What could happen in Japan?
Certainly we shall give a Play F1 Manager t-shirt for the race in Japan to the most inspired readers. See what you must do for this, at the end of the article.
On the circuit in Japan the pilots shall run during the Sunday race 53 laps of 5807m/lap, and the lap from the beginning of the race shall be timed with approximately 1’40 under dry circuit conditions and the total distance of the race will amount to 307,471km.
Maximum acceleration: on 70% from the length of the circuit.
Number of gear changes in one lap: 48.
Fuel used per lap: 2,8kg.
Aerodynamic down force: maximum.
Time spent at the pit stop for a tire change: 22 seconds.
Fastest lap in a race: 1’31.540 Kimi Raikkonen 2005.
Fastest lap in general: 1’28.954 Michael Schumacher 2006.
Maximum speed: 306km/hour Pastor Maldonado 2011.
The most classifications on pole position: 6 Michael Schumacher.
The most victories: 8 Michael Schumacher
Available tires: medium and hard.
What could it be?
Unlike all other predictions out there for the Japan race, we believe it will be something else. We don’t know whether the podium will be as unexpected as the last year, but we think that this race has premises to offer a unique show. Pilots have nothing to lose, all have everything to gain, just as life is in Formula 1.
Of course, Vettel is ranked first, but Mercedes should trouble him during qualifications and, why not, even Lotus. The probability of a safety car is definitely not small in this case either, and things can take an… enjoyable turn. And statistically speaking, the chances of a pilot or another sometimes change.
It’s impossible for a Red Bull single seater not to be on the podium, and we’re thinking about Sebastian, but we wouldn’t be sad if Webber would beat him. It’s hard to believe that there will be no Lotus car on the podium, a car very well situated in the Korea circuit, seeing that in this case they’ll have many quick turns, something the black single seater is good at.
An advantage for the Mercedes people is that they will benefit from the medium and hard tires on which they run so well, and that Red Bull’s advantage does not seem as significant because tires themselves have some limitations in this regard.
If we think about Ferrari fans, our heart bleeds heavily. After Todt’s departure, Brawn and Schumacher inertially had a good car for another 2 years, and then fell into obscurity. They would have stayed there if it weren’t for the extraordinary pilot Alonso who brought them back into the spotlight by fighting to the end the two championships who were decided in the last race (2010 and 2012).
McLaren will again be troubled by Sauber, worth mentioning, and we are glad that for them at least a tire change was welcomed. We believe that both pilots can rank in the top 10, and Hulkenberg even higher. Button can also rank in the top 10.
Torro Rosso people benefit from having a car in the first 10 on the start grid, but we can’t really predict how they’ll perform in the race, and we do not credit them with obtaining any point.
Only luck could take Force India upper the 12th position, and, as for Williams, however likeable they are, we are worried that they’ll be defeated this year during qualifications by the Caterham team.
And we wish Marussia a better, much better 2014.
Qualifications first 5 (not their order): Vettel, Rosberg, Hamilton, Webber, Grosjean.
Race first 5 (not their order): Rosberg, Webber, Grosjean, Vettel, Raikkonen or Hulkenberg.
For those who give the correct prognosis before the start of the qualifications on Saturday for the first two positions of the qualifications and the first three from the Japan race, Play F1 Manager will offer them a Play F1 t-shirt, a t-shirt with an exceptional design, which you can see here.