Unforgettable moments of Japanese Grand Prix

Suzuka – A circuit with history

The Suzuka Circuit in Japan has witnessed some amazing races in the past. The legends of Formula One, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher, and the current best racer Sebastian Vettel have had unforgettable memories in the Japanese Grand Prix. It is a six kilometer circuit which makes the count of number of laps in this race to 53. With the 2013 Japan weekend ahead, let’s look into few memorable moments of the past in Japan.

It holds the record of being the only circuit where the Driver’s Championship was decided five times in a row with more races remaining in the season. From 1987 to 1991, the driver was crowned the World Champion at the Suzuka Circuit. And this might repeat again tomorrow, if Fernando Alonso finishes ninth or lower and Sebastian Vettel wins the Grand Prix.

1987 Japanese Grand Prix—first race in Japan since 1977

It was the 15th Japanese Grand Prix and first since 1977 GP in Japan. The championship was apparently decided in the qualifying session itself. The Williams-Honda drivers Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet were fighting for the title that year and Japan again played the decider. The accident of Mansell during the qualifying and his withdraw from the race gifted the 1987 World Championship to his Brazilian teammate Piquet.

1988 Japanese Grand Prix—Ayrton Senna’s first World Championship

The McLarens teammates Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna had locked the front row on the grid. Prost had a great start to the race and we saw Senna struggle in the first leg of the race. Rain started pouring from lap 14, thereby favoring Senna. He started catching his French partner and on lap 27 he overtook him, where Prost’s flawed gearbox also had a role to play.

Senna led Prost from there on and won the race and his first Driver’s title. Prost could not take his tally of points more than Senna’s even he won the next race. From here on people witnessed a team rivalry.

1989 Japanese Grand Prix—Alain Prost

This race saw the historic rivalry of then two McLaren teammates Senna and Prost. Being the only title contenders of that year, none of them was ready to give up or compromise. “In the past I had left the door open if Senna challenged so as not to take both the team cars out, but I will not be leaving the door open today,” Prost said before the 1989 Japanese GP started.

Pole setter Senna had a poor start who lost his position to his teammate-rival Prost and had let the Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger come alongside from his third position—Senna’s inside line in the first corner helped him defend his second position. On lap 34, Nigel Mansell, another Ferrari racer retired from the race due to a gearbox failure. Nine laps later, his teammate, Berger’s engine failed which ruled him too out.

This left both the McLarens ahead zooming to the checkered flag. The very expected happened, the collision between Prost and Senna left both the cars off the track. Even though Senna restarted his car and completed the race unlike Prost, he was disqualified for using the chicane’s escape road to rejoin the circuit. This handed the 1989’s Driver’s Title to the Frenchman, Alain Prost.

1990 Japanese Grand Prix—Ayrton Senna

The encounters between Senna and Prost were carried forward to Suzuka Circuit from 1989 to 1990. The racer with the pole position was strangely positioned on the dirtier side of the track; this troubled Senna. According to him, his advantage of the pole position would be over-shadowed by Prost’s P2 from the cleaner side of the track.

The Japanese stewards rejected his request of starting from the cleaner side so he admitted to his team that even after the first corner collision in the previous year, he would attempt to take the lead there. Last year’s sight repeated, Senna and Prost collided in the first corner which ruled them off the race immediately. This ruined Prost’s chance of the driver’s title as there was only one race remaining and he could not overtake the points tally. Ayrton Senna took his second World Championship.

1991 Japanese Grand Prix—Senna’s last Driver’s title

This year was the fifth year in a row when the World Championship was decided in Japan. The title contenders Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna knew what they had to do to avoid accidents like the previous two years. Unfortunate for the British driver, on lap 10, he spun his Williams on the first corner and got stuck in the gravel. This left Mansell alone thinking what had happened with him. Senna let his McLaren teammate Gerhard Berger past through him on the final lap and win his first race for the McLaren team. Senna won his life’s final Championship in 1991, this third driver’s title.

2000 Japanese Grand Prix—Michael Schumacher

This race marked the third Championship victory from the German, Michael Schumacher. It had equaled the record of three Championships with Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna. It was a very tense race for him; he was stuck behind the McLaren-Mercedes driver Mika Hakkinen in P2. But as it started raining in the next half of the race, Schumacher turned the tables, with his six seconds final pit stop he crossed the finish line and ended Ferrari’s 21 year old wait for Driver’s Championship.

2012 Japanese Grand Prix—a Japanese on podium after eight years

This was Sebastian Vettel’s race who led from pole to the end. It was his second Grand Slam or Grand Chelam win, as the pole position, fastest lap and the victory belonged to him. He finished 20 seconds ahead of the Ferrari racer, Felipe Massa. The emotional touch to the 2012 Japanese GP was given by Sauber-Ferrari driver Kamui Kobayashi, Japanese who managed the podium, thereby becoming the first Japanese on podium since Takuma Sato in 2004.