Grand Prix chiefs have announced that the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka will become the fourth race on the calendar held under floodlights.
The Suzuka Circuit has started installing over 230 floodlights around the track in preparation for this season's Japanese Grand Prix, held on 7th October. The race will start at 21:10 local time, aiming for mid-afternoon start times in the European market.
Honda, the owners of Suzuka, made the decision for the night swap after analysis of their engine. Toro Rosso's Engine Integration manager, Joe King, was quoted as saying: "Honda have analysed their past few seasons in Formula 1 with McLaren and concluded that their reliability issues were caused by solar radiation. Their reliability record in races under the lights was analysed, and sensors showed that the lower wattage of radiation hitting the engine covers stopped the MGU-K overheating. Wanting to get the best results possible at their home race, Honda managed to pull some strings to make the time switch."
Suzuka will therefore join Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain as the latest race to be run at night. Criticisms were aimed at the circuit after the 2014 race, after red flag delays meant that the race was run in increasingly darkening conditions. As heavy rain is always a major threat at the Japanese race, will the switch to floodlights remove the possibility of a darkness induced race stoppage?
"Typhoons or other storms can cause delays to racing at Suzuka, and Honda expects the floodlights to mitigate this issue. The wet Singapore Grand Prix last season proved that rain and floodlights is not a problem." King was quoted as saying.
What do you think of this time change? Do you welcome more night races on the calendar, or is it a fad too far? Will Honda make it through their home weekend without reliability issues? Comment down below.
