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Round 3

Japanese Grand Prix

Sun, Mar 295:00 AM
All sessions scored

Session Results

Top 5

PosActual
P1
ANT
P2
PIA
P3
LEC
P4
RUS
P5
NOR
P6
HAM

Head-to-Head

Circuit guide

Suzuka International Racing Course

Suzuka, Japan

Suzuka is the drivers’ circuit, the one they name when asked for a favourite. It crosses over itself in a figure of eight and strings together a set of high-speed direction changes that reward bravery and expose a nervous car immediately.

Track type
Permanent
Overtaking
Hard
Upset risk
Low (unless it rains)

What the lap demands

The opening esses are the heart of it: a rhythmic sequence taken close to flat where every corner sets up the next, so a single mistake costs time all the way through. The rest of the lap keeps asking for high-speed stability, which favours cars with a strong aerodynamic platform.

How the racing unfolds

Following closely through the esses is genuinely difficult, and the passing opportunities are limited to the run down to the final chicane and the first corner. Grid position matters more here than at most tracks.

Picking a Top 5 here

This is one of the calendar’s more predictable weekends: the fastest car on Saturday usually converts on Sunday, and the order rarely scrambles. Weight your Top 5 towards qualifying pace. The wildcard is weather, which turns up here more often than the calendar slot suggests.