Japanese Grand Prix 2015 - Preview: Will Mercedes Singapore woes follow them to Suzuka?
With the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix just a few days away now, the Formula 1 season is really heating up. Lewis Hamilton goes into the race with only a 49 point gap to Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari. Mercedes were beaten on genuine pace in Singapore by both Ferrari and Red Bull. The team has no explanation, and all fans are wondering will this pace continue over to Suzuka?
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton
Theoretically this track should really balance the Ferrari and the Mercedes on pace. The problem is we aren't 100% sure whether Ferrari were fast in Singapore or Mercedes were slow. Martin Brundle stated that the altered layout in Singapore was about 5 tenths slower than the 2014 version. In 2014 Mercedes took pole with a time of 1:45.681, whereas in 2015 Hamilton set a 1:45.300. He was 3 tenths faster in 2015, which if you take the track change into account makes it a total of 8 tenths faster in 2015. However in the Hungarian Grand Prix's Nico Rosbergs 2014 pole time (1:22.715) vs Lewis Hamilton's 2015 pole time (1:22.020) its a 7 tenths difference. This to me shows that Mercedes continued with relatively normal pace in Singapore, which means Ferrari have made massive gains on the Silver Arrows.
So realistically Ferrari's form could continue in Suzuka. The track does suit a car that has a strong chassis which can grip to the left and right medium speed esses, whilst a car which can take fast corners like 130R at maximum speed. There is a need for a competitive power unit at Suzuka because of the long straight that precedes the penultimate right/left chicane, a good spot for overtaking. The Red Bull and McLaren's will find themselves on the end of many overtakes through the third sector.
Layout of the Suzuka Circuit
Suzuka won't fully discount Red Bull, but it definitely won't have them near the top of the field. Sector 1's twisty esses will suit the RB11 strong chassis, but the final sector's straight will put a lot of strain on the failing Renault power unit. Singapore was definitely a race the team targeted to go well at so expect potential for engine penalties here in Suzuka.
If Mercedes don't improve there pace from Singapore, Williams could be a team on par with them. The slow corner traction problems of the Williams (which has been there weakness all year) seemed be solved and that was clearly evident from Valtteri Bottas 5th place in Singapore. There are only a few slow corners in Suzuka (Turn 11 hairpin and Turn 17 chicane) and Williams will be hoping nail them.
Felipe Massa at the Singapore Grand Prix.
The battle for 5th will probably once again be advantage Force India as it clearly showed in Singapore the much stronger aero package they have over Lotus, Toro Rosso and Sauber. Lotus will then have the power unit advantage over Sauber (unless they are running the new Ferrari spec power unit, which I can't confirm at this stage) but Toro Rosso have showed that they have the chassis to deliver. We could see the unique situation where Toro Rosso get Force India in sector 1, but Force India will bounce back in sector 3 with the Mercedes power unit. The battle in the midfield for sector 2 will be an interesting one.
Sahara Force India driver Sergio Perez (MEX)
Honda will probably find themselves struggling and on level with Sauber. Manor will again occupy 19th and 20th.
This is how I roughly predict the pecking order to be in Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.
1) Ferrari
2) Mercedes
3) Williams-Mercedes
4) Red Bull Racing-Renault
5) Sahara Force India
6) Toro Rosso
7) Lotus-Mercedes
8) Sauber-Ferrari
9) McLaren-Honda
10) Manor-Ferrari
The Japanese Grand Prix will begin on Friday the 25th of September and go through to Sunday the 27th of September. It is a 53 lap race which could have the potential to show both rain and shine. It will truly be a test of Mercedes and Ferrari.
No comments:
Post a Comment