Japanese Grand Prix 2017: 5 drivers who need a good race

“I think our vehicle will be in a much better position [in Japan], but Ferrari brought quite a big upgrade to the last race so it will be interesting to see that properly unleashed”, he said.

The Singapore Grand Prix crash involving Sebastian Vettel, his teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was unfortunate; the double dose of engine trouble in Malaysia was nightmarish for the Italian team.

Lewis Hamilton has promised to hit back in Japan this week following frustration in Malaysia as he looks to close in on a fourth Formula One world title. Both drivers were, however, advised to demonstrate further caution in the future when en route to the pit-lane at the conclusion of a race.

While the excitement of race day reduced the sweltering heat and humidity, which consistently hovers in the high 80s Fahrenheit (above 26 degrees Centigrade), to a mere footnote, it was Ferrari who looked the real deal in practice and qualifying with Raikkonen on the front row.

At the 2015 Italian Grand Prix Rosberg lost touch with the title when his power unit expired three laps from the chequered flag, growing his 28-point gap to an nearly unsurmountable 53 points on the eve of the Singapore Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo and his Red Bull team has picked up some pace since the summer break and consistantly finishing on podium. “It maybe sounds amusing but it’s a very, very sensitive sport mentally and you need to be absolutely on it if you want to be the quickest”. Of course you do. We appreciate you guys having us and all the support you’ve given us. I think we are going to run it in Japan, all the data says it is good.

Generally, there are high levels of wear and degradation: two stops was the winning strategy past year, with varied tactics. “That’s the really cool one with the masks and body armour and the massive bamboo swords…”

Mercedes had a hard weekend in Malaysia, where they expected to be more competitive than they were.

Mercedes are also optimistic their auto will be more suited to the conditions at Suzuka, where both the cooler weather and track layout should be more favourable for the W08. “We turned it around and the vehicle was great”. He should once again be the man to beat in this race.

Title rivals Mercedes and Ferrari have chosen different tyre strategies for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Motorsport.com reports that officials declared Shepard the race victor in the provisional results, but that they later chose to call the race after five laps because the final few were so unusual. Every single weekend you have to set up the auto well.

As you can see in the video above, a media member tries to get Ricciardo to stop, but there’s no stopping the cheeky Aussie. I was very happy when I crossed the line and, together with my dad, I got this far. We know that the Pirellis are very sensitive to temperature and track conditions, to the amount of rubber on track and the asphalt.

“Also the Red Bull is coming back up, so I just hope we have the strength to be able to fight back”, added Hamilton. “It is entirely in our hands to make sure we achieve them”. “You are the most depleted afterwards and that’s a great thing”. “I think we should have been quicker than we were (in Malaysia) but Suzuka should be much more in the window”.

Raikkonen believes that form will ebb and flow between the top three teams at the remaining races, and that details will make the difference.