Dutch Max Verstappen (Red Bull), that might have already convicted him last Sunday in Singapore. -where his partner, Mexican Sergio Pérez, won-, He will have his second opportunity to mathematically score the Formula 1 World Championship this weekend, at the Japanese Grand Prix; This takes place in Suzuka: the track owned by his team’s biker, Honda.
Verstappen, who should have won in the first place without waiting for other combinations, he was only able to celebrate his twenty-fifth birthday -last Friday- he finished seventh in the toughest race of the season at Marina Bay. A test marked by heat, high humidity (Singapore is only 150 kilometers from the equator), and a narrow and winding route; and this was further complicated by the flood that fell on asphalt that fell in front of it and never completely dried out.
The celebration of Mad Max, which won 11 of the 17 races held at Singapore Red Bull and became the World Cup leader with 104 points from Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) with 341 points, has been postponed. celebrated ‘Check’third in the competition106 points behind his teammate-
Born 31 years ago in Guadalajara (Jalisco), Sergio put on quite a show in the tough conditions of Marina Bay, where he got his fourth F1 victory, and then his third and second win of the season with his current team. Obtained in Monaco.
The Mexican wins ahead of Leclerc and the Spaniard’s other Ferrari carlos sainz He is the second driver in history to sign his fourteenth podium in the Premier class, since four-time German world champion Sebastian Vettel’s second race in 2011. the two most important street circuits on the calendar: in the streets of Montecarlo and in Marina Bay; After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the already traditional night race is back on track; It was played for the first time in 2008.
Spaniard Fernando Alonso, the first winner of that year and repeating the victory in 2010, No luck this time in Singapore; after propping up over the weekend – he finished an outstanding fifth in qualifiers -, Had to quit due to a new reliability issue with Alpine; As in Monza (Italy), two Sundays ago, with engine problems.
The double Asturian world champion, who celebrated two of his 32 victories in Formula 1, one at Suzuka, one of his “favorite circuits” – in 2006, the season reclaiming his title with Renault, hoping for better luck at another Grand Prix this weekendjust like last weekend It hasn’t been on the calendar for the last two seasons.due to the devastating effects of covid-19.
Suzuka, a 5,807-meter technical track with 18 bends, is scheduled to complete a 307.4-kilometer route with 53 laps next Sunday. But Free application will be made before It will start on the Friday, the night between this Thursday and Friday, Central European time, and will be completed on the Saturday hours before qualification, which will determine the starting line-up for the Sunday race.
On dry ground, the Japanese track will be rolled on tires with the toughest types of dough.: C1 -hard, recognizable by white stripe-, C2 -medium, yellow stripe- and C3 -soft, red-.
The Japanese Grand Prix was first held at Fuji in 1976; Austria’s Niki Lauda, who was brutally injured at the German Nürburgring just a few weeks earlier, hosted the final race of that year, played under a monsoon flood, and determined the title in favor of British James Hunt and against Austrian Niki Lauda. A test and an epic sports duel perfectly documented in the cinematic sensational ‘Rush’ movie.
Since then, and with the exception of the other three of the 35 editions of which the F1 World Championship is a part, it has always been held at Suzuka.
No one in Japan has earned as much as Germany’s Michael Schumacher (six); Brit Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), who just two years ago equalized ‘Kaiser’s’ seven world titles and won this Grand Prix five times, and Germany’s Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) with four hits on Japanese soil, approach him. .
Alonso and Sir Lewis are the only drivers to win this Grand Prix at both Fuji and Suzuka; where The last winner was Finn Valtteri Bottas three years ago. (Alpha Romeo) While a member of Mercedes.
Apart from a real tragedy and also thanks to the amazing contribution of ‘Checo’, Red Bull will celebrate the success of the Brands World Cup; The outline of Verstappen’s title revalidation party has already been revealed.
In an ideal setting: the home of motorcyclist Honda, with whom he has cemented his new relationships and whose name will appear on the hood of his cars and his ‘second’ equipment, Alpha Tauri (ex Toro Rosso) from next year. .
For the Austrian team to celebrate the captain’s second big party this Sunday, ‘Mad Max’ should add eight more points Leclerc and six more from ‘Checo’ in Suzuka.
There are several combinations (including sixth place, Monegasque not scoring and the Mexican not developing eighth place), but the easiest to memorize, repeated several times this year, the idol of the new Dutch fans wins the race with the fastest lap.
Verstappen will still need to run four more tests before the World Cup ends, unless he revalidates a title no one doubts bears next Sunday.
After Japan, F1 will come to America. The United States Grand Prix will be held in Austin (Texas) a week before the Mexican Grand Prix, which will take place on October 30 at the Hermanos Rodríguez Autodrome in the Mexican capital, and local fans will be able to imagine a new race. the triumph of his idol.
In Interlagos, Sao Paulo, It will host the Brazilian Grand Prix on November 13.Just one week before Yas Marina hosts the last Grand Prix of the season, Abu Dhabi.