Ferrari and Mercedes were the two teams to take full advantage of Red Bull's struggles in Singapore.
Will the Prancing Stags and Silver arrows continue upsetting the odds or will the two Red Bulls return to form in Japan? Darry Worthington gives his opinion on the topic, below.
Japanese Grand Prix | Sunday 24 September | Suzuka Circuit
To Win Grand Prix Outright
Max Verstappen 1/4 | Sergio Perez 10/1 | Carlos Sainz 20/1 | George Russell 20/1 | Charles LeClerc 20/1 | Lewis Hamilton 20/1 | Fernando Alonso 40/1 | Lando Norris 14/1
Previous Race
Singapore was a thorn in the side for the Red Bull team. A poor qualifying run saw Max Verstappen start 11th on the grid while Sergio Perez was two places back in 13th. And while both drivers would finish in the points, a fifth-place finish for Verstappen and an eighth place for Perez would be Red Bull’s worst showing this season as they had previously won every race.
Carlos Sainz would take full advantage of Red Bull’s poor qualifying stint with the Ferrari driver becoming the first non-Red Bull driver to win a race this term. The Prancing Stag man was joined on the podium by the McLaren of Lando Norris (second and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who claimed third.
Next across the line was the Ferrari of Charles LeClerc, who joined Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly in the Top 6.
Oscar Pastr produced another impressive drive with the Kiwi bringing his McLaren across the line just ahead of Sergio Perez. The final two points scoring positions went to the Alpha Tauri of rookie Liam Lawson (ninth) and veteran Haas driver Kevin Magnussen (tenth).
Track
Suzuka is one of the most challenging tracks on the Formula 1 circuit. Drivers will fight it out over 53 gruelling laps, with each lap spanning a distance of 5.608km and containing 19 corners.
While the 130R sequence is one of the trickiest to negotiate on the F1 calendar, it’s not the only set of corners that could give drivers a few hassles, however, as the Dunlop Curve turn is also a treacherous one to navigate – this was the corner that tragically claimed the life of Jules Bianchi back who spent 9 months in a coma before passing away after his crash in 2014.
In terms of the weather for this weekend, there’s only a slight bit of rain currently being forecast for Friday’s practice sessions and a bit of drizzle for Sunday’s main race. It’s early in the week, however and this could change over the next few days.
Last year’s race was dominated by the Red bulls with Max Verstappen claiming first place and Sergio Perez taking second. They were joined on the podium by the Ferrari of Charles LeClerc.
Value Bet
Podium – Lewis Hamilton – Yes @ 20/1
Hamilton has a solid record at Suzuka winning four races at the venue. Mercedes also seems to be making some inroads with their car as Lewis managed a third place finish out in Singapore. ‘m backing him to grab another podium place this weekend.
To Win Race Outright
Max Verstappen 1/4
While Singapore continues to be an unhappy hunting ground for the Dutch ace, he has a better record in Japan winning last year’s Grand Prix at Suzuka and claiming third place at the venue in 2018 and second in 2016 and 2017.
I fully expect him to bounce back with a race win here.
