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Japan 2011 - Race information - Everything you need to know about the racing action in Suzuka

Published by Christine

This weekend, Formula One rocks up in Suzuka, prepared for what is likely to be the 2011 Championship decider. Suzuka is just the place for a title showdown, and although we're pretty sure which way it's going to go - notwithstanding an unusual error from Red Bull and Vettel, and the drive of Button's life - it should still be an exciting weekend.

Event schedule

From the twilight twists and turns of the Singapore street circuit, we move back to a midday (early morning for some!) race at the dedicated Suzuka track. Sebastian Vettel has won the last two races at Suzuka, with Red Bull finally back on a track they feel comfortable with. McLaren have confirmed they'll be tweaking their car to try and challenge the championship leaders, though.

Further down the order, the battle between Sauber and Force India continues in the Constructor's Championship, whilst both Renault drivers will be wary of their future after news that Robert Kubica's future might be decided sooner rather than later.

Equally, Lotus have confirmed an extension to their Renault engine deal that will include KERS, so they're going into their last few races without the added performance feature.

Session Timetable
DateDaySessionTime (GMT+1)Time (Local)
7 OctFridayFree Practice 102:0010:00
Free Practice 206:0014:00
8 OctSaturdayFree Practice 303:0011:00
Qualifying06:0014:00
9 OctSundayGrand Prix07:0015:00

Support racing for this event includes Formula Challenge Japan, Porsche Carrera Cup Japan, and Formula Nippon.

The weather

The long range weather forecasts have sunshine for most of the weekend, with clouds starting to creep in as the weekend draws to a close.

showers

Suzuka Circuit, Friday

22℃

  • Low 11℃
  • Humidity 43%

Sunshine

showers

Suzuka Circuit, Saturday

22℃

  • Low 13℃
  • Humidity 49%

Sunshine

showers

Suzuka Circuit, Sunday

22℃

  • Low 17℃
  • Humidity 66%

A little cloudy

Circuit map

Suzuka Circuit Map
Suzuka Circuit MapCredit: FIA

The circuit

Circuit Data
NameSuzuka Circuit
LocationJapan
TimezoneGMT +0900
First Race1987
Laps53
Length5.807 km
Distance307.471 km
Start / Finish Offset0.300 km

Suzuka boasts a fabulous figure of eight and a particularly tricky first sector that requires perfect setup on the cars. The top speeds can reach 316kph, with the average nestling somewhere around 228kph. Usually, track temperature hovers somewhere just above 30 degrees C, but this weekend we'll see the medium and soft compounds in use, with the supersoft relegated for now.

The pitlane is just under 400 metres long, and the potential loss of a stop is roughly 21 seconds. There's less than 0.4 safety cars on average per race, which means we're unlikely to see an appearance from Bernd this weekend.

2010 Results
SessionDriverTeamTimeLinks
Free Practice 1Sebastian VettelRed Bull1:32.585Live / Results
Free Practice 2Sebastian VettelRed Bull1:31.465Live / Results
Free Practice 3Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso1:55.902Live / Results
QualifyingSebastian VettelRed Bull1:30.785Live / Results
Grand PrixSebastian VettelRed Bull1:30:27.323Live / Results
Fastest LapMark WebberRed Bull1:33.474

Tyre compounds

Soft (option) and medium (prime) compounds
Soft (option) and medium (prime) compounds

Press conference schedule

Official press conferences are organised by the FIA and happen four times during the weekend. The qualifying and post race press conferences will take place after the television unilateral interviews.

Press Conference Schedule
DayTime (Local)AttendeeRepresenting
Thursday15:00Jérôme D'AmbrosioVirgin
Jenson ButtonMcLaren
Paul di RestaForce India
Kamui KobayashiSauber
Heikki KovalainenLotus
Sebastian VettelRed Bull
Friday16:00Giorgio AscanelliToro Rosso
Pat FryFerrari
James KeySauber
Paddy LoweMcLaren
Adrian NeweyRed Bull
Naoki TokunagaRenault
SaturdayPost qualifyingThree fastest drivers
SundayPost raceFirst three finishing drivers

Race sewards

The FIA stewarding process was changed last year to include a former F1 driver to give added insight. These are the stewards overseeing this weekend's action.

F1 Stewards
NamePosition
Alan JonesFormula One World Champion 1980
Garry ConnellyFIA Committee member and FIA WMSC member
José AbedFIA Vice President

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