Three races are in the books, and the standings haven’t been this close in years. Ferrari had a perfect weekend in Melbourne, and it looks like they have no plans on slowing down. Scuderia fans are confident that the Prancing Horse will continue to close their gap to Red Bull during the Japanese Grand Prix.
After Red Bull’s blunder in Melbourne, three-time World Champion Max Verstappen is keen on getting revenge and coming back even stronger at Suzuka.
“The last race in Melbourne was unfortunate, and these things happen; however, we achieved nine race wins in a row, which is an impressive feat, so we are looking to come back even stronger for this weekend. The team is feeling confident for Suzuka; it is an iconic circuit and is always fun to drive,” the Dutchman exclaimed.
This mentality is also shared by his teammate, Sergio Perez, who failed to put up convincing results in the Australian Grand Prix as the only Red Bull left on the track, further strengthening the narrative of his impending departure from the team. “We want to be back on the podium this weekend,” Perez concluded.”
Usually, the saying “It’s easier said than done.” is apt after making bold statements, but with how unparalleled Red Bull have been, dominating the grid and going back on the podium don’t seem like such lofty asks.
Talking Points
McLaren lose lead engineer after just three months
McLaren are in quite a kerfuffle after David Sanchez, a pivotal cog in their engineering department, leaves the team just a few days before the Japanese Grand Prix.
Sanchez was brought in by Andrea Stella as a part of McLaren’s restructuring efforts in their technical department. But just three months after joining the team from Ferrari, Sanchez had already parted ways with McLaren due to misalignments with the 44-year-old engineer and the team’s broader vision.
“The role, responsibilities, and ambitions associated with David’s position did not align with our original expectations,” said Stella.
McLaren did not put Sanchez on gardening leave and will be free to join any other team if and when he can find another position.
Stella added, “Recognising this misalignment, both David and I agreed that it would be best to part ways now, so as to enable him to pursue other opportunities that will better leverage the full scale and breadth of his remarkable skillset.”
In the meantime, Stella will fulfil the role Sanchez left until McLaren finds a permanent replacement. Aside from this, former Red Bull engineer Rob Marshall has taken on the role of chief designer.
Another name affected by the departure of Sanchez is Neil Houldley, who had been made a deputy technical director for engineering and has now been made technical director.
What does this mean for McLaren and their performance in the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix? Well, only time will tell. SBOTOP Papaya fans can only hope and pray that these changes won’t affect the car’s convincing pace or their drivers’ performances.
Teams should prepare for a wet track at Suzuka
Precipitation at Suzuka Circuit, if not a cause for delay, usually means that the grand prix will be a tough drive and will be packed with Japanese Grand Prix 2024 highlights as it adds another layer of difficulty, drama, and suspense for drivers and fans alike.
It’s been reported that there will be a 40 per cent chance of rain on Sunday at Suzuka, but the amount and severity are yet to be determined.
Suzuka and rain are, more often than not, synonymous. One of the main reasons why F1 usually schedules the Japanese Grand Prix from the last quarter of the calendar year to the first quarter of the next year is to proactively keep the race away from the middle of the rainy season.
Luckily for F1 and its fans, the sport features the best drivers you could possibly put behind the wheel, especially on wet pavement.
History
Max Verstappen won the last two iterations of the Japanese Grand Prix, helping secure Red Bull’s back-to-back constructors title at Suzuka last year to boot.
Despite his current recent struggles, Lewis Hamilton can tie Michael Schumacher with the most wins in the Japanese Grand Prix with six if he manages to claim first place this weekend.
McLaren are the winningest outfit in the Japanese Grand Prix, winning the race a total of nine times, spanning from 1977 to 2011. With a competitive car and talented drivers in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the Papayas could definitely add on to that winning heritage on Sunday.
What are the odds?
As it has been for quite some time now, Max Verstappen is the heavy Japanese Grand Prix 2024 betting odds favourite to win the race this Sunday. He boasts an Asian Handicap of 1.20 against any other driver that’s priced at 3.63.
The back-to-back Japanese Grand Prix winner is also the favourite on Saturday, as Verstappen is priced at 1.50 for the qualifying driver head-to-head against any other driver that’s priced at 2.47.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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