2022 Formula One Japanese Grand Prix

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Will Max Verstappen become World Champion this weekend?

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One of the most exciting circuits on the F1 calendar will host the racing action this weekend as the field battles for late season points in Japan.

Suzuka’s complex layout has given F1 fans exciting races for decades, and this weekend’s grand prix looks to be no exception. The 2022 cars have allowed for longer and closer battles compared to recent years, and we can expect mid-pack scrapping in Japan this Sunday.

This is the first trip Formula 1 has made to Japan since 2019. Last time out, Sebastian Vettel was the winner, and Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest lap. Neither of these facts is likely to repeat based on the 2022 results to date. Vettel has struggled for consistency and pace this season, and Hamilton has been unable to reach the championship form we’ve come to expect from him.

Just five races remain in the 2022 season. After Japan, the teams will face off in the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. Behind the dominant Red Bull and Max Verstappen, rankings of cars and teams from P2 downward should see some reordering before the end of the season. Teams will be putting their best cars forward, and drivers will be trying to extract the most from them to score late season points.

The most recent F1 race, last weekend in Singapore, produced interesting results and saw Sergio Perez maintain a lead throughout nearly the entire race despite frequent safety cars and virtual safety cars in drying conditions.

The cars winding through the legendary S-curves and ripping through 130R flat out should provide exciting racing action this weekend. What are your predictions for the results? Let us know in the comments below.

Image via: Haas F1​
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About author
Mike Smith
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

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Comments

trichens
Premium
The "problem" with the FIA rules is that they are defined and applied rigidly so have to be written so as to be unambiguous which isn't as easy as you might think. It doesn't matter what the intent is but what is the actual wording.

If you read Adrian Newey's book "How To Build A Car", you'll see that he says that he reads through the construction regulations looking for anything that he might be able to exploit.

One thing that struck me reading the book was that he makes reference early in his Red Bull career to the amount of rake he designs into the RBR cars... something which is still very noticeable in the current car.
 
trichens
Premium
Red Bull claim that they are below the cap, but FIA have found they have both exceeded the cap and in some way not completed the "paperwork" correctly; a procedural breach.
To me that sounds like RBR have perhaps been caught out trying to hide something? What we could call "creative accountancy"...
Of course, we don't have details of how the accounts are presented nor exactly what falls into the cap for 2021.

RBR have said they are compliant and have used one of the BIG auditor firms.
As the "joke" goes...
Ask an accountant "What do you get by adding 2 and 2?"
Their answer "That's an interesting question... what sort of result were you looking for?"
 
muzikant
Redbull already had a lot of damage bills caused by Mercedes creative accounting . It's so minimal it's pathetic and it kicks. Toto is happy again :roflmao:
 
Last edited:
wombat999
Premium
The $ figure reported at this point (11/10/2020) appears to be around $A10M, in round numbers. Curiously the FIA supposedly began going through the 2021 figures in March this year, so why did it take 8 months for the RBR 'breach' to be raised at the pointy end of the 2022 season? :poop:
 
LeSunTzu
It can easily take 2-3 months for accounting auditors to certify standard corporate accounts. I guess the extra time is due to chasing any window-dressing tricks and going back and forth with FIA about what is admissible or not as the whole thing is new. UEFA's financial fair-play audits are not quicker.
 
Jim Layee
It's rained two races in a row so quick change the rules !

Most of the spray is thrown up via the diffuser and not the tyres so racing in heavy rain won't return unless the level of downforce returns to the comparatively very low level of the past .
Last time the FIA tried to seriously cut downforce levels the lap times flew up and the 'fans' moaned so much they had to reverse the changes.
 
Richard Wilks
Jim Layee said:
It's rained two races in a row so quick change the rules !

Most of the spray is thrown up via the diffuser and not the tyres so racing in heavy rain won't return unless the level of downforce returns to the comparatively very low level of the past .
Last time the FIA tried to seriously cut downforce levels the lap times flew up and the 'fans' moaned so much they had to reverse the changes.
Click to expand...
F1 cars had more downforce than this in the past, or at least comparative levels.
 
muzikant
maybe a mudflap is an option for the tires they can put on in the rain... but kidding, F1 is already very safe, these guys should be able to drive a rain race like in Brazil 2016
 
wombat999
Premium
LeSunTzu said:
It can easily take 2-3 months for accounting auditors to certify standard corporate accounts. I guess the extra time is due to chasing any window-dressing tricks and going back and forth with FIA about what is admissible or not as the whole thing is new. UEFA's financial fair-play audits are not quicker.
Click to expand...
Understood, but March to October is 8 Months, and logic (not something these bean counters understand) would be to do the financial oversight on the winning team down, in this case RBR, MB, Ferrari etc. and release the findings as they are done.
 
P
Several good points made, but I will focus on something I said and has not been replied to:

More systems to tell drivers of potential hazards that are not reliant on eyesight. There is GPS data of every single car lapping on the track with pinpoint accuracy. You tell me that there is no way to tell a driver that there is a car stopped ahead and on which side of the track so it can be avoided without seeing it? FFS we have that with CrewChief on simulations, why the FIA with way more resources than us cannot create a system for it? Same for a beeping system installed on the ear plugs of a driver so he can know if there is a car alongside even if it's on the blind spot of the rearview mirrors (hello Singapore 2017).

Why is F1 always afraid of introducing technology and aids that can help a driver in a meaningful way without taking the skill away from the game, but have no qualms in introducing systems that detriment the show?
 
D
pai said:
Several good points made, but I will focus on something I said and has not been replied to:

More systems to tell drivers of potential hazards that are not reliant on eyesight. There is GPS data of every single car lapping on the track with pinpoint accuracy. You tell me that there is no way to tell a driver that there is a car stopped ahead and on which side of the track so it can be avoided without seeing it? FFS we have that with CrewChief on simulations, why the FIA with way more resources than us cannot create a system for it? Same for a beeping system installed on the ear plugs of a driver so he can know if there is a car alongside even if it's on the blind spot of the rearview mirrors (hello Singapore 2017).

Why is F1 always afraid of introducing technology and aids that can help a driver in a meaningful way without taking the skill away from the game, but have no qualms in introducing systems that detriment the show?
Click to expand...
All that technology already exists, you just have to fly a F-22 to get the helmet.
 
Damage Inc
davehenrie said:
All that technology already exists, you just have to fly a F-22 to get the helmet.
Click to expand...
Actually that's a good point, why can't F1 give drivers a system like that? Not as if the sport is low on cash?.....ooh just looked it up 400 grand...WOW!!! LOL
 
Pete Conway
Premium
You could always do away with all risks and go for a much cheaper Scalextric championship, good acceleration and speed and the cornering is far better than what we have in F1.
Or you could stop the farce and remove driver aids stop pretending that it's for the advancement of road car tech and go racing, road cars don't need to corner at 4G
If the tyres throw up too much spray, make em' half as wide, but really sticky,
do away with the need of the insane amounts of downforce, and have cars depend on mechanical grip let the drivers be drivers again.
You don't need a 1000 hp to race, and the cars don't need to weigh the best part of a ton, and the drivers don't need to be paid tens of millions a year.

But these things are going to be set as a the norm and every one will increase as are seen fit, go take a look at a video of Max Chilton the the McMurtry at Goodwood, it looks like the film is speeded up it's almost beyond control,
This is the direction F1 is taking but along with it will come heavier and more cumbersome cars so fast that being trackside will be a waste of time and cash, and the tracks will be constantly redesigned to cope,
 
B
Pete Conway said:
You could always do away with all risks and go for a much cheaper Scalextric championship, good acceleration and speed and the cornering is far better than what we have in F1.
Or you could stop the farce and remove driver aids stop pretending that it's for the advancement of road car tech and go racing, road cars don't need to corner at 4G
If the tyres throw up too much spray, make em' half as wide, but really sticky,
do away with the need of the insane amounts of downforce, and have cars depend on mechanical grip let the drivers be drivers again.
You don't need a 1000 hp to race, and the cars don't need to weigh the best part of a ton, and the drivers don't need to be paid tens of millions a year.

But these things are going to be set as a the norm and every one will increase as are seen fit, go take a look at a video of Max Chilton the the McMurtry at Goodwood, it looks like the film is speeded up it's almost beyond control,
This is the direction F1 is taking but along with it will come heavier and more cumbersome cars so fast that being trackside will be a waste of time and cash, and the tracks will be constantly redesigned to cope,
Click to expand...
This 100%
I think it's a the teams and drivers that whinge if the cars are slowed down, I think if the competition was good no spectators would be complaining.

Stop adjusting brake bias multiple times on a lap, the drivers should have to compromise and just be driving the car.

Maybe a lower performance limit would be cheaper to reach and more effective cost control that the salary cap joke that is making the sport and RedBull look like a joke? is it incompetence or cheating? is either ok at this level?

Maybe limit car setup adjustment ranges so that you can't have a perfect car at all tracks - a car perfect at Monza will be not good at Monaco and Singapore - instead make the cars a compromise on most tracks and they might be quicker at different parts of circuit and make interesting racing ?
 

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