position in 1994, 1995 and 1998 and set fastest lap in 1995 and 1998. "I'll do everything I can to ensure that we have the same success in Japan as we did in Malaysia," Schumacher said this week. "We can do it again in Suzuka. McLaren has slipped to second in the constructors' championship. The Woking team won four times at Suzuka, in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1998, and have scored 91 points at Suzuka. Their horsepower and aerodynamic advantages are important at this circuit. The reliability of the MP4-14 is again in question after the fuel pressure problem on David Coulthard's car at Sepang. Last year, McLaren did enough to win both championships. McLaren need a first and 3rd finish to recapture the constructors' title. In McLaren's last one-two victory in 1991, Ayrton Senna allowed his team mate, Gerhard Berger, to win thus snatching third position in the championship from Ferrari's Alain Prost. Mika Hakkinen has slipped to second position in the drivers' championship. Hakkinen won the Japanese Grand Prix in 1998 for McLaren. Hakkinen has been consistent at Suzuka, finished second in 1995, third in 1993 and 1996, and fourth in 1997. Hakkinen has yet to set pole position at this circuit, his highest grid position being second in 1998. Hakkinen normally excels on a medium-speed circuit like Suzuka but the big question is whether he can regain his form. Hakkinen needs to win on Sunday to secure the championship unless Irvine finishes lower than fifth. Hakkinen recently made this statement, "The events of the last week are now behind us and I am, as always, focusing on the next race. I am looking forward to the Japanese Grand Prix and I will do my best to win the race and the World Championship."
Jordan secured third position in the constructors' championship at Sepang. They have scored 10 points at Suzuka. Jordan's Managing Director, Trevor Foster, stated: "Both Damon and Heinz are competitive on this track; Heinz raced in Japanese Formula 3000 and has done a lot of testing there, so he knows the track extremely well. Damon won the 1996 World Championship and had some of the best drives of his career in Suzuka, such as the 1994 race when he beat Michael Schumacher against the clock after the race was interrupted by rain. We are aiming to be on the podium in Japan. Malaysia was a 'blip' for us as we did not do as well as we had predicted." Heinz-Harald Frentzen consolidated his third position in the drivers' championship at Sepang. Frentzen holds the lap record for Suzuka, which he set in 1997. Frentzen finished second in 1997 and fifth in 1998 for Williams and sixth in 1996 and 1994 for Sauber. His highest grid position was third in 1994.
Stewart has moved up to fourth in the constructors' championship. Can the Stewart team keep their momentum going through the season finale? The Stewart team has yet to finish a Formula One race at Suzuka, but the superior traction of the Stewart-Ford SF3 out of slow corners may be a major advantage at Suzuka. Paul Stewart, Stewart-Ford's Chief Operating Officer, stated, "Having moved ahead of Williams in the Championship standings, we will be aiming to consolidate our fourth position. The most satisfying way of doing that would be to add to our points tally in Suzuka. It's Rubens' last race for the team and we hope to make it a good one for him. We are also confident that Johnny's recent upturn in performance will continue." Rubens Barrichello consolidated his seventh position in the drivers' championship at Sepang. Barrichello finished fifth in 1993 for Jordan but he has not shone during qualifying at Suzuka, his highest grid position being 10th in 1995. Rubens had this to say about his last race with Stewart-Ford: "It's going to be very emotional when I step out of the car for the last time on Sunday. I am really keen to get a good result for the team in Suzuka. I desperately wanted to do well in Malaysia and I'm just as determined to go out on a high in Japan. My goal was to leave at the end of the season having helped the Stewart-Ford team to the top four in the championship. I'll be doing my utmost to make our fourth place secure this weekend. That will be my way of repaying everyone in the Stewart-Ford team for their terrific support during my time with them."
Williams have slipped to fifth position in the constructors' championship. Williams have been a successful team in Japan, winning in 1992, 1994 and 1996 and have scored a total of 71 points at Suzuka. Ralf Schumacher has slipped to sixth in the drivers' championship. Ralf has yet to score a point at Suzuka but he was the Formula Nippon Champion in 1996. His highest grid position was seventh in 1998. Ralf stated, "Suzuka is one of my favourite race tracks. I always have good memories going back there because I have raced and achieved good results there many times." Alex Zanardi had another miserable race at Sepang. Zanardi has competed in two Japanese Grands Prix, his best finish was thirteenth in 1994 for Lotus. Alex's thoughts on Sunday's race: "The Suzuka circuit is an extremely interesting track, I would say it's a 'true' track. I hope that the FW21 will adapt to it the best way and - being a circuit very similar to Spa's from some points of view - I wish that our car will behave as good as it did in Belgium."
Prost is still seventh in the constructors' championship. Team owner, Alain Prost, never won at Suzuka and his team has yet to score a point at this circuit. This could be a lame-duck race for Prost as both drivers will be leaving after this race. Jarno Trulli is eleventh equal in the drivers' championship. Trulli was classified twelfth but did not finish in last year's Japanese Grand Prix. Olivier Panis is fifteenth equal in the drivers' championship. Panis finished fifth in 1995 for Ligier. This will also be Panis' last Grand Prix for some time, as he just recently announced his retirement from Formula One at the end of this season. Sauber is still eighth in the constructors' championship and they did not perform well at Petronas' home Grand Prix at Sepang. Sauber have scored three points at Suzuka, with sixth positions in 1994, 1996 and 1997. Both Saubers finished outside the points in last year's race.
Minardi had another promising race at Sepang with Marc Gene finishing ninth. Minardi have not scored a point at Suzuka since Christian Fittipaldi's sixth place in 1992. In last year's race, neither Minardi finished while Luca Badoer finished ninth in his last outing for Minardi at Suzuka in 1995. They will be again hoping for both Marc Gene and Luca Badoer to qualify on the tenth row of the grid and to finish on Sunday. Arrows, for once, will be in fashion with their Orange and Black Halloween colour scheme. Unfortunately they had been the "Smashing Pumpkins" over the past few races and had two more DNFs at Sepang due to mechanical failures. Arrows have not scored a point at Suzuka since Derek Warwick's sixth position in 1989. In last year's Japanese Grand Prix, neither Arrows finished while Tora Takagi was taken off by Estaban Tuero, creating the debris that shredded Michael Schumacher's rear tyre. Shizuoka's Tora Takagi has a great deal of experience at Suzuka in Formula Nippon, Formula 3000 and Formula Three. A finish in the points for either Pedro de la Rosa or Tora Takagi is again unlikely on Sunday, and to be honest, after Sunday's race, Arrows can take the A19s to the nearest scrap yard. Let's hope the new A20 will be more competitive next year. BAR's Chief Engineer, Steve Farrell, summed up their mission on Sunday: "Uppermost in the minds of everyone is that Japan is our last chance to score points this season. There's no doubt that the only approach we can take to the Japanese Grand Prix is an aggressive one. We have to aim to qualify both drivers just as well as we possibly can and make sure that everything is in place to give them the best possible chance of finishing in the points. Suzuka is a challenging circuit and we're now very familiar with our car and have a good idea about chassis set-up. This is also helped greatly by the fact that Jacques has a steel-trap mind when it comes to set-up detail from his previous experiences at race circuits. He and his race engineer, Jock Clear, are very clear about set-up, and I'm sure that will be the case at Suzuka."
Ricardo Zonta has had success at Suzuka in FIA GT1. "I like Suzuka very much," he commented. "From a driver's standpoint, it is a very technical track with some difficult corners. I finished second there last year in the FIA GT Championship race, and that was after we had a stop-and-go penalty imposed on us. I think we staged a very good comeback to achieve the result we did. My only concern about Suzuka is that I have never competed there in the wet and I know the circuit requires a very particular driving style in such conditions. The team will be trying its hardest, as will I." My Predictions: If it is dry, I'm going to pick Ferrari, McLaren and Jordan as the top three teams for qualifying with Stewart and Williams making up the top five. Starting grid:
Who will benefit if it rains on Sunday? Ferrari have not performed well in the two wet races of 1999, but Mika Hakkinen was not happy in the wet at the Nurburgring either. The Jordans and the Stewarts may be at an advantage if the heavens open. Sunday's race is bound to be eventful. Qualifying is very important but attrition, team tactics and the weather are likely to determine the outcome of the race and the championships. The 1999 Japanese Grand Prix Preview in a Nutshell:
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| Ewan Tytler | © 1999 Kaizar.Com, Incorporated. |
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