It is difficult not to get carried away by Japanese culture; or rather what our perceptions of Japanese culture are. To me (and I’ve only visited Japan once, on a two-week trip, so my experience of the country and its people is limited) there are few countries in the world that have such a clear-cut culture as Japan, and the same goes for the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Suzuka International Racing Course is a 5.8km-long behemoth that snakes its way up and over itself in a squashed figure-of-eight layout. It is one of the ultimate drivers’ circuits in the sense that it truly tests the drivers’ skills, but also places a lot of strain on the cars themselves. Despite its serpentine layout, the track is extremely fast, with only one slow corner to bring some sanity to an otherwise crazy lap. This is, in short, a track with a hairy chest, and it has seen its fair share of incidents and accidents over the years.
However, Suzuki will be eternally linked with two names: Senna and Prost. The 1988 Japanese GP was the world championship decider between two of the very best drivers the world had ever seen. Prost started the race in pole, while Senna stalled on the start and dropped down to 14th. But the downward slope of Suzuka’s main straight allowed the Brazilian to bump-start his car, and he set off in pursuit of his quarry. Senna wasn’t Senna without good reason, and he made rapid inroads on the field. But then it started raining, giving the rain master Senna an opportunity to step things up even more. He quickly homed in on second place, then first, where Prost was now struggling with a gearbox problem, as well as one of the back markers. This allowed Senna to slip past, claiming the win and his first drivers’ title as a result.
Things got ugly in 1989 when, again at Suzuka, Senna and Prost went head-to-head once again for the championship. The two McLaren drivers were in a class of their own, and when the lights went out, it was Prost who made the better start. But Senna was having none of it, and in a daring passing attempt, found that Prost was in no mood to give away the title. The two went off the track together, with the cars interlocked. Prost got out of his car, but Senna waved at the marshals for help. They pushed his car away from that of his stricken teammate, and the Brazilian again managed to bump-start his McLaren. Despite having to pit for a new nose cone, Senna won the race and the 1989 Drivers’ Title. Except he was disqualified post-race for dodging the chicane, leading up to the entanglement. As a result, Allessandro Nannina was handed the win, and Prost became World Champion again.
But if you thought 1989 was ugly, just wait till you hear what happened in 1990 – again at Suzuka. Just for a change, it was Senna v Prost for the championship. Prost needed to win the two final races, so a win at Suzuki would seal it for Senna. But so would a crash that took Prost out of the race. Lo and behold – and not to detract anything from Saint Senna – when the lights went out the two of them, starting first and second, charged towards Turn 1. Senna, on the inside line, somehow failed to make the bend, and punted Prost into the kitty litter. Game over for both of them, but Senna won his third world title in the process.
There were many more notable altercations at Suzuka, and the track has served as the title decider on 13 occasions – the last coming in 2011, when Sebastian Vettel clinched the title as a Red Bull driver, becoming the youngest ever double champion in the process. Which brings us neatly back to 2022, Red Bull and Max Verstappen.
As at the Singapore GP last week, there is a chance for Verstappen to seal the title in Japan this weekend. We could delve into the permutations for this, but in the end, it doesn’t matter: His second title seems inevitable, and it has become a question of “when”, rather than “if”.
But wouldn’t it be spectacular if he could do it at Suzuka? The track has such an amazing history as a title decider, and it is a true drivers’ circuit. Winning here – and winning the title at the same time – would be a sweet ending to a dominant season by Verstappen, and I, for one, will be rooting for the Dutchman from Belgium. But never mind what happens, Suzuka will deliver – if not a champion, then certainly thrills and spills and spectacular action. I’ll see you at 7am on Sunday then, right?
Waldo van der Waal is a motoring journalist with nearly three decades of experience. He has worked as an F1 correspondent for various publications over the years, including WIEL and DRIVE magazines, in the late nineties. Since then, he has travelled the globe to follow some of the greatest motorsport events on the planet, including many F1 races and Le Mans. He has been closely associated with the Dakar Rally for the last ten years, worked with Fernando Alonso during his attempt at the race, and remains in touch with the wonderful world of Formula 1.
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX BROADCAST DETAILS
Friday, 07 Oct
FP1 | 04:55 | SS Motorsport
FP2 | 07:45 | SS Motorsport
Saturday, 08 Oct
FP3 | 04:45 | SS Motorsport
Qualifying | 07:50 | SS Motorsport
Sunday, 09 Oct
Race | 06:55 | SS Motorsport