Memorable Moments
What makes the Suzuka International Racing Course unique
Suzuka is a special for a variety of reasons. First up, the circuit itself is incredible. Completed in 1964, the track was penned by Dutch designer John Hugenholtz, who reportedly had a hand in Zandvoort, and who was also responsible for Zolder in Belgium in 1963, the Motordrom stadium section of Germany’s Hockenheim in 1965, Spain’s Jarama in 1967, and Belgium’s Nivelles in 1971.
Suzuka was his masterpiece, though, a flowing, high-speed figure-eight layout featuring good elevation changes and exacting corner complexes that worked every aspect of a car to the limit, excited the drivers who took their cars to that limit, and thrilled the spectators privileged enough to see them do it. Nothing has changed and Suzuka remains one of motorsport’s great venues.
Suzuka is also a fantastic circuit because of the fans it attracts. Japanese F1 fans are famed for their extraordinary dedication to the sport and deep knowledge. It leads to the drivers being lavished with some amazing homemade gifts and also to fans turning up in some extravagant and outlandish outfits. Back in the day, fans used to pack the pit straight and stay long into the night to watch teams work in the garage. With team curfews now in place that doesn’t happen so much anymore, but as the sun goes down, they stay until teams down tools and seeing the main grandstand lit up with thousands of phone lights is pretty cool.
The Japanese Grand Prix is also incredibly friendly and welcoming. It takes a bit of planning to get there – it’s an hour’s drive from Nagoya, 1.5 hours by train and bus from Osaka and about 3.5 hours by train and bus from Tokyo – but you couldn’t pick a better or more interesting race to attend.
Max Verstappen wins for a fourth time at Suzuka in 2025
© Getty
The cherry blossoms out in full force at Suzuka in 2025
© Getty
Max wins yet again at Suzuka in 2024
© Getty
A scenic drive around Suzuka in 2024
© Getty
Circuit Characteristics
F1’s only figure-eight circuit, Suzuka is a thrilling place to watch F1 drivers do their job. Turn 1, a long high speed right hander, is take at full title and under about 5Gs. After that rest of Sector 1 is made up of the famous ‘Esses’ a snaking series of rapid-fire, left-right changes of direction. It requires bravery and real precision. Seeing an F1 car go through there at top speed is mind-boggling, so we can’t begin to imagine what’s it like inside the cockpit or the euphoria of nailing that stretch of track. That joy can be shortlived as the following Degner curves might not look much but they come after the high-speed Turn 7 and plenty of drivers have been caught out by the technically demanding complex. After that, it’s on to the Turn 11 hairpin where overtaking is possible and the run to the long fast Spoon curve. The following straight brings Sector 2 to a close and that means just one thing – the awesome run to the left-hand 300 km/h flick through 130R, one of the most impressive corners in F1. Whether drivers will be flat through there with the new cars remains to be seen. Once that heart-stopping corner is complete there’s just the Casio Triangle chicane to negotiate before you’re onto the pit straight.
Key overtaking zones
Suzuka is narrow and fast, so overtaking is difficult. Proof of that pudding is the fact that last year the top six finished in the order they started. In the past there was a single DRS zone and that is likely to feature as the Overtaking Mode zone in 2026, giving drivers within a second of the car in front an extra 0.5 mega joules of power into Turn 1. That will make it the run to high-speed T1 the prime passing point, but it’s also possible at the slow-speed hairpin at Turn 11. The Casio Triangle chicane (Turns 16/17) also provides an opportunity, but it has been diminished in recent times due to the size of modern F1 cars. That might change with this nimbler, smaller generation of cars.
Strategy watch
For this year’s Japanese Grand Prix, the dry nominations are C1, C2, and C3. While the tyres are obviously different this year, the broad theme is the same as Suzuka’s surface is one of the toughest of the year on rubber.
The severity was somewhat mitigated by last year’s partial resurfacing from the exit of the last chicane to the end of the first sector. For this year’s race the remainder of the circuit – from Turn 7 to Turn 17 – has also been resurfaced and that should mean the circuit has more grip but will also be something of an unknown quantity.
Max won last year’s race with one-stop strategy, starting on C2 Mediums and switching to C1 Hard tyres after 21 laps. It was a plan followed by almost the entire grid and it reflected changed circumstances at the track.
When it has stayed dry, Suzuka has by and large been a two-stop race due to that surface and the pronounced thermal degradation it causes. Because of the new surface that wasn’t as evident last year (particular as the new surface was through the fast changes of direction in the ‘Esses’). The lack of degradation was also down to low ambient and track temps.
The resurfacing of the rest of the track could bring a one-stop into the picture again but working against that are the new cars which have quite a bit less drag than last year’s. In short, they move around a bit, temps climb and they are more prone to deg. It’s likely to be finely balanced but given what we’ve seen so far this season, a two-stop looks more plausible, with the race split into third with two stints on the C2.
What should fans look out for?
We’ve already mentioned Suzuka’s incredible atmosphere and ultra-committed fans. Japanese fans go to all sorts of lengths to show their passion for F1, so this year our bingo card will definitely feature headwear themed around movable aero as well as the full plethora of vintage team kit jackets/shirts/full race suits. Also worth watching out for are ‘Suzuka special’ driver helmets. The Japanese Grand Prix is a perennial favourite among F1 drivers, and many celebrate their love for the figure-eight track by bring special lid liveries to the race.
The Team's Historic Results
Japanese GP
Driver
Starting Position
Race Result
2017
Max Verstappen
5
DNF
Alex Albon
6
4
2022
Max Verstappen
1
1
Sergio Pérez
4
2
2023
Max Verstappen
1
1
Sergio Pérez
5
DNF
2024
Max Verstappen
1
1
Sergio Pérez
2
2
2025
Max Verstappen
1
1
Yuki Tsunoda
14
12