the dutch Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who may have already sentenced him on Sunday in Singapore -where his teammate, the Mexican Sergio Pérez, won-, will have his second chance to mathematically score the Formula One World Cup this weekend, at the Japanese Grand Prix; which takes place in Suzuka: the circuit owned by Honda, the biker of his team.
Verstappen, who, pending other combinations, should have won the first time, could only celebrate his twenty-fifth birthday -on Friday- at Marina Bay, where he finished seventh in the most demanding race of the season. A test marked by heat, high humidity (Singapore is only 150 kilometers from the equator) and the narrow and winding route; and that was further complicated by the deluge that fell in front of it, on an asphalt that never completely dried.
Postponed the celebration of ‘Mad Max’ -winner of eleven of the 17 contested races and leads the World Cup with 341 points, 104 more than the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)-, in Singapore Red Bull celebrates ‘Checo’ , third in the tournament, 106 points behind his partner.
Sergio, born 31 years ago in Guadalajara (Jalisco), held an exhibition in the difficult conditions of Marina Bay, where he achieved his fourth victory in F1, the third with his current team and the second of the season, after it was achieved in Monaco.
The Mexican won with Leclerc and the other Ferrari, with Carlos Sainz -who signed his fourteenth podium in the premier class- to become the second driver in history, since the quadruple German world champion Sebastian Vettel did it in 2011, to win the two most important urban circuits on the calendar: the streets of Montecarlo and Marina Bay; where, after a two-year absence -due to the pandemic- the once traditional night race was regained; played for the first time in 2008.
Fernando Alonso, first winner, that year, and repeated the victory in 2010, was unlucky this time in Singapore; where, after standing all weekend -he ended up qualifying in an outstanding fifth place-, he had to retire due to a new reliability problem with his Alpine; as in Monza (Italy), two weeks before, with engine problems.
The double Asturian world champion, who celebrated two of his 32 victories in Formula One in Japan, one of them -in 2006, the season that reaffirmed the title with Renault-in Suzuka, one of his “favorite circuits” is hoping for better luck this weekend in another Grand Prix that, like last weekend, has been off the calendar for the past two seasons, due to the devastating effects of covid-19.
A Suzuka, a technical track of 5,807 meters, with 18 curves, is planned to provide 53 laps, to complete a route of 307.4 kilometers, Next week. But first, free practice will be held, which will start on Friday – the night from this Thursday to Friday, Central European time – and will be completed on Saturday, hours before the qualifying that will dictate the starting line-up of Sunday’s race .
In the dry, the Japanese circuit will run with tires from the hardest range of compounds: C1 -hard, distinguished by the white stripe-, C2 -medium, yellow stripe- and C3 -soft, red-.
The Japanese Grand Prix was held for the first time in 1976, at Fuji; which hosts the final race of that year, argued under the monsoon deluge and decided that the title was in favor of the Englishman James Hunt and at the expense of the Austrian Niki Lauda, brutally injured just a few weeks before in the German Nürburgring. A test and an epic sports duel perfectly documented in the cinema in the sensational movie ‘Rush’.
Since then, and with the exception of another three of the 35 editions where it was part of the F1 World Championship, it has always been held at Suzuka.
No one has won more times in Japan than Germany’s Michael Schumacher (six); Only Englishman Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – who equaled the ‘Kaiser’s’ seven world titles two years ago and won this Grand Prix five times – and German Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) came close to him, with four hits on Japanese soil. .
Alonso and Sir Lewis are the only drivers to win this year’s Grand Prix at Fuji and Suzuka; where the last winner, three years ago, was the Finn Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), when he was a member of Mercedes.
Red Bull, who will also celebrate, except for the real tragedy and also thanks to the wonderful contribution of ‘Checo’, the victory of the Constructors’ World Cup; Verstappen’s title reaffirmation party has been drawn up.
In a perfect setting: the home of his motorcycle Honda, with which he strengthened relations and whose name will appear from next year on the bodywork of his cars and of Alpha Tauri (formerly Toro Rosso), his ‘second ‘ equipment.
For the Austrian team to celebrate its captain’s second big party this Sunday, ‘Mad Max’ should add eight points more than Leclerc and six more than ‘Checo’ at Suzuka.
There are several combinations (among them sixth, that the Monegasque does not score and that the Mexican does not improve on an eighth place), but the easiest to memorize, which has been repeated several times this year, is the new idol of the Dutch fans won the race with the fastest lap.
If Verstappen does not next Sunday revalidate a title that no one doubts has a first and last name, he has four more tests left before the end of the World Cup.
After Japan, F1 comes to America. The United States Grand Prix will be held in Austin (Texas) a weekend before the Mexican Grand Prix, which will take place at the Hermanos Rodríguez Autodrome in the Mexican capital on October 30, where local fans will be able to dream of a new victory for their idol.
Interlagos, in Sao Paulo, will host the Brazilian Grand Prix on November 13, exactly one week before Yas Marina hosts the final Grand Prix of the season, Abu Dhabi.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
