Japanese Grand Prix
Of the Asian countries active in the F1 circuit, Japan has the longest history in motor racing, which is backed by the number of automobile makers the country boasts. It has become a key market for engine-builders, but also for sponsors for the F1 circuit. Over the years, the Japanese Grand Prix has become synonymous with excitement and controversy, as it is normally held at the end of the season. Many a championships have been won and lost in Japan! In fact, of the 19 Grand Prix’s Japan has so far hosted, 11 have seen the title destiny decided for both drivers and teams.
The first Japanese Grand Prix took place in 1976 at the infamous Fuji racing circuit. This race is a F1 legend now, as it was a championship title decider between drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. The racing conditions were abysmal, with pouring rain. Niki Lauda, who had survived a near fatal crash at the German Grand Prix earlier in the season, drove cautiously, letting Hunt finish the race in third place and giving him the Drivers’ Championship title by a single point! In the following year, James Hunt returned to win the race this time, but this was overshadowed by a collision between drivers Gilles Villeneuve and Ronnie Peterson, which forced Villeneuve’s Ferrari into a restricted area, killing a marshal. Because of this, the Japanese Grand Prix was stricken from the F1 Championship calendar.
Almost a decade later, in 1987, Japan was back on the F1 championship calendar, however, no longer at the Fuji track, but at the new Suzuka track. Suzuka remains unique in the F1 circuit line-up and many feel that it is just as challenging, if not more, than other historic tracks, such as Monza and Spa. Built in 1962 as a testing track for Honda, the track has many turns and is the only figure-of-eight track on the F1 calendar and only track with a crossover!
Hosting the Japanese Grand Prix, every year since 1987, there have been some historic racing moments at Suzuka. It began its Grand Prix legacy with Nigel Mansell crashing his Williams-Honda during practice, giving the championship title to team mate Nelson Piquet. However, Suzuka will always be remembered for the legendary feud between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna during the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix. Senna was racing to keep his championship hopes alive and tried to overtake Prost, who swerved into him, eliminating both men from the race, leaving Prost to take the championship title.
A year later, Senna paid back Prost by ramming him off the road at the first corner and winning the championship title himself. Later, Senna admitted that he had rammed Prost on purpose. More recently, it was a duel between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen at the 2000 Japanese Grand Prix, where Schumacher won the race and his first World Title for Ferrari (his third) under extreme rainy conditions.