Japanese Grand Prix Review

Much of the paddock hubbub in the weeks before and after the Chinese GP (read our comments in our Chinese GP Review) temporarily subsided in the lead-up to Suzuka. Next year's British GP was off, then on again, and off again, and on again, and so on. Our opinion, which we think many share, has always been that the British GP is part of the lifeblood of F1. So if indeed the current consortium apparently involving Nigel Mansell can save the race, then good luck to them.

The only other noteworthy piece of news was that the Russian-backed Midland group was joining forces with Dallara to enter F1 in 2006. Paul Stoddart was quick to warn that splashing money around was no guarantee of F1 success. But even before that, perhaps the more pertinent point was that we have seen all this before. We have seen syndicates declare their intentions to enter F1; we have also seen other rich businessmen with money to throw around decide that F1 might be a fun new toy.

Whilst in these days of dwindling grids any new team would be very welcome, it would be wise to just wait and see if this project really does eventuate, and if Alex Shnaider and his friends' interest will dwindle along with their roubles. We have also seen in the past reputable racing carmakers such as Dallara being involved in such ventures. But it is surprising that a company of Dallara's pedigree would join something with a view to 2006 when the technical regulations for 2005 and beyond are still in such a state of flux.

Having said that, it would be an understatement to say that cyclonic conditions would have done no one - drivers, crew, or spectators - any good, and so in the interests of being better safe than sorry, the decision to cancel practice and qualifying on Saturday was the correct one. The cynics will add that it also gave Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone the chance to try out what in effect was a two-day Grand Prix weekend, with limited set-up time and qualifying and race action all crammed into one day.

And while qualifying in the treacherously changing conditions did produce some notable upsets, like Mark Webber slotting into 3rd and Jarno Trulli on his Toyota debut qualifying 6th, by race start, lo and behold, the sun was out and the track was dry! So much for the rain-affected Grand Prix with maybe a surprise result or two. It was going to be only a matter of time before the natural order re-emerged and the usual suspects came back to the fore.

Indeed, the race on Sunday turned out to be one of the duller races this year, not helped by the pathetic TV director who was on par with his colleagues in France and Italy when it comes to hopelessness and inability to focus on, or show replays of, the major action of the moment. But otherwise, in a race where generally everyone was on pretty creditable behaviour, we give 'Reject of the Race' to Typhoon Ma-on, not only for the horrific trail of death and destruction it left across Japan, but for promising ocean-loads of rain causing an exciting GP, and then failing to deliver.

REJECT OF THE RACE
Typhoon Ma-on
Promised a wet race in Suzuka; delivered destruction in Tokyo

Having the best car and tyre package helps, but what better way to demonstrate your superiority than in the wet, and when everyone has limited time to practice and set-up their cars? In practice and qualifying, Schumi easily topped the time sheets, and in the race itself he blew the field into the weeds, consistently lapping at a metronomic pace that no one else could match, even though Barrichello did eventually walk away with the fastest lap of the race.

After the first of his three stops he already came out in front of the two-stopping Jenson Button, and it was already game, set and match. The easy victory brought Michael's tally for the season to 146 points, which broke his previous record, although under the former points system he would only be on 142 points after 17 races, still two short of his 2002 total. His 13th win of the season further stretched the mark he is setting for most victories in a season, with Brazil still to go.

Barrichello will consider this weekend a lost opportunity. He made too many mistakes at pressure moments, like in qualifying, even though usually he's one of the more reliable drivers in wet conditions. His attempts to move up the field were thwarted because he was caught behind the likes of Kimi Raikkonen and Juan-Pablo Montoya who were trying to do the same thing but were less effective at it in ill-behaving cars, and by his own admission his move on David Coulthard was an exercise in optimism gone wrong.

It was another get-the-job-done-and-go-home effort from the Colombian. He didn't qualify well, but he had company in the midfield from Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso, and he sat around and moved up almost by default as the lesser lights higher up the grid fell back to their rightful positions. Ten points for Williams, though, to McLaren's three in this race, and with a gap of 13 points over their silver rivals, the men from Grove must feel fairly safe about retaining 4th in the constructors' championship.

BAR have now scored 11 points in each of the last three races, repeating their Monza result of finishing 3rd and 4th. Button's two-stopper was not quite good enough to defeat the three-stopping Ralf, but some have pointed out that the story may have been different had Jenson not been asked to slow early on to allow his three-stopping team-mate on a lighter fuel load past. An example of team orders, no? And when Button had to lose 4 seconds that lap for that purpose, perhaps a naïve call from the BAR pit wall?

Even if Ralf did come out of his last stop behind Button, BAR were thereabouts this weekend without having genuinely rapid car speed, and one suspects that Ralf may have finished 2nd anyway. Meanwhile, some disappointment surely for Takuma Sato, who would have had high hopes of doing wonderful things in front of his home crowd. Taku fever was in the air, going by the flag-waving masses in the grandstand and the besotted TV director who seemed to home in on Taku-san at every available opportunity.

Sato has to be careful about the weight of expectation in future Japanese GPs as long as BAR remain competitive podium-getters. 5th, 5th and 4th in three Suzuka races show that he is a home-track specialist. But like Barrichello in Brazil, or even the likes of Ukyo Katayama in 1994 when he came to Suzuka on the back of what had been a stunningly good season for Tyrrell, the hometown fervour can be an inspiration, but also a terrific burden, and a cause of great deflation if things don't work out.

As soon as the BAR 006 was obviously the second-best package in the field, Taku would have been licking his lips and dreaming about Suzuka glory. The interrupted practice and qualifying in the wet, an average race and his questionable fitness mean that he has to wait another year, but perhaps that's exactly the point. To focus so intently on, and to build up to, this one race per year, could in the long-run do Sato more harm than good, if success in Japan is too important a point of his season.

Renault will now need a miracle to topple BAR for 2nd in the constructors' championship. Alonso drove a steady race from 11th to 5th almost without being noticed and we've been able to say that kind of thing too often of late. Jacques Villeneuve started 9th and simply went backwards, blaming lack of fitness and unfamiliarity with the car. The latter reason is understandable, given the limited time he has had in the car and the restricted practice. The former reason, though, is unacceptable. Hit the gym, Jacques!

Coulthard was the star for McLaren this weekend as he drove for his F1 life, deserving to finishing 4th at least for a consistent drive that had 'experience' written all over it. He is a worthy F1 driver, and if Button successfully goes to Williams, Coulthard in the BAR could be a pretty handy combination. An off weekend for Raikkonen, though, struggling with Sunday set-up that effectively consigned him to his eventual 6th place. For all his dashing speed, Kimi's season has been up-and-down, and this one was a downer.

Sauber have impressed in the latter stages of this season, for once being able to develop their car to a stage where they are now consistently challenging for points. Fisichella has been in excellently dependable form; a full-wet race might have seen him on the podium. Even Felipe Massa has shown a good turn of speed of late. Here he came from the back of the grid to 9th, even flying past Villeneuve on the front straight at one stage - a sign of what to expect next year when they are team-mates?

A most quiet weekend from Christian Klien, who is staring down the barrel of being unloved and unwanted by the F1 fraternity at the end of the season, but to be frank, he hasn't shown anything this year to suggest that he's the Next Big Thing. Meanwhile, Toyota do what they are currently doing best, that is, flattering only to deceive. For a first race outing, Trulli's effort was respectable, but from having run in the points early in proceedings, that he slid way out of it without so much as a whimper is frustrating.

A quick word about Olivier Panis, who drove his last F1 race, starting 10th and finishing a lowly 14th. Originally not a great qualifier, Panis was a most potent racer, including his glorious Monaco 1996 win and a stunning first half of the season in 1997 that saw him 3rd in the championship for Prost when his horror shunt in Canada broke both his legs. After that, despite his strong year in 2000 testing for McLaren, he has never really been the same driver, and if anything has qualified stronger than he has raced.

Uneventful but slow summarises Jordan and Minardi's weekend once again, the most disappointing feature probably being the fact that, on Bridgestone tyres in wet qualifying, none of Heidfeld, Glock, Gianmaria Bruni or Zsolt Baumgartner could take the opportunity to get off the back of the grid. Both teams have little to look forward to, except to finish off the season in Brazil and then wait anxiously to see if they can gather enough of a financial and engine package to survive into 2005.

For once the season will move on to an 18th and final race, and for the first time the final bow will be in Brazil. Ferrari will have to start favourites as usual, but will Michael claim his 14th victory of the year? Knowing that everything's already long since been wrapped up, given that the cars are at their most reliable and developed, and remembering what victory in Sao Paulo will mean to Barrichello, what price a Rubens victory? And maybe even some gentle subterfuge to ensure it happens?