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Added on the 05/04/2024 08:19:15 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
It’s time for the Japanese Grand Prix, one of the most popular events on the calendar for enthusiasts and F1 folk alike. Suzuka first featured on the World Championship trail almost four decades ago and along with two races at Fuji in the mid-70s and again in 2007 and 2008 and with two Pacific Grands Prix in the Nineties, the Land of the Rising Sun has played an important part in the history of the sport. Suzuka is special, not just because of the beautiful figure-of-eight track, but also because of the electrifying atmosphere around the circuit, the grandstands packed with local fans, both young and old who love to dress up in race suits, often wearing the most bizarre home-made caps made to look like the race cars, as they wander around the track and even in the paddock.If the 18 corners that make up Suzuka circuit could talk, they would tell the tale of some of the most memorable moments in the history of the sport. So many world championships have been decided here, many of them in favour of Scuderia Ferrari. In 2000 came the “Red Dawn” as the tifosi called it, when Michael Schumacher won the race to clinch his first title in red, repeating the feat in Japan in 2003. There were also moments of disappointment for the Prancing Horse, in 1990 when Alain Prost was beaten to the crown by Ayrton Senna and in 1998, when Schumacher was bested by Mika Häkkinen.
As was the case last year, Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit hosts the third round of the Formula 1 World Championship.
And they’re off! The 74th Formula 1 World Championship season gets underway in Bahrain, the longest ever with 23 races on four continents. The 5.412 kilometre-long Sakhir track is a very familiar one for the drivers as it was used twice in the same season in 2020, while it has also seen hundreds of laps completed during pre-season testing.Drivers will complete 57 laps of the Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday, covering a distance of 308.238 km. Its key features are long straights and very heavy braking points, especially at turns 1 and 14. There are three DRS zones, where the moveable rear wing can be used: on the start-finish straight and after turns 3 and 10. As always, qualifying and the race will start after sunset at 18 (16 CET) run under floodlights. As the sun goes down, so too does the track temperature and therefore the cars pick up pace.Last year, when the new generation of ground effect cars raced for the first time, the Scuderia secured a one-two finish, Charles Leclerc leading team-mate Carlos Sainz past the chequered flag.
Just a few days on from the United States Grand Prix, the North American double-header concludes with the Mexico City race. As always it takes place at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.The track has some unusual features, including the longest distance from the start line to the braking point for the first corner, at 811 metres. The entire track underwent a significant change for F1’s return to Mexico in 2015, with a fairly flowing first sector, while the middle part was modified to make it quicker.
Just a few days after Scuderia Ferrari’s one-two finish in the opening round of the season in Bahrain, the Formula 1 World Championship is back in action with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix taking place less than three months on from the first ever running of this event. Last December, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished seventh and eighth on the Jeddah Corniche semi-street circuit. Still in the Middle East therefore, but Formula 1 has moved from the Arabian Gulf to the shores of the Red Sea.