Formula 1: Mercedes-Ferrari battle coming to Japan, Red Bull on the verge of the coronation

Behind Red Bull, everything remains to be played for: on the strength of its victory in Singapore last Sunday, Ferrari will try this weekend to close its gap on Mercedes, second in the Formula 1 world championship, during the Japanese Grand Prix on the famous Suzuka track.

Less than a week after putting an end to the hegemony of Red Bull and its driver Max Verstappen - thanks to Carlos Sainz's victory on the Marina Bay track, the Scuderia's objective is clear: to accumulate as many points as possible to regain the runner-up position in the championship.

On the eve of the 16th round (out of 22) of the season, only 24 lengths separate Ferrari (265 points) from its rival Mercedes (289 pts). Since the Italian GP at the beginning of September, the prancing horse team seems to have regained its splendor, bringing back more points at the end of the last two GPs (64 pts) than in the four races preceding the Italian round (47 pts). ).

“The Suzuka circuit is very different from that of Monza and Marina Bay”, however tempers Ferrari boss Frédéric Vasseur, “it will give us the opportunity to see how the SF-23 behaves in the fast corners”.

Far ahead of “the best of the others” on the Singaporean night, Red Bull (597 pts) had a first theoretical chance of winning its second manufacturer's title in a row. But to achieve this, its drivers had to finish in the first two places in the GP.

In vain. After qualifying to forget, Max Verstappen finished 5th, his teammate Sergio Pérez 8th, putting an end to the record series of ten victories in a row for the first and 15 for Red Bull. This weekend, the team has a new match point to win the 6th title in its history. To get there, she must be ahead of Mercedes by at least one point on Sunday at the finish.

If the constructors' title is promised to Red Bull, the drivers' title should not escape Verstappen either, as the domination of the double world champion this season is so insolent. Until the Singapore GP, the Dutchman had won 12 of the 14 rounds of the season. However, his third world title will not be this weekend.

Last year, “Mad Max” was crowned at Suzuka in difficult conditions - then incredible with the title being made official in total confusion - during a post-race interview and after a penalty inflicted on Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) .

At Aston Martin, Lance Stroll will return to the track this weekend, less than a week after his violent exit from the track during qualifying in Singapore. The next day, the Canadian withdrew from the GP.

Absent since the end of August, Australian Daniel Ricciardo is still recovering after his accident at the Dutch GP. He will be replaced again this weekend by New Zealander Liam Lawson who, at the end of his third F1 race, finished in Singapore in a surprising 9th place at the wheel of his AlphaTauri.

The Suzuka track is the only circuit to feature a figure 8 configuration, with the track continuing under a section already covered by the drivers. With few straight lines, it only offers a single DRS zone, but many turns, sequences of esses, fast curves or slow chicanes. According to Verstappen, “nothing feels like Suzuka because of the old school nature of the circuit – with the gravel traps and the grass.”

A circuit which will be even more buzzing this year, due to the eleven beehives installed behind turn 2 - an initiative of the four-time F1 world champion, the recently retired Sebastian Vettel, a fervent defender of the environment. Called “Buzzin’ Corner” (buzzing corner in French), the project aims to “raise people’s awareness about biodiversity,” the German explained in a video.

Under oppressive heat, drivers and teams inaugurated the park on Thursday afternoon, letting their creativity speak with brushstrokes around the beehives. Before hitting the track on Friday at 02:30 GMT for the first tests.

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