F1 Japanese GP 2018 - ! - F1 - Japanese GP, race #17: Aston Martin RedBull team MAX and DANIEL: 'arigatooo Japan !' and congrats to MERCEDES ! - NAANII GLOBAL Luxury/Quality Family Lifestyle MAGAZINE 'en Vogue' - NAANII GLOBAL Quality & Luxury Family Lifestyle - MAGAZINE 'en Vogue'-

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The enthusiasm of the Japanese F1 and Motorsport fans is truly incredible !
Once again this weekend, the sights and sounds in the grandstands and around the track were amazing.
From Friday to Sunday, 165,000 people turned up, which is an increase of 18,000 over the previous year.
That’s gratifying for the promoter who worked so hard to provide various forms of entertainment for the fans in this the 30th year that Formula 1 has raced at this track.

There was also a great display on track from a number of historic F1 cars and I was particularly pleased to see, admittedly only on video, the Ferrari 248F1, the last car from when I was in charge of the technical side in Maranello.
Some of these cars were driven by their current owners, while others were reunited with those who raced them, such as Mika Häkkinen and Felipe Massa.
Suzuka - the Japanese F1 GP - remains a really special round on the calendar, both as one of the greatest and demanding tracks we race at and because of the passion and creativity of the Japanese fans, famous for their amazing displays.
It’s therefore very pleasing that a new three year agreement with the local promoter will see this race remain an important addition on the Formula One calendar.

The Race:
Max Verstappen - Aston Martin RedBull Racing   turned into Ferrari’s worst nightmare in Suzuka.
He collided with Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - at the end of the first lap, which earned him a hotly disputed five-second penalty, and the Finn not only lost fourth place to his team-mate Vettel, but more significantly the aerodynamics on his car were compromised, especially at the front.
A few laps later and it was time for another incident, this time with Vettel - Ferrari -, and the German lost out as he sustained damage in the coming together, spinning and dropping to P19. This time, the Stewards felt it was a racing incident.
Regardless, Max demonstrated that, at this track, the Red Bull could fight Ferrari and the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas on equal terms. Indeed, the Dutchman chased Bottas for second place right up until the final lap, even if he never really had a genuine passing opportunity.
In the other Red Bull, Daniel Ricciardo also put on a great show, with the Australian finishing just off the podium having started from 15th place on the grid. It was yet another great climb up the order, following both his and Verstappen’s in Sochi.
Red Bull are no doubt lamenting the reliability problems they are having with Renault, as a relationship that brought so much success and glory to the Milton Keynes-based squad and to Renault’s Viry engine facility comes to an end.

Lewis Hamilton composed his ninth symphony in Suzuka. This latest win for the Englishman, his fifth from the last six race means he could win the Championship at the next round in Austin on 21st October.
Back in the summer break, I doubt Lewis or his team believed they could do that so soon. Back-to-back wins in Germany and Hungary made up for the reigning champion’s disappointment at Silverstone, where it was clear that Sebastian Vettel had the most competitive technical package that Mercedes had ever come up against in this hybrid era.
From Hockenheim to date, Lewis has picked up 168 points out of a possible maximum of 175, while his title rival has only managed 93. On some weekends, Hamilton was note perfect, while on others the team helped him out, as was the case in Sochi, or they simply benefited from the mistakes of others. It that means that he has a 67-point lead and he only needs to score eight more points than Vettel at COTA to equal Juan Manuel Fangio’s tally of titles. Another one-two for Mercedes would mean party time in the Hamilton household.

Fotos: copyright AstonMartin Red Bull racing, all rights reserved