F1. Japan 2024 Review

By Aiden McLaughlin, Gavin Huet, Chelsea Wintle and D’Arcy Waldegrave

Driver of the day

D’Arcy –  Max Verstappen. Easily. Fernando Alonso is a cunning bugger and watching him display his years of craft in an ok machine is always satisfying, his last laps of dicing with the lads were an absolute treat, but Max is a dead-set freak. His schtick is formulaic and terrifying for the rest of the grid. Qualify on pole and then fuck off up the road before anyone has a chance to register. He lets the rest of the field piss around taking lumps out of each other and wins whilst they’re all looking at each other. To exert more down pressure on the other 19 jalopies, he dices with a final flag warning for breaking track limits, on tires not fit for purpose and puts in the fastest lap. A giant finger in the face of all. 12 seconds over his teammate, or more accurately, the guy in the other garage who he looks down on from the top step of the podium sporadically. Checo has gone ok this year, but he’ll soil the bed sheets in the fullness of time and won’t be looking up at Max as much as he’d like.

Gavin – Charles Leclerc. I whispered it in the Australia Review (https://www.sportsfreak.co.nz/f1-australia-2024-review/) but the strategy by Ferrari to one-stop Charles and then the ability to deliver it is a real statement of intent and shows that Ferrari are starting to emerge from the wilderness. Post race Charles said they got almost everything right – the tyres, the race pace, the strategies. The only thing missing right now is his qualification pace which he needs to find again but I think this is because of the way Ferrari are treating their tyres, gone are the days of fast qualification only to be met with slow race pace, this is a better car and Charles will need to get with the program. The appointment of Fred Vasseur seemed a bit nothing at the time but his influence can now be felt, not just within the team but right across the grid.

Chelsea – Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese Grand Prix is an absolute delight to watch, with the track, fans and merchandise all bringing something a bit different (I’ll have one of those sakura hats, Checo, please). Tsunoda followed up several strong performances this year with a 10th place finish, bringing home precious points in his home race. He now sits on seven points in the driver standings (11th) to his teammate Ricciardo’s 0 (17th).

Aiden – Charles Leclerc may have made up four places from P8 on the grid to P4 at the chequered flag, but I’m going to go for the home favourite, Yuki Tsunoda. Finishing in P10 made him the first Japanese driver to score a point in his home race since Kamui Kobayashi achieved the feat in 2012. He continues to completely overshadow his more lauded teammate Daniel Ricciardo and his passing move on Pierre Gasly at the Esses was an absolute beauty.

 

Moment of the weekend

D’Arcy – For fans of Liam Lawson, it was Daniel Ricciardo, stumbling out of the blocks and clumsily trying to deal with Stroll and the luckless Albon. He lasted until turn 3 then poured gasoline on the fire of his impending departure from RB – a seat he should never have been given. But really, it was laps 50-53 ish when Russell, Piastri and Alonso gave us all joy with their dueling at the death. Race cars racing. Whoda thunk it.

Gavin – Lance Stroll’s voice going up a couple of octaves whilst complaining over the team radio that his car is slow. It encapsulated the current state of the Aston Martin team as Fernando Alonso picked up points in P6 and claimed it was one of his best drives ever whilst poor Lance ended P12 and went back in time to become a teenager again. Surely team owner Lawrence Stroll will have to tell his son Lance that this particular hobby is not for him anymore.

Chelsea – Feet up, Munchos at the ready, cat on the lap, and boom, red flag. Daniel Ricciardo described his dance into the barriers as “one of those things”, but I doubt either he, Alex Albon, or James Vowles were as inwardly nonchalant. It’s sad news for Williams, who needed more chassis damage like a hole in the head. Ricciardo, meanwhile, will be struggling to maintain his characteristic optimism.

Aiden – What’s the saying….a picture is worth a thousand words?

Hot take of the weekend

D’Arcy – The more races we see on proper race tracks the better.  The schedule is already hopelessly long, which is manifestly unfair for the rank and file who make up most of the teams. The bosses and the peddlers get to ponce about in private jets and 7-star hotels, the rest are separated from their families forever while being pinballed across the globe in commercial air lorries, staying at the YMCA. Kind of. I digress. The modern flatpack circuits, erected around and through cities are horrible to look at, shite to race on and in many cases are just soulless ego machines for morally suspect leaders. Retire those modern era monstrosities – in the sea with them. Give me Suzuka, Spa, Portimão, Silverstone etc. any day of the week.

Gavin – Williams need drivers who can complete a race weekend without damaging a chassis. Teams near the bottom of the grid have to balance getting a driver who can deliver cash versus one that can deliver results. It is no use getting money when that same money is being consumed keeping the driver on the track with huge repair bills. The team is a bit of a shambles right now and team principal James Vowles really has his work cut out for him as he tries to create a mini-Mercedes team. It could be worse, they could be Alpine.

Chelsea –  Is Danny Ricc toast? Yes he is. I don’t see him being gone by Miami, as some speculate, but Toto Wolff did predict the driver market getting a bit crazy over the next few weeks. Ricciardo could easily see himself missing out a spot for next year – his oomph has been gone so long, it’s hard to see him regaining it. Even his Sky Sports intro face is melancholic!

Aiden – For the geeks, this was actually a really interesting race. Yes, I know Max won again, and Checo was second, I get it, but the conditions made strategies and tyre choices intriguing. We are so used to the Japanese Grand Prix being near the end of the season, that the sight of cherry blossoms was welcome, but unusual and initially at least, affected track conditions.. Free practice had plenty of interruptions which meant that data was hard to come by. Tyre degradation was high, meaning tyre choices were vital. Should it be one stop or two? Will teams try the undercut to preserve/improve track position, or will they hang on longer. It was great stuff and really tested the brainpower of all concerned.

 

Cold take of the weekend

D’Arcy – Mercedes’ Toto Wolff. Either a tactical genius for freely admitting that Max is essentially unbeatable, indirectly applying pressure to Red Bull, or a bitter man who lashed out in frustration after his team tanked again. Wanna colder take?  Bernie Collins will last as long in commentary as Ricc will in the number 3 car, she makes the blokes sound pedestrian, and they won’t like that.

Gavin – Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said after the race that he believes a driver shake up is on its way over the next two weeks. With so many talented young drivers waiting in the wings we may see the start of the end of an era as drivers will have to leave F1. Logan Sargeant, Lance Stroll, Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo, and even the likes of Sergio Perez will be nervous. Ironically the one driver who does not have a seat next year is in the best position, hats off to Carlos Sainz who is showcasing his credentials for all to see, it is just a matter of time before he is snapped up.

Chelsea – Checo Perez brought it back enough to finish second behind Verstappen, but is that enough to buy him a seat next year? Nah. My favourite lineup for 2025 at this stage would be Verstappen and Sainz at Red Bull, Leclerc and Hamilton at Ferrari, and Russell and Alonso at Mercedes. A girl can dream.

Aiden – Ferrari’s pit wall and race strategy is working well. Yes, really! They are making good, decisive calls. It isn’t that long since we all cringed at the indecision that hampered their drivers race after race. With their car performing well, strong drivers and now this missing piece of the jigsaw appearing, they are clear in second behind Red Bull and ready to pick up the race wins when that team falters.

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