Japanese Grand Prix Tips
After a brief stopover in Australia, the Formula One circus heads to Asia this weekend for the Japanese Grand Prix and Red Bull will be looking to get back on track at Suzuka.
Max Verstappen suffered his first retirement since the 2022 Australian Grand Prix last time out, allowing Ferrari to clinch a one-two finish and slash the gap at the top of the World Constructors’ Championship to just four points heading into round four of the season.
The reigning champion has won on his last two trips to Japan, though, so it will not be easy to overthrow him on Sunday.
Tip 1 - Charles Leclerc to finish on the podium @ 4/5
Carlos Sainz produced a remarkable comeback from appendicitis to take the win in Australia but teammate Charles Leclerc was a close second and the Monegasque driver has generally outperformed Sainz around Suzuka.
Leclerc has finished fourth and third in Japan since the new regulations came into play in 2022 and his silver medal in Australia continued an impressive run of podium finishes.
The 26-year-old has finished in the top three in five of the last six Grands Prix he has started and at least one Ferrari has been on the podium in seven of the last eight races, including all three outings this season so far.
Tip 2 - Nico Hulkenberg to finish in the points @ 7/4
After many seasons out in the cold, Haas finally seem to have put together a half-decent race car and their new-found kindness on the tyres could yield another points finish at the Suzuka International Circuit.
Nico Hulkenberg claimed Haas’s first points since the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia, aided by some incredible defensive driving from teammate Kevin Magnussen.
The German followed that with a ninth-place finish in Australia, and this time he had no need to call on his teammate for help, with Magnussen also claiming points with a 10th-place finish.
Hulkenberg has won 12 of the team’s 16 points since returning at the start of last season and he can add to his tally this weekend.
Tip 3 - Ferrari to have the fastest pit stop @ 2/1
Red Bull Racing won the DHL Fastest Pit Stop award last season but Ferrari gave them a good run and the Prancing Horse continue to impress both on the track and in the pit lane in the early stages of 2024.
The Scuderia have achieved four of the fastest five pit stops of the season so far and delivered the fastest two in the season opener in Bahrain, repeating the same feat they managed in last season’s Japanese Grand Prix, with pit-stop times of 2.23 seconds and 2.30 seconds making up the fastest two stops of last season’s Suzuka instalment.
Four of the last 10 Grands Prix have seen Ferrari top the pit-stop charts and they have been runner-up in two of the other six, so they look a good price to impress again.