2007 Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix

Mario Theissen said:
"Fuji will be a new challenge,? he said.

?I had a look at the circuit before last year's race at Suzuka.

?There is one very long straight and several unorthodox corners.

?The circuit is very remote ? there are very few roads and not much in the way of accommodation, and the infrastructure is limited.

"Fuji represents a major undertaking for our logistics people.?

La Source
 
Team-mate Kubica admits his only knowledge of the circuit comes from computer games ? yet he still shares Heidfeld?s excitement for the race.

?Of course I am looking forward to it but I don't know the Fuji track as a driver, just a bit from games when I was younger.
I bet it's Pole Position. :p
 
Holy shit! That was never meant to be a joke... I just said that because Pole Position only has one track: Fuji.

I'm so awesome. :p
 
I played on the Fuji track on GT4, I have to say that I wasn't very impressed.
 
Hooooray!!

Network Ten is showing the Japanese GP LIVE into all states!!
 
And no clash with Bathurst like previous years!
 
DAVID COULTHARD EXCLUSIVE

I will race with a helmet painted in Colin McRae's colours at the Japanese Grand Prix.

I'm also hoping to get the other drivers to sign it and give it to the McRae family as a show of respect from Formula 1.

I obviously had a friendship with him and there are a number of other guys in F1 that knew him as well.

I know that there was a high regard for his driving skill among us. He was such an understated yet fantastically talented individual.

Colin crossed over between the disciplines in a way that doesn't happen very often. I believe Valentino Rossi dedicated his victory in Estoril to him.

His name was well known far beyond his chosen sport, not only in Europe but also in Asia and America through the X Games and that sort of thing.

In fact, he was the reason why I initially went to the Race of Champions as his partner for Team Scotland.

And even though it will be amazing to compete in it at Wembley this year, it is not going to be the same without Colin.

Although I have driven with him a few times over the years, the memories that come to me are the family ones; sharing time with him, Alison and the kids.

I remember the first time he met Karen, my fiance. She hadn't really been exposed to many Scotsmen and we were in a restaurant in Paris.

He thought it would be funny to put a snail to his nostril then turn and speak to her. She didn't quite know which way to look! He was just a character.

It's a tragedy for all the families involved.

Colin's accident put into perspective some of the other events of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

Source - The rest of Coultard's blog can be read here.

A nice tribute for Colin and a nice gesture to give the signed helmet to the family.
 
That's awesome!
 
Respect to DC, that's a great tribute.

Hehe kinda like Finalgear.com members contributed to Richard's helmet.
 
JAPANESE GP PREVIEW

There is a strong chance that Formula 1 will finally get back to doing what it does best in Japan this weekend.

McLaren?s decision to draw a line under the ?Spygate? affair and swallow the penalties meted out to it by the World Motor Sport Council means we should now be able to shift focus back to the on-track action.

It?s been depressingly ironic that in the season that has attracted so many new viewers to the sport, the absorbing title battle that everyone wants has been dwarfed, in the last two races especially, by the fallout from a Paris courtroom.

But now as we head into the season?s final sprint, that, thankfully, should no longer be the case.

Indeed the stage is perfectly set going into the final three flyaways for a climax to the season befitting what has proved to be an undoubtedly classic championship campaign.

It?s worth remembering, too, that Lewis Hamilton has led or co-led the championship since the third round in Bahrain.

But he heads to Fuji, for perhaps the first time this season, under pressure to deliver something special.

Of course that expectation comes from the astronomically high standards he has set himself in his rookie year.

Yet the Briton himself admitted following his fourth place at Spa that he needed to go away and find some answers to his disappointing speed before the next round.

For although neither McLaren driver could do anything about the runaway Ferraris in Belgium, it was Fernando Alonso who once again extracted the most from the MP4-22.

It?s a trend that (with one or two exceptions) has steadily become the norm since Silverstone in July and has resulted in Hamilton?s once comfortable title advantage being eroded to an edgy two points.

And in the frame of mind Alonso has become ever more cocooned in, there is the ominous sense that the world champion is ready to establish his authority once again.

Moreover, as the WMSC transcripts published last week highlighted, he is not even letting the breakdown of his relationship with McLaren distract him from the job in hand.

While the 196 pages of court room dilations were enlightening, perhaps the most astonishing revelation came from McLaren boss Ron Dennis on the state of his relationship with the Spaniard.

While it was no real surprise to hear that the two had not been on speaking terms since the team?s Hungarian qualifying debacle, to hear Alonso described as a ?remarkable recluse? who does ?not speak to anyone much? was a revelation.

The sense of injustice the world champion feels at not being granted a higher status than his rookie rival has swelled over the past month, to a point where he appears on a single-minded crusade to win a third straight world crown.

This sense of purpose, combined with his greater experience, means these are dangerous times for Lewis?s title dreams.

It certainly puts an extra premium on him beating the Spaniard again this weekend.

But of all the three circuits to come, this may be his best chance of doing it given the amount of time the Fuji Speedway has spent on the F1 sidelines.

Thirty years on from its last F1 outing, the Japanese venue has undergone a radical revamp in recent years and is virtually an unknown circuit for teams and drivers.

Only a handful of racers have experienced it from their junior days, while even fewer have knowledge of the track since its Herman Tilke-inspired spruce which was completed in 2005.

The fast-flowing layout of the 1970s has since, unsurprisingly, been interrupted by a splattering of chicanes and there are already fears that it will fail to stand up as an acceptable replacement for Suzuka.

However, it could have at least two things in its favour.

Firstly, it possesses a long and wide main straight leading into a tight hairpin that should, make that hopefully, allow for some exciting racing and overtaking.

And perhaps most excitingly of all, with its situation in the foothills of Japan?s highest peak, there is an invariably good chance of a rain deluge or too.

That might be something the third title contender, Kimi Raikkonen, would welcome as you feel he will need more than just three victories to come from 13 points back to win a maiden world crown.

A good splattering of the wet stuff would also be welcome addition for the championship that has lost some of its spark at the last two rounds.

F1 could do with a Fuji thriller.

130R
 
God I hope it rains...Hamilton is really good in the rain...if they get his pitstops right...
 
Source - The rest of Coultard's blog can be read here.

A nice tribute for Colin and a nice gesture to give the signed helmet to the family.

And here is the Helmet:

Helmet.jpg
 
Friday Practice #1 Results, Ferrari 1-2 :)
1 6 Kimi R?ikk?nen Ferrari 1:19.119 26
2 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:19.498 0.379 27
3 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.667 0.548 27
4 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.807 0.688 24
5 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:20.058 0.939 26
6 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:20.297 1.178 26
7 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:20.411 1.292 24
8 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:20.483 1.364 32
9 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:20.516 1.397 29
10 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:20.601 1.482 22
11 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:20.686 1.567 24
12 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:20.718 1.599 27
13 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:20.728 1.609 26
14 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:20.808 1.689 29
15 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:20.828 1.709 28
16 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:20.851 1.732 23
17 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:21.186 2.067 15
18 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:21.437 2.318 18
19 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:21.541 2.422 22
20 19 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 1:21.854 2.735 18
21 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:22.436 3.317 18
22 21 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari 1:22.902 3.783 17
 
Unless we have rain, this is going to be a fast grand prix based on those lap times, and the amount of laps.
 
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