5 things to watch out for at the Japanese GP

Another Title triumph in Japan?

Sebastian Vettel would be looking to seal his fourth title at the Japanese GP

Japanese Grand Prix has seen some legendary drivers seal their Driver’s title in Japan. Sebastian Vettel heads enters Suzuka with a good chance of making to the elite list again having done it once in 2011. A win would ensure he joins another group of drivers who have won five or more races in a season. The German driver has been unbeatable in the last four races and has eight wins in the season. Vettle adores the Suzuka circuit and would be more than happy to seal the title at the iconic venue. The only catch remains if he was to win the race nearest title rival Fernando Alonso would have to finish ninth or lower for Vettel to take his fourth successive driver’s Championship. It will be one battle you cant afford to miss. With a KERS problem in qualifying and a mistake on the flying lap would leave Vettel something to worry about as he would start behind his teammate Mark Webber at the front row.

Watch out for the Tyres

The nature of the Suzuka track has a hard impact on the tyres

It’s been such an year in Formula One where tyres have been in the limelight mostly for the wrong reasons. Korean GP had witnessed a tyre burst that led to a safety car intervention and Suzuka is known to be hard on the tyres with a completely twisty circuit having the drivers to go left and right frequently. The abrasive nature of the circuit will require tyre preservation as tyres would be subject to high-energy loads with fast corners at 130R and Spoon curve. The tyre temperatures reach upto 110 degrees centigrade at Suzuka. While a two-stop strategy would be ideal but a faster tyre degradation could see some of the teams taking an extra stop. Pirelli have gone in for hard and medium compounds for the race.

Iceman and the Lotus Wars

There could be another round of battle between teammates Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean

Kimi Raikkonen is trying his best to catch up with Fernando Alonso and holding off Lewis Hamilton in the points table. In the process he has managed to give his fans plenty to cheer about. While qualifying was a disaster yet again as he would be starting a second successive ninth on the grid, yet he is expected to do what he does best, drive the wheels off the Lotus. Romain Gorsjean, his teammate for another qualifying session proved he is getting better by every race with a remarkable fourth place on the grid. The Frenchman’s podium at Korea would have definitely done him good but he would be eyeing a higher finish than teammate Raikkonen, something which he has rarely managed.

Hulkenberg : The man to overtake

The German has been in an impeccable form in the last three races with a Q1 finish in each of the qualifying’s. He would be starting seventh on the grid with him and Sauber looking to finish in the top ten yet again. His spectacular defending from Lewis Hamilton in Korea brought him a lot of praise. Even though he is yet to confirm a seat for the next season, Hulkenberg would be hoping for another stellar finish to lure his prospective employer’s(most likely Lotus) to hand him a contract without much delay.

Action packed Race

Suzuka has had an action packed race evident from the the first corner carnage at Turn 1 in 2012 that took out Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari

Suzuka historically is a combination of an impressive circuit and an exciting race. The figure-of-eight track makes it a twisty circuit and a challenging track for the drivers. A safety car has made an appearance in every race in the last 4 editions mostly due to car crashing into each other. A safety car might just spice things up in middle if not at the front of the gird. Also, there are gravel traps around the circuit also make it difficult for the drivers as a mistake can end their race.