Japanese Grand Prix 2019 Schedule

Rounding out the Asian leg of the Formula One season will be the Japanese Grand Prix 2019. This race comes a couple of weeks after the controversial Russian Grand Prix, which was won by Lewis Hamilton. This weekend, the drivers and teams will be heading to the Suzuka Circuit, which has hosted every race since 1987, except for the 2007 and 2008 editions

Lewis Hamilton enters the weekend, inching ever closer to the 2019 title, his sixth career championship. However, the Briton will be wary of a threat from his teammate Valtteri Bottas, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, and a resurgent Ferrari led by Charles LeClerc and even Sebastian Vettel, especially after his win in Singapore.

The Japanese Grand Prix 2019 race weekend begins with Free Practice 1 on Friday 11th October at 10:00 AM local time and 6:30 AM IST. This will he followed by FP2 at 14:00 PM local time and 10:30 AM IST. On Saturday, FP3 kicks off at 12:00 PM local time and 8:30 AM IST, followed by qualifying at 15:00 PM local and 11:30 AM IST. Finally, on Sunday, the race begins at 14:10 PM local time and 10:40 AM IST.

The Suzuka Circuit is a unique track because its layout is in a figure of 8 form. In other words, the track loops over a section of itself. When drivers approach the Hairpin section, they go under a bridge, which is part of the fastest section of the iconic circuit. That particular section also leads to one of the most famous corners, the 130R.

The 130R is supposed to be a fast corner, which represents a 130° corner. However, over the years, it is been revised and now seems like a 120° corner.

It was also worth noting that Turn 7, the Dunlop Curve, claimed the life of Jules Bianchi in 2014. Moments earlier, Adrian Sutil had crashed there and a recovery vehicle went to retrieve the beached car. However, Bianchi’s Marussia, speared off and collided with the recovery vehicle, with his car passing underneath the back of the machine, and his helmet smacking into it.