Top 5 Japanese Grand Prix races

Round 17 of the 2018 season takes us back to Suzuka, the home of the Japanese Grand Prix, and of course, the land of the Samurai.

While it's unknown (if not unlikely) that Sebastian Vettel would ignite the Samurai within to go for an out and out assault on his arch-rival, Lewis Hamilton, what's likely, is that it will take a lot of exaggerating shake-up from the rest of the grid to upset the Mercedes driver here.

Over the course of nearly past half a decade, so dominant have been the Mercedes here at the 5.8 km track that they've just not allowed any other team to settle down at a track they've owned in true Samurai fashion.

That said, where Formula 1 history stands, what have been some titanic races here at the heart of the Japanese Grand Prix?

#1 1990: Fiery Senna, angry Prost, tumultuous Japanese GP

Ayrton Senna, one of the sport’s most enigmatic and complicated characters, claimed the 1990 F1 season.

But at Suzuka, having clinched pole, Senna in his McLaren crashed with the Ferrari of Alain Prost, his arch-rival, and a clear match in grit and should one say, mind-battles, in a Grand Prix that eventually belonged to Benetton-Ford's Nelson Piquet.

Apparently, Senna, miffed with the pole location at the front of the grid - being on the dirty side - had even requested Japanese marshals and officials to change the positioning but it was denied.

Eventually, was that a fair tactic by a legendary name in motorsport to clash with Prost when he could've been a bit more careful?

#2 1988: Senna clinches a thriller

At the peak of his fitness and powers of concentration, Senna produced one of his greatest drives at the 1988 Japanese Grand Prix, a year where he clinched the first of his three titles, in that brilliant McLaren MP4/4.

In a season that was a classic head-to-head between McLaren teammates - read arch-rivals - Senna and McLaren, lap 27 is where the context of the Grand Prix changed after he'd dropped down to fourteenth, having clinched the pole.

In the mid-segment of the race, Senna, then right behind his teammate breezed past 'The Professor' when Prost was balked whilst lapping Andrea de Cesaris.

That move by the Brazilian, after he'd made a stellar recovery would see him blast past the checkered flag to collect an enthralling win ahead of the more experienced Prost.

#3 2006: El Nino clinches a dominant Suzuka drive

They call Fernando Alonso El Nino. But he's truly a samurai driver, one that on October 7 will contest in his final-ever Japanese Grand Prix.

While Alonso's last podium lies half a decade back in the past, a long time ago, he had stepped on the top of the podium in a year made truly spectacular by some ballsy driving in his Renault.

At the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix, the Renault, much slower and arguably, less competitive than the mean machines like Ferraris and Toyotas saw Alonso claim fifth in the qualifying while the pole went to Massa.

Alonso's struggles were amplified by the fact that he was around 5 seconds adrift of the race-leader, Schumacher, who had passed Massa, his teammate in the opening few minutes.

But from the onset of Lap 15, Alonso began making steady progress, moving ahead of Massa and closing the gap to Schumacher.

On Lap 27, steady in his pursuit of the track position-holder, Alonso closed the gap to Schumacher, bringing it down to just over 4 seconds, his Renault finally coming into its own against the dominant Ferrari.

Finally, as the saying goes that destiny favors the brave, post their second pit stops, Schumacher and Alonso, now on fresher rubber began the battle for first at the front which is when the German's engine failed. This gave the lead to Fernando Alonso, who wasn't going to back down. In the end, a charged up Spaniard exulted among stunned fans having driven beautifully throughout the Japanese track.

#4 2017: Hamilton dents Ferrari's confidence at Suzuka

Hamilton entered the Japanese Grand Prix of 2017 with a 34-point advantage over Sebastian Vettel. By the time, he would exit Suzuka, it would become a 59-point advantage.

The 2017 World Champion was in stunning form all throughout the season and one of his sensational drives came at a track where he enjoys phenomenal support.

A year back, as Hamilton reduced a fiery battle for leadership from being nervy into being completely one-sided following a great hat-trick of wins at Spa, Monza, and Singapore, he emerged at the front of the grid, clinching yet another pole at Suzuka.

In breathing a rarified air at the top of his profession, the Briton aced a contest that he eventually made look easy, aided by a fantastic overcut by Mercedes that enabled Lewis to maintain a longer first stint, keeping the Ferraris of Kimi and Vettel comfortably at bay.

Toward the ending stages of the contest, it did appear that Verstappen, arguably the better driver in terms of extracting the best out of his rubber could challenge the Briton, but he could finish 1.5 seconds behind Lewis to take second.

#5 2005: The Iceman keeps his cool to win an epic

How often have we seen the fate of an F1 battle turn on its head on the last lap?

Kimi Raikkonen may be called the Iceman but it was over a decade ago where his legend was forged thanks to a ballsy drive at one of the most challenging circuits on the F1 roster: Suzuka.

A race that shall, for years to come, be remembered by his fans as being an epic duel between the McLaren of Raikkonen and the seemingly faster Renaults and Ferraris, saw the triumph of a man who drove as if he was possessed.

At the start, Raikkonen, who had a poor qualifying session, began his Suzuka challenge from seventeenth, surely not a position on the grid he may have expected to finish inside the point, let alone the race.

Later, in an accident-marred Grand Prix where local hero Takuma Sato collided with Jarno Trulli's Toyota, the two frontier fighters - Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve - came together at the chicane to enforce a safety car intervention.

Then, Ralf Schumacher pitted after 12 laps, giving the lead to Fisichella who was being challenged by Jenson Button in his BAR-Honda.

Further down the grid, when Schumacher, Alonso and Kimi were involved in improving their grid standings, Alonso seemed the better driver, making up a few impressive places.

Raikkonen, running with heavy fuel-load in his 2005 McLaren pitted and yet challenged Alonso repeatedly. His move on Michael on the outside of Turn 2 was spectacular.

The only constant in the race, it seemed, was Raikkonen, staunch in his improvement of an ordinary qualifying run the previous day.

Every passing lap he'd better his race pace, bolstered by better handling and eventually moved into second, right behind race-leader Fisichella.

This is when the 'Iceman' kept his cool. Within seconds of the checkered flag, going boldly on the outside of Fisi, who in his protection of the inside line, could do little to offset Raikkonen, the McLaren driver clinched an unthinkable epic.

Edited by Raunak J