Before the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix weekend began, I posted five prediction polls on the Lights Out twitter account. How many of the questions did you get right? Find out below!
1. What will the weather be like?
1. What will the weather be like at Suzuka this weekend? #LightsOutPredictions #JapaneseGP #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) October 4, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: WET SATURDAY, DRY SUNDAY
CORRECT ANSWER: WET SATURDAY, DRY SUNDAY
It’s arguable whether you can class Saturday as a wet day or not, but rain certainly stopped drivers from improving their lap times in the closing stages of Q3. While we didn’t see the levels of rain which had been predicted on Friday and Satuday, the weather remained dry on Sunday, just as forecasters had suggested.
2. Which team will be best of the rest at Suzuka?
2. Which team will be 'best of the rest' this weekend? #LightsOutPredictions #JapaneseGP #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) October 4, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: HAAS
CORRECT ANSWER: ANOTHER TEAM
It was Force India who secured seventh place in the Japanese Grand Prix, with Sergio Perez finishing eight seconds ahead of Romain Grosjean. Both Force India drivers picked up points, with Esteban Ocon also finishing in ninth. All the other teams listed suffered one retirement – Nico Hulkeneberg at Renault, Kevin Magnussen at Haas and Charles Leclerc at Sauber. While Renault picked up one point with Carlos Sainz finishing in tenth, the remaining Sauber of Marcus Ericsson finish twelfth.
3. What will the pole time be?
3. What will this year's #JapaneseGP pole time be? For reference, last year's pole lap time was a 1:27.319. #LightsOutPredictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) October 4, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: 1:26.299
CORRECT ANSWER: 1:27.300
For only the second time this season, and as just 6% of you predicted, the Track Record wasn’t beaten on Saturday. The incoming of rain meant that the drivers weren’t able to improve on their final Q3 attempts, and Lewis Hamilton took pole with a 1:27.760.
4. How many points will Toro Rosso score?
4. How many points will Toro Rosso score at the #JapaneseGP? #LightsOutPredictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) October 4, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: 1 – 10 points
CORRECT ANSWER: 0 points
It was a dream Saturday for Toro Rosso who, with their new and improved Honda engines, qualified in sixth and seventh. Sadly, those positions couldn’t be translated into points at their engine manufacturer’s home race. After losing places on the opening lap, Pierre Gasly finished the race in eleventh and Brendon Hartley finished thirteenth.
5. How many cars will be running at the end of the race?
5. How many cars will reach the chequered flag in Sunday's #JapaneseGP? #LightsOutPredictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) October 4, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: 16,17 or 18
CORRECT ANSWER: 16, 17 or 18
Seventeen cars reached the end of the Japanese Grand Prix. The last time a Grand Prix at Suzuka had exactly seventeen finishers was in 2009.
