Following a hard fought race in South Korea, the Formula 1 teams have made the short trip to Japan and the mighty Suzuka circuit for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix – live on BBC Sport and Sky Sports F1.
The 15th round of the 2013 World Championship represents the first chance for Sebastian Vettel to secure his fourth straight world title as he can mathematically claim the drivers’ title around the much revered Japanese circuit.
The traditional home to the Japanese Grand Prix since the late 1980s, Suzuka is a firm favourite with drivers, delivering thrills and the allure of the risk a fast lap demands.
Suzuka has teeth, from the Degner curves to the still-fearsome 130R, it’s a circuit that demands high concentration.
The challenge is as great for engineers as for drivers. The quest for lap time is a highly technical exercise, with a number of differing set-up requirements to be reconciled
Suzuka isn’t easily categorised, featuring swift changes of direction at the spectator-friendly Esses, sinuous curves through Dunlop and Spoon, high-speed sections and heavy-braking, low-speed corners at the Hairpin and Casio Triangle.
The great laps require both man and machine to be on the limit.
Championship leader Sebastian Vettel is the presumptive favourite to deliver those great laps.
The Red Bull Racing driver’s form is excellent on arrival at the circuit he calls “the greatest in the world”.
Coming to this race he has three successive poles and four successive victories
In addition, his record at Suzuka is excellent. From four visits, he has four poles and three victories.
He missed out on victory in 2011, driving conservatively to third – but that was enough to secure a second Drivers’ World Championship.
Seventy-seven points clear of Fernando Alonso in the 2013 title-race, he has an outside chance of claiming his fourth championship this weekend.
Should Vettel win and Alonso finish no better than ninth, the German will do what only Juan-Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher have done before and win World Championships in four consecutive years.
Suzuka strongly favours the front row. In 24 races, the winner has come from the front row 20 times. Fernando Alonso (2006) won from fifth, Alessandro Nannini (1989) and Nelson Piquet (1990) from sixth.
The anomalous statistic is Kimi Raikkonen’s mesmerising charge from 17th in 2005, overtaking Giancarlo Fisichella on the final lap for the lead.
Last year, Vettel won the race with pole, fastest lap and victory having led every lap of the race.
Follow all the action from Suzuka with BBC TV and Sky Sports’ extensive live coverage this weekend.
In addition, there is a special BBC TV and radio programme celebrating the 90th birthday of motorsport broadcasting legend Murray Walker, plus on Sunday evening ITV screens the terrestrial TV premiere of the highly acclaimed ‘Senna’ movie.
Full details of your choice of Japanese Grand Prix viewing below.
OFFICIAL F1 WEBSITE TRACK GUIDE LIVE TIMING
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FORMULA 1 2013 ON SKY SPORTS F1 HD
BBC Sport will have live free-to-air coverage of the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix across all its platforms.
Live coverage begins on Friday with both free practice sessions on BBC Two and BBC Two HD, followed by practice three on Saturday morning.
As usual on live race weekends, both qualifying and the race will be shown as it happens early on Saturday and Sunday morning respectively on BBC One and BBC One HD, followed by re-runs in the afternoon.
Suzi Perry presents BBC TV’s coverage all weekend where she will be joined by regular trackside experts David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan, both of whom will be on hand to provide lively analysis and discussion in the pits and paddock.
During the lengthy qualifying and race build-ups there will be plenty of fresh features and interviews to keep viewers informed and entertained, including David Coulthard’s grid-walk on race day.
Commentary comes from Ben Edwards and David Coulthard, with technical analysis from Gary Anderson, while Lee McKenzie and Tom Clarkson will provide pit-lane updates and conduct interviews with the drivers and team personel.
McKenzie will also host the BBC’s preview programme Inside F1 on the BBC News Channel on Friday at 6.45pm and Saturday at 7.45pm.
BBC Sport’s popular F1 Forum, presented by Suzi Perry, follows the conclusion of the BBC One race transmission on the BBC Red Button and online at 3.15pm.
The BBC Sport website will have live streaming of all live BBC TV broadcasts, as well as additional live video content during including extra feeds such as driver tracker, on-board cameras, pits channel and a choice of commentary, plus interviews and analysis.
All of the BBC’s TV coverage will be available to view shortly after transmission on BBC iPlayer.
BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra will also have live audio commentary of every on-track session from Suzuka with James Allen, Jennie Gow and Gary Anderson.
There will also be a special interview with Murray Walker as the motorsport broadcasting legend celebrates his 90th birthday.
This will be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 live on Sunday afternoon at 4pm, while further showings will air on BBC Red Button at various times.
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FORMULA 1 2013 ON SKY SPORTS F1 HD
Sky Sports F1 will have its usual extensive live coverage of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix from Suzuka.
Every practice session, Saturday’s qualifying and the race itself will be shown live in high-definition.
Simon Lazenby will present full coverage of the Friday practice sessions, qualifying and the race itself, where he will be joined throughout the weekend by Martin Brundle, Johnny Herbert and special guest Susie Wolff.
Ted Kravitz and Natalie Pinkham will have the latest news and reports and from the pit lane, while commentary on all sessions comes from David Croft.
Martin Brundle joins Croft in the commentary box for both qualifying and the race, while Johnny Herbert will call the practice sessions as well as offer his insights from the Sky Pad during the weekend.
During the race, a host of interactive additions, including on-board cameras, pit-lane feeds, the latest race stats and much more available via the red button and the Sky Sports for iPad app.
For those who won’t be at home, every second of the action can be seen via computers, laptops, mobiles and tablet devices on Sky Go.
Further information, news and video content can be found at skysports.com/f1, and viewers are encouraged to interact with the live programmes via Twitter – @SkySportsF1, #SkyF1.
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To round off the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, ITV will screen the highly acclaimed BAFTA award-winning documentary ‘Senna’.
It’s the first time that the 2010 film, which charts the life and career of Brazilian three-time Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna, has been shown on terrestrial television.
Senna’s remarkable story, charting his physical and spiritual achievements on the track and off, his quest for perfection, and the mythical status he has since attained, is the subject of the documentary feature.
The film spans the racing legend’s years as an Formula 1 driver, from his opening season in 1984, his famous rivalry with fellow Formula One driver Alain Prost, through to his untimely death a decade later in an accident at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.
Far more than a film for diehard Formula 1 fans, ‘Senna’ unfolds a remarkable story in a remarkable manner, eschewing many standard documentary techniques in favour of a more cinematic approach that makes full use of astounding footage, much of which is drawn from F1 archives and is previously unseen.
‘Senna’ airs on ITV and ITV HD on Sunday, October 13, at 10.20pm.
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