Japanese Grand Prix: Formula One — live

“Hello Daniel. Spent the whole week listening to people in Europe complain about waking up late for this race which was funny give I used to stay up at 12.15 back in to watch every Champions League game in India. Now I’m in San Diego and it’s a cool Saturday night 10 pm race start. How the tables have turned!”

Not just the tables, Sanchit Sabhlok, that’s the world turning as well.

Take that flat-Earthers!

Strong words from Gasly. He should have slowed down, I think we can agree on that, but he’s got a point here and we shouldn’t ignore that.

The Sky team are really emphasising the ‘Gasly incident’ and you know what, they’re right to do so.

It’s tricky. There was a red flag and if he was going too fast then of course he needs to account for himself, but with this visibility (or lack of, as I should say) there shouldn’t be anything on the track that isn’t a safety car or a Formula 1 car. I totally get why he’s livid.

This narrative will run.

“Morning!”

Hi Karen Brigden.

“I asked my son to wake me up before the start of the race, which he did at 4am. I’ve had 3 cups of tea, and watched the tail-end of the Moon -Jupiter conjunction but sadly no racing.

“How long until I can go back to bed without fear of missing any racing?”

Beats me, Karen. But I applaud your commitment (and that of your son). With all that caffeine I’m not sure you’ll get back to sleep. Might as well stay with me and hope the rain subsides.

As gutted as you are, spare a thought for the fans who have braved the wet and are sticking with it.

Alexander Albon says he “doesn’t know why we were racing”, even though he’s out because of a gearbox failure.

To be honest, the spray of the circuit… it’s a tricky one, but conditions like this are dangerous.

On the recovery vehicle:

We’ve already talked about it. It’s already happened in Singapore. Seb (Vettel) brought it up in the driver’s briefing. It is really dangerous.”

“October is the wettest month of the year in Japan.”

So says Kurt Perleberg. I sympathise with the boffins who schedule the calendar but if that is indeed accurate, and I’ll take Kurt at his work without doing any further research, then we do have to wonder why this has been structured in this manner.

Perhaps there was no way around it? Perhaps it makes sense on other metrics (air travel, etc) but it is incredibly frustrating.

It’s important to remember what happened here in 2014 when Jules Bianchi lost his life after his Marrussia collided with a tractor crane that was clearing away another car.

That is why Pierre Gasly was so upset earlier. There was another vehicle on the track seeing to Carlos Sainz’s car. Gasly was incredibly angry, remonstrating with his team in the pit lane. The stewards have suggested that he was partly at fault, driving too fast under a red flag. But still, it’s not a good look when other vehicles are on the track and no doubt the Bianchi incident has playing in his mind.

Here’s Carlos Sainz:

To be honest I’m not too worried. The conditions were pretty much impossible with visibility.

As soon as I got out of the slipstream I had more water and started aquaplaning. It’s down to luck. You’re just praying for anyone not to hit you.

Maybe the best would have been a rolling start with extremes (tyres). But then everyone complains that Formula 1 doesn’t race in the wet.”

[sad face]

NOOOOOO! The restart has been suspended. More rain. The cars were just about ready to go, the grid trolleys, the generators, the gazebos above the cars, everything had been packed away.

But at the last possible minute, the restart has been suspended. Now the drivers are climbing back out.

Must have been something scary on the radar.

All the drivers have to start with wet tyres. Makes sense. It’s still raining and there is a lot of water on the track.

4 minutes to go.

The drivers are clambering back in their vehicles. It’ll be a rolling start in the wet with one lap behind the safety car. We need at least two laps without one for this to be a race.

“Hi Daniel I gotta a question do you think max Verstappen has whats in him to become a racing god like senna or Schumacher? what are your thoughts?”

Hi Ritvik Pradeep. Great question. Yes, I do. Two reasons. His car is immense and I don’t see that changing any time soon. Even if other cars manage to challenge him in the future, Red Bull will always provide him with a machine capable of winning races.

And he has that look, that appetite, that desire to stand on podiums. The way he outmuscled Leclerc to the first corner, the way he isn’t afraid to push the boundaries (as he did in qualifying here) is a testament to his insatiable desire to win races, to lift titles, to break records. I have no doubt he’ll retire as a titan of the sport.

Good news! We’re back in 15 minutes.

It’ll be a rolling start, but we’ve got a race coming up.

“Daniel. I have 2 questions for you.

1: When will F1 have an American driver?

2: Will Andretti F1 ever come to fruition for 2024?”

Kurt Perleberg, I have two answers, but they’re both the same. In truth, I don’t know, but that’s not satisfactory, is it. So I’ll do my best:

McLaren’s CEO Zak Brown had this to say recently: “The talents are there, the resources are there. It’s really about when and where they get started and to get into Formula One.

“The traditional route is you start in carts in Europe and you work your way up through the European Junior formulas, and we don’t have enough American drivers.”

So it’s a pipeline issue.

As for the second question, Mario Andretti is “confident” he’ll have a team in 2024. But the deadline is encroaching.

New engine regulations for 2026 are expected to trigger the arrivals of Audi and Porsche. That could change things of course.

Replays on Sky from the start. Verstappen had a clunky getaway but he had the racing line – interestingly on the outside of the track into the first corner – which meant he could scamper away in the lead.

Other replays show how hard it was for the drivers to see. So much spray kicked up from the drivers in front. Honestly, how do these guys do this? Unreal.

“Morning Daniel”

Hi Em Jackson from Newcastle. Good thing we woke up early, eh?

“Re: track designs as “a kid” (8-80?) – not just a bridge either! A cross-under tunnel section, a spiral hill climb section, an island where drivers can choose to go left or right side into a long curve and of course, my “F1 season” contained a point to point race e.g. Edinburgh to Glasgow & back or Edmonton to Calgary one way.”

I love this correspondence. Thanks Em. Did you also play that game where you flick a pen/pencil and try to work your way around the track?

We officially haven’t had a race yet. There needs to be at least two completed laps with no safety car. It’s bucketing down and if we don’t get going again there won’t be any points scored. What a shame. The sell-out crowd look miserable under waterproof jackets but no doubt they’re soaked.

If we can get two laps in, the winner will get 6 points, down to 1 in 5th. If we get to the end of lap 27, the winner will claim 13 down to 1 for ninth. If we get more than 50% but up to 75% (up to lap 40), it’s 19 for the victory down to 1 up to 10th. Anything more than that and it’s a full quota of points.

Did you get all that?

It’s largely irrelevant now. It’s lashing at the minute.

Speaking of Daniel Ricciardo, he’s up to 8th from 11th. He’s the biggest winner after the red flag.

“A 1000 bucks on Hamilton to win. Anyone?”

Well Edwin Innih Imoesi, according to one betting agency, you’d claim 8,000 bucks if he does. Ands you know what, with all this wet, that wouldn’t be the worst gamble. Not that I am encouraging anyone to part with their money.

“Hi Daniel. To make the McLarens faster why don’t they simply put larger wheels on the rear ? … that way they would always be racing downhill”

Like a monster truck, Rags Magone?

“Hey Daniel! Great having you follow the race for us. What do you think is Danny Ric’s next step now that he’s out of a seat?”

Thanks Nikhil Gopakumar. Great to be here. Standing water on the track now so this might be a lengthy delay. The drivers are hopping out of their cars.

On to your question. Wow, I’m not getting any easy ones this morning. Who’s to say, mate. Whatever happens to him I hope to see him back in the sport. He’s clearly a talent and a big character. It’s a shame he hasn’t quite made it work. Maybe some time away will do him good. He doesn’t think he’ll be back for 2023:

Red flag

Sainz and Albon retire

Hold your breath. They’re all there. Here we go!

Have a gander at this. That’s proper wet.

The formation lap is underway. Big plumes of water behind the cars. It seems to be getting wetter. Not sure if any of the drivers will duck in for full wets.

Yup, intermediates across the grid.

The last two times Verstappen has driven here, he’s collided with a Ferrari. What a stat just dropped on Sky. He’s sharing the front row with a crimson stallion.

We’re taking a look at the track layout on the Sky feed. Can I just say how cool it is having a circuit that loops over itself? As a kid, whenever I drew my own tracks (did you do that as well?) I made sure to design a few that crisscrossed. There’s something so childlike about it. Know what I mean? I love it.

A few puddles about with rain still falling. That’s causing a few folks to scratch their heads. Intermediates? No? Yes? Maybe?

George Russell said he was worried they wouldn’t last too long of the rain does let off. That’s the game, eh? My guess is the rain won’t let off so intermediates seem to be the way to go. But it’s such a gamble. What do you reckon?

Riffing off of Lokesh’s correspondence, here’s Lewis Hamilton on the budget caps while we wait:

We’ve got 13 minutes to go. Lando Norris is smiling that youthful smile (I’m constantly baffled that these fellas are racing around at the speed of light at their age. Needless to say, I was doing nothing of the sort when I was 22).

He’s shrugged off questions around Verstappen’s tomfoolery which saw him reprimanded after an incident in qualifying. Much ado ‘bout nothing, then.

“Good Morning Daniel

What would be two things you could suggest a Mclaren fan to look forward to next season? (We haven’t had much this year to be honest!)

Thank you for the lively commentary!”

Hi Lokesh Anand. Phew, that’s a tough question. You’re right, it hasn’t clicked this year, has it?

Team principal Toto Wolff has suggested a lighter chassis – which was being developed for this year but they ran out of budget – could help for 2023. But like he said, “To turn the ship in this industry is a little bit like an oil tanker.” He did however guarantee that they’ll be competitive next campaign.

What would you do. Keep in mind though that the spending budget is being slashed again. It was $145m, cut to $140 and will be reduced to $135.

Fancy more Giles Richards and Max Verstappen? What a combo that is, by the way.

Here’s our main man on the sport’s main man as told by another main man. Still with me?

Don’t worry about all that. Just feast your eye’s on this cracking piece:

Should mention the weather, shouldn’t I? It’s heaving down in Suzuka and it doesn’t look like it’ll stop (according to the one app I’ve looked at). It’s brollies and jackets all around. Should provide something spicy through those first few corners.

Mercedes have look strong in the wet so keep an eye on Lewis Hamilton from 6th.

See ya later, champ. I’ll admit, I’ve always had a real soft spot for this guy. No doubt he’ll continue to contribute to the sport. What a hero!

Here’s what Max needs to do to lift the title today:

“Morning Daniel”

Good morning Trevor Miller, glad to have you on board.

“Why has a German Grand Prix disappeared from the F1 Calendar?”

That’s a great question. I’ve read reports that suggest interest in the sport has waned without a serious title contender, others pointing to the economics, with a few citing covid and the pitfalls of the pandemic as a major factor. Ultimately it comes down to willpower, both from the F1 overlords and those within Germany with an interest in putting on a show.

I did find this from a blog:

The expected Porsche and Audi Formula 1 entries could be key to the revival of the German Grand Prix, although Sebastian Vettel has doubts the race will return.

Verstappen has happy memories of Suzuka. This is where he introduced himself to Formula 1 as a 17-year-old with stars in his eyes.

Giles goes back in time and unpacks the making of a great:

Here’s how they’ll line up:

1 Verstappen (Red Bull)

2 Leclerc (Ferrari)

3 Sainz (Ferrari)

4 Perez (Red Bull)

5 Ocon (Alpine)

6 Hamilton (Mercedes)

7 Alonso (Alpine)

8 Russell (Mercedes)

9 Vettel (Aston Martin)

10 Norris (McLaren)

11 Ricciardo (McLaren)

12 Bottas (Alfa Romeo)

13 Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)

14 Zhou (Alfa Romeo)

15 Schumacher (Haas)

16 Albon (Williams)

17 Gasly (AlphaTauri)

18 Magnussen (Haas)

19 Stroll (Aston Martin)

20 Latifi (Williams)

Surely Verstappen will sweep to a world championship title today. Here’s Giles Richards’ report on how we got to the top of the grip:

Preamble

Daniel Gallan