Japanese Grand Prix Preview: Can Max Verstappen and Red Bull bounce back after disappointing Singapore

Formula 1 has headed straight from the vibrant streets of floodlit Singapore to the old-school Suzuka in rural Japan for the next round of the championship.

Suzuka joined the calendar in 1987 and was the scene for several enthralling and controversial showdowns during its early years, most notably involving Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna in 1989 and 1990. 

Titles were also settled at Suzuka in tense showdowns in the late 1990s and early 2000s before the event was shifted slightly earlier in the season. 

Max Verstappen clinched his 2022 crown at Suzuka, four races before the end of the season, but that could be the final title-decider held at the track owing to Formula 1’s decision to move the Japanese round to April from 2024. 

A glorious circuit

Suzuka is a circuit which the drivers adore for its high-speed corners, rapid changes of direction, the challenge of which is heightened by the narrow track and limited run-off.

It is the only figure-of-eight circuit on Formula 1’s calendar and its layout is crammed into a small piece of undulating verdant land a few miles from the shore of Ise Bay. 

It is a circuit which requires a well-balanced and compliant car in conjunction with a driver who has confidence to throw it into the high-speed corners. 

Unsurprisingly, it is a circuit where the best car comes to the fore and each of the last nine Suzuka races have been won by that year’s title-winning package. 

A strong grid position is also crucial for victory at a circuit where passing is tricky on account of the absence of open slow-speed corners, with only two corners taken below third gear. 

Valtteri Bottas’ 2019 win from third on the grid is the only time since 2006 that a driver outside of the front row has won at Suzuka. 

Kimi Räikkönen famously won from 17th on the grid in 2005 with a staggering recovery that included a last-lap pass for the lead into the high-speed first corner in what is remembered as Formula 1’s greatest races.

Red Bull seeking to rebound

There was an unusual feel to last Sunday’s race in Singapore as neither the Dutch nor Austrian national anthems were played, with Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s winning streak coming to a close.

The inherent weaknesses in Red Bull’s RB19 came to the fore in Singapore, a predicament accentuated by poor set-up direction, with its race recovery hampered by an ill-timed Safety Car period.

Yet despite the setbacks Verstappen still managed a top five finish and there is every reason to expect this year’s runaway points leader to re-emerge as the favourite at Suzuka.

Suzuka is the total opposite of Singapore and it is a circuit where the RB19 should fly; Verstappen cannot quite mathematically seal the crown this weekend but a return to the top step would leave him on the brink heading to Qatar. 

Expect the usual close fight for the remaining points positions between Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, while Aston Martin has a point to prove after a lacklustre showing in Singapore. 

Recommended Bets:

Back Verstappen to qualify on pole @ 1.49
Back Verstappen to win the race @ 1.49
Back Hamilton to finish on the podium @ 2.3