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Welcome to Prime Tire, where we wonder if anyone else didn’t know that cherry blossom trees actually grow cherries. Only U.S? I thought they called them cherry blossoms because they were just…kind of pink. I have to take the rest of the day off.
Either way, it’s cherry blossom season in Formula 1 as the Japanese Grand Prix weekend begins. My name is Patrick and Luke Smith will be here shortly. Let’s go.
Dispatches from the practice in Japan
If you’re reading this in the US or UK, chances are you slept at least one session when F1 practice started in Japan. So let’s do a little recap, shall we?
When we last visited here in September, you will remember that Max Verstappen I did everything MEEP MEEP, taking his 13th victory of the year and Red Bull’s final constructors’ championship. Friday, the team’s hold on Suzuka seemed unchanged. Rain during FP2 hampered everyone’s racing, but Verstappen and Sergio Pérez dominated the first practice and ran fastest through the slow (by 0.25s) and high-speed (by 0.1s) corners. s). The margins aren’t huge, but one has to assume that the gap in race pace is much wider.
Ferrari never ceases to surprise itself – the team didn’t think Suzuka’s fast corners would suit them, but the Prancing Horses were fastest through the middle corners and straights on Friday. Sainz said Ferrari is “closer to Red Bull than I expected”. A fourth consecutive podium to start the year is certainly possible – a feat Ferrari has not managed since 2018.
Lewis Hamilton praised Mercedes’ first tests, and the team finally seems optimistic heading into a race weekend. This car seems to like cooler conditions. So far this season, the more the team tinkers throughout a race weekend, the further away the car gets. We will see if the Japanese GP breaks with this scenario. “I think we have a better platform or a better starting point, as long as we don’t make too many changes and progress,” Hamilton said. “I think (we should) probably stay where we are.”
Logan Sargeant the difficult month continued during FP1. Driving Alex Albon’s repaired chassis (Williams chose to permanently hand over Sargeant’s chassis to Albon after the Australian change), Sargeant lost the car in Dunlop Curve and I crossed the barriers—another weekend of repairs for Williams. “The extent of the damage is enormous,” Vowles said between sessions. “The floor, the front wing, all the suspensions, the gearbox are also cracked.”
FP1 temporarily red flagged after Logan Sargeant crash #F1 #Japanese GP pic.twitter.com/dPN5ek6CBl
– Formula 1 (@F1) April 5, 2024
At least the chassis was okay. Remember that the team will not have a third chassis available until China in two weeks. Williams’ margin for error this weekend is very slim: no driver can afford to damage a chassis today in FP3 or qualifying, and Williams cannot afford to lose any more sessions he wants to collect data and understand this redesigned car.
It’s always difficult to read Aston Martin and McLaren. McLaren’s soft tire testing was interrupted by red flags and rain, although Lando Norris said the car was in “reasonable” condition ahead of qualifying. Norris and Piastri were on the podium here in September, but there is a feeling that expectations in the McLaren garage are a little lower this time around. We will see. Aston Martin did not run much on Friday, given the improvements made at Suzuka. The team did not race in FP2 and had issues with the aerodynamic lean sensors on Lance Stroll’s car in FP1, which helped their program somewhat. Fernando Alonso finished seventh in FP1, but overall the team didn’t log enough laps today. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The same could be said of Alpine, which also barely had a chance to test its new front wing.
As for the latecomers, Daniel Ricciardo missed FP1 for RB so Ayumu Iwasa could practice in an F1 car in front of his home crowd for the first time. When Ricciardo raced, he ran outside the top ten in an uneventful FP2 – again failing to match teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who ran ninth fastest. Haas and Sauber are also present at Suzuka.
GO FURTHER
What Daniel Ricciardo’s shaky start to 2024 means for his F1 future
An update on upgrades
Here are five notable upgrades teams made to Suzuka, ranked in order of how sure you know what that means:
- Red Bull revised its cooling inletsby removing the side outlets for better air circulation while adding an additional entrance and channel on the pontoons. This makes sense to me. Air goes in, air goes out, the car cools down. The team says Suzuka’s low braking energy demands enabled this redistribution. (F1TV’s Sam Collins had a good distribution of Red Bull’s cooling design.)
- Ferrarianticipating rain and lower grip, brought a “higher rear wing more loaded with a more loaded lower beam wing. Of course. Less grip means you need more downforce. We’ve seen the Ferrari thrive recently at tracks requiring lower downforce setups, like Monza. But we’ve also seen the Ferrari look quite competitive on higher downforce tracks since September (think Singapore or Australia). If Ferrari can compete more consistently everywhere, it will continue to be the bee in Red Bull’s hood for much of the spring and summer. Let’s see if he holds the service Saturday and Sunday.
- Aston Martin brought an important update to Japan: a completely remodeled base and a new diffuser to enjoy. I understand that. However, the team said the ground updates should “improve the flow field,” a phrase I’ve never heard before. This sounds like the goals of a misguided sci-fi space opera villain. By “upgrading” the Flowfield, the Colonel would break it – and doom the galaxy. It had to be stopped.
- Mercedes made no changes. I barely understand this.
- Ferrari says he has a “re-profiled rear upper wishbone rear leg fairing”, which is just a collection of seven random words. Drop them off at dinner to impress your date/reveal that you watch too much F1!
Meanwhile, at Alpine…
Poignant heard at the Alpine garage during FP1:
“There is a smell of burning carbon fiber, but the team insists everything is fine.” – Will Buxton, F1Tv
GO FURTHER
Alpine’s new aggressiveness in F1 could lead to a slow start – and long-term results
And now another non-sequitur
Maybe I’m a simple, nerdy man, but I really enjoyed this joke about cats and tire compounds between the Williams drivers.
Comparing cats to tires? 🐈 🛞
Stay tuned for all the wild discussions from Team Torque Dropping 🔜 pic.twitter.com/0JTiDkf669
– Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) April 4, 2024
Get to know the Suzuka Circuit
I hope you enjoy racing at Suzuka this weekend as much as we do and as much as the drivers. “Suzuka is definitely one of the greatest of all time,” George Russell said in 2023. “It’s so exciting. The undulations and the flow of this circuit gives you such a great rhythm when you race. so it’s always a joy to come here.
Check out our full Japanese GP track breakdown below.
GO FURTHER
Breakdown of the Japanese GP track: Suzuka is all about rhythmic fluidity and old-school charm
Now let’s send it to Luke, who is a very happy man in Japan.
In the paddock with Luke Smith
I love everything about Suzuka. Crazy fans with their incredible costumes and features the old-school figure-eight layout, this circuit has established itself as one of the best in world motorsport. But today, when I visited this circuit for the first time, I became certain that it was the greatest racing circuit in the world.
I love Spa and my British passport requires me to love Silverstone. But there’s something more about Suzuka that feels so raw, so close to the roots of racing – a physical reminder of all the reasons why I love – why we – love Formula 1.
I headed out onto the track for FP1, passing through the space behind the barrier where Logan Sargeant would crash later in the session. I then head towards a hill which offers a remarkable view. On one side you’re practically looking at the two Degner corners, and on the other there’s the 130R, the fastest corner on the track and one of the biggest in F1.
TV cameras do not transmit speed via 130R. Seeing these cars, some of the fastest in F1 history, dancing through the corners, sparking, racing towards the curb as the downforce pushes them around the circuit, the tires leaning and keeping them glued to the ground… it’s a total, total spectacle. joy.
Suzuka, nothing is like you. Thank you for this much-needed reminder of why this sport is so special.
Outside of points
Drivers were divided this week when asked about Fernando Alonso’s defensive gesture at the Australian GP this caused George Russell to crash and earned the Aston Martin driver a penalty. Lance Stroll called the penalty “ridiculous”, but Nico Hülkenberg “wasn’t very impressed” by Alonso’s driving.
Is Sebastian Vettel an option for Mercedes in 2025? It’s a name being bandied about as the paddock debates who will take Hamilton’s seat.
And finally, Madeline Coleman has written a superb profile on the F1 Academy CEO. Susie Wolff and her mission to improve the perception of women in motorsport. “I’m not just on a crusade for women in motorsport,” Wolff said. “I am also on a crusade to make this a sustainable and viable business model.”
I also want to promote our new daily football (soccer?) newsletter, Athletic FC. It’s from the great Phil Hay, and it’s great. Try it and sign up here.
Main images of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris: Mark Thompson/Getty Images, YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images