One word, SUZUKA. Oh my god how I love this track! If you don't know about Suzuka you don't know anything about Formula One. Suzuka has sealed many championships and it may do it this time as well.
Let's start with a bit nostalgia.
Back in the days when I started to follow Formula One as a child the biggest names were Senna and Prost. They showed us all excitement and action every time the F1 circus was at the Suzuka track.
These two drivers made the sport world famous, even more famous than it was.
In 1988 Senna joined McLaren as the "younger driver" and Prost was the 2-time world champion at the time. Prost was confident that he was going to beat his new teammate like he had beaten everyone else (except Niki Lauda in 1984. Lauda won the championship by 0,5 point).
Senna and Prost were equal the whole 1988 season but October 30th in Suzuka it was all going to change. Senna took pole position the day before, Prost was 0,32 slower and took second place.
When the Grand Prix started Senna's car had problems and didn't move. Prost took the lead, Gerhard Berger was second and Senna dropped to 16th place if I remember correctly.
Senna was my biggest hero and didn't let any of his fans down. He overtook 7 cars on the first lap from 16th place and was now 8th when the second lap started. After that he overtook Riccardo Patrese and Alessandro Nannini and was 6th when the 3rd lap started. On the third lap he started catching Thierry Boutsen and Michele Alboreto and overtook them both before the 5th lap started and was now 4th.
In the front Prost was in the lead, Berger 2nd and Ivan Capelli 3rd. Capelli overtakes Berger on the 6th lap and Senna is approaching. On the 11th lap Senna also overtakes Berger and is now already 3rd. Then Capelli almost overtakes Prost and retires with a electrical problem. Senna is now 2nd!
Senna catches Prost and overtakes him on the 28th lap. People are going wild! Senna leads till the end and becomes world champion for the first time. He claimed that god showed himself on the last lap and Senna felt his presence.
Senna, Prost and Boutsen were on the podium. The happiest man was of course Ayrton Senna.
If we talk about the current drivers, the biggest legend in Suzuka is probably Kimi Räikkönen.
In 2005 Renault was the best car and Kimi drove for McLaren. He started from 17th place on the grid and started overtaking everybody in front of him. On the last lap Kimi overtook Giancarlo Fisichella and won the race.
Ron Dennis was crying of happiness even though Alonso had already secured his championship earlier. The year 2005 was very though for Kimi who lost the championship only because of too many retirements. He won more races than Alonso but unfortunately he also retired more times. In Suzuka he won from 17th place even though many thought that he wouldn't have motivation to push hard.
Let's come back to 2013 and talk about the next weekend.
You will see much fighting for positions, maybe a safety car and also another winner for a change! Sebastian Vettel will not win this weekend! I am counting on it.
My guesses:
Pole position: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
The race:
- Mark Webber, Red Bull
- Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
- Kimi Räikkönen, Lotus
Fastest lap: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
Surprise: Sauber
Come on Webber! You have to win a race before you retire! This is the race!
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