For the first time as early as April, Formula 1 will visit the Japanese Grand Prix. Suzuka Circuit is one of the favourites among drivers and fans around the world. With new upgrades coming from Red Bull and Ferrari, the race for P1 will be as interesting as it can get. Most of the Japanese Grand Prix’s took place in autumn, usually in October, so by that time we knew who was the favourite to win. This time, it’s much harder to predict who will come out on top.
Japanese Grand Prix schedule
Friday, 5th April
11:30 – 12:30 – Formula 1 FP1
15:00 – 16:00 – Formula 1 FP2
Saturday, 6th April
11:30 – 12:30 – Formula 1 FP3
15:00 – 16:00 – Formula 1 Qualifying
Sunday, 7th April
14:00 – 16:00 – Formula 1 Race
strategies for japanese grand prix
In the past, the Japanese Grand Prix was a challenge for the tyre degradation due to thermal wear. Moving the race to the April should reduce the issues of overheating, and cut the strategy to a one-stop for a dry race. However, the forecast suggests that the weekend will be rainy. This will be the first rainy weekend in 2024, which may put a spanner in some work done by the teams of working on the set-up and upgrades. Red Bull and Ferrari brought upgrades for the SF-24 and RB20, but it may be difficult to estimate the improvements in different conditions. Racing in the wet means higher downforce settings and changes to the rear wing set up.
Rainy weekend may result in some drama such as late safety cars, a neutralization or even a red flag. With changing conditions, teams like Alpine, Haas or Williams may opt for more risky strategy – giving them an unlikely chance of scoring points, while Red Bull, Ferrari or McLaren will rather go for a safer approach, hoping to make use of their race pace without taking unnecessary risks.
F1 Blast team’s predictions
In this section, we’ll be presenting our 5 predictions for the race, based on the knowledge and experience. We encourage you to share your predictions in the comments.
1. McLaren will score back to back podium
2. Aston Martin will outscore Mercedes
3. Haas will make it to Q3
4. Alpine will score it’s first points
5. We will see two safety cars