Slowest and fifth shortest F1 race

The slowest F1 race of all time, as well as one of the shortest, rainiest and most emotional… There was no shortage of drama in Suzuka and new records were not missing either. Let’s take a look at some of them.

#1 Max Verstappen managed to secure his second title in Japan. The Red Bull team has produced two champions – Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. It is significant that both won their first title at the Jasmarina circuit (Abu Dhabi), and the second one a year later at Suzuka. Vettel’s first title also came in a tough fight at the very last stage, while a dominant performance was shown the following year.

#2 This was the 12th victory of the season for Verstappen. In the remaining four stages, he has a chance to break the record of Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013). Both Germans managed to win 13 races in one year. Of course, it is easier to do now because the season is longer. Alberto Ascari would maintain his 1952 record, winning 75% of the races (Ascari won 6 out of 8 stages, retired in one, and did not participate in one at all).

#3 This was Max Verstappen’s 32nd career win, which saw him catch up with fellow two-time world champion Fernando Alonso. Only five drivers managed to win more in their F1 career. This was his first success in Japan and, despite the shortened distance, the 27-second advantage made Max the most convincing winner ever at Suzuka.

Drivers with the most wins in F1

#4 Due to the long break, the riders covered only 162 kilometers in 3 hours, making The Japanese Grand Prix for the fifth shortest ever by distance covered and the slowest ever by average speed (53.5 km/h). So far, the record has been held since the 2011 Canadian GP (74.8 km/h). The slowest continuous race can be traced back to 1950 in Monaco (98.7 km/h). Even last year’s one lap behind the safety car at Spa was done at a higher speed.

F1 stages, the length of which did not reach 200 km

#5 Verstappen laid the foundation for the victory in qualifying, winning his 18th pole position, catching Charles Leclair, whose fastest Q3 lap was only one hundredth of a second slower than Verstappen’s. Only three times in the hybrid era have the two fastest drivers in qualifying been separated by less than one hundredth of a second (in all 3 cases the first row was occupied by “Mercedes” drivers). In addition, less than 0.06 seconds separated the Top 3 in qualifying for the second stage in a row.

#6 As the leading drivers pitted after the transition period for rain tires, Fernando Alonso became the leader at the end of the eighth lap, while Mick Schumacher moved up to second place. Alonso became the first driver outside the top three teams to take the lead this year. Schumacher, meanwhile, had never been so high in the F1 championship before. It is significant that for the first time F1 spectators experienced such a scene (1. Alonso, 2. Schumacher) in 2003 at the Spanish GPwhen the then-young Alonso wrestled with Mick’s father, Michael.

2022 #JapaneseGP ???????? Timelapse#F1 # Formula 1 pic.twitter.com/m7Ulbf2j30

— F1Visualized (@f1visualized) October 10, 2022

#7 Alonso first took the lead at the 2003 Malaysian GP 19 years 6 months 16 days before the Japanese GP. No other driver has managed to enjoy the honor of the leader for such a wide range of time. Michael Schumacher was 19 years 1 month 9 days apart from leading the 1992 Belgian GP and the 2011 Japanese GP. In the last 50 years, only Schumacher, Alonso, Nigel Mansell and Jacques Lafitte have been in the lead after their 41st birthday.

#8 Thanks to a great strategy, Williams driver Nicolas Latifi won his first points this season, finishing in ninth place. This was the third time in Latifi’s career that he has scored points and rain intervened the previous two times as well – last year in Hungary and Belgium (where the fight was canceled due to rain). All full-time drivers scored points this year. Only Nico Hulkenberg, who participated only in the first two races, remains in Beš. This season, 21 drivers scored points. This much has not been experienced since 2005when, with points awarded only to the best eighth, 24 riders scored in the overall ranking.

Graphics: Pirelli

#9 For the second time in a row, no point was awarded for the fastest lap, as it was achieved by a driver who remained outside the Top 10. Guanyu Zhou’s fastest lap was just 0.001 seconds faster than Fernando Alonso’s (both after the last pit stop). Zhou achieved the first fastest lap of his career already in his 18th race. Among the active drivers, only Lewis Hamilton (in his second stage) managed to do it faster.

#10 “Alfa Romeo” waited more than 39 years for the fastest lap. The last time Andrea de Cesari did it was the 1983 Belgian GP, ​​but before that it was the 1951 Spanish GP with Juan Manuel Fangio at the wheel. Of course, this Alfa Romeo team has almost no relation to the units of the 50s and 80s, as it is based on the Sauber team. It last achieved the fastest lap in 2013 in Spain thanks to Esteban Gutierrez.

Graphics: Pirelli

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