F1 finally returns to Suzuka to contest its first race since 2019, after two years of absence marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. Formula 1 has reunited with Japanese fans and their unparalleled passion for discipline and driver costumes.
Max Verstappen can be crowned today if he wins the race and sets the fastest lap in the race, which would leave no result conditions for his pursuers in the championship. Other scenarios are also possible for the Red Bull driver to win the crown. Note that Verstappen must score 8 points more than Charles Leclerc and 6 more than Sergio Pérez.
It was the Dutchman who set the fastest time in qualifying, and he started on pole ahead of Leclerc, while Carlos Sainz and Pérez shared the second row. Esteban Ocon is an excellent fifth at the start, ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
The Alpine F1 drivers were level with Mercedes in qualifying as Fernando Alonso edged George Russell on the fifth row. Lando Norris qualified ninth ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, and Alpine has a good chance against McLaren.
6h34 : The rain started to fall at Suzuka about an hour before the start of the race, and with half an hour to go, it is continuous but light. For the moment, nothing indicates that the start procedure is delayed, while the drivers have made their installation laps on the grid in intermediate rubber.
6h38 : Pierre Gasly will start from the pits after some set-up changes have been made to his single-seater. The Frenchman had been eliminated in Q1 and AlphaTauri will have taken this opportunity to adjust his car for the rain conditions.
6h41 : The cars are on the grid, sheltered by tents erected by the teams. The rain is still present and should not go away before the start. The race direction has not yet communicated any change in the schedule, and the conditions could change over the course of the race.
6h48 : Red Bull boss Christian Horner confirms rain is expected for the next few hours and teams are unlikely to use slicks at this Japanese Grand Prix race.
6h51 : Mario Isola, the director of Pirelli, explains that the conditions are perfect for the intermediate tyres, and that the rain which is expected will not necessarily require a change to the wet tyres.
6h55 : Charles Leclerc’s engineer explains to him that the rain will stay the same for 30 minutes before intensifying.
6h58 : The race direction did not communicate a different or rain-specific procedure for the start. All the drivers set off on intermediate tyres.
7h00 : This is the start of the formation lap. A standing start will take place when the water splashes are important on the track.
Departure : Excellent start from Leclerc who tries to take the lead but Verstappen stays in the lead! Behind, Pérez passed Sainz and Ricciardo gained several places.
Tour 1 : The battle is fierce between Ocon and Hamilton but the Frenchman resists, and Sainz gets into the wall after the hairpin, while Albon is also stopped on the track, shortly before Sainz’s accident. Gasly returns to the garage with a billboard instead of the front wing! The safety car is deployed.
Tour 2 : Slow motion shows Vettel had made a good start but was rammed by Alonso on the first start. Sainz meanwhile was returned to the track but fortunately the Spaniard was not hit. Zhou spun at the hairpin. On the Albon side, it was a mechanical breakdown that forced him to retire. And the red flag is unfurled.
7h11: It seems that the accelerating rain is at the origin of the stoppage of the race. Gasly was the only one to have tried hard rubber, but it didn’t have time to pay off. The question now is to know how the race direction will manage the conditions, since it will not be better until nightfall, according to the radars.
7h20 : The race direction confirms that the red flag is both to withdraw Sainz’s car, but also because the rain has increased in intensity. She will communicate a new departure time later.
7h34 : It appears that the reason why Pierre Gasly was furious is the fact of having passed in race conditions next to a crane on the track after having changed his wing. The race direction had deployed the red flag but the marshals did not wait for all the cars to have returned to the garage to send a crane to the asphalt. The Frenchman was therefore furious and went to see the race direction.
If you’re wondering why he’s pissed, this is why.
Absolutely unbelievable. Keep in mind the visibility range. & that’s the racing line. pic.twitter.com/xiDO8J8Sl4
— CYMotorsport (@CYMotorsport) October 9, 2022
7h36 : The race will be restarted with a rolling start at 7:50 a.m. French time!
7h40 : Alex Wurz, the president of the GPDA (the association of Grand Prix drivers), is annoyed on Twitter: “We have to discuss this tractor on the track… let’s make it short: it must NOT happen..”
7h42 : The race direction obliges the pilots to use the tires for the rain for the relaunch.
7h49 : One minute from the relaunch, it is finally suspended…
7h51 : The FIA will assess the situation at 8 a.m. French time.
7h54 : The race direction communicates on the incident with Gasly, and does not seem to question his decision, nor even the timing of it: “The safety car was deployed and the race neutralized. Car 10, which had been damaged and had pulled up behind the safety car, was traveling at high speed to catch up with the peloton. With conditions deteriorating, the red flag went up. was shown before car 10 returned to the incident where it had been damaged on the previous lap.”
8h08 : The medical car drives to assess the track conditions, but the race is not restarted for the moment, while the rain has redoubled.
8h19 : While the incident between Gasly and the crane continues to debate and arouse indignation in the paddock, no news of a potential relaunch reaches us.
8h23 : Gasly was summoned to the race marshals for driving too fast in the red flag conditions. The FIA thus seems to be preparing a ready-made defense so as not to question the decision to send a crane to the track while a driver is still on the track and out of the peloton.
8:30 a.m.: The medical car is on the track to reassess the condition of the track.
8h39 : On Instagram, Philippe Bianchi, Jules’ father, is moved by the monumental error of the FIA: “No respect for the pilot’s life, no respect for the memory of Jules, unbelievable”
8h49 : The reactions continue to pour in, in particular that of the former driver Martin Brundle: “There should have been an immediate red flag with a car stopped in an awkward position in these conditions. There was clearly some debris on the track. There should NEVER, ABSOLUTELY NEVER be a tractor on the track before all the cars were gone. behind the safety car or in the pits. Gasly cannot be held responsible here.”
8h52 : There are 1h20 left for the event, before we get to the 3 hours that will put an end to it. In the current state of things, no points would be distributed.
9h04 : On Instagram, Hamilton offers to send the drivers back to the track to assess for themselves if the track is passable, as the rain seems to be easing.
9h05: And the race management announces that the race will start again at 9:15 am French time!
9h10 : What about the allocation of points? We tell you everything: If the leader has covered more than two laps but less than 25% of the planned race distance, the first five will be awarded points as follows: 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points. If the leader has completed 25% but less than 50% of the scheduled race distance, points will be awarded to the top 9 as follows: 13, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points. If the leader has completed 50% but less than 75% of the scheduled race distance, points will be awarded to the top 10 as follows: 19, 14, 12, 9, 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 and 1 points. With eight points to take from Leclerc and an hour to go at most, winning the title will be difficult for Verstappen in these conditions.
9h15 : The race is restarted behind the Safety Car, and a flying start is announced! Rain tires are mandatory, and Ocon says visibility is better so far.
Tour 4 : The safety car remains on track for the time being. The pilots assure that the conditions are better. Bottas, on the other hand, declares that the visibility is too bad with cars in front of him.
Tour 5 : The safety car will pull away at the end of the lap!