3.
07:37
Gasly frustration cleared
It is now clear that Gasly was not only visibly frustrated because of the advertising board and the low visibility, but that there was a much more precarious situation. When he came back onto the track after his pit stop and wanted to catch up with the field, he almost collided with a track vehicle. He’s rightly angry, especially considering the tragic accident of Jules Bianchi in 2014 right here in Suzuka.
3.
07:31
Safety Car gets an overview
The safety car is on the track and is getting an overview of the current conditions. The rain is still heavy and a restart is not expected any time soon.
3.
07:25
It only remains to be seen
At the moment it only remains to be seen when this will continue. Race officials have since officially informed that the red flags were shown “due to deteriorating weather conditions and the need for salvage work on the track”. When it will continue will be communicated accordingly.
3.
07:22
AlphaTauri
Pit radio Pierre Gasly
“What the hell is that?” Gasly voiced his view over the team radio just before the red flags. “Oh my god. There’s something stuck on my car. I can’t see anything.” The Onboard replays showed how poor visibility on the track was on the first lap. In the spray he hardly had a chance to orientate himself. Of course he’s excited.
3.
07:18
It will take longer
The drivers have mostly got out and everyone is preparing for a longer break. It leads Max Verstappen ahead of Charles Leclerc and Sergio Pérez. Esteban Ocon is fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Mick Schumacher made it to tenth place after the chaotic start.
3.
07:12
Turner by Zhou
Guanyu Zhou also spun in the opening round. The Chinese is correspondingly far behind in the classification. For his part, Pierre Galsy caught the advertising gang that had flown away from Sainz in the accident.
2.
07:12
Williams
Technical failure at Albon
With Alex Albon it was an accident, as the replays now show, but a technical problem. He got stuck in second gear and turned the Williams off. For his part, Carlos Sainz struggled with aquaplaning. After his incident and taking the advertising board with him, Pierre Gasly was in the pits and raised full-wet. Perhaps others will do the same under red flags.
2.
07:09
Red flag
Race canceled in Suzuka! The safety car leads the field back to the pit lane so that the track can be cleaned up.
2.
07:07
Alonso turns Vettel
There is now a repetition of the Vettel incident. The German made contact with Fernando Alonso in the heated start and spun as a result. Vettel was able to resume the race.
1.
07:06
safety car
The safety car comes out and collects the field now. Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly is on the move with an advertising banner on the front wing that got stuck!
2.
07:06
Williams
Accident by Alex Albon
And Alex Albon is also on the edge of the track. Quite a lot going on in the first few kilometers at the Japan Grand Prix!
1.
07:05
Ferrari
Accident by Carlos Sainz
Accident by Carlos Sainz! The Ferrari driver is in turn 11 with a damaged rear. It is not yet known how this happened.
1.
07:05
Start race
The lights are off, the race is on! Charles Leclerc gets off better, but Verstappen sleeps back in the first corner and takes the lead back. Further back there is already the first incident. In the middle unfortunately Sebastian Vettel. Ironically, in his favorite race, he is across the track.
07:01
Wetter than expected
The track seems wetter than expected and the spray is quite clear on the formation lap. Will not be easy, especially in the back field.
07:00
It’s the formation lap
The formation lap has started and Max Verstappen leads the field one last time before the start. All riders are on the Intermediate and there will be a standing start!
06:55
The view of the sky
It’s still raining in Suzuka and forecasts say it’ll be raining all race. The heaviest shower is expected around 7:30 a.m. before it should weaken again afterwards.
06:50
Gasly out of the box
Pierre Gasly will start his race from the pits today. The Frenchman received a different rear wing and his setup was reworked. After an unsuccessful qualifying, Gasly was already far behind in the grid with 17th place, which means that you didn’t lose much by taking this step.
06:46
Also Schumacher faster than teammate
Mick Schumacher should also look satisfied on Saturday. He didn’t get a place in Q3, but with 15th place he was faster than teammate Kevin Magnussen and thus also provides arguments for a contract extension. With Pierre Gasly confirmed at Alpine for 2023 and AlphaTauri signing Nyck de Vries, he only has two vacancies for next year. One at Haas and one at Williams.
06:38
Vettel out of the top ten
Sebastian Vettel particularly likes the track in Suzuka and so the man from Heppenheim should be happy that everything came together in qualifying. While teammate Lance Stroll was already kicked out in Q1, Vettel was able to drive into Q3 and will start tomorrow’s race from ninth place. Next to him is Lando Norris in the McLaren.
06:30
Drivers expect rain
In the forecasts ahead of the weekend, it was said that there would be rain on Friday and Sunday and this forecast is correct. It started raining before the rain and a look at the radar reveals that it should stay like this for the next few hours. So it will be anything but an easy race what the drivers can expect.
06:25
Verstappen from pole
Max Verstappen already took the first step towards an early title win in yesterday’s qualifying. With a time of 1:29.304 minutes, he took pole position ahead of Charles Leclerc by a hair’s breadth. Only ten thousandths were missing in the direction of Verstappen. Carlos Sainz was also close to the championship leader in qualifying, 0.057 seconds down. Sergio Pérez completes the second row of the grid. Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton are behind them, ahead of Fernando Alonso in the second Alpine and George Russell in the second Mercedes.
06:19
Will there be a world title in Suzuka?
Max Verstappen could already bag his early title win at the Grand Prix in Japan. The Dutchman, who currently leads the World Cup with 341 points, only needs eight points more than Charles Leclerc and six more than teammate Sergio Pérez. Leclerc could still equalize on points, but then the victories would count and there he can no longer catch up with Verstappen.
Warm welcome!
After two years of the Corona compulsory break, Formula 1 is racing again in Suzuka, Japan! Race start is at 7:00 a.m.!